1 NOW
aJoshua was old and stricken in
yearsa; and the LORD
said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth
yet very much land to be possessed.
2 This is the land that yet remaineth: all the
borders of the Philistines, and all aGeshuri,
3 From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto
the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite:
afive lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the
Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the
Avites:
4 From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:
5 And the land of the aGiblites,
and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto
the entering into Hamath.
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1a Joshua was old and stricken in
years Though half of the chapters of the book of Joshua remain, it
is considered that Joshua was at the time near to being 110 years old, the
age of his death. The last 12 chapters of Joshua deal with how the lands were
divided among the twelve tribes, Levi excluded and the two sons of Joseph,
Ephraim and Manasseh included. By the time that Joshua entered into the land
of promise he was likely of that same age range as was Mormon in his last
years of the defence of the Nephites. Joshua was born and raised up in the
land of Egypt and was a man of full age when Israel left Egypt. Caleb, Joshua's
contemporary is said to have been age 40 when he was sent as a spy by Moses
(Joshua 14:7) as was Joshua also. Joshua would have been about that age also.
And some Forty years later when Israel entered the land of promise, Joshua
may well have been nearly eighty (about 78). Over the years of Joshua's leadership in the land of
promise many battles had been fought and lands and cities taken, yet there
remained many peoples and nations not conquered or destroyed by Israel in
these last days of Joshua. This verse 1 with Joshua old and stricken is
properly cross-referenced with Joshua 23:1 where it also states the same
thing about the same time as this. And from thence after the report of some
closing events in Joshua's life, Joshua is going to be reported as having
died at the age of 110 years old (Joshua 24:29).
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