Joshua 7:10
in Joshua 7But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore art thou thus fallen upon thy face?
KJV
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
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This verse in Joshua 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd the Lord said unto Joshua, get thee up,.... From the ground where he lay prostrate, with his face to it: this he said, not as refusing his supplication to him, but rather as encouraging and strengthening him; though chiefly he said this in order to instruct him, and that he might prepare for what he was to do: wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? in this manner, so distressed and dejected; or for this thing, as the Targum, for this defeat of the army; something else is to be done besides prayer and supplication.
This site's exposition
Why have you fallen on your face
on Joshua 7:10-12
The answer lays the charge on the nation, “Israel has sinned”, followed by five verbs, each a step further from the first act. Clarke draws the mechanism from the word itself, that whatever touched the devoted thing fell under its sentence, so Israel stands condemned by contact.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? - It is plain there was nothing in Joshua’s prayer or complaint that was offensive to God, for here there is no reprehension: Why liest thou thus? this is no time for complaint; something else is indispensably necessary to be done.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
God’s answer is given directly, and in terms of reproof. Joshua must not lie helpless before God; the cause of the calamity was to be discovered.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Get yourself up. [Even though we read the word as קֻם], it is written קם [which could be read קָם]. [The explanation therefore would be as follows]: Your prayers to Me have stood up for you, and [everything] you mentioned.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֧אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| קֻ֣ם | kum | stand up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| לָ֑ךְ | lakh | for <the> yourself | ||
| לָ֣מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| זֶּ֔ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| נֹפֵ֥ל | nofel | falling | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּנֶֽיךָ׃ | paneikha | face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַיֹּ֧אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
קֻ֣םstand up
kumH6965 →628 times
לָ֑ךְfor <the> yourself
lakh
לָ֣מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
זֶּ֔הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
אַתָּ֖ה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
נֹפֵ֥לfalling
nofelH5307 →435 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פָּנֶֽיךָ׃face your
paneikhaH6440 →2123 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
1 Samuel 15:22But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of…
it leads to
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Psalms 51:16–17
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.
- Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- Amos 5:21–24
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Mark 12:33
and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and…
- Hosea 6:6
Through
Exodus 14:15Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
it leads to
- Ezra 10:4–5
Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we will support you. Be strong and take action!”
- Ezra 10:4–5
Through
1 Samuel 16:1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
- 2 Kings 9:1
Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
- 1 Samuel 15:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
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 on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).