Genesis 45:5

45:5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, ¹  for God sent me ²  ahead of you to preserve life!

Genesis 45:7

45:7 God sent me ³  ahead of you to preserve you ⁴  on the earth and to save your lives ⁵  by a great deliverance.

Genesis 45:11

45:11 I will provide you with food ⁶  there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’

Genesis 47:12

47:12 Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household, according to the number of their little children.

Genesis 50:21

50:21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly ⁷  to them.

Numbers 27:16-18

27:16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humankind, ⁸  appoint ⁹  a man over the community, 27:17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them, ¹⁰  and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that ¹¹  the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

27:18 The Lord replied ¹²  to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is such a spirit, ¹³  and lay your hand on him; ¹⁴ 

Deuteronomy 34:9

The Epitaph of Moses

34:9 Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him; ¹⁵  and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses.

Joshua 1:1-9

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! ¹⁶  Cross the Jordan River! ¹⁷  Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. ¹⁸  1:3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. ¹⁹  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) ²⁰  and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea ²¹  in the west. ²²  1:5 No one will be able to resist you ²³  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. 1:6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. ²⁴  1:7 Make sure you are ²⁵  very strong and brave! Carefully obey ²⁶  all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! ²⁷  Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful ²⁸  in all you do. ²⁹  1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips! ³⁰  You must memorize it ³¹  day and night so you can carefully obey ³²  all that is written in it. Then you will prosper ³³  and be successful. ³⁴  1:9 I repeat, ³⁵  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, ³⁶  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” ³⁷ 

Joshua 24:1-33

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

24:1 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God. 24:2 Joshua told all the people, “Here is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘In the distant past your ancestors ³⁸  lived beyond the Euphrates River, ³⁹  including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped ⁴⁰  other gods, 24:3 but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates ⁴¹  and brought him into ⁴²  the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous; I gave him Isaac, 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned Mount Seir, ⁴³  while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt down when I intervened in their land. ⁴⁴  Then I brought you out. 24:6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you arrived at the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 24:7 Your fathers ⁴⁵  cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, ⁴⁶  and then drowned them in the sea. ⁴⁷  You witnessed with your very own eyes ⁴⁸  what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. ⁴⁹  24:8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought with you, but I handed them over to you; you conquered ⁵⁰  their land and I destroyed them from before you. 24:9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack ⁵¹  against Israel. He summoned ⁵²  Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment ⁵³  on you. 24:10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept ⁵⁴  prophesying good things about ⁵⁵  you, and I rescued you from his power. ⁵⁶  24:11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. ⁵⁷  The leaders ⁵⁸  of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 24:12 I sent terror ⁵⁹  ahead of you to drive out before you the two ⁶⁰  Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows. ⁶¹  24:13 I gave you a land in ⁶²  which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce of ⁶³  vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

24:14 Now ⁶⁴  obey ⁶⁵  the Lord and worship ⁶⁶  him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors ⁶⁷  worshiped ⁶⁸  beyond the Euphrates ⁶⁹  and in Egypt and worship ⁷⁰  the Lord. 24:15 If you have no desire ⁷¹  to worship ⁷²  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ⁷³  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ⁷⁴  worshiped ⁷⁵  beyond the Euphrates, ⁷⁶  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ⁷⁷  will worship ⁷⁸  the Lord!”

24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can ⁷⁹  worship ⁸⁰  other gods! 24:17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery ⁸¹  in the land of Egypt ⁸²  and performed these awesome miracles ⁸³  before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. ⁸⁴  24:18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship ⁸⁵  the Lord, for he is our God!”

