And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands on him. The children of Israel listened to him, and did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- BSB Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- NKJV Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
- NASB Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
- NLT Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua, filled with the spirit of wisdom through Moses' laying on of hands, leads Israel, and they obey him. Leadership passes in an orderly, God-ordained succession.
Overview
Moses had commissioned Joshua by laying on hands (Num. 27:18-23), and now God equips him with the Spirit of wisdom to lead. Israel's obedience to Joshua shows God's provision of continuity for His people after Moses' death. The pattern of Spirit-empowered succession points ahead to the greater Joshua, Jesus, and to the Spirit poured out on His people for the work He gives (Acts 1:8).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Isa 11:2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
- Dan 6:3Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
- John 3:34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
- Acts 6:6Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
- Acts 8:17–19Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
- 2 Kgs 2:15And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
- 2 Kgs 2:9And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
- 1 Kgs 3:12Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
- 1 Kgs 3:9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
- Num 27:18–23And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
- Exod 31:3And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
- Col 2:3In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- Num 11:17And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
- Josh 1:16–18And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.
- 1 Tim 5:22Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.
- 1 Tim 4:14Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 34:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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