Bible Strands
Joshua 7:10
But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Joshua immediately after Joshua prostrates himself and questions how God’s name will be honored if Israel is destroyed. The moment occurs during a military crisis triggered by Israel’s hidden covenant violation.
The words — The imperative קֻם (kum) literally means “stand up,” and the interrogative לָמָּה (lamah) asks “why?” regarding Joshua’s fallen posture. These terms directly confront Joshua’s physical and spiritual collapse with a command to rise.
The thread — This divine interruption of human hesitation appears when God tells Moses to command Israel to advance (Exodus 14:15) and when God questions Samuel’s prolonged mourning for Saul (1 Samuel 16:1). The pattern consistently replaces prostration or delay with a directive to act.
Why it lands — The text requires Joshua to cease his prostration and prepare to confront the stolen devoted items causing Israel’s defeat. A reader must recognize that divine resolution demands active obedience and investigation rather than passive despair when addressing communal sin.
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 said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 16:1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
- Exodus 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
- 1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
- 1 Chronicles 22:16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you.”