JOSHUA 23:6-16: Exegesis
By Alex Little
Biblical Exegesis
Northwest College
Box #522
April 7, 2004
Word Count: 3,042
I. Introduction
Joshua, a man living in the shadow of one of the most prominent men in
Israelites’ history, leads his people into the land promised to them by God and
successfully gains territory in the region, bringing an end to their nomadic life. The book
of Joshua describes the stories of the entry and pursuit of the Promised Land from the
time period of Joshua’s induction to his death. The book was written between Joshua’s
death, around 1370 BC, and the reign of King Solomon (Madvig 243). Conquest was a
common element that those of Joshua’s time period or those of the later date of Solomon
would understand; war was a common part of their lives. Joshua was either written
partly by Joshua and a priestly person or fully by a priestly person (Woudstra 1-12). Even
though it is unclear who wrote the book or exactly when it was written, it does not take
away from the book’s message. The account of Joshua shows two messages: the
fulfillment of the promises of God and the favor of God was dependent on Israel’s
obedience to the law (Madvig 244).
The possibility of Joshua fully writing the book is nonexistent, because a portion
of the book is about his death and it is difficult to write when one is dead. The book is
titled “Joshua” because he is the central character. Under Joshua’s leadership a
successful conquest is being led. Joshua accomplished what Moses had trained him to
do: to be the head of the nation, a military leader, and to trust in God with all his heart.
Before Moses’ death, Joshua was one of the spies who was sent into the Promised Land,
one who gave an encouraging account; Moses’ assistant; he was the one who went up
with Moses to Mt. Sinai (Bromiley 1133). Through Joshua’s leadership and faithfulness
to God, the Promised Land was given to the Israelites.
This paper will focus on Joshua 23:6-16. This portion of the book of Joshua is
part of Joshua’s farewell speech to the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel. It
would have been impossible for all of Israel to come and for all of them to hear, but these
heads represent all of Israel. The main points of emphasis of the speech are: to keep
God’s commandments; to stay faithful; God has fought for you; if you do not stay faithful
then God will take away what He previously gave; and what God says He will do is what
will happen. There are four themes that run throughout his farewell speech: ‘history’,
‘exhortation’, ‘blessing’, and ‘cursing’ (Hess 294). These themes are meant to influence
the future decisions of the Israelites, and to inspire them to remain faithful to God by
keeping his commands. This passage in the book of Joshua is Joshua’s last words to the
people of Israel. He is calling them to keep God’s commandments just as Moses
commanded Israel before his death.
Joshua’s speech is associated with Moses’ farewell speech (Deut. 31:1-8, 24-29).
Moses’ speech foretells that God will go before His people and claim the land for them.
In Joshua’s speech it is shown that what Moses predicted has come to pass. Just as
Moses told Joshua in front of the nation to be strong, Joshua commands Israel to do the
same thing. Also part of the speech comes from what God had spoken to him in Joshua
1, later in the paper that will be discussed more in depth. The speech also has similarities
to Ancient Near Eastern treaty forms, “probably resulting from a general correspondence
in literary and rhetorical purpose” (Nelson 255). Joshua’s last words stress the
importance of what God has done because of the Israelites’ faithfulness to God and what
will happen if they become unfaithful.
II. Exegesis Analysis
A Call to Keep the First Commandment (vs. 6-8)
At the time of Joshua’s induction God spoke a word to him, and that word is what
Joshua is conveying to the Israelites in the beginning of his speech. The message
expressed is to be strong, obey the Law of Moses, and to not stray to the right or to the
left. The Law of Moses is “God’s gracious provision for a life of covenant fellowship
between himself and the people” (Woudstra 334). Joshua had fulfilled God’s command,
noted by Joshua 23:8 “as you have done to this day” and, because of his obedience, Israel
was able to claim the land that God had promised them. Just because God had promised
Israel that land did not mean that they were going to get it, but “Israel’s faithfulness was
required” (Madvig 362). The land was a reward for their faithfulness. As noted above,
Joshua used segments of Moses’ speech. Moses’ theme of his farewell speech was if you
obey God then you will receive the land but if you do not obey then you will not receive
the land. The requirement of Israel’s faithfulness is no longer just to receive land but to
keep the land that was given to them.
The word strong is translated from the Hebrew hazaq. The word is translated as
“strong”, be or becoming strong, when referring to groups of people or individuals
(VanGemeren 64). When refereeing to the Mosaic covenant, “The Israelites were urged
to be loyal to the covenant so that they may have strength to go in and take possession of
the land of Canaan (Deut 11:8)” (64). Joshua’s speech is now referring strength to be
obedient to the Law of Moses. The law (tora) can be translated as careful study and
observation and in Deuteronomy it is referring to legal material; the word law is more
similar to a modern meaning (896). VanGemeren explains the tora as, “instruction,
whether cultic or civil, whether in the form of specific legal stipulations or less formal
words of guidance from parent to child”; it is “important to see that tora encompasses not
only specific legal or moral instruction, but also a historic review of Israel’s past” (897).
