BOOK V.

CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF 476 YEARS. [From the death of Moses to the death of Eli.]

CHAPTER I.

HOW JOSHUA, THE COMMANDER OF THE HEBREWS, MADE WAR WITH THE CANAANITES, AND OVERCAME THEM, AND DESTROYED THEM, AND DIVIDED THEIR LAND BY LOT TO THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL.

1. WHEN Moses was taken away from among men, in the manner already described, and when all the solemnities belonging to the mourning for him were finished, and the sorrow for him was over, Joshua commanded the multitude to get themselves ready for an expedition. He also sent spies to Jericho, to discover what forces they had, and what were their intentions, but he put his camp in order, as intending soon to pass over Jordan at a proper season. And calling to him the rulers of the tribe of Reubel, and the governors of the tribe of Gad, and [the half tribe of] Manasseh, for half of this tribe had been permitted to have their habitation in the country of the Amorites, which was the seventh part of the land of Canaan,* he put them in mind what they had promised Moses; and he exhorted them, that for the sake of the care that Moses had taken of them, who had never been weary of taking pains

*The Amorites were one of the seven nations of Canaan; hence Reland is willing to suppose, that Josephus did not here mean that their land beyond Jordan was a seventh part of the whole land of Canaan, but meant the Amorites as a seventh nation. His reason is, that Josephus, as well as our Bible, generally distinguish the land beyond Jordan from the land of Canaan: nor can it be denied that in strictness they were different; yet after two tribes and a half of the twelve tribes came to inherit it, it might, in a general way altogether, be well included under the land of Canaan, or Palestine, or Judea of which we have a clear example here, as before, in Josephus, whose words evidently imply, that taking the whole land of Canaan, or that inhabited by all the twelve tribes together, and putting it into seven parts, the part beyond Jordan was in quantity of ground one seventh part of the whole. this well enough agrees to Reland's own map of that country, although this land beyond Jordan was so particularly fruitful, and good for pasturage, as the two tribes and a half took notice, Numb. xxxii. 1, 4, 16, that is maintained about a fifth part of the whole people.

And

ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS.

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for them, no, not when he was dying, and for the sake of the public welfare, they would prepare themselves, and readily perform what they had promised: so he took fifty thousand of them, who followed him, and he marched from Abila to Jordan, sixty furlongs.

2. Now when he had pitched his camp, the spies came to him immediately, well acquainted with the whole state of the Canaanites: for, at first, before they were at all discovered, they took a full view of the city Jericho without disturbance, and saw which parts of the walls were strong, and which parts were otherwise, and indeed insecure, and which of the gates were so weak as might afford an entrance to their army. Now those that met them took no notice of them when they saw them, and supposed they were only strangers, who used to be very curious in observing every thing in the city, and did not take them for enemies; but at even they retired to a certain inn that was near to the wall, whither they went to eat their supper; which supper when they had done, and were considering how to get away, information was given to the king as he was at supper, that there were some persons come from the Hebrews' camp to view the city as spies, and that they were in the inn kept by Rahab, and were very solicitous that they might not be discovered; so he sent immediately some to them, and commanded to catch them, and bring them to him, that he might examine them by torture, and learn what their business was there. As soon as Rahab understood that these messengers were coming, she hid the spies under stalks of flax, which were laid to dry on the top of her house; and said to the messengers that were sent by the king, that certain unknown strangers had supped with her a little before sunsetting, and were gone away, who might easily be taken if they were any terror to the city, or likely to bring any danger to the king so these messengers being thus deluded by the woman, and suspecting no imposition, went their ways without so much as searching the inn, but they immediately pursued them along those roads which they most probably supposed them to have gone, and those particularly which led to the river, but could hear no tidings of them; so they left off the pains of any farther pursuit.*

*It plainly appears by the history of these spies, and the innkeeper Rahab's deception of the king of Jericho's messengers, by telling them what was false, in order to save the lives of the spies, and yet the great commendation of her faith and good works in the New Testament, Heb. xi. 31. James ii. 25. as well as by many other parallel passages, both in the Old Testament and in Josephus, that the best men did not then scruple to deceive those public enemies, who might justly be destroyed; as

But when the tumult was over, Rahab brought the men down, and desired them, as soon as they should have obtained possession of the land of Canaan, when it would be in their power to make her amends for her preservation of them, to remember what danger she had undergone for their sakes for that if she had been caught concealing them, she could not have escaped a terrible destruction, she and all her family with her, and so bid them to go home; and desired them to swear to her, to preserve her and her family, when they should take the city, and destroy all its inhabitants, as they had decreed to do, for so far she said, she had been assured by those divine miracles, of which she had been informed. So these spies acknowledged that they owed her thanks for what she had done already, and withal swore to requite her kindness, not only in words but in deeds: but they gave her this advice, that when she should perceive that the city was about to be taken, she should put her goods, and all her family, by way of security in her inn, and to hang out scarlet threads before her doors, [or windows,] that the commander of the Hebrews might know her house, and take care to do her no harm; for, said they, we will inform him of this matter, because of the concern thou hast had to preserve us; if any one of thy family fall in the battle, do not thou blame us: and we beseech that God, by whom we have sworn, not then to be displeased with us, as though we had broken our oaths. So these men, when they had made this agreement, went away, letting themselves down by a rope from the wall, and escaped, and came and told their own people whatsoever they had done in their journey to this city. Joshua also told Eleazer the high-priest, and the senate, what the spies had sworn to Rahab, who confirmed what had been sworn.

