1. The actual Hebrew words are "who is standing before you." This may be understood in two different ways: a) as denoting Joshua's presence with Moses even as Yahweh spoke (thus "who stands before you" as in KJV, NKJ, RSV, NASB), or b) as an idiomatic expression for a servant, which is how the words are understood in places like 1 Ki 12:8; 2 Chron 6:33; Neh 12:44 and Zec 4:14 (thus "your assistant" as in NIV, NJB, NRV). The context in this case permits either translation.
2. J. G. Millar, e.g., overstates the case in speaking of "the irreversible inclusion of Moses in the fate of the generation of which he was a leader." See "Living at the Place of Decision," in J. G. McConville and J. G. Millar, Time and Place in Deuteronomy, 26-27.
3. J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy, 18.
4. This was exactly the sentiment reflected in Joshua's lament following the initial defeat of the Israelites against Ai; "Ah, Sovereign Yahweh, why did you bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan . . ." (Jos.7:7).
5. Ajith Fernando, Deuteronomy: Loving Obedience to a Loving God, 81.