Moses appears here uniquely as a model for leadership transition rather than his typical role as lawgiver, with "servant" repeated four times to bridge his obedience with Joshua's calling.
Joshua 1
The Lord's Commission to Joshua
1Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying,
2“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel.
3I have given you every place that the sole of your foot will tread on, as I told Moses.
4From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
5No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
6“Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
7Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
8This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.
9Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua Commands the People
10Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
11“Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess.’”
12Joshua spoke to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, saying,
13“Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.
14Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall live in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but you shall pass over before your brothers armed, all the mighty men of valor, and shall help them
15until the LORD has given your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they have also possessed the land which the LORD your God gives them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and possess it, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.’”
16They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
17Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses.
18Whoever rebels against your commandment, and doesn’t listen to your words in all that you command him shall himself be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
Font Size 17pt
Line Spacing
Theme
Following Moses' death, God commissions Joshua as Israel's new leader, promising divine presence and success in conquering the Promised Land. God emphasizes the importance of courage, obedience to the Law, and meditation on Scripture for prosperity. Joshua immediately begins organizing the people for the Jordan crossing, securing commitment from the eastern tribes to assist in the conquest before settling in their allocated territories.
Context
This chapter marks the crucial transition from Moses' leadership to Joshua's, setting the stage for Israel's conquest of Canaan that dominates the rest of the book.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-4 God's Promise of the Land God defines the extensive boundaries of the territory He is giving to Israel through Joshua's leadership.
- 5-9 Divine Assurance and Commands God promises His presence and commands Joshua to be strong, courageous, and faithful to the Law.
- 10-11 Preparation for Crossing Joshua orders the people to prepare provisions for crossing the Jordan within three days.
- 12-15 Instructions to Eastern Tribes Joshua reminds the tribes settling east of Jordan of their obligation to help conquer the western territories.
- 16-18 The People's Commitment The eastern tribes pledge complete obedience to Joshua's leadership and affirm his authority.
The Lord's Commission to Joshua
1:1–1:9 narrative speech solemn
God commissions Joshua as Moses' successor, promising divine presence and success if he courageously follows the law. The passage establishes Joshua's authority and emphasizes obedience to God's commands as the key to prosperity.
person_contrast
Moses appears here uniquely as a model for leadership transition rather than his typical role as lawgiver, with "servant" repeated four times to bridge his obedience with Joshua's calling.
Joshua Commands the People
1:10–1:18 narrative instruction urgent
Joshua commands the people to prepare for crossing the Jordan and reminds the eastern tribes of their commitment to help their brothers. The people pledge complete obedience to Joshua's leadership as they had to Moses.
person_contrast
Joshua's threefold repetition of "cross over armed" (verses 14-15) uniquely transforms military language into covenant obligation, binding Israel's eastern tribes to their western brothers through shared warfare rather than shared territory.
Insights
Joshua's threefold repetition of "cross over armed" (verses 14-15) uniquely transforms military language into covenant obligation, binding Israel's eastern tribes to their western brothers through shared warfare rather than shared territory.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Joshua 1:1 2 references
Joshua 1:3 1 reference
Joshua 1:4 5 references
Lexicals 5
Deuteronomy 11:24 Lexical
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the r…
Deuteronomy 1:7 Lexical
Turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there: in the Arabah,…
Exodus 23:31 Lexical
I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I…
1 Chronicles 5:9 Lexical
and he lived eastward even to the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, because their livestock were mult…
Joshua 9:1 Lexical
When all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, and in the lowland, and on all the shore of the grea…
Joshua 1:6 3 references
Lexicals 3
Deuteronomy 31:7 Lexical
Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with thi…
Deuteronomy 3:28 Lexical
But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall caus…
Deuteronomy 31:23 Lexical
He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel i…
Joshua 1:7 5 references
Lexicals 5
Joshua 23:6 Lexical
“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn a…
Deuteronomy 17:11 Lexical
According to the decisions of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell yo…
Deuteronomy 17:20 Lexical
that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn away from the commandment to the right hand, or…
Genesis 48:14 Lexical
Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s…
Judges 7:20 Lexical
The three companies blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in…
Joshua 1:8 5 references
Lexicals 5
Psalms 1:2 Lexical
but his delight is in the LORD’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
1 Kings 2:3 Lexical
and keep the instruction of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinanc…
2 Kings 23:24 Lexical
Moreover, Josiah removed those who had familiar spirits, the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abomi…
Exodus 13:22 Lexical
the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, didn’t depart from before the people.
Daniel 9:13 Lexical
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us. Yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our…
Joshua 1:9 5 references
Lexicals 5
Deuteronomy 31:6 Lexical
Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will…
Joshua 10:25 Lexical
Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all your…
2 Chronicles 32:7 Lexical
“Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude who is…
1 Chronicles 22:13 Lexical
Then you will prosper, if you observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which the LORD gave Moses concerning Israel.…
1 Chronicles 28:20 Lexical
David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD God,…
Joshua 1:11 1 reference
Joshua 1:12 5 references
Lexicals 5
1 Chronicles 5:26 Lexical
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria, a…
Joshua 12:6 Lexical
Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel struck them. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a posses…
Joshua 22:1 Lexical
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
Numbers 34:14 Lexical
for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, the tribe of the children of Gad according t…
1 Chronicles 26:32 Lexical
His relatives, men of valor, were two thousand seven hundred, heads of fathers’ households, whom King David made oversee…
Joshua 1:14 3 references
Lexicals 3
Numbers 31:9 Lexical
The children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones; and all their livestock, all their flock…
1 Chronicles 28:1 Lexical
David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, the captains of the companies who served the king…
1 Chronicles 26:30 Lexical
Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, one thousand seven hundred men of valor, had the oversight of Israel beyo…
Joshua 1:15 5 references
Lexicals 5
Deuteronomy 3:20 Lexical
until the LORD gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God gives them…
Deuteronomy 4:47 Lexical
They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the J…
Joshua 12:1 Lexical
Now these are the kings of the land, whom the children of Israel struck, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan towa…
Deuteronomy 4:41 Lexical
Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise,
Joshua 12:7 Lexical
These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the children of Israel struck beyond the Jordan westward, from Baal Gad…
Interlinear
Word-by-word original language
v. 1
v. 2
v. 3
v. 4
v. 5
v. 6
v. 7
v. 8
v. 9
v. 10
v. 11
v. 12
v. 13
v. 14
v. 15
v. 16
v. 17
v. 18
Lemma
Morphology
Semantic Range
Theological Significance
Translation Notes
Key Passages
Historical Context
Places and events in this chapter
Loading map...