Deuteronomy 31:23

Deu 31:23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

Ver. 23. I will be with thee.] This must needs put mettle into him; for "if God be with us, who can be against us?" {Rom 8:31} {See Trapp on "Rom 8:31"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31:23 I will be with you: These words given to Joshua were the same words God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, when he called him to lead Israel out of Egypt (Exod 3:12). The same God, with the same assurance, was able to guarantee the same results.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(23) And he (Jehovah) gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge.—This is the first record of God’s direct communion with Joshua. He was with Moses on the mount during the first forty days, and “departed not out of the Tabernacle” when they came down (Exo_24:13; Exo_33:11). But we have no note of any Divine communication made to Joshua apart from Moses before this. It ratifies Joshua’s appointment as leader of Israel.

Be strong . . .—Comp. Jos_1:2; Jos_1:6.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. The immediate continuation of 14 f., which we have seen reasons for assigning to E.

And he gave] The subject is not Moses, as the present context of this v. suggests, but must be Jehovah, as in Deu_31:15; this is quite certain. from the following I sware unto them and I will be with thee.

son of Nun] Deu_1:38.

Be strong and of a good courage] As in Deu_31:6-7; only found in Deut., and the deuteron. Jos_1:6; Jos_1:9; Jos_1:18; Jos_10:25; but possibly derived from E.

children of Israel] Not deuteronomic (see on Deu_4:44), but a frequent term for the people in E, Exo_3:9-11; Exo_3:13-15; Exo_9:35; Exo_10:20; Exo_10:23; Exo_13:18 f., Deu_14:10, Deut 20:22, Deu_24:5, Deu_32:20, Deu_33:5; and also found in J and P.

bring into the land] So in E, Jos_24:8, Exo_13:5; Exo_13:11.

I will be with thee] So in E, Exo_3:12, but also in J and in Deut.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book,.... In this book of Deuteronomy, and which concluded the Pentateuch:

until they were finished; all the words of the law, and the whole five books of Moses, excepting some few verses, Deu 34:1, which were added by another hand, Joshua or Ezra.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Lord. Hebrew has not this word, so that it would seem as if Moses had given this charge to Josue; but the context shews (Calmet) that it was the Lord; (ver. 14,) for he swore to give the land of Israel. The Septuagint insert the words of Moses and the Lord. "And Moses commanded Josue....the land which the Lord swore." (Haydock) --- This is the first time that God addresses Josue, in order to confirm his authority. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

This wickedness of theirs which I now foresee and foretell shall not hinder me from bringing them into Canaan.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And he gave, etc. The subject here is God, not Moses, as is evident partly from ver. 14, and partly from the expression, the land which I aware unto them; and I will be with thee. (cf. Exo_3:12)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

ויצו את יהושע בן נון AND HE COMMANDED JOSHUA THE SON OF NUN — This has to be connected with v. 14 above, and it refers to the Shechinah (to God; “He commanded” means “God commanded”), as it distinctly states here “[for thou shalt bring the children of Israel] into the land which “I” swore unto them, [and “I” will be with thee]”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND HE COMMANDED JOSHUA THE SON OF NUN. “This [pronoun ‘He’] refers to the Divine Presence [mentioned] above as it is explained [here], into the Land which I swore unto them; and I will be with thee.” This is Rashi’s language. He has explained it well. And in the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra: “And he commanded Joshua — that is, Moses [commanded] by order of G-d, and therefore he said, into the Land which I swore unto them.” Similarly we find that Moses said, And I will give the rain of your Land in its season. So also, And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle., Verse 15. Likewise, that ye might know that I am the Eternal your G-d. And so also, The Eternal will send upon thee the scantiness etc. because of the evil doings, whereby thou hast forsaken Me. I have already discussed this.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.