Joshua 24:2 (WEB)

Passage

Joshua said to all the people, “Yahweh says, the God of Israel, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, “Yahweh says, the God of Israel, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.

Joshua 24:3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his offspring, and gave him Isaac.

Joshua 24:4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "joshua", "said", "people", "yahweh", "says", "israel", "fathers", and "lived". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "joshua" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel..." into verse 3's "I took your father Abraham from beyond...", so "joshua" and "said" 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 "joshua" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.