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Joshua 23: Summary and Commentary

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Joshua 23 has not been written up in our own words yet. Below are the notes on it from three commentaries — start with Tyndale, which is written in modern English for readers new to the Bible.

What the commentaries say about Joshua 23

Three commentaries, oldest last. Each is shown in full with its author and licence, and every scripture reference inside them links through to the verse.

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Joshua 23

Tyndale House Publishers, released openly in 2023

Short, plain-English notes written for people reading the Bible for the first time. They explain what a word meant to its original audience, why a detail is there, and where else in Scripture the same idea shows up. If you only read one set of notes on this page, read this one.

12 notes on Joshua 23

Verse 1

23:1-11 Joshua urged Israel’s leaders to be faithful.

Verse 2

23:2-3 The leaders . . . of Israel had experienced what God had done for them and to their enemies. Throughout the lifetimes of these leaders who outlived Joshua, Israel continued to be faithful to God (Judg 2:7).

Verse 4

23:4-5 Some of the land that Joshua had assigned to the various tribes remained unconquered. Israel’s gradual occupation of the land had an ecological reason (see Exod 23:29-30), a military reason (see Judg 1:19), and a theological reason (see Judg 2:20–3:4). Israel’s ensuing unfaithfulness delayed the settlement process by several centuries; instead of driving out the remaining Canaanites, Israel absorbed them, bringing God’s people even greater temptations to unfaithfulness. Joshua knew this to be a real danger (Josh 23:15-16).

Verse 6

23:6 Since before crossing the Jordan River to take the land of Canaan, Joshua’s guiding principle had been to be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote and not deviate. Now he passed on these instructions to the leaders who would succeed him in leading Israel.

Verse 7

23:7 Do not even mention . . . swear by . . . serve . . . or worship them: These four actions describe progressive involvement with idolatry.

Verse 8

23:8 To cling tightly or passionately to God would render impotent the temptation to stray off toward other gods. This same verb described a man clinging to his wife (Gen 2:24) and Ruth clinging to Naomi (Ruth 1:14).

Verse 9

23:9 Examples of great and powerful nations included the Anakim (11:21-22) and the city of Hazor (11:10).

Verse 10

23:10 God fights for you: Just as God had fought for the Israelites in the past (e.g., 10:11-14), he would continue to fight for them in the future.

Verse 11

23:11 be very careful to love: Love is a function of will and intention. Emotion and attraction are the results, not the essence, of love. Because love is (or is not) willed, love can be commanded but not coerced.

Verse 12

23:12-16 Apostasy—turning away from the true God—is fatal. • Because God is holy, Joshua could speak with optimism regarding God’s promises and the good land into which God had brought them. God will not change his holy character even if his people change. The rebellion of God’s people cannot damage his holiness, but rebellion will destroy those who rebel.

23:12 Joshua warned God’s people not to intermarry with their polytheistic neighbors because such an intimate relationship would lead the Israelites astray (Deut 7:3-4). However, Canaanites who desired to worship the Lord and join God’s people were welcomed (Josh 6:25; Ruth 4:10). Race, language, and ethnicity had no bearing on God’s prohibition of intermarriage; it was a matter of faithfulness to the Lord (cp. 2 Cor 6:14-15).

Verse 13

23:13 will no longer drive them out: If Israel associated with the Canaanite remnant, God would oblige the Israelites by not driving out that remnant. God ultimately gives people what they seek.

Verse 15

23:15-16 God had blessed the Israelites, and he would also certainly judge them if they turned away from him. Joshua’s warning against apostasy was prophetic; Israel did turn away, and God did not drive out the remaining Canaanites (Judg 2:20-23).

Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for the web by BibleHearth; wording unchanged. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Read the original

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible on Joshua 23

Matthew Henry, 1706–1714

A pastor writing for his own congregation three hundred years ago. Henry is less interested in historical background than in what a chapter asks of the person reading it, which is why he is still quoted in sermons today. He is warm, direct, and unafraid to apply a text to you.

Before you start: Written in the early 1700s. The sentences are long and some words have shifted meaning since — "conversation" means how a person lives, "want" means to lack something. Read it slowly; it rewards that.

