Joshua 23

^I {untranslated} = hayah. This is to be or become, to happen.
^II “long” = rab. From rabab (increasing in any aspect whether quantity, authority, size, quality, greatness, etc.). This is abundance, many, elder, exceedingly, great. It refers to abundance of amount, rank, or status.
^III “time” = yom. Root may mean being hot. This is the day in a literal or figurative sense. It can also mean birth, age, daylight, continually or other references to time.
^IV “afterward” = achar. From achar (to remain behind, linger, continue, be behind, or delay; can also imply procrastination). This is after or the last part, following.

^V “Lord” = YHVH. Related to {untranslated} in v1. From havah (to be, become) or hayah (see note I above). This is the name of the God of Israel, the self-existent and eternal one, the tetragrammaton. This pronunciation has been lost to time so “Lord” is generally used in its place.
^VI “given rest” = nuach. This is to rest, calm, camp, free, place, remain, satisfy, settle, station, or wait. It is rest and so implies settling down in a literal or figurative sense. This is perhaps the root verb of the name “Noah.”
^VII “Israel” = Yisrael. From sarah (to persist, exert oneself, contend, persevere, wrestle, prevail) + El (God or god). This is Israel, meaning God strives or one who strives with God; new name for Jacob and for his offspring. This refers to the people and to the land.

^VIII “all” = kol. From kalal (to complete). This is all or every.
^IX “enemies” = oyeb. From ayab (to hate or be hostile to). This is a foe or enemy as one that you are hostile to.
^X “all around” = sabib. From sabab (turning around, going around; to surround, cast, walk, fetch; to revolve or border in a literal or figurative sense). This is a circuit or a circle. It could refer to an environment, one’s neighbors, or a circular path round about.
^XI “Joshua” = Yehoshua. Related to {untranslated} and “Lord” in v1. From YHVH (see note V above) + yasha (to deliver, defend, help, preserve, rescue; properly, to be open, wide or free, which implies being safe. So, in a causative sense, this is to free someone). This is Joshua, Jeshua, or Yehoshua, which means “the Lord is salvation.”
^XII “old” = zaqen. From the same as zaqan (beard or chin – the beard represents old age). This is old, aged, or elder.

^XIII “was…well advanced” = bo. This is to enter, come in, advance, fulfill, bring offerings, enter to worship, attack. It can also have a sexual connotation.
^XIV “years” = yom. Same as “time” in v1. See note III above.
^XV “summoned” = qara. This is to call or call out – to call someone by name. Also used more broadly for calling forth.
^XVI “elders” = zaqen. Same as “old” in v1. See note XII above.
^XVII “heads” = rosh. This may come a word that means to shake. It is the head, captain, or chief. It can also be excellent or the forefront. It can be first in position or in statue or in time (i.e. the beginning).

^XVIII “judges” = shaphat. This is to judge, defend, pronounce judgment, condemn, or govern. It can refer to God judging or to human judges. This is pronouncing a verdict in favor or against so it implies consequences or punishment. It can also mean to litigate or govern as one with authority.
^XIX “officers” = shoter. The root may mean write. This is perhaps originally a scribe and so it was used more broadly for an official, officer, ruler, overseer, or magistrate.
^XX “said” = amar. This is to speak, say, answer, command, promise, report.
^XXI “am…old” = zaqen. Related to “was old” in v1. From the same as zaqan (see note XII above). This is to be old or grow old.

^XXII “seen” = raah. This is to see in a literal or figurative sense so stare, advise, think, view.
^XXIII “God” = Elohim. Related to “Israel” in v1. See note VII above.
^XXIV “done” = asah. This is to make, do, act, appoint, become in many senses.
^XXV “nations” = goy. From the same root as gevah (the back, person, or body); related to gev (among); related to gaah (to rise up). This is nation or people. Often used to refer to Gentiles or foreign nations. It can also be used figuratively for a group of animals. This is where the Yiddish “goy” comes from.

