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Joshua 23

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Joshua Gathers Israel’s Leaders 1–5

1
And it came to pass after many days, when Jehovah had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old and well stricken in years; ​
2
that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and well stricken in years: ​
3
and ye have seen all that Jehovah your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for Jehovah your God, he it is that hath fought for you. ​
4
Behold, I have allotted unto you these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun. ​
5
And Jehovah your God, he will thrust them out from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as Jehovah your God spake unto you.

Exhortation to Complete Obedience 6–10

6
Therefore be ye very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; ​
7
that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves unto them; ​
8
but cleave unto Jehovah your God, as ye have done unto this day. ​
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For Jehovah hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath stood before you unto this day.
10
One man of you shall chase a thousand; for Jehovah your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he spake unto you. ​

Warning Against Apostasy and Intermarriage 11–13

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Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love Jehovah your God. ​
12
Else if ye do at all go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you; ​
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know for a certainty that Jehovah your God will no more drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap unto you, and a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which Jehovah your God hath given you. ​

Joshua’s Final Testimony and Covenant Warning 14–16

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And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which Jehovah your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, not one thing hath failed thereof. ​
15
And it shall come to pass, that as all the good things are come upon you of which Jehovah your God spake unto you, so will Jehovah bring upon you all the evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which Jehovah your God hath given you. ​
16
When ye transgress the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them; then will the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Joshua 23

Verse 1

given rest — Nuach, to settle down, the word of 21:44, 'the LORD gave them rest round about', and of Moses' promise of 'rest from all your enemies round about' once they dwelt in the land (Deut 12:10). Joshua's old age comes after that rest; he dies at 'an hundred and ten years old' (24:29).

Verse 2

elders… heads… judges… officers — The same four groups are summoned to Shechem in 24:1, so the farewell speaks to all Israel through its leaders. Moses had done likewise before his death: 'Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears' (Deut 31:28).

Verse 3

hath fought for you — Lacham, the verb of Moses' promise at the sea, 'The LORD shall fight for you' (Ex 14:14). The conquest bore it out: at Gibeon 'the LORD fought for Israel' (10:14). Joshua points to what the elders had 'seen', so the charge that follows rests on Israel's own memory.

Verse 4

divided unto you by lot — The verb is naphal, to cause to fall, as a lot falls; Joshua cast the lots 'in Shiloh before the LORD' (18:10). The land is spoken of as allotted even where 'these nations that remain' still dwell, stretching 'from Jordan' to 'the great sea westward'.

Verse 6

very courageous — The Hebrew is chazaq, to be strong, the word translated 'strong' in the charge Joshua himself received: 'Only be thou strong and very courageous… turn not from it to the right hand or to the left' (1:7). He now gives Israel the same charge, with the same law of Moses as its object.

Verse 7

make mention of the name of their gods — Five acts are forbidden: coming among them, mentioning, swearing by, serving, bowing. The first rule is Ex 23:13, 'make no mention of the name of other gods'. Swearing by them is the charge in Jer 5:7, 'sworn by them that are no gods'.

Verse 8

cleave — Dabaq, to cling, the verb of Gen 2:24, where a man 'shall cleave unto his wife', and of Moses' command, 'to him shalt thou cleave' (Deut 10:20). 'As ye have done unto this day' is borne out by 24:31, 'Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua'. Verse 12 uses the same verb for the wrong attachment.

Verse 10

chase a thousand — The promise is older than Joshua: 'five of you shall chase an hundred' (Lev 26:8). Moses' song describes the reverse, where a thousand are put to flight only because 'their Rock had sold them' (Deut 32:30). The reason here is the verb of v.3: the LORD 'fighteth for you, as he hath promised'.

Verse 11

Take good heed — Literally 'take heed greatly for your souls' (nephesh), the self as a whole. Shamar, 'heed', is the keeping verb of v.6, 'to keep and to do'. The aim named is 'that ye love the LORD your God', as in 22:5, where love heads the list of duties and cleaving follows.

Verse 12

make marriages — Chathan, in a reflexive stem, to ally oneself by marriage; Moses had forbidden it: 'Neither shalt thou make marriages with them' (Deut 7:3). 'Go back' is shub stated twice in Hebrew, which the KJV renders 'in any wise'. 'Cleave' is the verb of v.8 turned to the wrong object.

Verse 13

snares and traps — Four pictures: snares (pach), traps (moqesh), scourges, thorns. The LORD had said of any left in the land that they 'shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides' (Num 33:55). The angel at Bochim repeats it, 'as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you' (Judg 2:3).

Verse 14

the way of all the earth — Joshua speaks of his own death in the words David later used, 'I go the way of all the earth' (1 Kings 2:2). 'Failed' is naphal, to fall, as in 21:45: 'There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken'. Here he calls the elders themselves as witnesses.

Verse 15

all evil things — The LORD's word included warnings as well as blessings. Because the 'good things' have come, the 'evil things' stand equally sure; they are the curses set out in Deut 28:15, 'all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee'. Dabar, 'things', is also the Hebrew word for 'word'.

Verse 16

transgressed the covenant — Abar, to pass over a boundary, the word of 7:11, where the LORD says of Achan's sin, 'they have also transgressed my covenant'. The sin is named at once: serving other gods and bowing to them. 'Perish quickly' (meherah) is Moses' warning in Deut 11:17, 'perish quickly from off the good land'.