Joshua 1:6 Meaning and Explanation
“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Courage in this verse comes with a reason attached, and the reason is not Joshua's ability. God gives him a job description that reaches back to a promise made centuries before he was born. Anyone facing a role that feels several sizes too large will want to notice where the confidence is anchored, since Joshua is told to be strong for something already guaranteed.
God commissions Joshua with a double charge to be strong and courageous, and grounds it in a specific task: dividing the promised land among Israel as an inheritance sworn to their fathers.
The Context of Joshua 1:6
Moses has died, and the book opens with God speaking to Joshua the son of Nun, described as Moses' minister. Verses 2 through 5 give the commission: arise, cross the Jordan, and take the land, with borders described in verse 4. God promises that no man will stand before Joshua and that he will not fail him or forsake him. Verse 6 issues the first of three charges to be strong and of a good courage. Verse 7 ties courage to keeping the law, verse 8 to meditating on it day and night, and verse 9 repeats the charge with the promise of God's presence.
What Does Joshua 1:6 Mean?
The charge uses two Hebrew imperatives that Israel would hear together for centuries. The first means to be firm, to hold fast, to grow strong; the second means to be bold or alert. Placed side by side, they cover inner resolve and outward nerve. What follows is the reason, introduced by 'for': Joshua will divide the land as an inheritance. The task named here is administrative as much as military. Someone has to allot territory, settle boundaries, and see that each tribe receives what was promised. God grounds the charge in an oath he swore to the fathers, so Joshua's courage rests on an old commitment rather than a fresh assessment of the odds.
Three times in four verses Joshua hears the same charge, and each repetition adds something. Verse 6 attaches it to the inheritance, verse 7 to obedience to the law, and verse 9 to God's presence wherever he goes. The people echo it back to him in verse 18, closing the chapter with the same words. Joshua had heard them before as well, since Moses spoke them publicly in Deuteronomy 31:7. The book of Joshua then narrates what the charge produced: a river crossing, a long campaign, and finally the allotment chapters, where land is distributed tribe by tribe. Courage in Scripture usually attaches to a specific assignment rather than floating free.
The word inheritance carries this verse into the rest of the Bible. Land given by oath, distributed by a leader, and held by families becomes a standard picture of what God intends for his people. Hebrews 4:8 looks back and observes that the rest Joshua gave was not the final one, keeping the promise open. The name itself is worth hearing, since Joshua and Jesus render the same Hebrew name, meaning the LORD saves. One led Israel across a river into a sworn inheritance; the other leads a larger family toward one. The charge given here, be strong and of a good courage, still travels with everyone entrusted to bring others into what God has promised.
Joshua 1:6 in the Original Language
chazaq (חֲזַק), 'be strong' -- an imperative from the verb meaning to be firm, to take hold, to grow strong. Hebrew pairs it here with the verb ematz, be bold, and the two words travel together through Israel's commissioning speeches whenever someone is sent into difficult work.
Bible Verses Related to Joshua 1:6
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
- Joshua 1:9
“And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.”
- Deuteronomy 31:7
“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.”
- Joshua 11:23
“For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.”
- Hebrews 4:8
Where Joshua 1:6 Echoes in Scripture
Deuteronomy 31:7 records Moses giving Joshua this same charge in the sight of all Israel, telling him to be strong and of a good courage because he would bring the people into the land the LORD swore to their fathers. The wording overlaps almost completely. What Joshua 1:6 adds is the speaker. The charge that came through Moses now comes directly from God after Moses' death, which is exactly the assurance a successor would need in the first week of leadership.
How to Apply Joshua 1:6 Today
Stepping into a role someone else held well is its own kind of fear. Joshua followed a man the nation had watched part a sea. God's answer was to give him a defined task and an old promise to stand on. We can borrow that method. When a responsibility feels oversized, it helps to write down the actual assignment, in plain terms, and then to name what God has already committed himself to within it. It also helps to hear the charge from others, the way Israel spoke it back to Joshua at the end of this chapter.
Reflection & Prayer
What task has God actually put in front of us, stated as plainly as this verse states Joshua's? Write it in one sentence. Prayer: Lord God, you spoke courage to Joshua before he had done anything to earn it, and you tied it to your own sworn word. Steady me in the work you have given. Keep me from measuring the job by my strength, and let your promise carry what I cannot. Amen.