The Meaning of Joshua 1:4 Explained

Joshua 1:4

KJV: From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

YLT: From this wilderness and Lebanon, and unto the great river, the river Phrath, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great Sea -- the going in of the sun -- is your border.

Darby: From the wilderness and this Lebanon to the great river, the river Euphrates, the whole land of the Hittites, to the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

ASV: From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

From the wilderness  and this Lebanon  even unto the great  river,  the river  Euphrates,  all the land  of the Hittites,  and unto the great  sea  toward the going down  of the sun,  shall be your coast. 

What does Joshua 1:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The area described here includes all that God promised to Abraham and the other patriarchs ( Genesis 15:18; et al.). The writer apparently referred to the Hittites in a representative sense to describe all the Canaanite tribes (as in 1 Kings 10:29; 2 Kings 7:6; Ezekiel 16:3). This is a figure of speech called synecdoche in which a part represents the whole or the whole stands for a part (e.g, "bread" means food, or "all the world" equals all the Roman world [1]).

Context Summary

Joshua 1:1-9 - The New Leader's Commission
Joshua was a prince of the tribe of Ephraim, and was born in Egypt. After the Exodus he became captain of the host, Exodus 17:9. With Caleb he brought back a good report of the land of Canaan, Numbers 14:7. Having been found faithful in the smaller sphere, he was promoted to the wider one. As we have seen, one of Moses' closing acts was to give him a charge. He represents the Lord Jesus, in His risen glory, as the Captain and Leader of the Church.
The land of Canaan was Israel's by deed of gift; but Israel had to go up to possess it. Similarly God's grace is ours, but we must claim it by putting the foot of our faith on God's promises. Though Hittites-our old evil habits-revolt, if we meet them in the power of the Holy Spirit, they must yield. God is with us. Joshua 1:5 is the perquisite of all believers. See Hebrews 13:5-6. But note that the weapon of successful conflict is God's Word. It is our sword, Ephesians 6:17. See also Jeremiah 15:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Joshua 1

1  The Lord appoints Joshua to succeed Moses
3  The borders of the promised land
5  God promises to assist Joshua
8  He gives him instructions
10  Joshua prepares the people to pass over Jordan
12  He puts the two tribes and a half in mind of their promise to Moses
16  They promise him allegiance

What do the individual words in Joshua 1:4 mean?

From the wilderness and Lebanon this and as far as the river great the River Euphrates all the land of the Hittites and to the Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory
מֵהַמִּדְבָּר֩ וְהַלְּבָנ֨וֹן הַזֶּ֜ה וְֽעַד־ הַנָּהָ֧ר הַגָּד֣וֹל נְהַר־ פְּרָ֗ת כֹּ֚ל אֶ֣רֶץ הַֽחִתִּ֔ים וְעַד־ הַיָּ֥ם מְב֣וֹא הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ יִֽהְיֶ֖ה גְּבוּלְכֶֽם

מֵהַמִּדְבָּר֩  From  the  wilderness 
Parse: Preposition-m, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
וְהַלְּבָנ֨וֹן  and  Lebanon 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: לְבָנׄון  
Sense: a wooded mountain range on the northern border of Israel.
הַזֶּ֜ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
וְֽעַד־  and  as  far  as 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
הַנָּהָ֧ר  the  river 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
הַגָּד֣וֹל  great 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
נְהַר־  the  River 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
פְּרָ֗ת  Euphrates 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּרָת  
Sense: the largest and longest river of western Asia; rises from two chief sources in the Armenian mountains and flows into the Persian Gulf.
אֶ֣רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הַֽחִתִּ֔ים  of  the  Hittites 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: חִתִּי  
Sense: the nation descended from Heth, the 2nd son of Canaan; once inhabitants of central Anatolia (modern Turkey), later in north Lebanon.
וְעַד־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
הַיָּ֥ם  the  Sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
מְב֣וֹא  toward  the  going  down 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מָבֹוא  
Sense: entrance, a coming in, entering.
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ  of  the  sun 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
יִֽהְיֶ֖ה  shall  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
גְּבוּלְכֶֽם  your  territory 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine plural
Root: גְּבוּל  
Sense: border, territory.