^XXVI “sake” = paneh. From panah (to turn, face, appear). This is face in a literal or figurative sense. It could be face, presence, anger, respect. It can also be used of God to indicate divine favor or presence.
^XXVII “fought” = lacham. This is to eat or feed on. Figuratively, it is to battle as a kind of consumption/destruction.
^XXVIII {untranslated} = raah. Same as “seen” in v3. See note XXII above.
^XXIX “allotted” = naphal. This is to fall, whether by accident, to fall prostrate, or to fall in violent death. Figuratively, it can refer to personal ruin or calamity, a city falling, an attack or a falling away. It can also be a deep sleep or wasting away.

^XXX “inheritance” = nachalah. Related to nachal (to inherit, occupy, distribute, take as heritage). This is properly something that was inherited. It can mean occupancy generally or, more particularly, an heirloom or an estate. This can be an inheritance, gift, possession, or portion.
^XXXI “tribes” = shebet. This is a rod, staff, club, scepter, dart, or tribe. Literally a stick that can be used for punishing, writing, fighting, walking, ruling; thus, used figuratively for a clan.
^XXXII “remain” = shaar. Properly, this is swelling up i.e. being left over, a remnant, remaining, being redundant.
^XXXIII “cut off” = karat. This is to cut down, cut off, or make a covenant (idiom for making a covenant is “to cut a covenant”). It can also mean to destroy, fail, or consume.

^XXXIV “Jordan” = Yarden. From yarad (to go down, descend; going down in a literal or figurative sense; going to the shore or a boundary, bringing down an enemy). This is the Jordan River, meaning “descending.”
^XXXV “Great” = gadol. From gadal (to grow up, become great, become wealthy – to advance. The root meaning may be to twist in the sense of the process of growing). This is great, high, bigger, noble, old, marvelous. It can also refer to someone who is powerful or distinguished.
^XXXVI “Sea” = yam. Root may mean to roar. This is the sea, often referring to the Mediterranean. It comes from the root in the sense of the roar of crashing surf. This word is sometimes used for rivers or other sources of water. It can mean to the west or to the south.
^XXXVII “west” = mabo + shemesh. Literally, “toward the setting of the sun.” Mabo is related to “was…well advanced” in v1. From bo (see note XIII above). This is entrance, coming in – the process of entering or the place of entrance. It can also mean the setting of the sun i.e. the west. Shemesh is sun or toward the east. Its root may mean being brilliant. Figuratively, this could be a ray or an arch.

^XXXVIII “push…back” = hadaph. 11x in OT. This is to push away, thrust, reject, expel, push down, depose.
^XXXIX “before” = paneh. Same as “sake” in v3. See note XXVI above.
^XL “drive…out” = yarash. This is inheriting or dispossessing. It refers to occupying or colonizing – taking territory by driving out the previous inhabitants and living there instead of them. By implication, it can mean to seize or rob, to expel, ruin, or impoverish.
^XLI “sight” = paneh. Same as “sake” in v3. See note XXVI above.

^XLII “possess” = yarash. Same as “drive…out” in v5. See note XL above.
^XLIII “land” = erets. Root may mean to be firm. This is earth, ground, field land, or country.
^XLIV “promised” = dabar. This is generally to speak, answer, declare, or command. It might mean to arrange and so to speak in a figurative sense as arranging words.
^XLV “very” = meod. Perhaps from the same as uwd (firebrand, a poker). This is very, greatly, exceedingly. It can also mean vehemence, force, abundance.
^XLVI “be…steadfast” = chazaq. This is to strengthen, seize, be courageous, repair, bind, heal, conquer, harden.
^XLVII “observe” = shamar. This is to keep, watch, or preserve. It means to guard something or to protect it as a thorny hedge protects something.

^XLVIII “written” = kathab. This is to inscribe, write, record, or decree.
^XLIX “book” = sepher. Perhaps from saphar (to tally or record something; to enumerate, recount, number, celebrate, or declare). This can be writing itself or something that is written like a document, book, letter, evidence, bill, scroll, or register.
^L “law” = torah. From yarah (to throw, shoot, be stunned; to flow as water so figuratively to instruct or teach). This is law, instruction, teaching, or statute. It can also refer to the first five books of the Bible – the Torah.
^LI “Moses” = Mosheh. From mashah (to pull out in a literal or figurative sense, to draw out) OR from Egyptian mes or mesu (child, son i.e. child of…). This is Moses – the one drawn out from the water, which is to say, rescued. If derived from the Egyptian, his name would share a root with Rameses and Thutmose.

