describes the attitude that Joshua should possess. Its threefold repetition in these verses recalls the three times it appears in the Pentateuch, in Deuteronomy 31:6, 7, 23. Here it is applied to Israel (v. 6) and to Joshua, where it forms part of his commissioning. Deuteronomy 31:6 relates the expression to the promise of God never to leave you or forsake you as in Joshua 1:5. The occurrence in Deuteronomy 31:23 also recalls the language of Joshua 1:5–6, with its emphasis upon God’s presence with
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