Joshua 23
יהושע פרק כ״ג
Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: Joshua | Chapter: 23 of 24 | Day: 23 of 742
Date: March 6, 2026
קלאוד על הנ״ך
Joshua chapter 23 is the first of Joshua’s two farewell addresses, delivered “much later, after God had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them” (verse 1), when Joshua is old and approaching death. This speech, addressed to “all Israel, their elders and commanders, their magistrates and officials” (verse 2), functions as a bridge between the era of conquest and the uncertain future that awaits a leaderless nation. It follows a pattern familiar from the Torah — the aging leader gathering the people for a final charge — echoing Moses’s farewell in Deuteronomy and anticipating Samuel’s address in 1 Samuel 12.
The speech divides into two halves built around a sharp theological axis. In the first section (verses 3-10), Joshua recounts God’s faithfulness: “You have seen all that the Eternal your God has done to all those nations on your account” (verse 3). He reminds them that God has allotted territory including lands not yet fully conquered and promises that God “will thrust them out on your account and drive them out to make way for you” (verse 5). The emphasis falls on divine agency — it is God who fights, God who drives out, God who fulfills. The famous formulation in verse 10, “A single one of you would put a thousand to flight,” attributes Israel’s military success entirely to God’s intervention rather than human prowess.
The second half (verses 11-16) pivots to warning. The conditional nature of the covenant comes into sharp focus. Joshua employs vivid imagery to describe the consequences of assimilation with the remaining Canaanite nations: “they shall become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge to your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land” (verse 13). The warning is constructed with deliberate symmetry: just as “every good thing that the Eternal your God promised you has been fulfilled for you, so God can bring upon you every evil thing” (verse 15). The same God whose faithfulness brought blessing can, with equal faithfulness to the covenant’s terms, bring catastrophe. This is not divine caprice but covenantal consistency.
The theological architecture of chapter 23 introduces a concept that will dominate the rest of the Nevi’im Rishonim (Former Prophets): the doctrine of conditional blessing. The land is a gift, but it is not unconditional. Joshua’s words here become almost programmatic for the Deuteronomistic history that follows — the cycles of faithfulness and apostasy in Judges, the rise and fall of the monarchy in Samuel and Kings. The phrase “I am now going the way of all the earth” (verse 14, holekh hayom b’derekh kol ha’aretz) is both poignant and universal, acknowledging mortality while placing the nation’s future squarely in the people’s own hands. Joshua cannot guarantee their obedience; he can only testify to God’s faithfulness and make clear the stakes.
פרק כ״ג · Chapter 23
פסוק א׳ · Verse 1
Hebrew:
וַֽיְהִי֙ מִיָּמִ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים אַ֠חֲרֵ֠י אֲשֶׁר־הֵנִ֨יחַ יְהֹוָ֧ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל מִכׇּל־אֹיְבֵיהֶ֖ם מִסָּבִ֑יב וִיהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִֽים׃
English:
Much later, after GOD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, and when Joshua was old and well advanced in years,
פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2
Hebrew:
וַיִּקְרָ֤א יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ לְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לִזְקֵנָיו֙ וּלְרָאשָׁ֔יו וּלְשֹׁפְטָ֖יו וּלְשֹׁטְרָ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם אֲנִ֣י זָקַ֔נְתִּי בָּ֖אתִי בַּיָּמִֽים׃
English:
Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and commanders, their magistrates and officials, and said to them: “I have grown old and am advanced in years.
פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3
Hebrew:
וְאַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֗ם אֵת֩ כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֜ה יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֛ם לְכׇל־הַגּוֹיִ֥ם הָאֵ֖לֶּה מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם כִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֔ם ה֖וּא הַנִּלְחָ֥ם לָכֶֽם׃
English:
You have seen all that the ETERNAL your God has done to all those nations on your account, for it was the ETERNAL your God who fought for you.
פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4
Hebrew:
רְאוּ֩ הִפַּ֨לְתִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶֽת־הַ֠גּוֹיִ֠ם הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֛לֶּה בְּנַחֲלָ֖ה לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶ֑ם מִן־הַיַּרְדֵּ֗ן וְכׇל־הַגּוֹיִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִכְרַ֔תִּי וְהַיָּ֥ם הַגָּד֖וֹל מְב֥וֹא הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃
English:
See, I have allotted to you, by your tribes, [the territory of] these nations that still remain, and that of all the nations that I have destroyed, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5
Hebrew:
וַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֗ם ה֚וּא יֶהְדֳּפֵ֣ם מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם וְהוֹרִ֥ישׁ אֹתָ֖ם מִלִּפְנֵיכֶ֑ם וִֽירִשְׁתֶּם֙ אֶת־אַרְצָ֔ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֛ר יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם לָכֶֽם׃
English:
It is the ETERNAL your God who will thrust them out on your account and drive them out to make way for you, and you shall possess their land as the ETERNAL your God promised you.
פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6
Hebrew:
וַחֲזַקְתֶּ֣ם מְאֹ֔ד לִ��ְׁמֹ֣ר וְלַֽעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הַכָּת֔וּב בְּסֵ֖פֶר תּוֹרַ֣ת מֹשֶׁ֑ה לְבִלְתִּ֥י סוּר־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ יָמִ֥ין וּשְׂמֹֽאול׃
English:
“But be most resolute to observe faithfully all that is written in the Book of the Teaching of Moses, without ever deviating from it to the right or to the left,
פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7
Hebrew:
לְבִלְתִּי־בֹא֙ בַּגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אִתְּכֶ֑ם וּבְשֵׁ֨ם אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֤ם לֹֽא־תַזְכִּ֙ירוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א תַשְׁבִּ֔יעוּ וְלֹ֣א תַעַבְד֔וּם וְלֹ֥א תִֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ לָהֶֽם׃
English:
and without intermingling with these nations that are left among you. Do not utter the names of their gods or swear by them; do not serve them or bow down to them.
פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8
Hebrew:
כִּ֛י אִם־בַּיהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם תִּדְבָּ֑קוּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר עֲשִׂיתֶ֔ם עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃
English:
But hold fast to the ETERNAL your God as you have done to this day.
פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9
Hebrew:
וַיּ֤וֹרֶשׁ יְהֹוָה֙ מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם גּוֹיִ֖ם גְּדֹלִ֣ים וַעֲצוּמִ֑ים וְאַתֶּ֗ם לֹא־עָ֤מַד אִישׁ֙ בִּפְנֵיכֶ֔ם עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃
English:
“GOD has driven out great, powerful nations on your account, and no one has withstood you to this day.
פסוק י״ · Verse 10
Hebrew:
אִישׁ־אֶחָ֥ד מִכֶּ֖ם יִרְדׇּף־אָ֑לֶף כִּ֣י ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֗ם ה֚וּא הַנִּלְחָ֣ם לָכֶ֔ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר דִּבֶּ֥ר לָכֶֽם׃
English:
A single one of you would put a thousand to flight, for the ETERNAL your God has been fighting for you, just as you were promised.
פסוק י״א · Verse 11
Hebrew:
וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם מְאֹ֖ד לְנַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶ֑ם לְאַהֲבָ֖ה אֶת־��ְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶֽם׃
English:
For your own sakes, therefore, be most mindful to love the ETERNAL your God.
פסוק י״ב · Verse 12
Hebrew:
כִּ֣י ׀ אִם־שׁ֣וֹב תָּשׁ֗וּבוּ וּדְבַקְתֶּם֙ בְּיֶ֙תֶר֙ הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אִתְּכֶ֑ם וְהִֽתְחַתַּנְתֶּ֥ם בָּהֶ֛ם וּבָאתֶ֥ם בָּהֶ֖ם וְהֵ֥ם בָּכֶֽם׃
English:
For should you turn away and attach yourselves to the remnant of those nations—to those that are left among you—and intermarry with them, you joining them and they joining you,
פסוק י״ג · Verse 13
Hebrew:
יָד֙וֹעַ֙ תֵּֽדְע֔וּ כִּי֩ לֹ֨א יוֹסִ֜יף יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֗ם לְהוֹרִ֛ישׁ אֶת־הַגּוֹיִ֥ם הָאֵ֖לֶּה מִלִּפְנֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָי֨וּ לָכֶ֜ם לְפַ֣ח וּלְמוֹקֵ֗שׁ וּלְשֹׁטֵ֤ט בְּצִדֵּיכֶם֙ וְלִצְנִנִ֣ים בְּעֵינֵיכֶ֔ם עַד־אֲבׇדְכֶ֗ם מֵ֠עַ֠ל הָאֲדָמָ֤ה הַטּוֹבָה֙ הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁר֙ נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֔ם יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
English:
know for certain that the ETERNAL your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you; they shall become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge to your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the ETERNAL your God has given you.
פסוק י״ד · Verse 14
Hebrew:
וְהִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֤י הוֹלֵךְ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם בְּדֶ֖רֶךְ כׇּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וִידַעְתֶּ֞ם בְּכׇל־לְבַבְכֶ֣ם וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁכֶ֗ם כִּ֣י לֹֽא־נָפַל֩ דָּבָ֨ר אֶחָ֜ד מִכֹּ֣ל ׀ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הַטּוֹבִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֜ר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם הַכֹּל֙ בָּ֣אוּ לָכֶ֔ם לֹא־נָפַ֥ל מִמֶּ֖נּוּ דָּבָ֥ר אֶחָֽד׃
English:
“I am now going the way of all the earth. Acknowledge with all your heart and soul that not one of the good things that the ETERNAL your God promised you has failed to happen; they have all come true for you, not a single one has failed.
פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15
Hebrew:
וְהָיָ֗ה כַּאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֤א עֲלֵיכֶם֙ כׇּל־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַטּ֔וֹב אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֛ר יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם כֵּן֩ יָבִ֨יא יְהֹוָ֜ה עֲלֵיכֶ֗ם אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הַדָּבָ֣ר הָרָ֔ע עַד־הַשְׁמִיד֣וֹ אוֹתְכֶ֗ם ��ֵ֠עַ֠ל הָאֲדָמָ֤ה הַטּוֹבָה֙ הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁר֙ נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֔ם יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
English:
But just as every good thing that the ETERNAL your God promised you has been fulfilled for you, so GOD can bring upon you every evil thing until you have been wiped off this good land that the ETERNAL your God has given you.
פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16
Hebrew:
בְּ֠עׇבְרְכֶ֠ם אֶת־בְּרִ֨ית יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֣ה אֶתְכֶם֒ וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֗ם וַֽעֲבַדְתֶּם֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖ם לָהֶ֑ם וְחָרָ֤ה אַף־יְהֹוָה֙ בָּכֶ֔ם וַאֲבַדְתֶּ֣ם מְהֵרָ֔ה מֵעַל֙ הָאָ֣רֶץ הַטּוֹבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר נָתַ֥ן לָכֶֽם׃ {פ}
English:
If you break the covenant that the ETERNAL your God enjoined upon you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then GOD’s anger will burn against you, and you shall quickly perish from the good land that you have been given.”