Joshua 24:13 (WEB)

Passage

I gave you a land whereon you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:11 “‘You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.

Joshua 24:12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.

Joshua 24:13 I gave you a land whereon you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’

Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve Yahweh.

Joshua 24:15 If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gave", "land", "whereon", "labored", "cities", "didn", "build", and "live". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gave" and "land", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "I sent the hornet before you which..." into verse 14's "Now therefore fear Yahweh and serve him...", so "gave" and "land" 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 "gave" and "land" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.