In the book of Genesis, we can notice that God’s words to Abraham were reiterated to the later patriarchs—to Isaac and then to Jacob. The reiteration of promises showed a continuity of God’s covenant plan. 

When the book of Joshua begins, the key character is not the young man he once was. Many years have passed since the exodus out of Egypt. His predecessor, Moses, had been 80 years old when the Israelites left the land of their captivity, and in Joshua 1 there has been a forty-year span of time since then.

While we don’t know the precise age of Joshua when the book of Joshua begins, we do know that he dies at age 110 (Josh. 24:29). And we also know that during the years of Israel’s wandering through the wilderness, the promises of God never ran dry. Those promises, rooted in the faithful character of God, ensured that the Israelites would possess the land God had told the patriarchs about.

The opening section of the book of Joshua (Josh. 1:1–9) is a magnificent divine address. And nearly every line draws upon past promises. Let’s notice some examples of literary cohesion.

Six Examples of Echoes

God told Joshua, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses” (Josh. 1:3). Moses had conveyed that same truth to the Israelites when he was alive: “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours” (Deut. 11:24).

God told Joshua, “From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory” (Josh. 1:4). Moses had said something similar to the Israelites: “Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea” (Deut. 11:24).

God told Joshua, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life” (Josh. 1:5). This corresponds to what Moses said: “No one shall be able to stand against you” (Deut. 11:25).

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