Bible Strands
Joshua 24:26
Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua acts before the assembled Israelites at Shechem immediately after establishing a covenant and statutes with them. This documentation and monument follow the people's formal renewal of their commitment to the Lord.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּכְתֹּב (va-yiḵtōḇ) means "and he wrote," directing Joshua to inscribe the covenant terms in the סֵפֶר תּוֹרַת אֱלֹהִים (sefer torat 'ĕlōhîm), or "Book of the Law of God." This formal recording establishes a fixed legal and religious standard for the community.
The thread — The oak near Shechem reappears in Judges 9:6 as a gathering point for rebellion and in Genesis 35:4 as the site where Jacob buried foreign idols, marking the location as a recurring landmark for covenant decisions and spiritual purges. Joshua’s stone monument parallels Genesis 28:18, where Jacob sets up a pillar to mark a divine encounter.
Why it lands — The text records Joshua's written documentation of the covenant and his placement of a stone to serve as a permanent witness against future denial of God. A reader must accept that covenant fidelity requires both preserved written statutes and tangible reminders to guard against apostasy.
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 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Judges 9:6 Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.
- Genesis 35:4 So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.
- Genesis 28:18 Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,
- Genesis 35:8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.
- Exodus 24:4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 31:24 When Moses had finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end,
- Joshua 4:20 And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.
- Joshua 4:3 and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”