Joshua 1 Study Notes

1:1 The death of Moses created a leadership vacuum. Moses’s epithet, Lord’s servant, was first applied at his death (Dt 34:5) as this epithet would first be applied to Joshua at his death (Jos 24:29). Used rarely in the earlier part of the Bible as an evaluation of a person’s life, it became more common and was enhanced by Jesus (Jn 15:15), although Paul retained the title (Rm 1:1). Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant, identifies Joshua as the one who had been with Moses since Ex 17. “Assistant” (cp. Ex 24:13) translates a different term than “servant.”

1:2 God commanded Joshua to prepare the people to cross over the Jordan. The key words cross over (Hb ‘avar) ties this section together. The fact that all the people were involved emphasizes the importance of unity among the people of God. God emphasized that the land was something he was giving the Israelites; it was God’s grace, not the efforts of the Israelites, that provided the land.

1:3 Repeating the emphasis on the land as God’s gift, it now included every place where the sole of your foot treads. Although the “promised land” is normally understood as something that God promised Abram, Isaac, and Jacob (Gn 12:1-3), here God attached the promise to Moses. Deuteronomy 34:4 refers to this promise made to Moses (Ex 3). The extension of Moses’s promise to Joshua further establishes him as successor.

1:4 This wilderness is not the land of wandering. The term is used in 8:15,20 and 12:8 to describe the area east of Ai and the “desert” region of Judah in the south. It thus designates the southern part of the promised land. Lebanon (“white”) refers to the mountains north of Israel in the modern land of that name. The land of the Hittites seems not to refer to the Hittite Empire of modern Turkey but the Egyptian and later Assyrian usage of this term to describe the region controlled by the Hittites in the western part of modern Syria. These lands and boundaries identify Canaan as it was known both to the Bible (Gn 10:19; Nm 13:17,21-22; 34:3-12) and to Egyptian writers of the second millennium BC.

1:5 The reference to as long as you live looks to the end of Joshua’s life, concluding this “Table of Contents” in vv. 2-5. The promise I will not leave you anticipates the plea of Gibeon in 10:6, “Don’t give up on your servants,” using the same expression. Likewise the verb abandon occurs again in Joshua, in Israel’s promise of loyalty to God (24:16,20). This verse forms a hinge, concluding the previous sections of promises and introducing the next section of responsibilities. God’s promise of his presence occurs again in 1:9 and thus provides an envelope to 1:6-9. All the responsibilities of these verses depend on God’s presence that guarantees the mission’s success, just as Christ’s presence enables his disciples to achieve their mission (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15,20; Ac 1:8).

1:6 God’s command, Be strong and courageous, already spoken by Moses to Israel (Dt 31:6), appears three times here (Jos 1:7,9). The expression is used before great undertakings like David’s charge to Solomon to build the temple (1Ch 28:20), King Hezekiah’s encouragement to his subjects to withstand the enemy’s siege (2Ch 32:7), and Joshua’s own charge to Israel to fight (Jos 10:25).

1:7 The word success (Hb sakal; cp. succeed in v. 8) is found frequently in the Wisdom literature to describe one’s mastery of the world and insight into its challenges (“prudent” in Pr 1:3). The whole instruction (Hb torah) describes God’s revelation in the form of the previous books of the law of Moses.

1:8 Two more references to the instruction affirm the key importance of God’s revelation. Study and learning of it are to form so much a part of one’s life that the words are fully obeyed as in Dt 6:6-9. The stylistic frame of God’s promised presence in Jos 1:5,9 indicates that Joshua’s success will come because God is with him, enabling him to read and observe God’s Word (Eph 2:8-10).

1:9 This is the third command to be strong and courageous. Moses also commanded the people twice not to be afraid or discouraged (Dt 1:21; 31:8).

1:10 Joshua assumed leadership of the people. These officers were equivalent to “foremen” in Egypt (Ex 5:6-19). The title was used for judges and those with other responsibilities (Dt 1:15-18; 20:5-9). They formed a secular or civil counterpart to the priests.

1:11 The expression go through uses the key words cross over from v. 2. Thus passing through the camp serves as further preparation for crossing the Jordan. The provisions and the three days recall the previous generation’s crossing of the Red Sea where the people had no time for preparation and took unleavened bread (Ex 12-15). This time there will be sufficient time to prepare. The three days may also anticipate the length of time that the spies stayed west of the Jordan River (Jos 2:22).

1:12-18 This latter section seems out of place in the first chapter. Why are the two and one-half tribes singled out for this attention? Joshua needed to be recognized as the leader by all Israel, not just part of it, if he was to fulfill God’s plan (v. 2). Reuben, Gad, and the eastern part of Manasseh had already received their land allotment from Moses. They had no incentive to follow Joshua across the Jordan River and risk their lives, unlike their fellow tribes who had yet to take possession of their land. Joshua must persuade these two and one-half tribes to follow him, or Israel would be divided and the mission compromised.

1:13-15 Joshua quoted Moses’s word from Dt 3:18-20. The Lord gave these tribes their land east of the Jordan River on the condition that they would follow their fellow tribes across the Jordan River and fight with them. Joshua emphasized the theme of rest and how, by crossing over ahead of your brothers, these warriors would be in a position to help them. These points emphasized the goal of rest for the land and people (11:23; 14:15) and the importance of all Israel working together to achieve the common goal.

1:16-18 This entire statement takes the form of an oath in which promises are made and a curse is invoked upon any who do not carry out their promises.

1:16-17 The affirmation includes three phrases that include the words everything . . . everywhere, emphasizing the totality of obedience. The blessing they offered recognized that Joshua had indeed succeeded Moses.

1:18 Rebels is used of Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh-barnea (Dt 1:26; 9:23), of the nation’s history (9:7,24; 31:27), and of the rebellious son (21:18-21). All these end in death, as here. The expression will be put to death was a legal formula for capital punishment, as found in Ex 21:12 and throughout the law.