John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 31:7
And Moses called unto Joshua ,.... Who might be at some distance from him, with the tribe to which he belonged. The Targum of Jonathan adds,"out of the midst of the people:" and said unto him, in the sight of all Israel ; now assembled together, and what follows was said in their hearing, to make him the more respectable to them: be strong and of a good courage ; the same that is said to the people in Deuteronomy 31:6 , and which was still more necessary in him, who was to be their... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 31:1-8
Loth to part (we say) bids oft farewell. Moses does so to the children of Israel: not because he was loth to go to God, but because he was loth to leave them, fearing that when he had left them they would leave God. He had finished what he had to say to them by way of counsel and exhortation: here he calls them together to give them a word of encouragement, especially with reference to the wars of Canaan, in which they were now to engage. It was a discouragement to them that Moses was to be... read more