Renewal of the Covenant at Shechem
Joshua 24:1-27
Jos.24.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאסף: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- שבטי: NOUN,m,pl,con
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שכמה: NOUN,f,sg,suff,3,f
- ויקרא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לזקני: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולראשיו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons,3,m,sg
- ולשפטיו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons,3,m,sg
- ולשטריו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons,3,m,sg
- ויתיצבו: VERB,hitpael,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- לפני: PREP
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Exodus 24:9-11 (allusion): Moses, Aaron and seventy elders ascend and stand in God's presence — a precedent for Israelite leaders assembling before God to witness covenantal revelation.
- Deuteronomy 29:10-13 (verbal): Uses similar language of ‘standing before the LORD’ with the leaders and tribes of Israel gathered — framing a covenantal address to the whole community.
- Joshua 8:30-35 (structural): Earlier episode in Joshua where Joshua builds an altar, gathers the people/elders and publicly reads the law — parallels the covenant-renewal assembly motif at Joshua 24.
- 1 Kings 8:1-2 (thematic): Solomon assembles the elders and heads of tribes to bring the ark and stand before the LORD — a royal/ritual pattern of convening Israel’s leaders in God’s presence.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel and their chiefs and their judges and their officers; and they stood before God.
- And Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem; and he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officers; and they stood before God.
Jos.24.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בעבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנהר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אבותיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- מעולם: ADV
- תרח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אברהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואבי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- נחור: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויעבדו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 11:31 (verbal): Mentions Terah and Abram's origin/migration (Ur/going beyond the river); directly parallels Joshua's naming of Terah, Abraham, and Nahor and the ancestral location.
- Genesis 12:1-4 (thematic): God's call to Abram to leave his father's house and land of idolatry; thematically connected to Joshua's reminder that the forebears served other gods and the need to follow Yahweh.
- Judges 2:10-13 (thematic): Describes a new generation that did not know the LORD and that turned to serve Baals; parallels Joshua's charge that the ancestors served other gods and the recurrent apostasy of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 26:5 (allusion): The confession 'My father was a wandering Aramean' recalls Israel's ancestral origins abroad; echoes Joshua's reference to the family's beginnings beyond the river and their pagan background.
- Joshua 24:14 (structural): Immediate continuation of Joshua's covenant speech urging fear of the LORD and abandonment of foreign gods; directly follows and develops the theological point introduced in 24:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Your fathers dwelt of old beyond the River—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—and they served other gods.
- And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your fathers lived beyond the River—Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—and they served other gods.
Jos.24.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואקח: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אביכם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,mp
- את: PRT,acc
- אברהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנהר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואולך: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אותו: PRON,3,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כנען: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וארבה: VERB,qal,impf,1,common,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- זרעו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יצחק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 12:1-7 (verbal): God's call of Abram, promise to give the land to his offspring and appearance in Canaan—parallels Joshua's summary that God took Abraham, led him through Canaan and promised land/seed.
- Genesis 15:18 (verbal): The covenant formula 'to your seed I give this land' closely echoes Joshua's claim that God multiplied Abraham's seed and gave the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 17:8 (verbal): God's promise to give the land to Abraham and his descendants 'for an everlasting possession' corresponds to Joshua's reminder of God's grant of the land and multiplication of Abraham's seed.
- Genesis 26:3-4 (thematic): God repeats to Isaac the promise made to Abraham—dwell in this land and be multiplied—paralleling Joshua's mention of Isaac as recipient in the patriarchal promise.
- Exodus 3:6 (allusion): God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and invokes his dealings with the patriarchs—an allusion to the divine act of taking/leading Abraham 'from beyond the river' cited in Joshua.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring and gave him Isaac.
- And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I multiplied his offspring and gave him Isaac.
Jos.24.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- ליצחק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- לעשו: PREP
- את: PRT,acc
- הר: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- שעיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לרשת: VERB,qal,inf
- אותו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ויעקב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובניו: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ירדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 36:8 (verbal): States that Esau dwelt in Mount Seir (Seir), paralleling Joshua’s statement that Seir was given to Esau to possess.
- Genesis 46:6-7 (verbal): Records that Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt—same movement summarized in Joshua 24:4.
