What Does Joshua 23:7 Mean?
That you not go in among these nations, these remaining among you; nor cause the name of their gods to be remembered, nor cause to swear by them, nor serve them, nor bow down to them.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:THE KEY
The verse treats a god’s name as its nature, so invoking it, swearing by it, serving it, and bowing to it are one movement of allegiance.
THE MEANING
Speech, oath, service, and bodily posture appear together: what the mouth names is bound to what the hands serve and the body bows to. The verse shows how rival powers take up space in a life through repeated acts of recognition.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that invoking another god is only speech and carries no allegiance until it becomes worship: the verse places naming, swearing, serving, and bowing in one sequence.
THE ROOT
תַזְכִּירוּ
tazkiru
GROWS FROM
זכר
Remember, recall, bring to mind.
“cause the name of their gods to be remembered” in this verse is tazkiru. The verb is causative, carrying the sense “bring to remembrance.” The verse joins that speech to shem (שֵׁם, shem: name as nature), then to swearing, serving, and bowing; naming a power is already part of the allegiance the rest of the verse describes.
ALSO GROWS
zakar: Remember; call to mind.
זָכַר
The root holds mention and remembrance together, so speaking a god’s name brings that power into active recognition.
zikkaron: Memorial; remembrance.
זִכָּרוֹן
A memorial keeps a name present over time, echoing how invocation gives a name continued presence in speech.
תַעַבְדֻם
ta’avdum
GROWS FROM
עבד
Work, labor, serve.
“serve them” in this verse is ta’avdum. English separates service from labor, but the root holds them together. Serving these gods is not a detached ritual; the word reaches into the work and effort through which allegiance is lived.
ALSO GROWS
eved: Servant; one who serves.
עֶבֶד
The servant is named from the same root, tying service to a lived relationship of allegiance.
avodah: Work; service.
עֲבֹדָה
This branch joins labor and service in one word, revealing how the verse’s allegiance extends beyond a single bow or oath.
THE PATTERN
Invocation, oath, service, and bodily participation disclose and form allegiance to the power named.
Guard yourselves in all that I have said to you. Do not call up the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.You shall stand in awe of the LORD your God, and serve him, and swear by his nature.You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot share in the Lord's table and the table of demons.THE THREAD
Guard yourselves in all that I have said to you. Do not call up the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.This verse repeats the same root, זכר (zakar: remember, bring to mind), and extends the boundary from naming other gods to letting their names be heard from the mouth. The shared root reveals speech itself as part of the allegiance described here.
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