When Joshua mentions the Law of Moses he is also mention the history of where that law
came from and how the Israel has or has not been obedient to it. The law reveals to the
Israelites how the are suppose to act in order to live a pleasing life to God.
The expressions of worship, “invoke the names,” “swear,” “serve,” and “bow
down,” were to show that all forms of worshiping foreign gods were unacceptable (362).
The native population still lived in the midst of the conquered lands of Israel and the
worship to their gods continued, seen by the Israelites. The people groups that the
Israelites conquered were more culturally advanced than their own, which created a
temptation for the Israelites to worship other gods. It would be similar to foreign
countries adopting an American type of government because of the Untied States’
economic status. Their primary obedience to God was that of the first commandment,
solely obeying this command meant that God would continue to fight for them and not
against them, a threat that is given in verse 13.
Joshua calls the Israelites to “cling” or, as translated in the NIV, to “hold fast”
(Joshua 23:8). The Hebrew word for “hold fast” is dabaq, which is used in Genesis 2:24
to describe the relationship between husband and wife, also known as the intimate and
binding relationship. In this passage that word is used to describe the relationship
between man and God. The Israelites are commanded to hold fast to God and not turn
away from that relationship with him by serving other gods. Joshua’s speech is not about
military strategy to keep the conquered land, but instead the only strategy that Joshua
gives is to cling to God because what he has promised will come about.
A Remembrance of What God Has Done (vs. 9-11)
Chiasmic literary forms were used throughout the Old Testament. Through the
use of these forms, an author was able to call attention to points that he or she wanted to
emphasize. Part of Joshua’s speech, verses 9 to 11, follows the chiasmic form:
A. “The Lord has driven out before you this day great and powerful nations”
B. “to this day no-one has been able to withstand you”
B’. “One of you routs a thousand”
A’. “because the Lord your God fights for you…” (Hess 297)
The points of emphasizes are: A and A’, “God wins the victories”; B and B’, “he enables
Israel to win” (297). Without the Israelites being faithful to God, He will not permit them
to win.
Up until now Israel had been successful in war. The only time that they are not
victorious is early in the campaign with the army of Ai, an army that they should have
been able to beat without much of a challenge, but that is when Israel was not faithful to
God’s authority. There were nations that were much stronger than Israel; there were
battles which they should have lost, such as Jericho. Jericho was more culturally
advanced; they were not a nomadic tribe that had been wandering around in a desert for
ages and they were fortified but, because God fought on their side, the battle was won for
the Israelites. Joshua makes a statement in verse 10, “One of your men puts to flight a
thousand, for the Lord your God is he who fights for you.” In the book of Judges this
verse becomes literal when Samson fights the Philistines. It did not matter the level of
power of the Israelites’ advisory; how strong or weak they were; how big or small their
army was; what mattered was that the Israelites obeyed what God had directed them to
do. The only reason why Israel was able to do what they accomplished was because God
fought for them, not against them.
Verse 11 gives a positive instruction to, “be very careful to love the Lord your
God.” It was a command to do something while most of Joshua’s speech is about what
not to do, which shows the importance of the command to love God. The phrase “very
careful” literally translated is “take care for your very souls” (Woudstra 337). The
Hebrew word used for soul is nepes, which is used to strengthen the intensity of the
command of love (337). If Israel was to battle more nations or if nations were to attack
and the Lord was not on their side then the results would be similar to what occurred with
the army of Ai.
A Forewarning To Israel If They Followed the Ways of Other Nations (vs. 12-13)
The same Hebrew word, “hold fast,” translated by the NIV is translated in verse
12 as “ally yourself”. Instead of the association of the close relationship between God
and man in verse 8, that word signifies a correlation between Israel and the nations that
have remained. Joshua warns God’s people that if they choose to have that same kind of
intimate relationship with other nations, more specifically to intermarry and associate
with them then God will no longer fight for the Israelites. It was common when a nation
allied themselves with another nation that they intermarried, which threatened religious
faithfulness (Madvig 363). “Intermarriage threatened Yahwistic loyalty because it
involved more than just taking a foreign partner. It established complex and profound
relationships between entire families” (Nelson 361). An example of this can be seen with
Solomon. His ruin was because he allied himself with many nations through
intermarriage. Solomon’s wives brought the worship of other gods into the kingdom
which started the fall of Israel. The command not to intermarry was declared earlier by
God in Exodus 34:16, to Moses, when he was on Mt. Sinai. The purpose and why
intermarriage looked so promising is that allied intermarriages create ‘political and
economic networks’, in other words, the more intermarriages that a nation has the more
people that it can to business with, which equals more money. Without verbalizing it,
part of Joshua’s speech is say that faithfulness to God is more important than money.