- 1 Chronicles 1:34-35 (verbal): Genealogical retelling that Esau (Edom) lived in Mount Seir; repeats the allocation of Seir to Esau found in Joshua.
- Psalm 105:16-22 (thematic): Retells the ancestral migration to Egypt (Joseph’s rise and Israel’s sojourn), thematically echoing Joshua’s note that Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau; and to Esau I gave the hill country of Seir to possess, while Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.
- And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau; and to Esau I gave the hill-country of Seir to possess, while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
Jos.24.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואשלח: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- אהרן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואגף: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- כאשר: CONJ
- עשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- בקרבו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRS,3,sg
- ואחר: CONJ
- הוצאתי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Exodus 3:10 (verbal): God commissions Moses to go to Pharaoh to bring Israel out of Egypt—parallels Josh 24:5’s statement that God ‘sent Moses’ to effect the exodus.
- Exodus 7:3-5 (thematic): God declares he will perform signs and afflict Egypt after sending Moses and Aaron—echoes Josh’s language of afflicting Egypt and then bringing out Israel.
- Psalm 105:26 (verbal): “He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen” — a close verbal parallel to Josh 24:5’s mention of sending Moses and Aaron.
- Psalm 78:43-51 (thematic): Retells the plagues and God’s acts against Egypt in connection with Moses and Aaron—thematically parallels Josh’s summary of afflicting Egypt and the exodus.
- Nehemiah 9:9-10 (thematic): Historical recital of God seeing Israel’s affliction, sending Moses and Aaron, and delivering them from Egypt—echoes the sequence and emphasis in Josh 24:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted Egypt—what I did in its midst—and afterward I brought you out.
- And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt as I worked among them, and afterward I brought you out.
Jos.24.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואוציא: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אבותיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ממצרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ותבאו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- הימה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וירדפו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אחרי: PREP
- אבותיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ברכב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובפרשים: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ים: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- סוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exod.14:9 (verbal): Narrative parallel: describes the Egyptians pursuing Israel with chariots and horsemen to the sea—direct source episode summarized in Joshua 24:6.
- Exod.14:26-28 (thematic): Continuation of the same episode: God causes the waters to return and overthrows Pharaoh's chariots and horsemen, providing the outcome implicit in Joshua's reference to the Sea of Reeds pursuit.
- Deut.6:21-22 (allusion): Retelling tradition: instructs Israelites how to recount God's deliverance from Egypt and the crossing of the sea—another canonical summary of the Exodus/pursuit theme invoked by Joshua 24:6.
- Acts 7:36 (allusion): New Testament retelling (Stephen): recalls Moses leading the people out of Egypt and references the events at the sea, echoing the Exodus pursuit/crossing motif cited in Joshua 24:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
- And I brought your fathers out of Egypt; you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
Jos.24.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויצעקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וישם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מאפל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ביניכם: PREP+PRON,2,pl
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- המצרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- ויכסהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ותראינה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,pl
- עיניכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- במצרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ותשבו: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,pl
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Exod.14:19-20 (verbal): Describes the pillar/cloud coming between Israel and the Egyptians so that it was darkness to the Egyptians and light to Israel—close verbal parallel to 'he put darkness between you and the Egyptians.'
- Exod.14:26-28 (verbal): Reports the waters returning and covering the Egyptians after the Israelites crossed—matches Joshua's 'he brought the sea upon them and covered them.'
- Exod.14:10 (verbal): States that the Israelites cried out to the LORD when they saw the Egyptians pursuing them—parallels Joshua's 'they cried to the LORD.'
- Ps.106:7-12 (thematic): Retells the Exodus deliverance—God rebuked the Red Sea and saved Israel from their enemy; Psalmic retelling echoes Joshua's recounting of the same events.
- Isa.43:16-17 (allusion): God speaks of making a way through the sea and causing the chariots and horsemen to be drowned—an allusive reference to the Exodus/Red Sea deliverance invoked in Joshua 24:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'They cried to the LORD, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt, and you lived in the wilderness many days.
- They cried to the LORD, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and threw the sea upon them, covering them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness many days.
