What does Joshua 1:9 mean?

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.
Joshua 1:9, King James Version

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The verse in its chapter

Joshua 1:7-11

  1. 7 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
  5. 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.

Study note

Tyndale Open Study Notes (CC BY-SA 4.0).

1:9 As the Israelites entered Canaan, they would fight the worshipers of the Canaanite gods, but they were afraid these gods would grant the Canaanites victory in battle. In reassuring Joshua, God used his personal name the Lord (Hebrew Yahweh; see study note on Exod 3:15) to remind Joshua that the Lord was more powerful than any false gods the Canaanites might invoke. • your God is with you: God’s continuous presence made it possible for Joshua to heed God’s instruction.

Cross references

Other Bible passages linked to this one, most cited first.

About the book of Joshua

Author
anonymous; Jewish tradition credits Joshua
When
tells of the entry into Canaan, c. 1400 to 1200 BC
Period
Conquista e juízes, c. 1400 a 1050 a.C. (in Portuguese)

Authorship: the book itself or Christian tradition. Approximate dates, as in Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, and Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament.

In the Mercy Bible Atlas (in Portuguese)

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