Joshua 7:8
in Joshua 7O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel hath turned their backs before their enemies!
KJV
O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
⋯
This verse in Joshua 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth . . . before the ark . . . he and the elders--It is evident, from those tokens of humiliation and sorrow, that a solemn fast was observed on this occasion. The language of Joshua's prayer is thought by many to savor of human infirmity and to be wanting in that reverence and submission he owed to God.
This site's exposition
Joshua tore his clothes
on Joshua 7:6-9
Joshua’s complaint echoes the murmurs of Exodus 14:12 and Numbers 14:2. His plea, “what will You do for Your great name”, is Moses’ argument of Exodus 32:12 and Numbers 14:15-16. Clarke observes that no rebuke follows, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that many readers hear weakness in it.
This site's exposition
now that Israel has turned its back
The Hebrew for turned its back is literally turned its neck, as Henry notes. Gill reads the question as Joshua at a loss for anything to say in defence of God's power and faithfulness. The Lord answers with the same phrase at verse 12.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " What shall I say, what construction can I put upon it, when Israel, thy own people, for whom thou hast lately done such great things and to whom thou hast promised the full possession of this land, when they turn their backs before their enemies " (their necks, so the word is), "when they not only flee before them, but fall before them, and become a prey to them?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
O Lord, what shall I say,.... For the comfort and encouragement of the people of Israel, in vindication of thy power and faithfulness, and against the charge of weakness in thyself, unfaithfulness to thy promises, and unkindness to thy people, brought by our enemies: when Israel hath turned their backs before their enemies? or after they have done it; what is to be said now, this being the case? he speaks as a man confounded, and at the utmost loss how to account for the power, the providence, and promises of God.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּ֖י | bi | pardon me | H994 → | |
| אֲדֹנָ֑י | ʾadonai | O Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| מָ֣ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֹמַ֔ר | ʾomar | will I say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַ֠חֲרֵי | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָפַ֧ךְ | hafakh | it has turned | H2015 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עֹ֖רֶף | ʾoref | a neck | H6203 → | |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֹיְבָֽיו׃ | ʾoyevav | enemies its | H341 → | 282 times |
בִּ֖יpardon me
biH994 →
אֲדֹנָ֑יO Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
מָ֣הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אֹמַ֔רwill I say
ʾomarH559 →5305 times
אַ֠חֲרֵיafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָפַ֧ךְit has turned
hafakhH2015 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עֹ֖רֶףa neck
ʾorefH6203 →
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
אֹיְבָֽיו׃enemies its
ʾoyevavH341 →282 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
Habakkuk 2:1I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. I will watch to see what He will say to me, and how I should answer when corrected.
it leads to
- Isaiah 21:8
Then the lookout shouted: “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; night after night I stay at my post.
- Isaiah 62:6
On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
- 2 Samuel 18:24
Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone.
- Psalms 85:8
I will listen to what God the LORD will say; for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints; He will not let them return to folly.
- Psalms 73:16–17
When I tried to understand all this, it was troublesome in my sight
- Isaiah 21:8
Through
Ezra 9:10And now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commandments
it leads to
- Daniel 9:4–16
And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,
- Genesis 44:16
“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and…
- Romans 3:19
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Daniel 9:4–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.