Jos.24.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואביא: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- האמרי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- היושב: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- בעבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הירדן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וילחמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- בידכם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ותירשו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ארצם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ואשמידם: VERB,hif,impf,1,_,sg
- מפניכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUF,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (verbal): Speaks of the LORD giving the nations into Israel’s hand and the command to dispossess/destroy them—language and covenantal context parallel Joshua’s report that God gave the Amorites into Israel’s hand and they were destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 2:31-37 (verbal): Narrates the conquest of Sihon (the Amorite king beyond the Jordan), saying the LORD delivered him into Israel’s hand and they took his land—directly parallels Joshua’s mention of fighting the Amorites across the Jordan and dispossessing them.
- Joshua 23:5 (structural): Joshua elsewhere repeats the promise that no one shall withstand you because the LORD will put nations under your feet until they are destroyed—same covenantal summary and conquest formula within Joshua’s farewell addresses.
- Joshua 11:20 (thematic): Explains that the LORD hardened the hearts of the Canaanite kings so he could destroy them utterly—connects to the theme that God actively delivered enemies into Israel’s hand so they could be destroyed from before them.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'And I brought you into the land of the Amorite who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan; and they fought against you, and I gave them into your hand, and you dispossessed their land and I destroyed them before you.
- And I brought you into the land of the Amorite who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought against you, and I gave them into your hand, and you dispossessed their land and I destroyed them before you.
Jos.24.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקם: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בלק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צפור: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- מואב: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- וילחם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ויקרא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לבלעם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בעור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לקלל: INF,qal
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Numbers 22:4-6 (verbal): The original narrative: Balak king of Moab sends messengers to summon Balaam to curse Israel — the same event summarized in Joshua 24:9.
- Numbers 23:7-10 (verbal): Balaam’s oracle sequence showing his pronouncements over Israel (he blesses rather than curses), a direct continuation of the Balak–Balaam episode referenced in Joshua.
- Deuteronomy 23:4-5 (allusion): Retells the Balak–Balaam episode and emphasizes that God would not permit Balaam to curse Israel, echoing Joshua’s brief report.
- Revelation 2:14 (thematic): Jesus rebukes a church for holding the teaching of Balaam (who taught Balak to put a stumbling block), a later theological reference to the same Balak–Balaam tradition.
- Jude 11 (thematic): Condemns those who 'follow the way of Balaam the son of Beor,' using the Balaam/ Balak episode as a moral example — a New Testament parallel to Joshua’s historical note.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel and sent and called for Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.
- Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose and fought against Israel and sent and called Balaam son of Beor to pronounce a curse upon you.
Jos.24.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולא: CONJ
- אביתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- לשמע: INF,qal,infc
- לבלעם: PREP+NOUN,prop,sg,m
- ויברך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- ואצל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- מידו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.23.5 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language: Yahweh would not listen to Balaam and turned his intended curse into a blessing for Israel — a direct verbal parallel to Joshua’s summary.
- Num.22.12 (thematic): God’s initial refusal to permit Balaam to go/curse Israel provides the narrative background for why Balaam could not pronounce a curse, which Joshua cites.
- Num.23.8-10 (verbal): Balaam’s declaration that he cannot curse whom God has not cursed and that he must speak only God’s word results in blessings rather than curses — closely echoes Joshua’s statement.
- Num.24.10 (allusion): Balak’s rebuke and Balaam’s response (acknowledging he can only speak what God puts in his mouth) is the immediate episode Joshua summarizes when saying he did not heed Balaam and God blessed Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'But I would not listen to Balaam; he blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand.
- But I would not listen to Balaam; he blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand.
Jos.24.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותעברו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הירדן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ותבאו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- יריחו: NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- וילחמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- בעלי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- יריחו: NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- האמרי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והפרזי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והכנעני: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והחתי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והגרגשי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- החוי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והיבוסי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- בידכם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Joshua 3:14-17 (structural): Narrative parallel: the crossing of the Jordan under Joshua immediately precedes and contextually matches the summary statement in Josh 24:11 about Israel crossing the Jordan.
- Joshua 6:1-27 (structural): Direct narrative parallel: the conquest of Jericho and the defeat of its inhabitants corresponds to Josh 24:11's reference to coming to Jericho, fighting its people, and God giving them into Israel's hand.
- Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (verbal): Catalog parallel: lists the same groups (Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites) to be dispossessed—verbal and thematic overlap with the peoples named in Josh 24:11.