^LII “turning aside” = sur. This is to turn aside in a literal or figurative sense – to depart, decline, rebel, remove, or withdraw.
^LIII “neither” = bilti. From balah (to grow old, wear out, consume, waste, enjoy, fail, decay). This is nothing, not, lest, or except. From its root, it means “a failure of” – used for negative particles.
^LIV “right” = yamin. May be from yamam (to go or choose the right, use the right hand; to be physically fit or firm). This can mean right hand, right side, or south. Since most people are right-handed, the metaphorical usage of this word presumes that the right hand is stronger and more agile. Thus, it is the instrument of power and action.
^LV “left” = semol. Perhaps from the same as simlah (mantle, clothes, wrapper); perhaps from semel (image, figure, likeness). This is left, left side, or north as the part that is dark.

^LVI “so that…not” = bilti. Same as “neither” in v6. See note LIII above.
^LVII “be mixed” = bo. Same as “was…well advanced” in v1. See note XIII above.
^LVIII “left” = shaar. Same as “remain” in v4. See note XXXII above.
^LIX “make mention” = zakar. This is to remember, to mark something so that it can be recalled, to be mindful of, to mention.
^LX “names” = shem. May be from sum (to put, place, set). This is name, fame, renown. A name was thought to indicate something essential about a person – something about their individuality. So, this word can also mean honor, authority, or character.
^LXI “gods” = elohim. Same as “God” in v3. See note XXIII above.

^LXII “swear” = shaba. Perhaps from sheba (seven – the number of perfection/sacred fullness). This is to swear, curse, vow, make a covenant. Properly, it can mean to be complete. This is to seven oneself – as in affirming something so strongly it is as though it were said seven times.
^LXIII “serve” = abad. This is to work, serve, or compel. It can describe any kind of work or service (including religious devotion).  Also, till or cultivate. Used causatively, it can mean to enslave or keep in bondage.
^LXIV “bow…down” = shachah. This is to bow down, make a humble entreaty, to do homage to royalty or to God.

^LXV “hold fast” = dabaq. This is to follow closely or abide fast, to cling or be joined together. Figuratively, it can mean to catch something by chasing after it, to overtake, or to stick. A man clings to his wife in Genesis 2:24, Shechem was deeply attracted to Dinah in Genesis 34:3, Ruth clung to Naomi in Ruth 1:14, Solomon clung to his foreign wives and concubines in 1 Kings 11:2. It is also used of a tongue sticking to the mouth, pursuing or overtaking as in battle, and also clinging to God.
^LXVI “day” = yom. Same as “time” in v1. See note III above.
^LXVII “before” = paneh. Same as “sake” in v3. See note XXVI above.
^LXVIII “strong” = atsum. From atsom (to be many or mighty; could also refer to breaking bones). This is mighty or mighty one. It means powerful, which implies large numbers.

^LXIX “one” = ish. Perhaps from enosh (human, humankind, mortal); from anash (to be weak, sick, or frail). This is man, husband, another, or humankind.
^LXX “withstand” = amad…paneh. Amad is to stand up in a literal or figurative sense. So it can be establish, continue, endure, take a stand, act, be a servant, stand still, remain, stand against an enemy. Paneh is the same as “sake” in v3. See note XXVI above.
^LXXI “one” = echad. Perhaps from achad (to unify, continue on a path; figuratively, to gather one’s thoughts). This is the number one, first, united. It can also be alone, altogether, a certain, a few.
^LXXII {untranslated} = ish. Same as “one” in v9. See note LXIX above.
^LXXIII “puts to flight” = radaph. This is to chase after, pursue, hunt, or persecute. It is running after someone or something, generally with hostile motives.
^LXXIV “thousand” = eleph. Perhaps from the same as eleph (herd, cattle); from alaph (to learn, speak, associate with). This is thousand.

