Joshua 1:11

"“Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess.’”"

Key Reflection

Joshua 1:11 instructs the Israelites, who were about to cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan, to prepare food immediately. This command reflects both practical necessity—ensuring they had provisions before entering a new land—and a divine directive that underscored their immediate mission. The original audience would have understood this as a reminder of their imminent departure and the serious nature of their task in taking possession of the Promised Land, which God was giving them to inherit.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Prepare you victuals -The order was probably given with the knowledge that the manna would cease when the host crossed the JordanExodus 16:35, and possibly because amidst their preparations there might not be opportunity to gather it in sufficient quantity. Nor does it appear that manna ever formed the whole and sole sustenance of the people. (CompareNumbers 20:1note.) It is the view of the majority of commentators - Jewish and Christian, ancient and modern - that the “three days” here named are identical with those ofJoshua 3:2; and that the command of Joshua in the text was not in fact given until after the return of the spies.

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