Hebrews 4:8

8 If Joshua had given the people the rest that God had promised, God would not have spoken later about another day. ¹

Hebrews 4:8 Meaning and Commentary

Hebrews 4:8

For if Jesus had given them rest
That is, Joshua; for Hosheah, Joshua, and Jesus, are one and the same name; or Jesus himself, as two of Stephens's copies read; and so Joshua is called Jesus by the Septuagint interpreters on ( Exodus 17:10 ) ( 24:13 ) and other places where he is mentioned; and also, by Josephus ^F8, and Philo

---

FOOTNOTES:

F9 the Jew. The Syriac version, lest any should mistake this for Jesus Christ, adds, "the son of Nun": who is certainly the person designed, as the apostle's reasoning shows; who was an eminent type of Jesus Christ: there is an agreement in their names, both signify a saviour, Joshua was a temporal saviour, Christ a spiritual one; and in their office they were both servants; and in their qualifications for their office, such as wisdom, courage, faithfulness, and integrity. Joshua was a type of Christ in many actions of his life; in the miracles he wrought, or were wrought for him; in the battles he fought, and the victories he obtained; in saving Rahab and her family; in receiving the Gibeonites, who came submissively to him; and in leading the children of Israel into Canaan's land, which he divided to them by lot: but though he brought them into a land of rest, into the typical rest, where they had rest for a while from their temporal enemies, yet he did not give them the true spiritual rest: had he,

then would he not afterward have spoken of another day;
that is, God, in David's time, and by him, would not have so long after appointed another day of rest; meaning, not any particular day of the week, but the whole Gospel dispensation, in the times of the Messiah; wherefore the apostle concludes as follows.

F8 Antiqu. Jud. l. 4. c. 7. sect. 2. c. 8. sect. 46, 47, 48. & l. 5. c. 1. sect. 1. & passim.
F9 De Charitate, p. 698, 699, 700.

Hebrews 4:8 In-Context

6 Those who first heard the Good News did not receive that rest, because they did not believe. There are, then, others who are allowed to receive it.

7 This is shown by the fact that God sets another day, which is called "Today." Many years later he spoke of it through David in the scripture already quoted: "If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn."

8 If Joshua had given the people the rest that God had promised, God would not have spoken later about another day.

9 As it is, however, there still remains for God's people a rest like God's resting on the seventh day.

10 For those who receive that rest which God promised will rest from their own work, just as God rested from his.

Cross References

• 1. 4.8Deuteronomy 31.7;Joshua 22.4.