- Exodus 14:21-31 (thematic): Thematic parallel: a miraculous crossing (the Red Sea) coupled with divine defeat of pursuing enemies—echoes the motif of God enabling Israel's passage and delivering their foes, as summarized in Josh 24:11.
- Numbers 33:50-56 (thematic): Legal/theological parallel: divine command and outcome to dispossess Canaanite nations and give the land to Israel, reflecting the claim in Josh 24:11 that these peoples were put into Israel's hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the men of Jericho, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite fought against you, and I gave them into your hand.
- And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; the men of Jericho, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites fought against you, and I gave them into your hand.
Jos.24.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואשלח: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- לפניכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הצרעה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ותגרש: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- מפניכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUF,2,m,pl
- שני: NUM,m,pl,construct
- מלכי: NOUN,pl,m,cons
- האמרי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- בחרבך: PREP
- ולא: CONJ
- בקשתך: PREP
Parallels
- Exod.23.28 (verbal): God promises 'I will send hornets before you'—the same image of God sending a 'hornet' to drive out the inhabitants used in Josh 24:12.
- Deut.7.20 (verbal): Repeats the 'hornet' motif: the LORD will send hornets to drive out the nations, a direct verbal parallel to the language in Joshua 24:12.
- Deut.7.22 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD driving out nations 'little by little' and accomplishing the conquest—a thematically related account of divine, not purely human, agency in Israel’s victories.
- Deut.1.30 (thematic): Affirms that 'the LORD your God who goes before you will fight for you,' echoing Joshua 24:12’s emphasis that the dispossession came by God's action rather than Israel’s sword or bow.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you—two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword nor by your bow.
- And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you—two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.
Jos.24.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- יגעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- וערים: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- בניתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ותשבו: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,pl
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כרמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וזיתים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- נטעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- אכלים: VERB,ptc,qal,act,_,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 6:10-11 (verbal): Nearly identical language — God brings Israel into a land with houses they did not build and vineyards/olive trees they did not plant; a direct verbal parallel and shared promise formula.
- Deuteronomy 8:7-10 (thematic): Describes the rich produce of the Promised Land (wheat, barley, vines, olive oil, honey) and the LORD’s provision so Israel will eat and be satisfied—same theme of receiving fruitful land.
- Deuteronomy 11:10-12 (thematic): Contrast between the wilderness and the Promised Land’s fertility (hill country, valley, rains) and God’s care for a land Israel did not till — closely related theological context.
- Ezekiel 36:34-35 (thematic): Prophetic promise of transforming desolate land into fruitful fields and vineyards so people will inhabit and eat their fruit — echoes the motif of God giving fruitful, inhabited land.
- Psalm 105:44-45 (thematic): Speaks of God giving the nations’ lands and possessions to Israel so they might keep his covenant — thematically parallels God’s grant of land and its produce to his people.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'I gave you a land in which you had not labored and cities which you had not built; you dwell in them; you eat of vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'”
- I gave you a land you had not labored for and cities you had not built, and you dwell in them; vineyards and oliveyards you did not plant, and you eat of their fruit.
Jos.24.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועתה: CONJ
- יראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ועבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- בתמים: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובאמת: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והסירו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- אבותיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- בעבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנהר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ובמצרים: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ועבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 12:20-24 (verbal): Samuel exhorts the people with virtually the same language — 'Fear the LORD and serve him... serve the LORD with all your heart' — and urges them to turn from foreign gods, a close verbal and thematic parallel.
- Deuteronomy 10:12 (verbal): Summarizes Israel's duty: 'to fear the LORD your God... and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,' echoing Joshua's call to fear and serve Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 6:13-14 (verbal): Commands to 'fear the LORD your God, serve him, and not follow other gods' directly parallel Joshua's injunction to put away the gods of the fathers and serve the LORD.
- Joshua 24:15 (structural): Immediate literary neighbor: Joshua's challenge 'choose this day whom you will serve... as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD' functionally complements and reinforces the call in 24:14.
- 1 Kings 18:21 (thematic): Elijah's demand 'How long will you go limping between two opinions?... If the LORD is God, follow him' echoes Joshua's insistence on decisive loyalty to Yahweh and rejection of other gods.