If the Israelites chose not to obey what God has commanded, then the other
nations would be a hindrance to them: “snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and
thorns in your eyes” (Joshua 23:13). Nelson attributes a metaphor for each of these
actions. The snare and trap are tied to the idea of a captured bird that loses its freedom.
The whip may be a metaphor for political oppression. He gives no metaphor for the
thorns in your eyes. By any means these threats signify a loss of what they have gained.
All the land that God has given them would be taken away because of their
unfaithfulness. Being faithful meant they would be victorious and would keep their land.
If they were not faithful God would take away what they had been given.
God Has and Will Fulfill His Threats and Promises (14-16)
There have only been two men in Deuteronomistic history who say they are “to
go the way of the Earth.” One of them is Joshua and the other is David. These men
knew that their death was coming. The passage of scripture right after Joshua’s speech is
about his death. It could be said that these men were so close to God that they knew that
their time on earth was almost at an end.
This last segment of Joshua’s speech is a summary of what was just told above:
he is going to die, God has been faithful because the Israelites have been faithful, and
God’s judgment if Israel worships other gods and associates with the other nations
around them. Joshua, in verse 14, is reminding the people that God has made good of
every promise which He has made. Everything that God said he would do, he has done.
That verse leads into the thought of verse 15 that the promises of judgment will also be
carried out. All of what God has said he would do if Israel disobeyed, what he
commanded of Israel through Joseph was carried out. The land which God had given to
them was later taken away. They became captives of other nations. Those nations that
remained in their land became a thorn in their side. The Israelites chose to worship other
gods and turn away from the covenant God had made with them. In return, everything
that God had given them was taken away, their nation was destroyed just as it said in
Joshua 23:16, “When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He
commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of
the LORD will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land
which He has given you.” Israel’s lack of faithfulness was a curse upon their heads.
Israel broke their covenant with God, which Joshua had warned them not to do.
The word covenant in verse 16 is translated from the Hebrew word berit. This word can
be translated as treaty, agreement, alliance, and covenant. In this case, like some others,
it is parallel with law, which in verse 6 states, “keep and do all that is written in the book
of the law of Moses” (VanGemeren 750). The parallel use of law and covenant keeps to
Joshua’s flow of tight similar thoughts. The Hebrew word for law is different than the
Hebrew word for covenant. The Hittites use berit as a reference to a “certain sense of
history” that is acknowledged (748). The Israelites most doubtable reference covenant
either to the God’s covenant with Abraham or to the Mosaic covenant in Deuteronomy,
which is also a reference to the covenant between Abraham and God. The New
International Dictionary of the Old Testament states about the Mosaic covenant in
Exodus 19-24, “a connection that links it ultimately to the covenant with Abraham”
(749). The word within the Mosaic covenant is mostly is “primarily a sworn promise
focused on the land and blessing in it” (749). If the Israelites keep this covenant with
God, a blessing is associated. The proper response is the peoples’ faithfulness in keeping
the standards set in the covenant. In this case Joseph points to the elements of idolatry
and intermarriage.
Conclusion
The key point to Joshua’s farewell speech is that God has given the Israelites the
land which he had promised them; they received it because of their faithfulness to God,
but now that they have the land and if they choose to be unfaithful then God will take the
land away. Joshua’s speech has reminiscences from a number of sources: God’s
command to Joshua in chapter 1 and Moses’ speech in Deuteronomy (Madvig 294). Just
as Moses had reminded Israel what God had done for them, so did Joshua. The last
words of a dying man are to keep the covenant that God had made with his people. His
hope was that the blessing of God would continue through the ages and all that God had
done for them, all the battles they fought, would not go to waste. Through using the
features of blessings, curses, exhortation, and history, Joshua’s speech was intended to
inspire the Israelites to stay faithful to God. Faithfulness and obedience to the Law of
Moses, to the covenant between Israel and God could have saved the nation from
destruction, from being taken captive; heeding Joshua farewell message would have
resulted in blessing but through Israel’s revealed history what God said He would do if
they were not faithful, He did.
Works Cited
Hess, Richard S. Joshua. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity, 1996
Madvig, Donald H. Joshua: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed E. Frank Gaebelein.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Nelson, Richard D. Joshua. Old Testament Library. Lousiville: Westminister/John Knox,
1997
VanGemeren, Willem A. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and
Exegesis. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997
Woudstra, Marten. The book of Joshua: The New International Commentary on the Old
Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.