Joshua 24:9 (LSB)

Passage

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:7 Then they cried out to Yahweh; He put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for many days.

Joshua 24:8 Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.

Joshua 24:9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

Joshua 24:10 But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you from his hand.

Joshua 24:11 And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "balak", "zippor", "king", "moab", "arose", "fought", "against", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "balak" and "zippor", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Then I brought you into the land..." into verse 10's "But I was not willing to listen...", so "balak" and "zippor" 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 "balak" and "zippor" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.