Homilies on Joshua

About this work

In the Homilies on Joshua, Origen unfolds the story of the Christian life from baptism to resurrection and the celestial rewards, basing his exposition on the death of Moses, the crossing of the Jordan, and the conquest of Palestine. The death of Moses becomes the death of the Law, and the destruction of the temple and its sacrifices reveals their nature as shadows and types that fade away when the Morning Sun appears. With particular care and emphasis, Origen draws parallels between the leader of the old congregation and the leader of the new; between Joshua, the son of Nun, and Jesus, the Son of God.

Barbara J. Bruce, introduction to Homilies on Joshua, by Origen, trans. Barbara J. Bruce, ed. Cynthia White, Fathers of the Church 105 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2002), 20.