Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 31:14
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Moses at the conclusion of his earthly ministry, ordering him to summon Joshua to the Tent of Meeting for a divine commissioning. This instruction occurs immediately after Moses' public charge to Israel and directly precedes the pillar of cloud's manifestation at the tent.
The words — The Hebrew phrase קָרְב֣וּ יָמֶי/ךָ֮ לָ/מוּת (qarevu yamekha lamut) literally renders "draw near your days to die," marking the imminent termination of Moses' life.
The thread — This leadership transition mirrors Numbers 27:13, which notes Moses' impending gathering to his people, and Deuteronomy 31:23, where Yahweh directly commissions Joshua.
Why it lands — The text establishes that covenant authority transfers through appointed succession rather than individual permanence. It requires readers to accept structural continuity in divine leadership without resisting the conclusion of a foundational figure's tenure.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Cross-references
- Numbers 27:13 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was;
- Deuteronomy 31:23 Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”
- 1 Samuel 10:19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”
- Job 2:1 On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
- Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
- 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:
- Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Exodus 34:2 Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop.
- Numbers 27:19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and commission him in their sight.
- Deuteronomy 31:2 he said to them, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’