24:19 Joshua warned49 the people, “You will not keep worshiping50 the Lord, for51 he is a holy God.52 He is a jealous God who will not forgive53 your rebellion or your sins.
sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274–75.
52
tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qédoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS122.
sn This assertion obviously needs qualification, for the OT elsewhere affirms that God does forgive. Joshua is referring to the persistent national rebellion against the Mosaic covenant that eventually cause God to decree unconditionally the nation’s exile.
