Joshua 1:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joshua 1:5
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
stand
יִתְיַצֵּ֥בyit.ya.Tzev
H3320
to place (any thing so as to stay) · verb, hithpael imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
before
לְפָנֶ֔יךָle.fa.Nei.kha
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
days
יְמֵ֣יye.Mei
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural construct
life
חַיֶּ֑יךָchai.Yei.kha
H2416
alive · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Moses
מֹשֶׁה֙mo.Sheh
H4872
Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
fail
אַרְפְּךָ֖'ar.pe.Kha
H7503
to slacken (in many applications · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
forsake
אֶעֶזְבֶֽךָּ'e.'ez.Ve.ka
H5800
to loosen · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Deuteronomy 31:6-8 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail th…
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Isaiah 41:10-14 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee…
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whith…
Acts 18:9-10 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
Deuteronomy 20:4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
2 Timothy 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 1:1-9
Honour is here put upon Joshua, and great power lodged in his hand, by him that is the fountain of honour and power, and by whom kings reign. Instructions are given him by Infinite Wisdom, and encouragements by the God of all consolation. God had before spoken to Moses concerning him (Num 27:18), but now he speaks to him (v. 1), probably as he spoke to Moses (Lev 1:1) out of the tabernacle of the congregation, where Joshua had with Moses presented himself (Deu 31:14), to learn the way of attending there. Though Eleazar had the breast-plate of judgment, which Joshua was directed to consult as there was occasion (Num 27:21), yet, for his greater encouragement, God here speaks to him immediatel…
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee--Canaan was theirs by a divine grant; and the renewed confirmation of that grant to Joshua when about to lead the people into it, intimated not only a certain but an easy conquest. It is remarkable, however, that his courage and hope of victory were made to depend (see on Deu 17:18) on his firm and inflexible adherence to the law of God, not only that regarding the extirpation of the Canaanites, but the whole divine code.
Adam Clarke on Joshua 1:5
Be able to stand before thee - Because God shall be with thee, therefore thou shalt be irresistible. This promise was most punctually literally fulfilled.
John Gill on Joshua 1:5
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life,.... What is promised to the people in common, Deuteronomy 11:25; is here particularly promised to Joshua their general; and which was fulfilled in him, and still more in Christ his antitype, who made an end of sin, destroyed the devil, spoiled principalities and powers, abolished death, and overcame the world:
as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee; to counsel and advise, guide and direct, protect and defend, prosper and succeed; the Targum of Jonathan is, as my Word"was for the help of Moses, so will I be with thee:"
I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee; but grant him his presence, communicate strength u…
The Church Fathers
The fifth kindness follows, which is bestowed with true certainty on every really staunch Catholic. He means: "Even if I were to walk among heretics and schismatics" (they are rightly called the shadow of death since they have the form of death as they lead us to hell) "I will not fear their foul enticements, for you defend me with the protection of your presence." In the prophet's words: I will not leave you or forsake you; for in this world the church walks among the wicked, until he who separates the good from the evil shall come on judgment day.
We must join in disciplining ourselves to beware of all that is subject to the passions. We must, like true philosophers, escape from any foods that arouse sexual desire, from a dissolute relaxation in bed, from luxury and all the passions that make for luxury. We realize that others find this a grievous struggle. It is no longer so for us, since self-discipline is God's greatest gift. "He has said, 'I will never forsake you or abandon you,' " who has judged you worthy by a decision that is wholly genuine. In this way, as we carefully strive to go to him, the Lord's "easy yoke" will receive us.
The Lord says to Joshua Nave: And since I was with Moses, so I will be with you. Not only because of this testimony, but also because of many texts of Deuteronomy, it is proved that Moses died as a servant of God and pleasing God, even though the punishment was fulfilled in him that he would not enter the promised land (Cf Dt 32,48-52; 34,4-5). This shows that the Lord can also get angry at something with his good servants and punish them temporarily, and yet he can count them in the number of those who are in his house as honorable instruments useful to his Lord (Cf 2Tm 2,21), to whom he will give the promises made to the saints.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Armies Of Israel, The · With the aid of God all-powerful — With the aid of God all-powerful
Call · .JOSHUA — .JOSHUA
Communion · .Joshua — .Joshua
Courage · Enjoined upon Joshua — Enjoined upon Joshua
Faith · ENJOINE — ENJOINE
Joshua · .Divinely inspired — .Divinely inspired
Protection · Of God is: Unfailing — Of God is: Unfailing
Types Of Christ · Joshua — Joshua
War · God in — God in
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Joshua 1:5-9
5. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
5. Non consistet quisquam contra te cunctis diebus vitae tuae; quia sicuti fui cum Mose, ita ero tecum; non te deseram, neque derelinquam.
6. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shall thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them.
6. Confirmare, ergo, et roborare; quia tu in haereditatem divides populo huic terram, de qua juravi patribus eorum me daturum illis.
7. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou may observe to do according to all the…
The boundaries of the land are given as in Deu 11:24, with the simple difference in form, that the boundary line from the desert (of Arabia) and Lebanon, i.e., from the southern and northern extremity, is drawn first of all towards the east to the great river, the Euphrates, and then towards the west to "the great sea, toward the going down of the sun," i.e., the Mediterranean; and then between these two termini ad quem the more precise definition is inserted, "all the land of the Hittites;" whereas in Deuteronomy the southern, northern, and eastern boundaries are placed in antithesis to the western boundary, and the more precise definition of the country to be taken is given by an enumerati…
God promised never to fail or abandon Joshua, just as he had promised Moses (cp. Deut 31:6-8).
Rashi on Joshua 1:4
From the wilderness and this Lebanon. The wilderness refers to the wilderness of Kodeish, the wilderness of Tzin, which was adjacient to Edom which was to the south east, the direction from which they entered the land, as it is said: And behold we are in Kodeish.11Bamidbar 20:16. How do we know that it was southeast? It is said: ‘Your southern flank will be from the Tzin wilderness along Edom.’12Bamidbar 34:3.
To the great river, the Euphrates river. This refers to its width from south to north.
This includes all the land of the Chitim.
To the Great Sea [westward]. This refers to its length from east to west.
