Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
Parallel translations
- WEB So Yahweh gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers. They possessed it, and lived in it.
- KJV And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.
- NKJV So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it.
- NASB So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and lived in it.
- NLT So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.
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
Yahweh gave Israel all the land He had sworn to their fathers, and they took possession of it. It declares the fulfillment of God's ancient promise.
Overview
This is one of the great summary statements of the book, marking the fulfillment of the land promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Though much remained to be subdued, the gift was secured and possession had begun. God's covenant faithfulness here foreshadows the greater inheritance secured for believers in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gen 13:15for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
- Gen 28:4And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
- Ps 106:42–45Their enemies oppressed them, and subdued them under their hand.
- Exod 23:27–31I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Ps 44:3For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.
- Gen 15:13–21Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Gen 26:3–4Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
- Exod 3:8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Deut 11:31For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,
- Gen 28:13–14And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
- Deut 17:14When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”
- Gen 12:7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
- Deut 34:4And the LORD said to him, “This is the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 21:43 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.