Joshua 24:17

For the LORD our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us throughout our journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The Israelite community addresses Joshua and themselves at Shechem, speaking immediately after their vow to reject foreign gods. They anchor their collective loyalty in the documented history of Yahweh’s intervention.

The words — The participle הַמַּעֲלֶה (ha.ma'aleh) literally means “the one who brings up” or “the one who causes to ascend,” directly identifying Yahweh as the agent of Exodus. The conjunction כִּי (ki) operates causally, making their present confession contingent on that past deliverance.

The thread — The motif of divine extraction and protective guidance recurs in Exodus 19:4, where God carries Israel on eagles’ wings, and Deuteronomy 32:11, which applies the same avian imagery to His hovering vigilance. The confessional acknowledgment of Yahweh’s faithful acts also parallels the tone of Isaiah 63:7.

Why it lands — The text requires present allegiance to be grounded in verified historical action rather than abstract preference. It demands that any commitment to God be explicitly tied to the specific, recorded deeds He has already performed.

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

כִּ֚יkifor יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ'e.lo.Hei./nuGod/ our הוּא֩hu'he הַמַּעֲלֶ֨הha./ma.'a.Leh[is] the/ [one who] brought up אֹתָ֧נוּ'o.Ta./nu<obj.>/ us וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>אֲבוֹתֵ֛ינוּ'a.vo.Tei./nufathers/ our מֵאֶ֥רֶץme./'E.retzfrom/ [the] land of מִצְרַ֖יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgypt מִבֵּ֣יתmi./Beitfrom/ a house of עֲבָדִ֑ים'a.va.Dimslaves וַאֲשֶׁ֧רva./'a.Sherand/ [the one] who עָשָׂ֣ה'a.Sahhe did לְעֵינֵ֗ינוּle./'ei.Nei./nuto/ eyes/ our אֶת־'et-<obj.>הָאֹת֤וֹתha./'o.Totthe/ signs הַגְּדֹלוֹת֙ha./ge.do.lOt<the>/ great הָאֵ֔לֶּהha./'E.leh<the>/ these וַֽיִּשְׁמְרֵ֗נוּva/i.yish.me.Re./nuand/ he kept/ us בְּכָל־be./kholin/ all הַדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ha./De.rekhthe/ way אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich הָלַ֣כְנוּha.Lakh.nuwe wentבָ֔הּVa/hin <the>/ itוּבְכֹל֙u./ve./Kholand/ among/ all הָֽעַמִּ֔יםha./'a.Mimthe/ peoples אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich עָבַ֖רְנוּ'a.Var.nuwe passed בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃be./kir.Ba/min/ midst/ their

King James Version

For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:

Cross-references

Exodus 19:4 ‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
Isaiah 63:7 I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us—the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great compassion and loving devotion.
Deuteronomy 32:11 As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions.
Joshua 24:5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and afterward I brought you out.
Isaiah 46:4 Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.
Amos 2:9 Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.