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1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spoke unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

2 “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore rise up, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that (place) have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

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.

6 Be strong and courageous: for it is this people who shall receive the land as an inheritance, just as I swore to their forefathers that I would give it to them.

7 You must be strong and courageous, that you may follow through and do according to all of the law, as Moses my servant commanded you: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you are and wherever you go.

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

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 whithersoever thou goest.

10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,

11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,

13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.

14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;

15 Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.

16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.

17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.

18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

[2] An example of the turn of speech known as the Hebrew tautology

[1-6] This passage contains the show-piece evidence that the prophet who would be raised after Moses was indeed Joshua.

• the Lord spoke unto Joshua
  • This command came from the Lord and not from Moses. Despite this, it explicitly references Moses' command.
• 2 “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore rise up,
  • “I will raise up…” (Deu 18:15,18, Deu 31:3)
• 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that (place) have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
  • I have given to you – as I said unto Moses.
  • Joshua is therefore the prophet “like unto Moses” because what God said is not “as I said I would raise up Joshua;” no – it is that “as I said unto Moses, so I will say for you in his place.” Even if you do not wish to take it this way, the verses nearby (2, 4, 5) confirm this understanding anyways.
• 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.

<html><b>And after the death of Moshe.</b> This is connected to the chapter of the Torah¹<i class=“footnote”>The spirit of prophecy did not rest upon Yehoshua until the thirty day mourning period for Moshe was over. It was then that God began to speak to him and command him to begin the conquest of Eretz Yisroel. Yehoshua was in a state of sadness and the spirit of propecy does not rest upon a person who is sad. There are other <i>Seforim</i> in <i>Tanach</i> such as Ruth, Esther, Yonah that begin with the word וַיְהִי, and it was, that are not connected to any previous event. But here the beginning is definitely connected with the conclusion of <i>Sefer Devorim</i> where the death of Moshe is related.</i> which concluded with the passing of Moshe;²<i class=“footnote”>Devorim 34:5,6,7,8.</i> and this (Seifer Yehoshua) is connected to it.³<i class=“footnote”>Devorim 34:9.</i></html>

<html><b>Moshe, My servant is dead.</b> But if he were alive,⁴<i class=“footnote”>According to <i>Rashi,</i> this is connected to what follows: Since he is dead, you must arouse yourself and cross this Jordan.</i> I would have wanted him [as the leader].⁵<i class=“footnote”>According to <i>Metsudas Dovid,</i> Hashem said that if Moshe was still alive, you would be unable to cross the Jordon because of the decree preventing him from crossing the Jordon. See Bamidbar 20:12; Ibid 27:12,13.</i> Our Sages explain [that this passage is a reference] [to the three thousand laws that were forgotten] during the period of mourning for Moshe. Yehoshua then came and asked.⁶<i class=“footnote”>When the Bnei Yisroel realized that they had forgotten so many laws of the Torah, they came to Yehoshua and asked him to teach them the laws, but he too had forgotten many of them. He wanted Hashem to reveal those forgotten laws to him.</i> the Holy One blessed is He, said to him: “Moshe, My servant is dead, and the Torah is called on his name, which is like telling you that it is impossible.⁷<i class=“footnote”>Since the Torah is referred to as תּוֹרַת משֶׁה, the Torah of Moshe, and Moshe is dead, these laws cannot be reenacted.</i> Go and burden them with battles.”⁸<i class=“footnote”>God told Yehoshua to get the people occupied with conquering the land. He told him to begin preparations to cross the Jordan and this would cause them to forget about the laws that were lost to them. This refers to the battles of conquest that were required to capture the land.</i></html>

