Editing Book of Joshua (section)

==== Joshua's farewell speeches (chapters 23–24) ====
Joshua, in his old age and conscious that he is "going the way of all the earth",<ref>Joshua 23:14</ref> gathers the leaders of the Israelites together and reminds them of Yahweh's great works for them, and of the need to love Yahweh.<ref>Joshua 23:11</ref> The Israelites are told – just as Joshua himself had been told<ref>Joshua 1:7</ref> – that they must comply with "all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses",<ref>Joshua 23:6</ref> neither "turn[ing] aside from it to the right hand or to the left" (i.e. by adding to the law, or diminishing from it).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Poole |first1= Matthew |title= Commentary on the Holy Bible | chapter = Joshua 23 | year= 1853 |publisher= Robert Carter & Bros. | via = Bible Hub |chapter-url= http://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/joshua/23.htm}}</ref>

Joshua meets again with all the people at [[Shechem]] in chapter 24 and addresses them a second time. He recounts the history of God's formation of the Israelite nation, beginning with "[[Terah]], the father of [[Abraham]] and [[Nahor, son of Terah|Nahor]], [who] lived beyond the [[Euphrates]] River and worshiped other gods."<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|24:2|NIV| Joshua 24:2}}</ref> He invited the Israelites to choose between serving the Lord who had delivered them from [[Egypt]], or the gods which their ancestors had served on the other side of the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land they now lived. The people chose to serve the Lord, a decision which Joshua recorded in the Book of the Law of God. He then erected a memorial stone "under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord" in Shechem.<ref>Joshua 24:1–27</ref> The oak is associated with the Oak of [[Givat HaMoreh|Moreh]] where Abram had set up camp during his travels in this area.<ref>Genesis 12:6</ref>{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} Thus "Joshua made a covenant with the people", literally "cut a covenant", a phrase common to the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Greek language|Greek]], and [[Latin]] languages. It derives from the custom of [[sacrifice]], in which the victims were cut in pieces and offered to the [[deity]] invoked in ratification of the engagement.<ref>{{cite book |title=Pulpit Commentary | chapter = Joshua 24 | year = 1919|publisher= BibleHub|chapter-url= http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/joshua/24.htm |editor2-last =Exell  |editor2-first= Joseph S. |editor1-last =Spence-Jones|editor1-first= HDM}}</ref>

The people then returned to their inheritance, i.e., their allocated lands.<ref>Joshua 24:28</ref>