Deuteronomy 33:1

Introduction to the Blessing of Moses

33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

Joshua 6:26

6:26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: ¹  “The man who attempts to rebuild ²  this city of Jericho ³  will stand condemned before the Lord. ⁴  He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!” ⁵ 

Joshua 6:1

6:1 Now Jericho ⁶  was shut tightly ⁷  because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter. ⁸ 

Joshua 24:19

24:19 Joshua warned ⁹  the people, “You will not keep worshiping ¹⁰  the Lord, for ¹¹  he is a holy God. ¹²  He is a jealous God who will not forgive ¹³  your rebellion or your sins.

¹ tn Normally the Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) has a causative sense (“make [someone] take an oath”; see Josh 2:17, 20), but here (see also Josh 23:7) no object is stated or implied. If Joshua is calling divine judgment down upon the one who attempts to rebuild Jericho, then “make a solemn appeal [to God as judge]” or “pronounce a curse” would be an appropriate translation. However, the tone seems stronger. Joshua appears to be announcing the certain punishment of the violator. 1 Kgs 16:34, which records the fulfillment of Joshua’s prediction, supports this. Casting Joshua in a prophetic role, it refers to Joshua’s statement as the “word of the Lord” spoken through Joshua.

² tn Heb “rises up and builds.”

³ tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.

⁴ tn The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (’arur lifney yÿhvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the Lord”) also occurs in 1 Sam 26:19.

⁵ tn Heb “With his firstborn he will lay its foundations and with his youngest he will erect its gates.” The Hebrew verb יַצִּיב (yatsiv, “he will erect”) is imperfect, not jussive, suggesting Joshua’s statement is a prediction, not an imprecation.

⁶ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

⁷ tn Heb “was shutting and shut up.” HALOT 2:743 paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”

⁸ tn Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”

⁹ tn Heb “said to.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

¹¹ sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

¹² tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.

¹³ tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”