Boone

Menhardt
Hebrew II
Professor Peterson

My Translation:

Joshua 24: 19-27

SDA Commentary: "Joshua: Chapter 24." In The Seventh-day Adventist Bible
Commentary, edited by Francis Nichol, Raymond Cottrell, Don Neufield, and Julia Neuffer,
297. Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1976

Verse 19:
you cannot serve This phrase can be difficult to understand. The meaning
of this verse could be, We cannot serve the Lord if we forsake Him and serve other
gods. He is a jealous God, and cannot share with other gods His place or authority.
This verse could have the intent to force a declaration. Claiming that it is
morally impossible for man to serve the Lord and follow the divine commandments.
In other words, it is impossible to serve God on your own strength. This suggests
that Joshua is actually, centuries before Paul, setting up a framework for
righteousness by faith. This idealology assumes that God and man must work
together. God cannot do anything for us if we do not consent or allow Him to do so
and man can do nothing without Gods help. Therefore, faith and works work hand-
in-hand and we must use them equally.

Verse 20:
He will turn

Verse 23:
And the people said We see here the beginning of the three times the
people affirmed their allegiance to God. Therefore, they are reconfirming their
covenant.

Verse 25:
Statute: this word comes from the word cut off which can be translated to
what is cut in or what is graven.

Verse 26:
Joshua wrote:







The NIV Application Commentary: "Joshua: Chapter 24." In The NIV Application
Commentary, edited by Terry Muck, John Walton, Robert Hubbard, Stanley Gundry, Katya
Covrett, and Verlyn Verbrugge, by Robert Hubbard, 557-561. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan, 2009.


At first it would seem that Joshuas reply, You cannot serve the Lord is a really
inconsiderate and rude statement. However; his rebuke to the people seems to be
directed at the naivety of Israels knowledge of theology. It gives them a strong
dose of divine reality in the attempt to eliminate certain threatening delusions.


Matthew Henrys Commentary:

Joshua attempts to ensure that the people of Israel will embrace their religion
absolutely and that they will express whole heartedly that they will cling to the
Lord. To drive the point home, Joushua exclaims, You cannot serve the Lord.

Joshua also points out that God will not forgive them, and if they forake him, He will
bring them hurt. Joshuas intent is not to deter the Israelites from serving God,
although it may seem at a glance that this was his intention. Joshua may have been
attempting to represent the suggestions of seducers and accusors who tempted
Israel from God and claimed that God is a hard master, difficult to please, and has an
impossible work load. By doing this, Joshua would possibly make the Israelites see
this statement as an objection and therefore would put the responsibility on the
people on how they would keep their ground against this accusation.

Or perhaps Joshua wanted the people to realize the danger of not serving God.
Saying, you cannot serve the Lord unless you throw away your idols because He is
holy and jealous. So you must be watchful and careful, for it is dangerous to leave
His care and protection.

Henry, Matthew. "Joshua: Chapter 24." In Matthew Henry's Commentary, 116-119. Vol. 2.
Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company.


Calvins Commentaries

Joshua seems to act ridiculasly when suggesting a ground of alarm and danger in an
attempt to reignite the peoples zeal for God. But this rebuke of alarm and danger
was a necessity to rouse the zeal of a lazy and sluggish nation who grew more and
more lethargic with security. This is why Joshua points out that their securities and
protection will be lost if they dont throw away their idols and do everything they
can to serve The Lord. It seems then that Joshua does not deter them from
worhsiping the Lord, but only shows them how wicked and sinful they are so they
will change their temper.
In verse 25, Joshua makes a covenant with the people. This was the whole reason for
the meeting, so that Joshua could persuade the people to come back to the Lord. It
was a renewal of the covenant. Joshua acted on the part of God to receive the
homage and obedience of the people.

Calvin, John, and Henry Beveridge. Commentaries on the Book of Joshua. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1949. 277-281.


Beacon Bible Commentary: Pages 96-100

The word cannot was Joshua fearing that the promises made by the Israelites were
made too hastely and without thought. Joshua wanted the people to realize that God
is not pleased with short, temporary bursts of enthusiasm, He wants a life long
comittment.




