Study Desk

So we said, ‘Let us now make preparations and build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices,

but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations who will come after us, so that we may perform the service for Adonai in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and peace offerings — so that your descendants will not say to our descendants at some future time, "You have no share in Adonai ."'

For this reason we said, ‘When they accuse us or future generations in this way, we will say, "Look! Here is a replica of the altar of Adonai which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you."'

Far be it from us that we should rebel against Adonai and turn away today from following Adonai by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices other than the altar of Adonai our God which stands in front of his tabernacle!"

You have seen everything that Adonai your God has done to all these nations because of you, for it is Adonai your God who has fought on your behalf.

Here, I have allotted to you land for inheritance according to your tribes between the Yarden and the Great Sea to the west; it includes the land of the nations I have destroyed and the nations which remain.

know for certain that Adonai your God will stop driving out these nations from your sight. Instead, they will become a snare and a trap for you, whipping your sides and pricking your eyes, until you perish from this good land which Adonai your God has given you.

But when they cried out to Adonai , he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, overwhelmed them with the sea and drowned them. Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt, and then you lived in the desert for a long time.

If it seems bad to you to serve Adonai , then choose today whom you are going to serve! Will it be the gods your ancestors served beyond the River? or the gods of the Emori, in whose land you are living? As for me and my household, we will serve Adonai !"

and it was Adonai who drove out from ahead of us all the peoples, the Emori living in the land. Therefore we too will serve Adonai , for he is our God."

So Y'hoshua made a covenant with the people that day, laying down for them laws and rulings there in Sh'khem.

The bones of Yosef, which the people of Isra'el had brought up from Egypt, they buried in Sh'khem, in the parcel of ground which Ya‘akov had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Sh'khem for a hundred pieces of silver; and they became a possession of the descendants of Yosef.

After the death of Y'hoshua, the people of Isra'el asked Adonai , "Who will go up for us first to fight against the Kena‘ani?"

Naftali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beit-Shemesh or Beit-‘Anat but lived among the Kena‘ani living in the land; however, the inhabitants of Beit-Shemesh and Beit-‘Anat became forced labor for them.

The Emori forced the people of Dan into the hills; for they would not let them come down to the valley.

you, for your part, are not to make any covenant with the inhabitants of this land but must tear down their altars.' However, you have paid no attention to what I said. What is this you have done?

This is why I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will be on your flanks, and their gods will become a snare for you.'"

The people served Adonai throughout Y'hoshua's life and throughout the lives of all the older men who outlived Y'hoshua and who had seen all the great work of Adonai which he had done for Isra'el.

When that entire generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation arose that knew neither Adonai nor the work he had done for Isra'el.

When Adonai raised up judges for them, Adonai was with the judge and delivered them from the hands of their enemies throughout the lifetime of the judge; for Adonai was moved to pity by their groaning under those oppressing and crushing them.