Bible Strands
Joshua 21:43
Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the completion of the tribal land distribution, stating that Yahweh delivered the entire territory promised to the patriarchs to Israel, who then occupied and inhabited it.
The words — The verb וַיִּתֵּן (va.yi.Ten) functions as a decisive divine grant, while נִשְׁבַּע (nish.Ba') specifies the legal weight of "he had sworn," marking the transfer as a fulfilled oath rather than a mere conquest.
The thread — The narrative fulfillment of ancestral promises directly parallels Genesis 13:15 and Genesis 28:4, and the immediate transition to divine rest in Joshua 21:44 continues the pattern of covenant security outlined in Exodus 23:27.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to recognize that historical occupation is presented as the direct consequence of sworn divine action, demanding an assessment of how promise and possession are structurally linked in the text.
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 gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.
Cross-references
- Genesis 13:15 for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
- Genesis 28:4 And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
- Exodus 23:27 I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Psalms 106:42 Their enemies oppressed them and subdued them under their hand.
- Psalms 44:3 For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.
- Genesis 15:13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Genesis 26:3 Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
- Genesis 28:13 And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
- Exodus 3:8 I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Deuteronomy 11:31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,