=Gaining a foothold east of the Jordan.=—­All these years of wandering were spent mostly in the desert south of Canaan.  Later they worked their way around the lower end of the Dead Sea to the east toward what was later known as the land of Gilead, on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

This region is very fertile and was always noted in Bible times for its fat cattle.  But its rolling plains lie open and defenseless toward the desert.  Here under Moses’ leadership the Hebrews were able to conquer one or two of the petty local chieftains, and thus gained a foothold from which they might some time make a sally across the River Jordan into central Canaan itself.

=The death of Moses.=—­In this eastern country Moses died.  According to the Hebrew story, Jehovah gave him a view of the land of Canaan from one of the high mountains overlooking the Jordan River, after which death came.  And “no man knoweth of his sepulcher to this day.”  He had been loyal to the divine call which had come to him so long ago in a flame which “burned and did not consume,” loyal to the mother who had taught him amid the luxuries of an Egyptian palace not to forget his own people and their sorrows.  He had led his people out of Egypt and its slavery in defiance of the proud and mighty Pharaoh.  And he had taught them to turn to Jehovah as God of justice and to worship only him.

THE INVASION OF CANAAN FROM THE EAST

It was not long after the settlement east of the Jordan that the Hebrews began to make raids across the river, in part under the leadership of one of Moses’ lieutenants, Joshua.  The first town they captured was Jericho, down in the hot valley of the Jordan River, a few miles north of the Dead Sea.  They had friends within the city, a woman named Rahab and her family.  Since this was the first city captured it was considered to be sacred to Jehovah.  The pity of it is that, in accordance with the standards of that day, this meant the ruthless slaughter of every living thing within its walls, including men, women, and little children.

=New conquests.=—­In these early raids some tribes, led by the men of Judah, went southwest and captured a few towns in the mountains west of the Dead Sea.  Others, led by the strong tribe of Ephraim, went northwest.  Throughout their later history, these were always the two leading tribes, Judah in the south, and Ephraim in the north.  After the victories of the fighting men, the women and children and flocks would follow.

We can imagine these rough warriors, with their untrained boys and girls, swarming into the houses of these little towns and villages.  Most of them had never been inside a house before; and they would be eager to look at the furniture and to know the uses of the many strange things:  for example, the jar of lye for cleaning, the perfumes on the stand, the earthen vessels for water and milk, the lamps, the baskets made of twigs, the pots for boiling broth, the oven for baking, in the door yard, and the wine press on the hillside where the grapes were trodden at the time of grape harvest.