Word Studies: ( hoq) 468-470

This word derives from the word hqq which means to inscribe or prescribe. Hoq,
however, can be translated to establishing order or can be understood as just
order. This word can be seen as a boundary line that a ruler will draw up for those
who serve him in which they, his subordinates, cannot cross. In this case, we can
translate the word as Statutes or Laws.
Jenni, Ernst, and Claus Westermann. Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament. Vol. 2.
Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997. 468-470, 635-637, 819-832.




635-637

This word comes from the Hebrew word carot or to cut off. In the case of Genesis 15,
we see a ritual where this word is used as both a ritual and an actual cutting of
something. Here, Abraham cuts animals in half and walks through them as a ritual to
God. This term is a bit different than the one used in Joshua 24. It talks about
animals being cut and therefore, the animals are the object of the carot. Because of
the change of context, one can assume that the object, or animal, of the carot, or
ritual, is replaced by a designation of the result or goal of the ritual. This does create
somewhat of a paradox. This word can be seen as a covenant or an obligation. In the
context of Joshua 24, we see that Joshua is making a carot for the people. Most
people translate this as a covenant. In this case, it would be a promise that the
people would follow God and throw away their foreign gods.

Jenni, Ernst, and Claus Westermann. Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament. Vol. 2.
Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997. 468-470, 635-637, 819-832.

The most important use of this word is covenant. The reason the word cut is used
is because slaughtering animals was apart of the biblical covenant ritual. In Gen 15,
we see how God made a covenant with Abraham. The word used for covenant is
carot. Here we see a very strange ritual in which Abraham cuts up animals and
walks between them. It seems that this rutual, the covenant ritual, would then
represent what would come of the one who makes the contract. In other words, if
one is to break the contract, then the fate of the animals would become his own fate.

Harris, R. Laird, Gleason Archer, and Bruce Waltke, eds. Theological Workbook of the Old
Testament. Vol. 2. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1980. 457.



819-832

This verb comes from the noun abad, meaning servant or slave. It can also mean a
servant or worshiper of a god or some type of diety. The verb form therefore can
mean to serve or to work. This is a very broad deffinition because in encompasses
service and work in all aspects of life. In the context of serving God, it can be seen as
a relationsip with God or as a designation for the cult, for service at the sanctuary.
This word is certianly significant in the Old Testament and has both profane and
religious aspects.
Jenni, Ernst, and Claus Westermann. Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament. Vol. 2.
Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997. 468-470, 635-637, 819-832.

639-640
This word can be used on both things and people. For instance, it can be said that
someone labored in the fields as in Gen. 2:5. But Joshua is more concerned with
the service of others, not work. More specifically, service to God. Joshua is calling his
people back to serve the God of Israel after they had been serving foreign gods. In
this way, many people see this word to mean worshipers. In other words Joshua is
calling the people to worship the God of Israel and not the foreign gods that they
have been worshiping.

Harris, R. Laird, Gleason Archer, and Bruce Waltke, eds. Theological Workbook of the Old
Testament. Vol. 2. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1980. 639-640.




This word comes from the Hebrew word, nasah which means to lift, carry, or take.
All three of these categories can be seen in both literal and figurative ways. For
instance, in II Sam 2:22, we see the phrase lift up the eyes which can mean simply
to look up. In Ps 24:7,9 we see the phrase, to lift up ones face or countenance
which can be taken as an indication of good confidence, favor, or acceptance. Most
likely, the word used in Joshua 24:19 means to take away. This would translate to,
forgiveness, or pardon of sin. What is very interesting about this word is that it
seems to aquate forgiveness with forgetting. In other words, when one is forgiven,
the sins are taken away and therefore forgotten about. This form is typically used in
a prayer of intercession, but we see that it is not used in a prayer. It is actually used
in a rebuke, claiming that God will not forgive (or take away the sins of) the people.

Harris, R. Laird, Gleason Archer, and Bruce Waltke, eds. Theological Workbook of the Old
Testament. Vol. 2. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1980. 600-601.