Joshua 24:17

17 Our Lord God himself led us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servage, and did great signs in our sight; and he kept us (safe) in all the way, by which we went, and in all peoples, by which we passed; (The Lord our God himself led us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude, or of slavery, and did great miracles before us; and he kept us safe on all the way, by which we went, and among all the peoples, through whom we passed;)

Joshua 24:17 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:17

For the Lord our God, he [it is] that brought us up and our
fathers, out of the land of Egypt
When Pharaoh, the king of it, refused to let them go, yet he wrought such wonders in it and inflicted such plagues on it, as obliged Pharaoh and his people to dismiss them:

from the house of bondage:
where they were held in the greatest thraldom and slavery, and their lives made bitter and miserable:

and which did those great signs in our sight;
meaning the wonders and marvellous things wrought before Pharaoh and his people, and in the sight of Israel, ( Psalms 78:11 Psalms 78:43 ) ; though Abarbinel is of opinion it refers to what had been done in their sight of late in the land of Canaan, as the dividing of the waters of Jordan, the fall of the walls of Jericho, the standing still of the sun in Gibeon; but this seems not so well to agree with what follows:

and preserved us in all the way wherein we went:
in the wilderness from serpents and scorpions, and beasts of prey, and from all dangers from every quarter:

and among all the people through whom we passed;
through whose borders they passed, as the Edomites, Moabites, and Amorites; though the above writer seems to understand it of preservation from the dangers of their enemies in the land of Canaan.

Joshua 24:17 In-Context

15 But if it seemeth evil to you, that ye serve the Lord, choosing is given to you; choose ye to you today that, that pleaseth, whom ye ought most to serve; whether to gods, which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, whether to the gods of Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; forsooth I, and mine house, shall serve the Lord. (But if it seemeth onerous to you, that ye serve the Lord, choosing is given to you; choose ye today what pleaseth you, whom ye ought most to serve; whether the gods, which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye live; but I, and my house, shall serve the Lord.)
16 And all the people answered, and said, Far be it from us that we forsake the Lord, and serve alien gods (and serve foreign, or other, gods).
17 Our Lord God himself led us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servage, and did great signs in our sight; and he kept us (safe) in all the way, by which we went, and in all peoples, by which we passed; (The Lord our God himself led us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude, or of slavery, and did great miracles before us; and he kept us safe on all the way, by which we went, and among all the peoples, through whom we passed;)
18 and he casted out all folks, Amorites, the dwellers of the land, into which we entered. Therefore we shall serve the Lord, for he is our Lord God. (and he threw out the Amorites, and all the other people, who lived in the land, into which we entered. And so we shall serve the Lord, for he is the Lord our God.)
19 And Joshua said to the people, Ye may not serve the Lord; for God is holy, and a strong fervent lover, and he forgiveth not your trespasses and sins. (But Joshua said to the people, Ye shall not be able to serve the Lord; for God is holy, and a jealous God, and he will not forgive your trespasses and sins.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.