^LXXV {untranslated} = nephesh. Related to naphash (to refresh or be refreshed). This is soul, self, person, emotion. It is a breathing creature. Can also refer to appetites and desires.
^LXXVI “be…careful” = shamar. Same as “observe” in v6. See note XLVII above.
^LXXVII “love” = aheb. This is to love, beloved, friend. It is to have affection for sexually or otherwise.
^LXXVIII “turn back” = shub + shub. To turn back, return, turn away – literally or figuratively. Doesn’t necessarily imply going back to where you started from. This is also the root verb for the Hebrew word for repentance “teshubah.” The word is repeated twice – the first time as an Infinitive Absolute. The Infinitive Absolute serves to emphasize the sentiment of the word. It is rather like Foghorn Leghorn’s speech pattern, “I said, I said.”

^LXXIX “join” = dabaq. Same as “hold fast” in v8. See note LXV above.
^LXXX “survivors” = yether. From yathar (to jut over, remain behind, preserve, to excel). This is a remainder or excess. It can imply abundant or superiority. Additionally, it can be cord a free-hanging rope.
^LXXXI “intermarry” = chathan. Perhaps from chathan (bridegroom, son-in-law; someone who is related through marriage; figuratively can be a child who is circumcised). This is to intermarry, make an alliance through marriage, father-in-law, son-in-law, give one’s daughter in marriage.
^LXXXII “marry” = bo. Same as “was…well advanced” in v1. See note XIII above.

^LXXXIII “know assuredly” = yada + yada. This is to know, acknowledge, advise, answer, be aware, be acquainted with. Properly, this is to figure something out by seeing. It includes ideas of observation, recognition, and care about something. It can be used causatively for instruction, designation, and punishment. The word is repeated twice – the first time as an Infinitive Absolute. The Infinitive Absolute serves to emphasize the sentiment of the word. It is rather like Foghorn Leghorn’s speech pattern, “I said, I said.”
^LXXXIV “continue” = yasaph. This is to add, increase, continue, exceed.
^LXXXV “before” = paneh. Same as “sake” in v3. See note XXVI above.
^LXXXVI “be” = hayah. Same as {untranslated} in v1. See note I above.
^LXXXVII “snare” = pach. From pachach (to trap, lay a net). This is a snare or bird trap. It can also refer to a sheet of metal hammered into a thin plate.

^LXXXVIII “trap” = moqesh. From yaqosh (ensnare, lay bait, lure, trapper; to snare literally or figuratively). This is bait, barb, snare, trap; a noose or hook to trap animals in a literal or figurative sense.
^LXXXIX “scourge” = shotet. 1x in OT. From shut (to push, wander around, row, travel) OR it may come from a word that means to pierce. This is a goad, scourge, or whip.
^XC “sides” = tsad. Root may mean to sidle. This is a side or an arm. It can also be used to mean beside or, figuratively, an adversary.
^XCI “thorns” = tsanin. 2x in OT. From the same as tsen (root may mean to be prickly; thorn, barb, cactus hedge). This is a thorn or prick.
^XCII “eyes” = ayin. This is eye in a literal or figurative sense so eye, appearance, favor, or a fountain (the eye of the landscape).

^XCIII “perish” = abad. To wander off, lose self. This implies to perish, destroy, die, vanish, or be broken or corrupt.
^XCIV “good” = tob. From tob (to be pleasing, to be good). This is good, beautiful, pleasant, agreeable, bountiful, at ease. This word is used for goodness as a concept, a good thing, a good person. This can refer to prosperity and welfare as well as joy, kindness, sweetness, and graciousness. So, this is ethically good, but also enjoyably good.
^XCV “land” = adamah. From the same as adam (man, humankind); perhaps from ‘adom (to be red). This is ground, earth, soil as red, or land.
^XCVI “given” = natan. This is to give, put, set, offer. It is to give literally or figuratively.

^XCVII “now” = hinneh. From hen (lo! Behold! If, though; an expression of surprise). This is to draw attention, show suddenness or surprise, or to emphasize the importance of the coming statement. See! Lo! Behold!
^XCVIII “about to” = yom. Same as “time” in v1. See note III above.
^XCIX “go” = halak. This is go, come, walk. It is walk literally and figuratively and includes people and animals. It can be used figuratively for one’s moral life – how we walk according to God’s way or against it. It can also refer to the walk of life as in the course one’s life takes, the choices we make, etc.

