[color=#0000FF]8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.[/color] (NKJV) Joshua was originally called Hoshea. It is Moses who gives Hoshea the new name of Joshua. This is not the only instance of people having their names changed in the Bible. Abram and Sarai became Abraham and Sarah. Jacob became Israel. When Rachel gave birth to her second (and last) son, she named him Ben-oni (son of my pain) because of the difficulty of the labor. Rachel died as a result of that childbirth. But Jacob named his 12th and last son, Benjamin (son of my right hand). In the New Testament, Levi became Matthew. Simon was called Peter. And Saul was called Paul. One might expect to see references to Hoshea, son of Nun before this point in Scripture then. But that is not so. Joshua is mentioned in Scripture earlier. He battles the Amalekites. He waits for Moses at Mount Sinai. He waits for Moses outside the Tent of Meeting. There is no reference at all to his being called Hoshea. Why note the name change here?