Joshua 13:1

Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh speaks to Joshua at the moment Joshua has reached advanced age, initiating the next phase of territorial assignment after the initial conquest.

The words — The Hebrew זָקֵן (za.Ken) literally means "he was old," combined with בָּא בַּיָּמִים (ba ba-yamim, "he had come in days") to establish Joshua’s prolonged lifespan.

The thread — This pattern of aging leadership and unclaimed territory appears in Joshua 14:10, Joshua 24:29, and Deuteronomy 31:3, where Yahweh’s continued presence and the incomplete conquest are repeatedly documented.

Why it lands — The text states that physical aging does not terminate divine commission, requiring the reader to pursue assigned tasks despite bodily decline.

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

וִיהוֹשֻׁ֣עַvi./ho.Shu.a'and/ Joshua זָקֵ֔ןza.Kenhe was old בָּ֖אba'he had come בַּיָּמִ֑יםba/i.ya.Mimin <the>/ days וַיֹּ֨אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahweh אֵלָ֗יו'e.La/vto/ him אַתָּ֤ה'a.Tahyou זָקַ֙נְתָּה֙za.Kan.tahyou are old בָּ֣אתָBa.tayou have come בַיָּמִ֔יםva/i.ya.Mimin <the>/ days וְהָאָ֛רֶץve./ha./'A.retzand/ the/ land נִשְׁאֲרָ֥הnish.'a.Rahit remains הַרְבֵּֽה־har.beh-much מְאֹ֖דme.'Odvery לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃le./rish.Ta/hto/ take possession of/ it

King James Version

Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.

Cross-references

Joshua 14:10 Now behold, as the LORD promised, He has kept me alive these forty-five years since He spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old,
Deuteronomy 31:3 The LORD your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua will cross ahead of you, as the LORD has said.
Joshua 24:29 Some time later, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
Genesis 18:11 And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
Joshua 23:1 A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, when Joshua was old and well along in years,
Luke 1:7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.
1 Kings 1:1 Now King David was old and well along in years, and though they covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm.

People named

Joshua