Joshua 2:11
in Joshua 2When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Jehovah your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
KJV
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
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This verse in Joshua 2
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Lord your God, he is God - From the rumour of God’s miraculous interpositions Rahab believed, and makes the self-same confession to which Moses endeavors to bring Israel by rehearsing similar arguments Deu 4:39. Rahab had only heard of what Israel had experienced. Her faith then was ready. It is noteworthy, too, that the same reports which work faith and conversion in the harlot, cause only terror and astonishment among her countrymen. (Compare Luk 8:37-39.)
This site's exposition
before they were laid down
on Joshua 2:8-11
Her speech is the Song of the Sea coming true inside Canaan. Exodus 15:14-16 said the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away and that fear and dread shall fall upon them, and forty years later a woman in Jericho says our hearts did melt and no courage remained in any man. She names the Red Sea, which is forty years old, and Sihon and Og from Numbers 21, which is recent, so the country has been keeping account of Israel the whole time; Joshua 5:1 then reports the same fear from the kings themselves. Her last words, that the Lord is God in heaven above and in earth beneath, are what Moses presses on Israel at Deuteronomy 4:39, and Albert Barnes observes that the reports which brought a Canaanite to faith left her countrymen only afraid.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And there was no longer any spirit. [The men had no spirit (desire)] even to lie with a woman. It was said by the Sages: There was no prince or ruler who had not had [sexual] relationships with Rochav, the harlot.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
A true sign. You create the sign, so that when you come and capture the city, you will recognize the sign and keep me alive.
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. 4 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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַנִּשְׁמַע֙ | vanishma' | and we heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וַיִּמַּ֣ס | vaiyimas | and it melted | H4549 → | 21 times |
| לְבָבֵ֔נוּ | levavenu | heart our | H3824 → | 252 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| קָ֨מָה | kamah | it arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| ע֥וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| ר֛וּחַ | ruach | spirit | H7307 → | |
| בְּאִ֖ישׁ | beish | in anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם | mipeneikhem | <from> because of you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ה֤וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | [is] God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם | bashamayim | in the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| מִמַּ֔עַל | mimaal | <from> above | H4605 → | 140 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִתָּֽחַת׃ | mitachat | <from> beneath | H8478 → | 505 times |
וַנִּשְׁמַע֙and we heard
vanishma'H8085 →1159 times
וַיִּמַּ֣סand it melted
vaiyimasH4549 →21 times
לְבָבֵ֔נוּheart our
levavenuH3824 →252 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
קָ֨מָהit arose
kamahH6965 →628 times
ע֥וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
ר֛וּחַspirit
ruachH7307 →
בְּאִ֖ישׁin anyone
beishH376 →1663 times
מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם<from> because of you
mipeneikhemH6440 →2123 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
ה֤וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֱלֹהִים֙[is] God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִםin the heavens
bashamayimH8064 →421 times
מִמַּ֔עַל<from> above
mimaalH4605 →140 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
מִתָּֽחַת׃<from> beneath
mitachatH8478 →505 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
Deuteronomy 4:39Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:35
You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
- 1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom,…
- Hosea 7:2
But they fail to consider in their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them; they are before My face.
- Psalms 135:6
The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9
As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought.…
- Deuteronomy 4:35
Through
Joshua 7:5And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people…
it leads to
- Joshua 2:9
and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting…
- Joshua 2:9
Through
Isaiah 13:7Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 21:7
And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and…
- Ezekiel 21:7
Through
Joshua 5:1Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until…
it leads to
- Joshua 2:9–11
and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting…
- Joshua 2:9–11
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.