Alternative generated candidates
- And now, fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in truth; put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
Jos.24.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- בעיניכם: PREP+NOUN,pl,f,cons+PRON,2,pl
- לעבד: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בחרו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- תעבדון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- אם: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- אבותיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- מעבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנהר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואם: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- האמרי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ישבים: VERB,qal,part,3,m,pl
- בארצם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def,poss:3mp
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- וביתי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- נעבד: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Joshua 24:14 (verbal): Immediate context: Joshua exhorts the people to 'fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity'—same call to exclusive service and similar wording ('serve the LORD').
- Joshua 24:22 (structural): The people's response to Joshua's challenge — 'We will serve the LORD' — echoes and confirms the decision urged in 24:15; functions as the covenantal affirmation following the choice.
- 1 Kings 18:21 (verbal): Elijah's challenge to Israel — 'If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him' — uses the same binary choice language about whom to serve, paralleling the call to choose allegiance.
- Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (thematic): Mosaic covenantal summons to 'choose life' and 'love the LORD your God' frames obedience as a deliberate choice for future well-being, thematically parallel to Joshua's demand to decide whom to serve.
- Matthew 6:24 (thematic): Jesus' statement that one cannot 'serve two masters' echoes the core ethical/theological principle of exclusive loyalty to God found in Joshua's call to choose whom to serve.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—whether the gods your fathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
- And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—whether the gods your fathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Jos.24.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויען: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חלילה: INTJ
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- מעזב: VERB,qal,ptcp,0,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לעבד: VERB,qal,inf
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Josh.24.15 (structural): Joshua's challenge to 'choose this day whom you will serve' frames the people's reply in v.16; the verse functions as the immediate response to Joshua's exhortation, culminating in the covenantal commitment 'as for me and my house...'.
- Josh.24.18 (verbal): Close parallel within the same speech: v.18 recounts Yahweh's saving acts and concludes with the people's pledge 'we also will serve the LORD,' echoing the affirmation found in v.16.
- Deut.6.13 (thematic): Deuteronomy commands exclusive loyalty to Yahweh ('fear the LORD your God and serve him'), providing the legal/theological basis for the people's repudiation of serving other gods in Josh 24:16.
- Deut.13.4 (allusion): Deuteronomy warns against following other gods and insists on cleaving to Yahweh; Josh 24:16 echoes this covenantal prohibition against forsaking the LORD for other deities.
- 1 Sam.12.20-22 (thematic): After Samuel's address the people pledge fidelity to the LORD and are urged to 'fear the LORD and serve him only,' a similar covenantal affirmation and call to exclusive worship found in Josh 24:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods.
- And the people answered Joshua, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods.
Jos.24.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- המעלה: VERB,hiphil,ptcp,3,m,sg
- אתנו: PRON,1,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- אבותינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+1cp
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לעינינו: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons+PRON,1,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- האתות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- הגדלות: ADJ,f,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- וישמרנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,1cp
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדרך: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הלכנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ובכל: CONJ+PREP
- העמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עברנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- בקרבם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,pl
Parallels
- Exodus 20:2 (verbal): ’I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery’ — a near‑verbatim formula echoed in Joshua’s reminder of God’s deliverance.
- Deuteronomy 5:6 (verbal): Repeats the Decalogue preface ('I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt…') and thereby parallels Joshua’s appeal to the foundational act of redemption.
- Nehemiah 9:9–10 (thematic): Confessional recounting of God 'seeing the affliction' in Egypt, sending signs and wonders and bringing Israel out — parallels Joshua’s emphasis on signs and preservation on the way.
- Psalm 78:43–53 (thematic): Poetic retelling of the Exodus signs and wonders and God’s guidance through the wilderness, echoing Joshua’s reference to 'the great signs' and God’s keeping them along the way.
- Acts 7:36 (allusion): Stephen’s speech recalls that God 'brought them out' and 'worked wonders and signs' for Israel — an early Christian retelling that alludes to the same tradition Joshua cites.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the LORD our God is he who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs before our eyes and kept us along all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
- For the LORD our God is he who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs before our eyes and preserved us along all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
Jos.24.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויגרש: VERB,qal,impf,3,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- העמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- האמרי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מפנינו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- גם: ADV
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- נעבד: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (thematic): God's command and promise to dispossess the nations of the land — provides the theological background for Joshua's statement that the LORD drove out the peoples.