24:19 Joshua warned ⁸⁶  the people, “You will not keep worshiping ⁸⁷  the Lord, for ⁸⁸  he is a holy God. ⁸⁹  He is a jealous God who will not forgive ⁹⁰  your rebellion or your sins. 24:20 If ⁹¹  you abandon the Lord and worship ⁹²  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ⁹³  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ⁹⁴  though he once treated you well.” ⁹⁵ 

24:21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will ⁹⁶  worship ⁹⁷  the Lord!” 24:22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?” ⁹⁸  They replied, “We are witnesses!” ⁹⁹  24:23 Joshua said, ¹⁰⁰  “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to ¹⁰¹  the Lord God of Israel.”

24:24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship ¹⁰²  the Lord our God and obey him.” ¹⁰³ 

24:25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement ¹⁰⁴  for the people, and he established rules and regulations ¹⁰⁵  for them in Shechem. 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine. 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. ¹⁰⁶  It will be a witness against you if ¹⁰⁷  you deny your God.” 24:28 When Joshua dismissed the people, they went to their allotted portions of land. ¹⁰⁸ 

An Era Ends

24:29 After all this ¹⁰⁹  Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 24:30 They buried him in his allotted territory ¹¹⁰  in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 24:31 Israel worshiped ¹¹¹  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. ¹¹²  These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel. ¹¹³ 

24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. ¹¹⁴  So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. ¹¹⁵ 

24:33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land. ¹¹⁶ 

Psalms 80:1

Psalm 80 ¹¹⁷ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ¹¹⁸  a psalm of Asaph.

80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,

you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!

You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, ¹¹⁹  reveal your splendor! ¹²⁰ 

[45:5]  ¹ tn Heb “let there not be anger in your eyes.”

[45:5]  ² sn You sold me here, for God sent me. The tension remains as to how the brothers’ wickedness and God’s intentions work together. Clearly God is able to transform the actions of wickedness to bring about some gracious end. But this is saying more than that; it is saying that from the beginning it was God who sent Joseph here. Although harmonization of these ideas remains humanly impossible, the divine intention is what should be the focus. Only that will enable reconciliation.

[45:7]  ³ sn God sent me. The repetition of this theme that God sent Joseph is reminiscent of commission narratives in which the leader could announce that God sent him (e.g., Exod 3:15).

[45:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition לְ (lÿ), means “to make.”

[45:7]  ⁵ tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.

[45:11]  ⁶ tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”

[50:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “spoke to their heart.”

[27:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “flesh”; cf. NAB, NIV “all mankind”; NCV “all people”; NLT “all living things.”

[27:16]  ⁹ tn This is the same verb פָּקַד (paqad) that is used throughout the book for the aspect of “numbering” the people.

[27:17]  ¹⁰ sn This is probably technical terminology for a military leader (Josh 14:11; 1 Sam 18:13-16; 1 Kgs 3:7; 2 Kgs 11:9). The image of a shepherd can also be military in nature (1 Kgs 22:17).

[27:17]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has the conjunction with the negated imperfect tense, “and it will not be.” This clause should be subordinated to the preceding to form a result clause, and the imperfect then function as a final imperfect.

[27:18]  ¹² tn Or “said.”

[27:18]  ¹³ sn The word “spirit” probably refers to the Holy Spirit, in which case it would be rendered “in whom is the Spirit.” This would likely be a permanent endowment for Joshua. But it is also possible to take it to refer to a proper spirit to do all the things required of such a leader (which ultimately is a gift from the Spirit of God). The Hebrew text simply says “in whom is a spirit.”

[27:18]  ¹⁴ sn This symbolic act would indicate the transfer of leadership to Joshua.

[34:9]  ¹⁵ sn See Num 27:18.

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Get up!”

[1:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).

[1:2]  ¹⁸ 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.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ 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.

[1:4]  ²⁰ 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.

[1:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[1:4]  ²² 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.”

[1:5]  ²³ tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.

[1:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn Or “Only be.”

[1:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”

[1:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “commanded you.”

[1:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[1:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “mouth.”

[1:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).

[1:8]  ³² tn Heb “be careful to do.”

[1:8]  ³³ tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”

[1:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

[1:9]  ³⁶ tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

[1:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[24:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “served.”

