Joshua 23:10
in Joshua 23One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
One man of you shall chase a thousand; for Jehovah your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he spake unto you.
KJV
One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.
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This verse in Joshua 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseFor faithful is he who has promised that "a thousand shall be chased by one," and that "ten thousand shall be put to flight by two," victory in battle being due not to numbers but to righteousness.
This site's exposition
The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations
on Joshua 23:9-11
No one standing against Israel is the second half of 21:44, with one exception at 7:12 after Achan. One putting a thousand to flight raises Leviticus 26:8, where five pursue a hundred, and Deuteronomy 32:30, "How could one man pursue a thousand"; Judges 2:14 turns it around. Clarke reads verse 11 as watching your souls, the Hebrew word covering the whole person.
This site's exposition
One of you can put a thousand
The LORD fought for Israel is the narrator's line at Gibeon in 10:14 and over the whole southern campaign at 10:42. Deuteronomy 28:7 had promised that enemies who marched out in one direction would flee in seven. One man routing a thousand fulfils that word.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
One man of you shall chase a thousand,....
"Each tribe may venture for itself, and for the recovery of its own lot, without fearing disadvantage by the disproportion of numbers; for the Lord your God, whose all power is, both to inspirit and to dispirit, and who has all the creatures at his beck, he it is that fighteth for you; and how many do you reckon him for?" 3.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, as the Lord your God hath promised you, &c.--The actual possessions which God had given were a pledge of the complete fulfilment of His promise in giving them the parts of the country still unconquered.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
One man of you shall chase a thousand - Do not remain inactive on the supposition that you must be much more numerous before you can drive out your enemies, for it is the Lord that shall drive out nations great and strong; and under his direction and influence one of you shall chase a thousand.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָ֥ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִכֶּ֖ם | mikem | of <the> you | ||
| יִרְדָּף־ | yirdof- | he puts to flight | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אָ֑לֶף | ʾalef | a thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֗ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ה֚וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַנִּלְחָ֣ם | hanilcham | [is] the [one who] fights | H3898 → | 177 times |
| לָכֶ֔ם | lakhem | for <the> you | ||
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֥ר | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| לָכֶֽם׃ | lakhem | to <the> you |
אִישׁ־a man
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
אֶחָ֥דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מִכֶּ֖םof <the> you
mikem
יִרְדָּף־he puts to flight
yirdof-H7291 →143 times
אָ֑לֶףa thousand
ʾalefH505 →505 times
כִּ֣י׀for
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֗םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
ה֚וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַנִּלְחָ֣ם[is] the [one who] fights
hanilchamH3898 →177 times
לָכֶ֔םfor <the> you
lakhem
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֥רhe spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
לָכֶֽם׃to <the> you
lakhem
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
Exodus 14:14The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 20:4
For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 1:30
The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 3:22
Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
- Joshua 23:3
“and you have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, because it was the LORD your God who fought for you.
- Deuteronomy 20:4
Through
Psalms 35:1Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
it leads to
- Psalms 43:1
Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
- Jeremiah 51:36
Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.
- Psalms 43:1
Through
Deuteronomy 32:30How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Leviticus 26:8
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory of Nyssa, ANSWER TO EUNOMIUS'S SECOND BOOK; 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.