From the period following the World War II, many scholars viewed Joshua as part of a large historical work, the Deuteronomistic History, extending from Deuteronomy through 2 Kings; this work is viewed as separate from the first four books (Genesis through Numbers), which were called the Tetrateuch (four books). This view downplayed connections with the Pentateuchal sources and stressed the book’s connections in vocabulary and theology with Deuteronomy and the following books of the Former Prophets.
