Joshua Son of Nun: Family Tree and Tribal Lineage

The Bible never identifies Joshua casually. He is "Joshua the son of Nun" — a name that carries a tribe, a line, and a quiet inheritance of faith. Day 120 of the Bible in One Year plan.

By Cruzsilla Gutiérrez·May 4, 2026

The verse

"From the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun." Numbers 13:8 (ESV)

And the genealogy in Chronicles, which traces the family tree all the way back to Joseph through Ephraim:

"Non his son, Joshua his son." 1 Chronicles 7:27 (ESV)

Context

Genealogies are the part of the Bible most modern readers skip. Yet Scripture preserves Joshua son of Nun's family tree with care. Numbers 13 names him by tribe at the moment of the twelve spies. Numbers 13:16 records the name change from Hoshea to Joshua. And tucked inside the dense Chronicles list is the patient genealogy of Ephraim that produces, in its tenth generation, the man who will lead Israel into the Promised Land.

The line in 1 Chronicles 7:20-27 reads: Ephraim → Shuthelah → Bered → Tahath → Eleadah → Tahath → Zabad → Shuthelah (and the lineage notes Beriah's separate line) → Rephah → Resheph → Telah → Tahan → Ladan → Ammihud → Elishama → Nun → Joshua. The Hebrew genealogies sometimes branch and the precise order of generations is debated by scholars; what is clear is the destination — Joshua — and the source — Joseph, through Ephraim.

What it means

Tribe. Joshua belongs to the tribe of Ephraim, the younger of Joseph's two sons. Genesis 48 records Jacob's strange blessing — crossing his hands to give Ephraim the greater portion despite Manasseh's birth order. Centuries later, Ephraim has grown into one of the most prominent northern tribes, sometimes used (in prophets like Hosea) as a poetic name for the entire northern kingdom of Israel.

Father. Nun. We know almost nothing about him. Yet his name is preserved every time Joshua's is spoken — "Joshua the son of Nun" appears more than two dozen times in the Old Testament. The fingerprints of a faithful father can be invisible in the public record and unmistakable in the life of his son.

Forefather. Joseph. The line goes back to the second-favored son of Jacob who was sold into Egypt, rose to second only to Pharaoh, and saved Israel from famine. Through Joseph's son Ephraim, the family tree extends across four hundred years of slavery and forty years of wilderness, and arrives finally at Joshua, who closes the loop by leading Israel home.

Name. Numbers 13:16 records that Moses changed Hoshea's name to Joshua. The change is deliberate. "Hoshea" means salvation; "Joshua" — Yehoshua — means "the LORD is salvation." It is the same name that, in Greek, becomes Iēsous — Jesus. Joshua's family tree bends, in the providence of God, toward the greater Joshua who will save not Canaan but the world.

What the genealogy teaches the reader is that God works through generations. Joshua did not appear from nowhere. He inherited a tribal identity, a father's name, and a thousand years of grace from God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. By the time he stood at the Jordan, the river was the only thing left to cross. The slow weather of providence had done all the rest.

The same is true for any believer. You inherit a family tree — biological and spiritual — that has shaped you in ways you will only see slowly. Faithful parents leave deposits of grace that show up in their children long after the parents are gone. Faithless ones leave deficits that grace can still cover, but that the next generation must consciously address.

How to apply it

1. Trace your spiritual lineage. Who first prayed for you? Who taught you a verse? Their names probably won't be in any book; thank God for them.
2. Be a Nun in someone's life. You may never make the headlines. Your faithfulness can still produce a Joshua in the next generation.
3. Honor the line. Don't pretend you arrived at faith on your own. Most believers stand on the shoulders of forgotten parents, grandparents, pastors, and friends.
4. Break the line where needed. If your family tree has roots of unbelief or sin, Christ can graft you in (Romans 11). Generational patterns are real but not destiny.
5. Plant for a tree you may not see. Pray for grandchildren you don't have yet. The harvest may come long after you are gone.

Related verses

• Genesis 48:19-20 — Jacob blesses Ephraim above Manasseh, setting the tribe's later prominence.
• Numbers 13:16 — "And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua."
• Joshua 1:1-2 — "Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan."
• 1 Chronicles 7:27 — "Non his son, Joshua his son."
• Hebrews 11:30-31 — Faith of the generation that crossed under Joshua's leadership.

Reflection

The Bible takes the trouble to record Joshua's family tree because God takes the trouble to remember faithful generations. You may feel small, midway through your own family's story. So did Nun. The Lord remembers the names that history forgets.

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