- Numbers 21:21-35 (verbal): Narrative account of Israel's conquest of the Amorite kings (Sihon and Og); directly parallels the claim that the Amorites dwelling in the land were driven out.
- Exodus 23:27-30 (thematic): God's promise to send divine forces and drive out inhabitants before Israel as part of giving the land — echoes the portrayal of conquest as Yahweh's action.
- Numbers 33:51-56 (structural): Instructions that Israel must dispossess the inhabitants of the land and destroy their altars; legal/ritual framework for the dispossession Joshua attributes to the LORD.
- Judges 2:7-10 (thematic): After Joshua's death the people 'served the LORD' and experienced the effects of the conquest generation; echoes the covenantal response — 'we also will serve the LORD' — tied to Yahweh's acts on their behalf.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, and the Amorite who dwelt in the land; therefore we will serve the LORD, for he is our God.
- And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, and the Amorites who lived in their land; and we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.
Jos.24.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- תוכלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- לעבד: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- קדשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- קנוא: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ישא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לפשעכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,pl
- ולחטאותיכם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,pl
Parallels
- Exodus 20:5 (verbal): Uses the same formula ‘I the LORD your God am a jealous God’ and links God’s jealousy with visiting/holding people accountable for their iniquities—parallels Joshua’s ‘אל־קנוא… לא־ישא לפשעכם ולחטאותיכם’.
- Exodus 34:14 (allusion): Declares that the LORD’s name is ‘Jealous’ and forbids worship of other gods; echoes Joshua’s emphasis on God’s jealous character as ground for refusing idolatry.
- Deuteronomy 6:15 (verbal): Contains the same admonition (‘for the LORD your God is a jealous God’) in the covenantal context, reinforcing the warning that God’s jealousy entails judgment for covenant unfaithfulness.
- Nahum 1:3 (thematic): Affirms that the LORD is powerful and will not acquit the guilty (‘will by no means clear the guilty’), echoing Joshua’s assertion that God ‘will not bear’ (not tolerate) their transgressions and sins.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 (thematic): Speaks of God’s jealousy provoked by Israel’s idolatry (‘I will provoke them to jealousy…’/‘they made me jealous’), connecting the theme of divine jealousy and the provocation that brings God’s retributive response.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD; for he is a holy God—he is a jealous God—and he will not forgive your transgression and your sin.
- And Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and your sins.
Jos.24.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- תעזבו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ועבדתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- נכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושב: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- והרע: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- וכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אחרי: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היטיב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (structural): Moses predicts Israel’s future apostasy after its leader dies and warns that God will hide his face and bring disaster—a structural parallel to Joshua’s conditional warning that forsaking YHWH and serving foreign gods will result in harm after times of blessing.
- Judges 2:12-15 (verbal): Israel ‘forsook the LORD and served Baals,’ and the LORD ‘sold them’ into distress—closely mirrors the language and consequence in Joshua 24:20 about abandoning YHWH for foreign gods and suffering calamity.
- Judges 10:13 (verbal): ‘You have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will deliver you…’—a direct verbal parallel in which abandonment of YHWH leads to divine judgment/delivery into enemies, echoing Joshua’s warning.
- 1 Samuel 12:25 (thematic): Samuel warns that if the people do wickedly they and their king will be swept away—the same theme of communal ruin as the consequence of apostasy articulated in Joshua 24:20.
Alternative generated candidates
- If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having shown you good.”
- If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after he has done you good.
Jos.24.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- כי: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- נעבד: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
Parallels
- Exod.24.7 (verbal): The people's covenant response 'We will do all that the LORD has spoken' parallels Joshua's concise pledge 'We will serve the LORD'—both are immediate affirmative commitments to covenantal obedience.
- Deut.26.17 (verbal): Deuteronomy frames the people’s self-identification under the covenant—declaring the LORD as their God and pledging to walk in his ways—which echoes the verb of service/loyalty expressed in Joshua 24:21.
- Josh.24.14 (structural): Joshua's exhortation immediately before the people's reply—'Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him'—provides the direct context and language that the people echo in verse 21.
