Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Joshua
Chapter 1: Be Strong and Courageous
Moses is dead, and a whole generation of promise now rests on one man. God speaks to Joshua and tells him to rise, cross the Jordan, and take the land. Three times He says, be strong and courageous, and He anchors that courage in one thing: My presence and My Word go with you. The book of inheritance begins with a man being told not to be afraid.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Joshua chapter 1. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Joshua is the book of entering the promise, and its first chapter hands the task to a new leader with a promise and a command. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
"Joshua" Is "Jesus"
The name Joshua, in Hebrew Yehoshua, means "The LORD saves." Shortened to Yeshua and carried into Greek, it becomes Iesous, the very name we say as "Jesus." The man who leads Israel into the promise bears the Savior's name.
Joshua
The book is traditionally ascribed to Joshua himself, with the account of his death added later by another hand, as with Moses in Deuteronomy.
At the Jordan
Israel is camped east of the Jordan. The wilderness years are over. Across the river lies Canaan, the land God swore to give.
Entering the Promise
God's promises are certain, but they are entered by faith and courage, in step with His presence and His Word. Joshua 1 shows how.
Arise, Cross This Jordan (Joshua 1:1-4)
A great leader has died, but God's work does not die with him. He calls Joshua forward and tells him the time has come.
Moses Is Dead; Now Go
"Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 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."
Hebrew Study
Joshua is introduced as Moses' "minister" — mesharet, a personal attendant who served at his side for forty years. The leadership passes not to a stranger but to a tested servant. And the promise turns on a vivid word: "every place that the sole of your foot shall tread" — darak, to walk or step on — "have I given you." The land is possessed one footprint at a time; God's gift is claimed by walking into it. (His name, Yehoshua, is the Hebrew form of "Jesus.")
Explanation
God's work outlives His workers. Moses, the greatest leader Israel had known, is gone, and yet the promise marches on. Notice the tenses: the land "I am giving" and yet "I have given you" every place your foot will tread. The gift is already granted in God's word; it is entered step by step as they go. Faith walks on what God has already promised.
Gospel Focus
Moses — the great man of the law — is dead, and yet the promise does not die with him; it passes to Joshua, and Israel marches on. There is a quiet gospel in that handoff, for "the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). The law could bring Israel to the border but never over the river; it took Joshua — whose name is Jesus — to lead the people into the inheritance. What Moses and the law could not finish, the true Joshua accomplishes, bringing His people all the way into their rest.
Be Strong and of Good Courage (Joshua 1:5-9)
Three times in this chapter God commands courage, and each time He gives the reason: not Joshua's strength, but God's presence.
I Will Not Leave You
"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. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest."
Hebrew Study
"be strong," chazaq (חָזַק). To be firm, hard, resolute. This is the first half of God's charge to Joshua, and it is not a request for a feeling but for a resolve, a strength of will that holds fast under pressure. God commands it three times over (verses 6, 7, 9).
"of good courage," amats (אָמַץ). To be bold and determined. It is the companion word to chazaq, and the two are always joined in this charge: firmness that will not bend, and boldness that will not shrink back. Together they are pressed upon Joshua three times over (verses 6, 7, 9).
Explanation
Three times God says "be strong and of a good courage," and each command is anchored to a promise: "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee... the LORD thy God is with thee." But notice what courage is yoked to — not reckless daring, but obedience: "that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law... turn not from it to the right hand or to the left." The bold leader must also be the obedient one. Real courage in God's service is not bravado; it is the steadiness of a man who both trusts God's presence and keeps God's word.
Gospel Focus
The command is "be strong," but the reason is always "for the LORD your God is with you." Courage in the Bible is never self-confidence; it is God-confidence. The promise God gave Joshua is repeated to us: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The LORD is my helper; and I will not fear" (Hebrews 13:5-6). And the name is not lost on us: Joshua, whose name is Jesus, leads God's people into the inheritance that Moses, the law, could not give. Hebrews says that if Joshua had given them the final rest, God would not have spoken of another (Hebrews 4:8). The true and greater Joshua, Jesus, leads us all the way home.
Meditate on the Word Day and Night (Joshua 1:8)
Between the command to be brave and the promise of success sits the key that holds them together: God's Word, kept always before him.
This Book of the Law
"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. 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. Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 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. And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 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. 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; 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. And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 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. 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."
Hebrew Study
"meditate," hagah (הָגָה). To murmur, mutter, ponder aloud. Biblical meditation is not emptying the mind but filling it, speaking God's Word softly to yourself, chewing on it until it soaks in. That is why it "shall not depart from your mouth."
Explanation
The word-saturated leader does not sit still — the moment God finishes speaking, "then Joshua commanded the officers," and the people are told to ready provisions, for in three days they cross. Meditation on Scripture drives straight into decisive action. And the unity of the tribes shines: the Reubenites, Gadites, and half of Manasseh, though their land lay east of Jordan, pledge to "pass before your brethren armed" until every tribe has its rest. No one settles down in his own inheritance while his brothers still have a battle to fight.
Gospel Focus
Notice the order: meditate, in order to "observe to do," and then comes success. The Word is not merely to be studied but obeyed, and the promised prosperity is the fruit of a life lived by it. This is the same promise as Psalm 1, where the blessed man delights in the law of the LORD and "in his law doth he meditate day and night... and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper" (Psalm 1:2-3). The leader of a nation was told that his success depended not on his sword but on the Scriptures. The same is true of us.
Chapter 1 in Review
Joshua 1 launches the conquest of the Promised Land not with a battle plan but with a promise and a command. God's work survives the death of His servant. He gives the land by His word and calls Joshua to enter it step by step. Three times He commands courage, grounding it every time in His own presence, and He makes success depend on meditating on and obeying His Word.
For the Apostolic reader, the chapter glows with the gospel. The man named Jesus leads God's people into the inheritance the law could not give, a shadow of the true Jesus who leads us into God's rest. And the marching orders are ours: be strong, not in ourselves but in His presence, and keep His Word before us day and night.
- God's work and promises outlive His workers; the mission goes on.
- Biblical courage rests on God's presence, not on our own strength.
- Success is tied to meditating on and obeying God's Word, not to human ability.
- Joshua, whose name is Jesus, foreshadows Christ leading His people into their inheritance.
Questions for Reflection
- God grounded Joshua's courage in "I am with you." Where do you need to trade self-confidence for God-confidence?
- Meditation here means keeping the Word on your lips. How could you fill your mind with Scripture day and night?
- God had already given the land, yet Joshua had to walk it out. What promise do you need to step into by faith?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The commissioning of Joshua and the promised land: Joshua 1:1-9.
- God's presence as the ground of courage: Joshua 1:5, 9; Hebrews 13:5-6; Isaiah 41:10.
- Meditating on and obeying the Word: Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3.
- Joshua's name and Jesus; the greater rest: Numbers 13:16; Hebrews 4:8-9.