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Joshua and Caleb are praised for faithful courage
Sirach 46:1–10 praises Joshua and Caleb for strong, faithful courage. The passage remembers leadership, prayer to God, resistance to sinful pressure, and a clear example for Israel about following the Lord.
Understanding the passage
Listening in context
In this part of Sirach, the writer speaks about Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh in words of praise. The passage highlights Joshua’s role after Moses, the Lord’s help in conflict, and the way Joshua and Caleb stood firm for the people’s good.
Sirach 46:1–10Main takeaway
This passage teaches that strength, mercy, and steadfast loyalty to the Lord are good and worthy of remembrance.
Look closely at the words
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Joshua’s place and purposeSirach first describes Joshua as valiant in war and as Moses’ successor in prophecies. His greatness is tied to God’s saving work for God’s elect.
Explanation
Sirach first describes Joshua as valiant in war and as Moses’ successor in prophecies. His greatness is tied to God’s saving work for God’s elect. The passage says he acted against rising enemies so that Israel might receive their inheritance. The focus is not only conflict, but God’s people receiving what was given to them.
02Firmness with the Lord’s helpThe writer praises Joshua’s lifted hands and outstretched sword, then asks who stood so firm before him.
Explanation
The writer praises Joshua’s lifted hands and outstretched sword, then asks who stood so firm before him. Yet the passage gives the deepest reason for victory: the Lord himself brought his enemies to him. Even the striking line about the sun and the long day is presented as part of this praise.
03Calling on the Most HighWhen foes pressed in all around, Joshua called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, and the great Lord heard him.
Explanation
When foes pressed in all around, Joshua called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, and the great Lord heard him. The text then describes hailstones of mighty power and violent conflict. It says this happened so that the nations might know “his armor”, and it adds that he fought in the sight of the Lord and followed the Mighty One.
04Joshua and Caleb as a faithful pairSirach then looks back to the time of Moses. Joshua and Caleb are said to have done a work of mercy by withstanding the adversary, hindering the people from sin, and stilling wicked complaining.
Explanation
Sirach then looks back to the time of Moses. Joshua and Caleb are said to have done a work of mercy by withstanding the adversary, hindering the people from sin, and stilling wicked complaining. They alone were preserved to enter the inheritance, and Caleb received lasting strength so Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01How does Sirach connect Joshua’s courage with the Lord’s action?
Notice that Joshua stands firm and calls on the Most High, while the passage also says the Lord brought enemies to him and heard him.
02What does Sirach say Joshua and Caleb did for the people in the time of Moses?
Look for the phrases about mercy, withstanding the adversary, hindering sin, and stilling wicked complaining.
03What final lesson does the passage draw from Caleb’s strength and inheritance?
The last verse states the lesson plainly, so use that sentence to shape your answer.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Sirach 46:1–10
1Joshua the son of Nun was valiant in war, and was the successor of Moses in prophecies. He was made great according to his name for the saving of God’s elect, to take vengeance on the enemies that rose up against them, that he might give Israel their inheritance.
2How he was glorified in the lifting up his hands, and in stretching out his sword against the cities!
3Who before him stood so firm? For the Lord himself brought his enemies to him.
4Didn’t the sun go back by his hand? Didn’t one day become as two?
5He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, when his foes pressed in all around him, and the great Lord heard him.
6With hailstones of mighty power, he caused war to break violently upon the nation, and on the slope he destroyed those who resisted, so that the nations might know his armor, how he fought in the sight of the Lord; for he followed the Mighty One.
7Also in the time of Moses, he did a work of mercy— he and Caleb the son of Jephunneh— in that they withstood the adversary, hindered the people from sin, and stilled their wicked complaining.
8And of six hundred thousand people on foot, they two alone were preserved to bring them into their inheritance, into a land flowing with milk and honey.
9The Lord gave strength to Caleb, and it remained with him to his old age, so that he entered the hill country, and his offspring obtained it for an inheritance,
10that all the children of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord.