Yosua 23:1-4

Joshua Challenges Israel to be Faithful

23:1 A long time ¹  passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies, ²  and Joshua was very old. ³  23:2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old. 23:3 You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you. ⁴  23:4 See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations, ⁵  from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea ⁶  in the west, including all the nations I defeated. ⁷ 

[23:1]  ¹ tn Heb “many days.”

[23:1]  ² tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”

[23:1]  ³ tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.

[23:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”

[23:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.”

[23:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[23:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the Jordan and all the nations which I cut off and the Great Sea [at] the place where the sun sets.” The relationship of the second half of the verse, which mentions nations already conquered, to the first half, which speaks of “remaining nations,” is difficult to understand.