but

3. Now while Joshua, the commander, was in fear about their passing over Jordan, for the river ran with a strong current, and could not be passed over with bridges, for there never had been bridges laid over it hitherto, and while he sus

also might deceive ill men, in order to save life, and deliver themselves from the tyranny of their unjust oppressors, and this by telling direct falsehoods; I mean all this where no oath was demanded of them, otherwise they never durst venture on such a procedure. Nor was Josephus himself of any other opinion or practice, as I shall remark in the note on Antiq. B. ix. c. iv. sec. 3. vol. ii. And observe, that I still call this woman Rahab an innkeeper, not a harlot, the whole history, both in our copies, and especially in Josephus, implying no more. It was indeed so frequent a thing, that women who were innkeepers were also harlots, or maintainers of harlots, that the word commonly used for real harlots was usually given thein. See Dr. Bernard's note here, and Judges xi. J. and Antiq. B. v. c. vii. sec. 8.

pected, that if he should attempt to make a bridge, that the enemies would not afford him time to perfect it, and for ferryboats they had none, God promised so to dispose of the river that they might pass over it, and that by taking away the main part of its waters. So Joshua, after two days, caused the army and the whole multitude to pass over in the manner following: the priests went first of all, having the ark with them; then went the Levites, bearing the tabernacle, and the vessels which belonged to the sacrifices, after which the entire multitude followed according to their tribes, having their children and their wives in the midst of them, as being afraid for them, lest they should be borne away by the stream. But as soon as the priests had entered the river first, it appeared fordable, the depth of the water being restrained, and the sand appearing at the bottom, because the current was neither so strong nor so swift as to carry it away by its force, so they all passed over the river without fear, finding it to be in the very same state as God had foretold he would put it in; but the priests stood still in the midst of the river till the multitude should be passed over, and should get to the shore in safety; and when all were gone over, the priests came out also, and permitted the current to run freely as it used to do before. Accordingly, the river, as soon as the Hebrews were come out of it, rose again presently, and came to its own proper magnitude as before.

4. So the Hebrews went on farther fifty furlongs, and pitched their camp at the distance of ten furlongs from Jericho but Joshua built an altar of those stones, which all the heads of the tribes, at the command of the prophet, had taken out of the deep, to be afterwards a memorial of the division of the stream of this river, and upon it offered sacrifice to God; and in that place celebrated the passover, and had great plenty of all the things which they wanted hitherto, for they reaped the corn of the Canaanites, which was now ripe, and took other things as prey, for then it was that their former food, which was manna, and of which they had eaten forty years, failed them.

5. Now while the Israelites did this, and the Canaanites did not attack them, but kept themselves quiet within their own walls, Joshua resolved to besiege them; so on the first day of the feast [of the passover]the priests carried the ark, round about which was some part of the armed men to be a guard to it. These priests went forward, blowing with their seven trumpets; and exhorted the army to be of good cour age, and went round about the city, with the senate following them; and when the priests had only blown with the trumpets, for they did nothing more at all, they returned to the

camp. And when they had done this for six days, on the seventh, Joshua gathered the armed men and all the people together, and told them this good tiding, that the city should now be taken, since God would on that day give it them, by the falling down of the walls, and this of their own accord, and without their labour. However, he charged them to kill every one they should take, and not to abstain from the slaughter of their enemies, either for weariness, or for pity, and not to fall on the spoil, and be thereby diverted from pursuing their enemies as they ran away; but to destroy all the animals, and to take nothing for their own peculiar advantage. He commanded them also to bring together all the silver and guld that it might be set apart as first fruits unto God out of this glorious exploit, as having gotten them from the city they first took only that they should save Rahab, and her kindred alive, because of the oath which the spies had sworn to her.

6. When he had said this, and had set his army in order, he brought it against the city: so they went round the city again, the ark going before them, and the priests encouraging the people to be zealous in the work; and when they had gone round it seven times, and had stood still a little, the wall fell down, while no instruments of war, nor any other force, was applied to it by the Hebrews.

7. So they entered into Jericho, and slew all the men that were therein, while they were affrighted at the surprising overthrow of the walls, and their courage was become useless, and they were not able to defend themselves; so they were slain, and their throats cut, some in the ways, and others as caught in their houses: nothing afforded them assistance, but they all perished, even to the women and children, and the city was filled with dead bodies, and not one person escaped. They also burnt the whole city, and the country about it; but they saved alive Rahab, with her family, who had fled to her inn. And when she was brought to him, Joshua, owned to her, that they owed her thanks for the preservation of the spies: so he said he would not appear to be behind her in his benefaction to her; whereupon he gave her certain lands immediately, and had her in great esteem ever afterwards.

8. And if any part of the city escaped the fire, he overthrew it from the foundation; and he denounced a curse against its inhabitants,* if any one should desire to rebuild it,

* Upon occasion of this devoting of Jericho to destruction, and the exemplary punishment of Achar, who broke that cherem or anathema, and of the punishment of the future breaker of it, Hiel, 1 Kings xvi. 34. as also of the punishment of Saul for breaking the like cherem or anathema against the Amalekites, 1 Sam. xv. We may observe what was the true meaning of that law, Levit. xxvii. 28. "None devoted, which shall be