Deuteronomy 20:1-4

Laws Concerning War with Distant Enemies

20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry ¹  and troops ²  who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you. 20:2 As you move forward for battle, the priest ³  will approach and say to the soldiers, ⁴  20:3 “Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them, 20:4 for the Lord your God goes with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies to give you victory.” ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 31:3-6

31:3 As for the Lord your God, he is about to cross over before you; he will destroy these nations before you and dispossess them. As for Joshua, he is about to cross before you just as the Lord has said. 31:4 The Lord will do to them just what he did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and to their land, which he destroyed. 31:5 The Lord will deliver them over to you and you will do to them according to the whole commandment I have given you. 31:6 Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!”

Joshua 1:2-5

1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! ⁶  Cross the Jordan River! ⁷  Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. ⁸  1:3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. ⁹  1:4 Your territory will extend from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all of Syria) ¹⁰  and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea ¹¹  in the west. ¹²  1:5 No one will be able to resist you ¹³  all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone.

Joshua 1:2

1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! ¹⁴  Cross the Jordan River! ¹⁵  Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. ¹⁶ 

Joshua 6:1

6:1 Now Jericho ¹⁷  was shut tightly ¹⁸  because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter. ¹⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “horse and chariot.”

² tn Heb “people.”

³ sn The reference to the priest suggests also the presence of the ark of the covenant, the visible sign of God’s presence. The whole setting is clearly that of “holy war” or “Yahweh war,” in which God himself takes initiative as the true commander of the forces of Israel (cf. Exod 14:14-18; 15:3-10; Deut 3:22; 7:18-24; 31:6, 8).

⁴ tn Heb “and he will say to the people.” Cf. NIV, NCV, CEV “the army”; NRSV, NLT “the troops.”

⁵ tn Or “to save you” (so KJV, NASB, NCV); or “to deliver you.”

⁶ tn Heb “Get up!”

⁷ tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).

⁸ tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”

⁹ tn Heb “Every place on which the sole of your foot walks, to you I have given it, as I said to Moses.” The second person pronouns in vv. 3-4 are plural, indicating that all the people are addressed here. The verbal form נְתַתִּיו (nÿtattiv, “I have given it”) is probably a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Another option is to translate, “I have already assigned it.” In this case the verb would probably refer to the Lord’s decree to Abraham that he would give this land to his descendants.

¹⁰ tn Heb “all the land of the Hittites.” The expression “the land of the Hittites” does not refer to Anatolia (modern Turkey), where the ancient Hittite kingdom of the second millennium b.c. was located, but rather to Syria, the “Hatti land” mentioned in inscriptions of the first millennium b.c. (see HALOT 1:363). The phrase is omitted in the LXX and may be a scribal addition.

¹¹ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

¹² tn Heb “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, even to the great sea [at] the place where the sun sets, your territory will be.”

¹³ tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.

¹⁴ tn Heb “Get up!”

¹⁵ tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).

¹⁶ tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”

¹⁷ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁸ tn Heb “was shutting and shut up.” HALOT 2:743 paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”

¹⁹ tn Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”