What Does Deuteronomy 3:28 Mean in the King James?
But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Joshua’s name means “YHWH delivers,” and here deliverance takes the form of one person being strengthened to lead others into their inheritance.
THE MEANING
This verse speaks into the moment when what you can see is larger than what you can complete: another person is charged, strengthened, and made firm to lead the crossing. Joshua’s name carries the root of deliverance, while his work opens an inheritance for others. What you cannot carry to the end can still reach its destination through another’s strength.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that if you cannot personally complete what you can see, the work is lost.
THE ROOT
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
Yehoshua
GROWS FROM
ישע
y-š-ʿ
Deliver; bring out of constriction into spaciousness.
Yehoshua joins the divine name with the root of deliverance: “YHWH delivers.” The verse gives that name a living shape as Joshua leads others into the land they are to inherit.
ALSO GROWS
yasha: Deliver, rescue.
יָשַׁע
This is the deliverance root carried in Joshua’s name and enacted in his charge.
yeshuah: Deliverance.
יְשׁוּעָה
The related noun names the movement from constriction toward freedom that Joshua’s role embodies.
וְחַזְּקֵהוּ
vechazqehu
GROWS FROM
חזק
ḥ-z-q
Become firm or strong; prevail.
“strengthen” in this verse is vechazqehu. English can make strength sound like a quality Joshua must already possess, but the Hebrew gives Moses an action: make him firm. This root also carries the sense of prevailing, so the strengthening is directed toward the crossing and the work ahead.
ALSO GROWS
chazaq: Strong, firm.
חָזָק
This branch names the condition Moses is to build in Joshua.
chizzeq: Strengthened, made firm.
חִזֵּק
This verb shares the root and shows strength as something that can be given and reinforced.
יַנְחִיל
yanchil
GROWS FROM
נחל
n-ḥ-l
Inherit or possess; give a share as an inheritance.
“inherit” in this verse is yanchil. The same root names both receiving an inheritance and the inheritance itself. Joshua’s charge is more than leading people over a boundary: he brings them into their share of what they are entering.
ALSO GROWS
nachalah: Inheritance, possession.
נַחֲלָה
This is the share Joshua is to bring the people into.
nachal: Inherit, possess.
נָחַל
This related verb connects the act of receiving a share with Joshua’s role in making that inheritance accessible.
THE PATTERN
A work moves forward when strength is entrusted to someone who can carry others into their share.
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.THE THREAD
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.Both verses use חזק (ḥ-z-q), the root of being strong or making firm: Moses is told to strengthen Joshua, and Joshua later hears the same root as his charge. The strengthening in this verse becomes the strength from which he leads the people into their inheritance.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us