[24:3]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:3]  ⁴² tn Or “through.”

[24:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it.”

[24:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “by that which I did in its midst.”

[24:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).

[24:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”

[24:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”

[24:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “your eyes saw.”

[24:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “many days.”

[24:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “took possession of.”

[24:9]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “arose and fought.”

[24:9]  ⁵² tn Heb “sent and called.”

[24:9]  ⁵³ tn Or “to curse.”

[24:10]  ⁵⁴ tn The infinitive absolute follows the finite verb in the Hebrew text and indicates continuation or repetition of the action. Balaam pronounced several oracles of blessing over Israel (see Num 23-24).

[24:10]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “blessing.” Balaam’s “blessings” were actually prophecies of how God would prosper Israel.

[24:10]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[24:11]  ⁵⁷ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[24:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Or perhaps, “citizens.”

[24:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Traditionally, “the hornet” (so KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) but the precise meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (cf. NEB “panic”).

[24:12]  ⁶⁰ tn The LXX has “twelve,” apparently understanding this as a reference to Amorite kings west of the Jordan (see Josh 5:1, rather than the trans-Jordanian Amorite kings Sihon and Og (see Josh 2:10; 9:10).

[24:12]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and it drove them out from before you, the two kings of the Amorites, not by your sword and not by your bow.” The words “I gave you the victory” are supplied for clarification.

[24:13]  ⁶² tn Or perhaps, “for.”

[24:13]  ⁶³ tn The words “the produce of” are supplied for clarification.

[24:14]  ⁶⁴ sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).

[24:14]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “fear.”

[24:14]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:14]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “served.”

[24:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:14]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:15]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ⁷² tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ⁷³ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:16]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “to.”

[24:16]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “can serve.”

[24:17]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[24:17]  ⁸² tn Heb “for the Lord our God, he is the one who brought up us and our fathers from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”

[24:17]  ⁸³ tn Or “great signs.”

[24:17]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “and he guarded us in all the way in which we walked and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”

[24:18]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:19]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “said to.”

[24:19]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

[24:19]  ⁸⁸ sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

[24:19]  ⁸⁹ 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.

[24:19]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”

[24:20]  ⁹¹ tn Or “when.”

[24:20]  ⁹² tn Or “and serve.”

[24:20]  ⁹³ tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.

[24:20]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “bring you to an end.”

[24:20]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “after he did good for you.”

[24:21]  ⁹⁶ tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”

[24:21]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:22]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve him.”

[24:22]  ⁹⁹ sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.

[24:23]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The words “Joshua said” are supplied for clarification.

[24:23]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “bend your heart toward.” The term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) probably here refers to the people’s volition or will.

[24:24]  ¹⁰² tn Or “will serve.”

[24:24]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “and listen to his voice.”

[24:25]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[24:25]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.”

[24:27]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “all the words of the Lord which he spoke with us.”

[24:27]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”

[24:28]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “And Joshua sent the people away, each to his inheritance.”

[24:29]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “after these things.”

[24:30]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”

[24:31]  ¹¹¹ tn Or “served.”

[24:31]  ¹¹² tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived him.”

[24:31]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “who knew all the work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

[24:32]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “one hundred qesitahs.” The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qesitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value and/or weight is unknown. The word occurs only here and in Gen 33:19 and Job 42:11.

[24:32]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “and they became for the sons of Joseph an inheritance.” One might think “bones” is the subject of the verb “they became,” but the verb is masculine, while “bones” is feminine. The translation follows the emendation suggested in the BHS note, which appeals to the Syriac and Vulgate for support. The emended reading understands “the part (of the field)” as the subject of the verb “became.” The emended verb is feminine singular; this agrees with “the part” (of the field), which is feminine in Hebrew.

[24:33]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “in Gibeah of Phinehas, his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.”

[80:1]  ¹¹⁷ sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.

[80:1]  ¹¹⁸ tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.

[80:1]  ¹¹⁹ sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

[80:1]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “shine forth.”