Joshua 1:4 (ASV)

Passage

From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

Nearby Context

Joshua 1:2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

Joshua 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spake unto Moses.

Joshua 1:4 From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

Joshua 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wilderness", "lebanon", "even", "great", "river", "euphrates", and "land". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wilderness" and "lebanon", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Every place that the sole of your..." into verse 5's "There shall not any man be able...", so "wilderness" and "lebanon" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "wilderness" and "lebanon" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.