The Meaning of Joshua 24:1 Explained

Joshua 24:1

KJV: And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

YLT: And Joshua gathereth all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and calleth for the elders of Israel, and for its heads, and for its judges, and for its authorities, and they station themselves before God.

Darby: And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

ASV: And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Joshua  gathered  all the tribes  of Israel  to Shechem,  and called  for the elders  of Israel,  and for their heads,  and for their judges,  and for their officers;  and they presented  themselves before  God. 

What does Joshua 24:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Shechem was a strategic location for this important ceremony. Joshua called on the Israelites to renew formally their commitment to the Mosaic Covenant at the site that was very motivating to them to do so.
"If you were to put Plymouth Rock and Yorktown and Lexington and Independence Hall together, you would not have what Shechem is to Israel." [1]
At Shechem, God had first appeared to Abraham when he had entered the land and promised to give him the land of Canaan. In response to that promise Abraham built his first altar to Yahweh in the land there ( Genesis 12:7). Jacob buried his idols at Shechem after returning to the Promised Land from Paddan-aram. He made this his home and built an altar to Yahweh there ( Genesis 33:18-20), and later God moved him to Bethel ( Genesis 35:1-4) where he built another altar.
"As Jacob selected Shechem for the sanctification of his house, because this place was already consecrated by Abraham as a sanctuary of God, so Joshua chose the same place for the renewal of the covenant, because this act involved a practical renunciation on the part of Israel of all idolatry." [2]
At Shechem the same generation of Israelites that Joshua now addressed had pledged itself to the Mosaic Covenant shortly after it had entered the land ( Joshua 8:30-35). They had also built an altar there.
"For the Christian, regular presentation before God in worship is an essential feature of a life of faith ( Hebrews 10:25)." [3]

Context Summary

Joshua 24:1-15 - The Lesson Of Israel's History
The previous chapter contains Joshua's own last words of warning to Israel; here he is God's mouthpiece: "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel."
There is, first, the recapitulation of past mercy. From time to time we should definitely recall, for our children's sake, the divine interpositions in our national and domestic life.
It is interesting in the opening words to learn that Abraham was called out of an idolatrous family. This was the pit whence he had been digged, Isaiah 51:1. He was a Gentile before he became a Jew; and was familiar with all the seductions of a lower religious type before he definitely stood for the only true God. It took long to eradicate this evil strain from Israel. During their sojourn in Egypt they had yielded to the fascinations of idolatry, Joshua 24:14. Joshua at least had made his choice! What a blessed thing for a family, when the parents make the avowal of Joshua 24:15. Why not from henceforth? [source]

Chapter Summary: Joshua 24

1  Joshua assembles the tribes at Shechem
2  A brief history of God's benefits from Terah
14  He renews the covenant between them and God
26  A stone the witness of the covenant
29  Joshua's age, death, and burial
32  Joseph's bones are buried
33  Eleazar dies

What do the individual words in Joshua 24:1 mean?

And gathered Joshua - all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel for their heads for their judges for their officers and they presented themselves before God
וַיֶּאֶסֹ֧ף יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ אֶת־ כָּל־ שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל שְׁכֶ֑מָה וַיִּקְרָא֩ לְזִקְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל וּלְרָאשָׁ֗יו וּלְשֹֽׁפְטָיו֙ וּלְשֹׁ֣טְרָ֔יו וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ לִפְנֵ֥י הָאֱלֹהִֽים

וַיֶּאֶסֹ֧ף  And  gathered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ  Joshua 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהֹושֻׁעַ  
Sense: son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שִׁבְטֵ֥י  the  tribes 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: שֵׁבֶט  
Sense: rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
שְׁכֶ֑מָה  to  Shechem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: שְׁכֶם 
Sense: son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivites at Shechem at the time of Jacob’s arrival.
וַיִּקְרָא֩  and  called 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
לְזִקְנֵ֨י  for  the  elders 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וּלְרָאשָׁ֗יו  for  their  heads 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
וּלְשֹֽׁפְטָיו֙  for  their  judges 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁפַט  
Sense: to judge, govern, vindicate, punish.
וּלְשֹׁ֣טְרָ֔יו  for  their  officers 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁטַר  
Sense: (Qal) official, officer.
וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ  and  they  presented  themselves 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָצַב 
Sense: to place, set, stand, set or station oneself, present oneself.
לִפְנֵ֥י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הָאֱלֹהִֽים  God 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).