(AN: One of the reasons to go back and re-visit Joshua is the original one didn't have enough grounding in its Hebrew background, plus a lot of little errors that are nagging me to be fixed. Oh well, it's your decision.)

(Here is the very last chapter of this story: it didn't break 43 chapters, but it has more words than Joshua, and is still, I believe, my longest fan-fiction.)

Epilogue: Under the Oak

Years passed and the conquest continued as planned. Slight problems occurred, however, when Judah attempted to drive out the Philistines. They battled well in the hills, but the valleys and plains were impossible to take. The Philistines had battle-wains, just as the Egyptians had, and they conquered on the fields.

At last, however, there came a day when a messenger arrived from Manasseh. He said that Joshua Bar-Nun had ordered the elders, leaders, judges and officials of all the tribes to Shechem in Manasseh. The last time they were all there was mere days after the dedication of Shiloh as the resting place of the Tabernacle of JEHOVAH, when they at last surrendered that which had been carried with them all the way from Egypt for all these years.

The bones of Joseph.

Salmon, who was among those who now made his journey north to Shechem, remembered how it happened that day. Phinehas HaCohen told them all the story of Joseph and his brothers from start to finish, leaving nothing omitted. He told of how, on his death-bed, he charged his brothers to take him up from out of Egypt on the day when JEHOVAH, called Elohim then, would visit them.

Once the speech was complete, the eldest member of each tribe, representing each of the twelve sons of Israel, bore Joseph's bones within their wooden reliquary. Among them were Joshua, representing Joseph's firstborn son Ephraim, and Caleb, representing Joseph's brother Judah, and old Eleazar, representing Joseph's brother Levi, among the others, and they carried the bones of Joseph into their final resting place.

The elders and judges of Israel did not, however, gather at the tomb of Joseph. They came instead to a grove of oak trees, where an old man with a staff and an old Levi's robe, frayed and worn, upon his shoulders, sat in the warmth of the sun. Here was all that was left of Joshua Bar-Nun, who had once been leader in stead of Moses.

"Hear, O Israel," he began. His voice was old and weary, yet still possessed some of the strength that it once had. "Give ear, O ye elders of the tribes of Israel. Please, I beg you, hear me now, as I speak these last words to you: I am a very old man. My time to lead you has come to an end. I leave you in good hands, and therefore have no regrets. You yourselves have seen with your own eyes all that JEHOVAH has done for you: He brought you up here, and has given you this land as your inheritance, as He promised to your fathers.

"Be strong, and of good courage. Remember to obey all that is within the Torah; turn neither to the right hand nor to the left. Associate not with these nations that remain among you: do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them, do not bow down to them or serve them. Hold fast to the LORD JEHOVAH, as you have done until this very day. It was by His hand that the great and powerful nations have been driven before you. By His might has no nation ever been able to stand before you. Because JEHOVAH fights for us, as He promised, a single one of you could put a host of a thousand Philistines to flight. So remember always to love your God JEHOVAH.

"But, if you do not do so, if you allow the nations of the Canaanites to remain with you, if you make allegiance with them and associate with them, then JEHOVAH will not drive them out from before you. The people of this land will become snares for your feet, whips upon your backs, thorns in your eyes, until at last you perish from this good land for your foolishness and disobedience!"

No one spoke, for the sheer gravity of Joshua's voice and the severity and solemnity of his words were enough to hold their attention.

"Soon, very soon," Joshua said, his voice a little lower as his eyes fell to the earth. "I shall be gathered unto my fathers, and go the way of all that is in the earth: into the dust from whence it came." He looked up at the people. "You know with all your heart and soul that none of JEHOVAH's promises have failed; every one has been fulfilled. But, just as all the good of His promises have been fulfilled in the time of your obedience, rest assured, all the calamities and destruction He has promised to render for idolators and covenant-breakers shall surely come to pass!"