- 1 Sam.12.24 (thematic): Samuel's call—'Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully'—and the people's obligation to serve the LORD reflects the same covenantal summons and affirmation found in Joshua 24:21.
- Judg.2.7 (thematic): The narrator's summary that 'the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua' connects to Joshua 24:21 thematically, highlighting the ideal (and later fragile) reality of Israel's service to YHWH after Joshua's leadership.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the people said to Joshua, “No; we will serve the LORD.”
- And the people said to Joshua, "No; we will serve the LORD."
Jos.24.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- בחרתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לעבד: VERB,qal,inf
- אותו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- עדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 24:3-8 (allusion): Covenant ceremony where the people assent to the covenant ('all the words which the LORD hath said will we do') and Moses establishes witnesses with blood—parallels Joshua’s call for the people to witness their choice to serve the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 29:10-13 (verbal): Assembly language ('ye stand this day before the LORD your God') and the injunction to enter into covenant together parallels Joshua’s summons of the people as witnesses to their collective choice.
- Joshua 24:15 (thematic): Immediate literary parallel in the same chapter: Joshua’s challenge to 'choose you this day whom ye will serve' sets the context for the people’s public decision that he then calls them to witness in 24:22.
- 1 Samuel 12:3-5 (thematic): Samuel’s public account and the people’s assent (bringing the ark/affirmation) function like a communal witness to leadership and covenant commitments, analogous to Joshua’s eliciting of witnesses to Israel’s vow to serve Yahweh.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves, for you have chosen the LORD to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”
- And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
Jos.24.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועתה: CONJ
- הסירו: VERB,hiph,imp,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- הנכר: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בקרבכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,const+PRON,2,pl,m
- והטו: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- לבבכם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 7:3 (verbal): Samuel's exhortation uses almost identical language — 'put away the strange gods... and prepare your hearts unto the LORD' — calling for removal of foreign gods and wholehearted turning to YHWH.
- Joshua 24:14 (verbal): Earlier in the same chapter Joshua similarly commands the people to 'put away the gods which your fathers served' and to 'fear the LORD' — a parallel exhortation within the covenant renewal.
- Deuteronomy 12:29-31 (thematic): Deuteronomy warns Israel not to be drawn into the nations' idolatry and commands destruction/removal of places and objects of foreign worship — the same concern to eliminate 'foreign gods'.
- 2 Chronicles 15:12-13 (thematic): Asa and the people enter a covenant to seek the LORD and to remove foreign altars and images — a covenantal response mirroring Joshua's call to put away strange gods and commit the heart to YHWH.
- 2 Kings 17:35-39 (thematic): After the exile-era account of Israel, a similar summons appears to fear and serve the LORD alone and not forget or serve other gods — reflecting the ongoing prophetic/ethical demand to abandon foreign deities.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Now therefore put away the foreign gods that are among you and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
- Now therefore put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.
Jos.24.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- נעבד: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,pl
- ובקולו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:3,ms
- נשמע: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Joshua 24:15 (verbal): Uses the same commitment language—"we will serve the LORD"—as a household/covenant declaration of loyalty to God.
- Deuteronomy 10:12 (verbal): Calls Israel to "fear the LORD, and serve him... with all your heart and with all your soul," echoing the covenantal duty affirmed in Joshua 24:24.
- 1 Samuel 12:24 (thematic): A prophetic exhortation—"only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth"—matching the communal pledge to obey and serve God.
- Judges 2:7 (thematic): Notes that Joshua's generation "served the LORD all the days of Joshua," providing historical background and contrast for the people’s renewed vow in Joshua 24.
- Exodus 23:25 (thematic): Promises blessing when the people "serve the LORD your God," linking service/obedience to covenant blessing as implied in the people's pledge.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and to his voice we will hearken.”
- And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and to his voice we will hearken."
Jos.24.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויכרת: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לעם: PREP
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- וישם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- חק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומשפט: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 24:3-8 (structural): Both passages describe the formal ratification of the covenant between God and Israel with a public ceremony and the establishment of obligations (statutes/ordinances). Joshua’s covenant at Shechem echoes Moses’ covenant-making ritual on Sinai.
