Discovery BoxJoshua 23:7 
Context23:7 or associate with these nations that remain near 1 you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! 2 You must not worship 3 or bow down to them!
Joshua 24:19
Context24:19 Joshua warned 4 the people, “You will not keep worshiping 5 the Lord, for 6 he is a holy God. 7 He is a jealous God who will not forgive 8 your rebellion or your sins.
1 tn Heb “with.”
2 tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.
3 tn Or “serve.”
4 tn Heb “said to.”
5 tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”
6 sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.
7 tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “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 IBHS 122.
8 tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”
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.