Whispers and murmuring were once again heard among those gathered about, and Joshua held up his hand and silenced them all.

"Long ago," he began again. "Terah and Heber, our ancestors of old, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. But JEHOVAH took Abraham and brought him into this land, and gave him many descendants and promised to visit his children in their time of need. So, when Jacob's children lived in the bondage of Egypt, JEHOVAH sent Moses unto you and brought you out into a good land, which you now possess in this time of peace. You live in cities you did not build, eat of the fat of the land which you did not plant." He rose up as he addressed the people even more fervently.

"In light of this, JEHOVAH asks only one small price: serve Him with all faithfulness, discarding all other gods your fathers worshiped in the days of old. If this seems too much for you to do, then choose ye, this day, whom you will serve: the gods of the Chaldeans, or the gods of the Amorites." Having made his point, he lowered himself back onto the long stone on which he was sitting.

"As for me and my house, we shall serve JEHOVAH."

A great clamor arose from the assembled elders. It seemed quite a shock, indeed, for them to suddenly be willing to worship JEHOVAH, as they cried out against Joshua's words, saying that they would never serve any other gods.

"You are not able to serve J..." He halted. Having heard from so many profane lips the name JEHOVAH, the Name of God given to Moses so many years ago, seemed to rob it of its power. "I shall not speak His Name!" He then turned back to the crowd. "HaShem is holy and jealous: if you forsake Him after He has been good to you, you will bring down upon your heads your own doom!"

"No, no!" one of the elders cried out. "We shall serve...HaShem!" Other voices cried out in affirmation of what the one had said.

"Do not enter into this covenant lightly," Joshua reminded them. "For your own words this day shall serve as witness against you that you have chosen to serve HaShem, the Almighty."

"So let it be written, so let it be done." they replied. "We shall be witnesses, for we shall serve HaShem."

"Then throw away all foreign gods from among you," Joshua replied. "And yield your hearts to HaShem, the God of Israel."

"We shall serve and obey Him forever!" they said with one voice.

Joshua stood up from where he sat, and with surprising strength for one so old, began to push the stone up from where it had lain on its side. It now stood standing, like the monoliths of the northern people, upon which are inscribed lost secrets of old.

"You put your faith in wood and stone?" Joshua asked. "Then let this stone, under the oak, stand as a witness against you. It has heard every word you have said here, and will testify against you, should you prove unfaithful to HaShem."

Silence followed, after which Joshua turned to Phinehas and received from him the Torah. Out of this he read to them the full Torah and all of its decrees, even as he had done from Mount Ebal. Once all was done, a new covenant was made: now that the land had been given them and most of their war-fare was done - though they had not driven the Canaanites out of the land fully - they were to continue to keep the Torah and to obey the HaShem of El-Shaddai in all things.

The covenant made, the word given
The sojourn is done, a nation has risen

THE END

(AN: Not my best poetry ever, but I needed a good way to end the story. Salmon and Boaz originally was going to be at the very end, but then I decided that, since, in the Tanakh, at least, they were sent out to take their inheritance, did battle, had their time of peace, and then came Joshua's farewell. As such, the scene with Salmon and Boaz must have happened first [at least in this story]. Chapter title is from Candlemass song "Under the Oak" [don't sue me, I don't own that!].)

(As far as when HaShem originated, that was artistic license. Most likely, it came about from the volumes of long, arduous commentary, discussion and rabbinical debate known as the Talmud. They looked and looked over the words of old and came to the conclusion that God was too holy to be called by the Tetragrammaton [YHVH], so they came up with nonsense words, or called Him "the Name". [another reason I want to re-edit Joshua, to have the actual euphemism "HaShem" instead of the ridiculous nonsense word I had originally used].)

(Whew! I'm finally finished with this great epic! Took me a while, but I left Egypt and am now in the Promised Land. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it [and re-reading it, lol]. Until I undertake my next Biblical epic, take care.)