- Deuteronomy 27:2-8 (verbal): Deuteronomy commands setting up stones and writing the law, then erecting an altar—paralleling Joshua’s act of establishing a covenant, statute, and ordinance at a specific place (Shechem) as a tangible memorial of the law.
- Deuteronomy 29:10-14 (thematic): This passage records a covenant renewal before the whole assembly (all Israel) at the end of the wilderness period, thematically parallel to Joshua’s public covenant-making and renewal of Israel’s commitments.
- 2 Kings 23:3 (allusion): King Josiah leads the people to ‘make a covenant’ before the LORD and renew their commitment to the law—an event that alludes to and imitates earlier covenant-renewal traditions like Joshua’s act at Shechem.
- Nehemiah 10:29-39 (thematic): Nehemiah records the people’s sealing of a covenant and agreeing to ordinances and obligations—paralleling Joshua’s setting of statutes and ordinances as part of a communal covenant renewal.
Alternative generated candidates
- So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and established for them a statute and an ordinance at Shechem.
- So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and established for them a statute and an ordinance at Shechem.
Jos.24.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויכתב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- בספר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תורת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אבן: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גדולה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ויקימה: VERB,hiphil,impf,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- תחת: PREP
- האלה: DEM,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- במקדש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 24:4 (verbal): Moses 'wrote all the words of the LORD'—parallel act of recording divine law in written form.
- Deuteronomy 27:2-8 (verbal): Command to set up large stones and 'write upon them all the words of this law'—directly parallels erecting a stone and inscribing/recording the law as a covenantal monument.
- Joshua 8:30-32 (verbal): Joshua earlier built an altar on Mount Ebal and 'wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses'—a near-identical action within the same book.
- 1 Samuel 7:12 (thematic): Samuel sets up a stone named Ebenezer as a memorial of God's help—parallel use of a stone as a commemorative/covenantal witness.
- Genesis 31:45-52 (thematic): Jacob and Laban set up a heap of stones as a witness and covenant between them—stone as boundary/witness motif parallels Joshua's memorial stone.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
- And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
Jos.24.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהושע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הנה: PART
- האבן: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- בנו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- לעדה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- שמעה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- אמרי: VERB,qal,impv,2,f,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לעדה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פן: CONJ
- תכחשון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- באלהיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,pl
Parallels
- Josh.24.26 (structural): Immediate context: Joshua sets up 'a great stone' under the oak and writes words of the law—same action creating the stone as a witness.
- Deut.31.26 (verbal): Moses commands the Book of the Law to be placed beside the ark 'that it may be there as a witness against you'—uses the same language of a covenant text/thing serving as a witness.
- Deut.27:2-8 (structural): Instruction to set up large stones on Mount Ebal and write the law on them—using stones as tangible covenant witnesses to Israel's obligations.
- Gen.31:44-52 (verbal): Jacob and Laban set up a heap and pillar and expressly call it a 'witness' (Galeed/Mizpah) between them—parallel motif of stones/heaps as covenant witnesses.
- Exod.24:4-8 (thematic): Covenant ceremony with altar, pillars, and sprinkling of blood—ritual establishment of a covenant and physical signs functioning as testimony to the agreement.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke to us; it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest you deny your God.”
- And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us; for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness among you, lest you deny your God."
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; and he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officers; and they stood before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Your fathers—long ago—lived beyond the river: Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and I multiplied his offspring and gave him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau; and to Esau I gave the hill country of Seir to possess; and Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I wrought signs and wonders in Egypt and among them; and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt; and you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. And they cried to the LORD, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them; your eyes saw what I did in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness many days. And I brought you into the land of the Amorite who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you dispossessed their land and I destroyed them before you. And Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel; he sent and called Balaam son of Beor to curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; he blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand. And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; the men of Jericho, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite fought against you, and I gave them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, and it drove them out from before you—the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword nor by your bow. And I gave you a land which you had not labored for and cities which you had not built; you dwell in them and eat of vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and truth; put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods your fathers served that were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land you dwell. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods.
For the LORD our God is he who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and who did those great signs before our eyes and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, and also the Amorite who dwelt in the land; therefore we will serve the LORD, for he is our God.” And Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and your sins.
If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No; but we will serve the LORD.” And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” Now therefore put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and established for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us; it shall therefore be a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”