page_title: V'Zot HaBerachah
section_title: The haftarah in inner-Biblical interpretation
hierarchical_section_title: V'Zot HaBerachah / Haftarah / The haftarah in inner-Biblical interpretation
caption_attribution_description: English: Moses Appoints Joshua, as in Deuteronomy 31:7-8; illustration from Henry Davenport Northrop’s 1894 Treasures of the Bible
context_page_description: V'Zot HaBerachah, VeZos HaBerachah, VeZot Haberakha, V'Zeis Habrocho, V'Zaus Haberocho, V'Zois Haberuchu, Wazoth Habborocho, or Zos Habrocho is the 54th and final weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 11th and last in the Book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12. The parashah sets out the farewell Blessing of Moses for the 12 Tribes of Israel and concludes with the death of Moses.
  It is made up of 1,969 Hebrew letters, 512 Hebrew words, and 41 verses. The parashah has the fewest letters and words, of any of the 54 weekly Torah portions. Jews generally read it in September or October on the Simchat Torah festival. Immediately after reading Parashah V'Zot HaBerachah, Jews also read the beginning of the Torah, Genesis 1:1–2:3, as the second Torah reading for Simchat Torah.
context_section_description: The characterization of Joshua as Moses's "assistant" (מְשָׁרֵת, mesharet) in Joshua 1:1 echoes Exodus 24:13 ("his assistant," מְשָׁרְתוֹ, mesharto), Exodus 33:11 ("his assistant," מְשָׁרְתוֹ, mesharto), and Numbers 11:28 (Moses's "assistant," מְשָׁרֵת, mesharet). God charged Moses to commission Joshua in Numbers 27:15–23.
  God's reference to Moses as "my servant" (עַבְדִּי, avdi) in Joshua 1:2 and 1:7 echoes God's application of the same term to Abraham, Moses, and Caleb. And later, God used the term to refer to Moses David, Isaiah, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Israel, Nebuchadnezzar, Zerubbabel, the Branch, and Job,
  God's promise in Joshua 1:3 to give Joshua "every spot on which your foot treads" echoes the same promise by Moses to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:24. And God's promise to Joshua in Joshua 1:5 that "no man shall be able to stand before you" echoes the same promise by Moses to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:25.
  God's encouragement to Joshua to be "strong and resolute" (חֲזַק, וֶאֱמָץ, chazak ve-ematz) in Joshua 1:6 is repeated by God to Joshua in Joshua 1:7 and 1:9 and by the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to Joshua in Joshua 1:18. These exhortations echo the same encouragement that Moses gave the Israelites (in the plural) in Deuteronomy 31:6 and that Moses gave Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:7 and 31:23. Note also God's instruction to Moses to "charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him" in Deuteronomy 3:28. And later Joshua exhorted the Israelites to be "strong and resolute" (in the plural) in Joshua 10:25 and David encouraged his son and successor Solomon with the same words in 1 Chronicles 22:13 and 28:20.
  God's admonishes Joshua in Joshua 1:7–8: "to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then you shall make your ways prosperous, and then you shall have good success." This admonition echoes the admonition of Moses in Deuteronomy 17:18–20 that the king: "shall write him a copy of this law in a book . . . . And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn . . . to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; . . . and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel."
  In Joshua 1:13–15, Joshua reminded the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh of their commitment to fight for the Land of Israel using language very similar to that in Deuteronomy 3:18–20. Note also the account in Numbers 32:16–27. And the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh affirm their commitment with the same verbs in Joshua 1:16–17 ("we will do . . . so will we obey," נַעֲשֶׂה . . . נִשְׁמַע, na'aseh . . . nishmah) with which the Israelites affirmed their fealty to God in Exodus 24:7 ("will we do, and obey," נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע, na'aseh ve-nishmah).
  In Joshua 1:14, Joshua directed the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh that "you shall pass over before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and shall help them." Previously, in Numbers 26:2, God directed Moses and Eleazer to "take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from 20 years old and upward, . . . all that are able to go forth to war in Israel." That census yielded 43,730 men for Reuben, 40,500 men for Gad, and 52,700 men for Manasseh — for a total of 136,930 adult men "able to go forth to war" from the three tribes. But Joshua 4:12–13 reports that "about 40,000 ready armed for war passed on in the presence of the Lord to battle" from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh — or fewer than 3 in 10 of those counted in Numbers 26. Chida explained that only the strongest parti
caption: Moses Appoints Joshua (illustration from Henry Davenport Northrop's 1894 Treasures of the Bible)
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