Chapter overview of Joshua 23

What this chapter is doing

This chapter concludes the life and reign of Joshua, in which we have, I. The great care and pains he took to confirm the people of Israel in the true faith and worship of God, that they might, after his death, persevere therein. In order to this he called another general assembly of the heads of the congregation of Israel (Jos 24:1) and dealt with them. 1. By way of narrative, recounting the great things God had done for them and their fathers (Jos 24:2-13). 2. By way of charge to them, in consideration thereof, to serve God (Jos 24:14). 3. By way of treaty with them, wherein he aims to bring them, (1.) To make religion their deliberate choice; and they did so, with reasons for their choice (Jos 24:15-18). (2.) To make it their determinate choice, and to resolve to adhere to it (Jos 24:19-24). 4. By way of covenant upon that treaty (Jos 24:25-28). II. The conclusion of this history, with, 1. The death and burial of Joshua (Jos 24:29, Jos 24:30) and Eleazar (Jos 24:33), and the mention of the burial of Joseph's bones upon that occasion (Jos 24:32). 2. A general account of the state of Israel at that time (Jos 24:31).

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (Matthew Henry, 1706–1714). Public domain. Reformatted for the web by BibleHearth; wording unchanged. Public domain · Read the original

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary on Joshua 23

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, 1871

Three Scottish scholars working phrase by phrase through the whole Bible. Where a translation had to choose one English wording, they tell you what the Hebrew or Greek actually says and what the alternatives were. Useful when you want to know why two Bibles word the same verse differently.

Before you start: Written in 1871 and organised around short quoted phrases followed by a dash, then the explanation. It reads more like reference notes than prose, and it assumes you have the verse in front of you.

Chapter overview and 5 notes on Joshua 23

What this chapter is doing

JOSHUA'S EXHORTATION BEFORE HIS DEATH. (Jos 23:1-2)

a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies—about fourteen years after the conquest of Canaan, and seven after the distribution of that country among the tribes.

Verse 2

Joshua called for all Israel—The clause which follows seems to restrict this general expression as applicable only to the officers and representatives of the people. The place of assembly was most probably Shiloh. The occasion of convening it was the extreme age and approaching death of the venerable leader; and the purport of this solemn address was to animate the chosen people and their posterity to a faithful and unswerving continuance in the faith and worship of the God of Israel.

Verse 3

BY FORMER BENEFITS. (Jos 23:3)

ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you—The modesty and humility of Joshua are remarkably displayed at the commencement of this address. Dismissing all thoughts of his personal services, he ascribed the subjugation and occupation of Canaan entirely to the favoring presence and aid of God; and in doing so, he spoke not more piously than truly. This had been promised (Deu 1:30; Deu 3:22); and the reality of the divine aid was seen in the rapid overthrow of the Canaanites, which had already led to the division of the whole land among the tribes [Jos 23:4].

Verse 5

BY PROMISES. (Jos 23:5-11)

the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, as the Lord your God hath promised you, &c.—The actual possessions which God had given were a pledge of the complete fulfilment of His promise in giving them the parts of the country still unconquered. But the accomplishment of the divine promise depended on their inviolable fidelity to God's law—on their keeping resolutely aloof from all familiar intercourse and intimate connections with the Canaanites, or in any way partaking of their idolatrous sins. In the event of their continuing in steadfast adherence to the cause of God, as happily distinguished the nation at that time, His blessing would secure them a course of brilliant and easy victories (Lev 26:7; Deu 28:7; Deu 32:30).

Verse 11

Take good heed, therefore, that ye love the Lord your God—The sum of his exhortation is comprised in the love of God, which is the end or fulfilment of the law (Deu 6:5; Deu 6:11:13; Mat 22:37).

Verse 12

BY THREATENINGS IN CASE OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Jos 23:12)

Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations—As marriage connections with the idolatrous Canaanites would present many and strong temptations to transgress it, these were strictly prohibited (Exo 34:12-16; Deu 7:3). With his eye, as it were, upon those prohibitions, Joshua threatens them with the certain withdrawal of the divine aid in the further expulsion of the Canaanites (a threat founded Exo 23:33; Num 33:55; Deu 7:16).

Next: Joshua Chapter 24

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary (Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, 1871). Public domain. Reformatted for the web by BibleHearth; wording unchanged. Public domain · Read the original

Where to go deeper on Joshua 23

Both of these are free to read and neither can be reproduced here — The Gospel Coalition and BibleProject keep their work under their own copyright. They are worth the click, especially if you are new to reading the Bible.