Deuteronomy 31:7

And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Deuteronomy 31:7. Moses — said to him in the face of all Israel — Lest any should question or deny his authority after Moses’s death. Be strong and of good courage — The same exhortation and promise are given to him in particular, that were before given to them all, because he was to bear the charge of them all, and the toil and burden of governing them, and conducting their affairs.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

31:1-8 Moses assures Israel of the constant presence of God with them. This is applied by the apostle to all God's spiritual Israel, to encourage their faith and hope; unto us is this gospel preached, as well as unto them; he will never fail thee, nor forsake thee, Heb 13:5. Moses commends Joshua to them for a leader; one whose wisdom, and courage, and affection they had long known; one whom God had appointed to be their leader; and therefore would own and bless. Joshua is well pleased to be admonished by Moses to be strong and of good courage. Those shall speed well, who have God with them; therefore they ought to be of good courage. Through God let us do valiantly, for through him we shall do victoriously; if we resist the devil, he will flee from us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Moses hands over to Joshua that office as leader of the people, to which he had already been designated Deuteronomy 1:38; Numbers 27:23. He assigns also to the Levitical priests and the elders, as the ecclesiastical and civil heads of the nation, the responsibility of teaching the law and enforcing its observance Deuteronomy 31:10-13. Both these were symbolic acts, designed to mark the responsibility of the parties concerned after the death of Moses.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2-8. also the Lord hath said—should be "for the Lord hath said" thou shalt not go over this Jordan. While taking a solemn leave of the people, Moses exhorted them not to be intimidated by the menacing opposition of enemies; to take encouragement from the continued presence of their covenanted God; and to rest assured that the same divine power, which had enabled them to discomfit their first assailants on the east of Jordan, would aid them not less effectually in the adventurous enterprise which they were about to undertake, and by which they would obtain possession of "the land which He had sworn unto their fathers to give them."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Moses called unto Joshua,.... Who might be at some distance from him, with the tribe to which he belonged. The Targum of Jonathan adds,"out of the midst of the people:"

and said unto him, in the sight of all Israel; now assembled together, and what follows was said in their hearing, to make him the more respectable to them:

be strong and of a good courage; the same that is said to the people in Deuteronomy 31:6, and which was still more necessary in him, who was to be their general, and to go at the head of them, and lead them on to battle; and though Joshua was a man of courage and valour, as well as had military skill, as appears by his fight with Amalek, Exodus 17:9; yet such an exhortation was not needless, seeing he had so much work to do, and so many enemies to contend with:

for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them, and thou shalt cause them to inherit it; the Targum of Jonathan is,"which the Word of the Lord hath sworn to give;''the land of Canaan, thither he must go with them; this was the will and determination of God, and he must go alone without him, Moses, which would be a trial of his courage.

Geneva Study Bible

And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and {c} of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

(c) For he that must govern the people, must be valiant to repress evil, and constant to maintain virtue.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. in the sight of all Israel] Deuteronomy 34:12.

Be strong and of a good courage] As in Deuteronomy 31:6 but Sg.; cp. Deuteronomy 3:28. LXX: ἀνδρίζου καὶ ἴσχυε.

go with] Rather bring, as in some Heb. MSS, Sam. Vulg. and Deuteronomy 31:23.

sworn] Deuteronomy 1:8.

cause them to inherit] Deuteronomy 1:38, Deuteronomy 3:28.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 7, 8. - Moses, having in view the appointment of Joshua as his successor, also encourages him to go forward on the strength of the Divine promise. Thou must go with this people. This is a correct rendering of the words as they stand in the Hebrew text. The Samaritan, Syriac, and Vulgate have, "Thou shalt bring this people;" but this is probably an arbitrary correction in order to assimilate this to ver. 23. And thou shalt cause them to inherit it; i.e. shalt conduct them to the full possession of the land. Deuteronomy 31:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Moses then encourages Joshua in the same way in the presence of all the people, on the strength of the promise of God in Deuteronomy 1:38 and Numbers 27:18. את־העם תּבוא, "thou wilt come with this people into the land." These words are quite appropriate; and the alteration of תּבוא into תּביא, according to Deuteronomy 31:23 (Samar., Syr., Vulg.), is a perfectly unnecessary conjecture; for Joshua was not appointed leader of the people here, but simply promised an entrance with all the people into Canaan.