Bible Strands
Joshua 1:4
Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—and west as far as the Great Sea.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to Joshua as he assumes leadership from Moses, defining the geographical limits of the land being given to Israel.
The words — The Hebrew מֵ/הַ/מִּדְבָּר֩ (me./ha./mid.bar) literally means "from the wilderness," and נְהַר\־ פְּרָ֗ת (ne.har- pe.Rat) means "the river Euphrates," marking the eastern and western extremes of the described territory.
The thread — This territorial description directly parallels the covenant boundaries in Genesis 15:18 and Exodus 23:31, while Numbers 34:2 establishes the parallel framework of allotting borders upon entering Canaan.
Why it lands — The verse states the territory extends from the wilderness and Lebanon to the Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, providing a concrete, non-negotiable definition of the inheritance without adding interpretive conditions.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Exodus 23:31 And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
- Numbers 34:2 “Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance with these boundaries:
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the foothills, in the Negev, and along the seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.
- Deuteronomy 3:25 Please let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that pleasant hill country as well as Lebanon!”
- Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
- 1 Chronicles 5:9 They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead.
- 1 Chronicles 18:3 As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.