^C “way” = derek. From darak (to tread, march, to walk. Can also mean affixing a string to a box since one needs to step on it to bend it in the process; so also an archer). This is a road as a thing that is walked on. Can be used figuratively for the path that one’s life takes or how one chooses to live one’s life.
^CI “earth” = erets. Same as “land” in v5. See note XLIII above.
^CII “hearts” = lebab. May be related to labab (to encourage; properly, to be encased as with fat; used in a good sense, this means to transport someone with love; used in a bad sense, it can mean to dull one’s senses). This is the heart, courage, one’s inner self, the mind, or the will. Heart is only used in a figurative sense in the Old and New Testaments.

^CIII {untranslated} = kol. Same as “all” in v1. See note VIII above.
^CIV “souls” = nephesh. Same as {untranslated} in v11. See note LXXV above.
^CV “one” = echad. Same as “one” in v10. See note LXXI above.
^CVI “thing” = dabar. Related to “promised” in v5. From dabar (see note XLIV above). This is speech, a word, a matter, an affair, charge, command, message, promise, purpose, report, request. It is a word, which implies things that are spoken of in a wide sense.
^CVII “failed” = naphal. Same as “allotted” in v4. See note XXIX above.

^CVIII “come to pass” = bo. Same as “was…well advanced” in v1. See note XIII above.
^CIX “one” = echad. Same as “one” in v10. See note LXXI above.
^CX {untranslated} = dabar.  Same as “thing” in v14. See note CVI above.
^CXI {untranslated} = hayah. Same as {untranslated} in v1. See note I above.
^CXII “fulfilled” = bo. Same as “was…well advanced” in v1. See note XIII above.

^CXIII “so” = ken. Perhaps from kun (properly, in a perpendicular position; literally, to establish, fix, fasten, prepare; figuratively, it is certainty, to be firm, faithfulness, render sure or prosperous). This is to set upright. Generally used figuratively to mean thus, so, afterwards, rightly so.
^CXIV “bring” = bo. Same as “was…well advanced” in v1. See note XIII above.
^CXV “bad” = ra’. From ra’a’ (to be evil, bad, afflict; properly, to spoil – to destroy by breaking into pieces; figuratively, to cause something to be worthless; this is bad in a physical, social, or moral sense; that which displeases, to do harm or mischief, to punish or vex). This is bad, disagreeable, that which causes pain, misery, something having little or no value, something that is ethically bad, wicked, injury, calamity. This refers to anything that is not what it ought to be – a natural disaster, a disfigurement, an injury, a sin.

^CXVI “destroyed” = shamad. This is to demolish, destroy, perish, overthrow, pluck down.
^CXVII “land” = adamah. Same as “land” in v13. See note XCV above.
^CXVIII “transgress” = abar. This is to pass over or cross over. It is used for transitions, whether literal or figurative. It can also mean to escape, alienate, or fail. This is the root verb from which “Hebrew” is drawn.
^CXIX “covenant” = berit. Perhaps from barah (to eat, choose, make clear); perhaps from bar (grain, wheat); from barar (to select, purify, cleanse, test, brighten, polish). This is a compact, covenant, alliance, treaty, or league.
^CXX “enjoined” = tsavah. This is to charge, command, order, appoint, or enjoin. This is the root that the Hebrew word for “commandment” comes from (mitsvah).

^CXXI “other” = acher. Related to “afterward” in v1. From achar (see note IV above). This is following, next, strange, other.
^CXXII “anger” = aph. From anaph (to be angry; properly, breathing hard as a signifier of being enraged). This properly refers to the nose or nostril and by extension the face. It can specifically refer to anger or wrath as one breathes hard and nostrils flare in times of great anger.
^CXXIII “kindled” = charah. Perhaps related to charar (to be hot, burn, glow, melt, be scorched; figuratively, to incite passion, be angry). This is to be displeased, burn with anger, glow, become warn. Figuratively it is a blaze of anger, zeal, or jealousy.
^CXXIV “quickly” = meherah. From mahar (being liquid, which implies flowing; hurrying forward, whether in a positive or negative sense). This is speed, quickly, shortly, promptly.
^CXXV “land” = erets. Same as “land” in v5. See note XLIII above.