<html><b>Every place upon which the sole of your feet will tread.</b> This is similar to what was said to Moshe. Regarding this, we learned in the <i>Sifre.</i> ‘If [this verse] is to teach us about the boundaries of Eretz Yisroel, the Torah has already stated:⁹<i class=“footnote”>Devorim 11:24.</i> From the wilderness and the Lebanon etc.¹⁰<i class=“footnote”>Therefore we know the boundaries of Eretz Yisroel from the Torah.</i> If so, why is it said here: <b>Every place upon which the sole will tread?</b> This includes the lands outside Eretz Yisroel. After you have conquered the land, everything you conquer outside the land will be sacred and will belong to you.’</html>

<html><b>From the wilderness and this Lebanon.</b> 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.¹¹<i class=“footnote”>Bamidbar 20:16.</i> How do we know that it was southeast? It is said: ‘Your southern flank will be from the <i>Tzin</i> wilderness along Edom.’¹²<i class=“footnote”>Bamidbar 34:3.</i> <b>To the great river, the Euphrates river.</b> This refers to its width from south to north. This includes all the land of the Chitim. <b>To the Great Sea [westward].</b> This refers to its length from east to west.</html>

<html><b>Be strong and courageous.</b> In the physical sense, as He states: “For you will lead this people to inherit the land.”</html>

<html><b>Just be very strong and courageous.</b> This was said in reference to the Torah, as He states: ‘To preserve, to act in accordance with all the laws of the Torah.’ תַּשְּׁכִּיל—You will be successful.¹³<i class=“footnote”>People consider that a successful person is a smart person. That is why the word תַּשְׂכִּיל—is associated with the word תַּצְלִיחַ. (<i>Metsudas Tzion</i>).</i></html>

<html><b>This Sefer Torah.¹⁴<i class=“footnote”>This <i>Sefer Torah</i> implies a specific Book of the Torah. Which one? Thus <i>Rashi</i> comments that it refers to Sefer Devorim that was before Him.</i></b> The <i>Sefer Devorim</i> was before Him. <b>And you shall meditate in it.</b> Every expression of הִגָיוֹן in the Torah refers to the [meditation] of the heart,¹⁵<i class=“footnote”><i>Metsudas Tzion</i> says that הִגָיוֹן sometimes refers to speech as it is written: And my tongue will speak (תֶּהְגֶה) of Your righteousness (Tehillim 35:28).</i> as it is said, ‘And the thoughts of my heart before you;’¹⁶<i class=“footnote”>Tehillim 19:15.</i> ‘Your heart will give forth fearful thoughts.’¹⁷<i class=“footnote”>Yeshayahu 33:18.</i></html>

<html><b>I have already commanded you to be stong and courageous.</b> This was said in reference to actual war, as it is said: ‘Have no fear or trepidation.’ Where was he commanded this? He was so commanded in the time of Moshe, as it is said: ‘and command Yehoshua son of Nun etc.’¹⁸<i class=“footnote”>Devorim 31:23.</i></html>

<html><b>And Yehoshua commanded.</b> He did this on the day that completed the days of mourning for Moshe.¹⁹<i class=“footnote”>Moshe died on the seventh day of Adar and he was mourned for thirty days. See Devorim 34:8.</i></html>

<html><b>Prepare your travel needs.</b> [Prepare] everything necessary for (traveling) and weapons for the [upcoming] battle, he said to them. You cannot say the צֵדָה refers to food and drink²⁰<i class=“footnote”><i>Metsudas Dovid</i> maintains that while they still ate of the <i>manna,</i> they bought other varieties of food from the non-Jewish merchants, and it was these foods that they were commanded to prepare.</i> for they had sufficient <i>manna</i> in their vessels to last them untill the sixteenth of Nissan, and so it is said:²¹<i class=“footnote”>Chapter 5:12.</i> ‘The manna ceased on the morrow.’ <b>After three days.</b> At the end of three days. When you will have been here three days; then you will cross [the Jordan].</html>

<html><b>All who are mighty warriors</b> among you shall cross over armed [for battle].</html>

<html><b>The sun rises.</b> Refering to the eastern side of the Jordan.</html>

<html><b>Rebels</b>—who challenge your words.</html>