Joshua 23:12
in Joshua 23For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Else if ye do at all go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you;
KJV
Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
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This verse in Joshua 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations
on Joshua 23:12-13
Numbers 33:55 is the warning quoted, "barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides". Joshua swaps the pair and adds snare and trap, which Judges 2:3 reports arriving. The marriages are what Deuteronomy 7:3 forbade, and 1 Kings 11:2 says Solomon "clung to these women", the verb used here.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Else if ye do in any wise go back,....
10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the L ORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. As to the date of this edict of Joshua, I. No mention at all is made of the place where this general assembly was held; some think it was at Timnath-serah, Joshua's own city, where he lived, and whence, being old, he could not well remove.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Else if ye do - go back - The soldier who draws back when going to meet the enemy, forfeits his life. These were the Lord’s soldiers, and if they drew back they drew back unto perdition, their lives being forfeited by their infidelity.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And a goad in your sides. 1 Rashi takes the word לְשׁטֵט as an expression of prowing rather than as an expression of a rod or goad as do other commentaries. They will prowl around you to loot and ransack.
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. 6 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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| שׁ֣וֹב | shov | ever <to turn back> | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| תָּשׁ֗וּבוּ | tashuvu | you will turn back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וּדְבַקְתֶּם֙ | udevaktem | and you will cling | H1692 → | 54 times |
| בְּיֶ֙תֶר֙ | beyeter | to [the] remainder of | H3499 → | 102 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֣ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים | hanisharim | which remain | H7604 → | 133 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| אִתְּכֶ֑ם | ʾitekhem | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְהִֽתְחַתַּנְתֶּ֥ם | vehitchatantem | and you will intermarry | H2859 → | |
| בָּהֶ֛ם | bahem | with <the> them | ||
| וּבָאתֶ֥ם | uvatem | and you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בָּהֶ֖ם | bahem | among <the> them | ||
| וְהֵ֥ם | vehem | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| בָּכֶֽם׃ | bakhem | among <the> you |
כִּ֣י׀that
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
שׁ֣וֹבever <to turn back>
shovH7725 →1056 times
תָּשׁ֗וּבוּyou will turn back
tashuvuH7725 →1056 times
וּדְבַקְתֶּם֙and you will cling
udevaktemH1692 →54 times
בְּיֶ֙תֶר֙to [the] remainder of
beyeterH3499 →102 times
הַגּוֹיִ֣םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥יםwhich remain
hanisharimH7604 →133 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
אִתְּכֶ֑םwith you
ʾitekhemH854 →929 times
וְהִֽתְחַתַּנְתֶּ֥םand you will intermarry
vehitchatantemH2859 →
בָּהֶ֛םwith <the> them
bahem
וּבָאתֶ֥םand you will go
uvatemH935 →2568 times
בָּהֶ֖םamong <the> them
bahem
וְהֵ֥םand they
vehemH1992 →553 times
בָּכֶֽם׃among <the> you
bakhem
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 7:3Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:2
These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to…
- Joshua 23:12–13
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,
- Exodus 34:15–16
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
- 1 Kings 11:2
Through
Ezekiel 18:24But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:18
If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.
- Proverbs 21:16
The man who strays from the path of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.
- 2 John 1:8
Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
- Ezekiel 33:18
Through
Zephaniah 1:6and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- Isaiah 1:4
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on…
- Jeremiah 2:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.