Joshua 14:9
in Joshua 14On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy foot hath trodden shall be an inheritance to thee and to thy children for ever, because thou hast wholly followed Jehovah my God.
KJV
And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.
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This verse in Joshua 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHowever, he [the Lord] said they should not come to that land which they had refused, as a penalty for their unbelief; but their children and wives, who had not murmured, and who, owing to their sex and age, were guiltless, should receive the promised inheritance of that land. So the bodies of those of twenty years old and upwards fell in the desert. The punishment of the rest was put aside. But they who had gone up with Joshua, and had thought fit to dissuade the people, died without delay of a great plague.
This site's exposition
my brothers who went with me
on Joshua 14:8-9
When Caleb says at verse 9 that he wholly followed the LORD, he is quoting a verdict God passed on him rather than inventing praise. Numbers 14:24 says he had a different spirit and "has followed Me wholeheartedly", and adds the promise of the land he walked on. Numbers 32:12 and Deuteronomy 1:36 repeat the same verdict of him.
This site's exposition
the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you
Albert Barnes reads the oath as God's, spoken through Moses. The promise is general at Numbers 14:24, and Matthew Henry thinks it was more particular than that record shows. Adam Clarke takes the land Caleb walked on to be Hebron, which Numbers 13:22 says the spies reached.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This promise is his chief plea, and that on which he relies. As we find it ( Num. xiv. 24 ) it is general, him will I bring into the land whereunto he went, and his seed shall possess it; but it seems it was more particular, and Joshua knew it; both sides understood this mountain for which Caleb was now a suitor to be intended.
And Moses sware on that day, saying,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The claim of Caleb to the mountains of Hebron as his personal and family possessions was founded on a solemn promise of Moses, forty-five years before (Nu 14:24;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The land whereon thy feet have trodden - This probably refers to Hebron, which was no doubt mentioned on this occasion.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Moses sware - i. e. God swore; and His promise, confirmed by an oath, was communicated, of course, through Moses.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
It is now forty five years. From this we learn that it took seven years to conquer the land, for it was in the second year. After they went out of Egypt. that Moshe sent the spies. 6 To spy out the land.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשָּׁבַ֣ע | vaiyishava' | and he swore an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֗ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַהוּא֮ | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֵאמֹר֒ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֗א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דָּרְכָ֤ה | darekhah | it trod | H1869 → | |
| רַגְלְךָ֙ | raglekha | foot your | H7272 → | 247 times |
| בָּ֔הּ | bah | on <the> it | ||
| לְךָ֨ | lekha | of you | ||
| תִֽהְיֶ֧ה | tihyeh | it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְנַחֲלָ֛ה | lenachalah | <into> an inheritance | H5159 → | 222 times |
| וּלְבָנֶ֖יךָ | ulevaneikha | and of children your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עוֹלָ֑ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִלֵּ֔אתָ | mileta | you filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֖י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהָֽי׃ | ʾelohai | God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֣עand he swore an oath
vaiyishava'H7650 →186 times
מֹשֶׁ֗הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַהוּא֮<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
לֵאמֹר֒<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֗אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דָּרְכָ֤הit trod
darekhahH1869 →
רַגְלְךָ֙foot your
raglekhaH7272 →247 times
בָּ֔הּon <the> it
bah
לְךָ֨of you
lekha
תִֽהְיֶ֧הit will become
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְנַחֲלָ֛ה<into> an inheritance
lenachalahH5159 →222 times
וּלְבָנֶ֖יךָand of children your
ulevaneikhaH1121 →4930 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עוֹלָ֑םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מִלֵּ֔אתָyou filled
miletaH4390 →249 times
אַחֲרֵ֖יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהָֽי׃God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 1:3I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:24
Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
- Titus 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
- Deuteronomy 11:24
Through
Deuteronomy 1:36except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”
it leads to
- Numbers 14:24
But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.
- Numbers 14:24
Through
Numbers 13:22They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:12
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
- Psalms 78:43
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
- Isaiah 19:11
The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
- Joshua 15:13–14
According to the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)
- Isaiah 30:4
For though their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
- Psalms 78:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.8.55-56; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.