them in mind what they had promifed Mofes; and he exhorted them, that for the fake of the care that Mofes had taken of them, who had never been weary of taking pains for them, no not when he was dying, and for the fake of the publick welfare, they would prepare themselves, and readily perform what they had promifed: So he took fifty thoufand of them, who followed him, and he marched from Abila to Jordan, fixty furlongs. 2. Now when he had pitched his camp the spies came to him immediately, well acquainted with the whole ftate of the Canaanites: For at firft, before they were at all discovered, they took a full view of the city Jericho without difturbance, and faw which parts of the walls were ftrong, and which parts were otherwife, and indeed infecure, and which of the gates were fo weak as might afford an entrance to their army. Now thofe that met them took no notice of them when they faw them, and fuppofed they were only ftrangers, who ufed to be very curious in obferving 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 fupper; which supper when they had done, and were confidering how to get away, information was given to the King, as he was at fupper, that there were fome perfons come from the Hebrews' camp to view the city as fpies, and that they were in the inn kept by Rahab, and were very folicit ous that they might not be difcovered, fo he fent immediately fome 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 foon as Rahab understood that these meffengers were coming fhe hid the fpies under ftalks of flax, which were laid to dry on the top of her houfe; and faid to the messengers that were fent by the King, that certain unknown clear example here before us in Jofephus, whose words evidently imply, that taking the whole land of Canaan, or that inhabited by all the twelve tribes together, and parting it into feven parts, the part beyond Jordan was in quantity of ground one feventh part of the whole. And this well enough agrees to Reland's own map of that country, although this land beyond Jordan was fo peculiarly fruitful, and good for pafterage, as the two tribes and a half took notice, Numb. xxxii. 1, 4. 16. that it maintained about a fifth part of the whole people, unknown ftrangers had fupped with her a little before funfetting, and were gone away, who might eafily be taken, if they were any terror to the city, or likely to bring any danger to the King: So these meffengers being thus deluded by the woman, and fufpecting no impofition, went their ways, without fo much as fearching the inn, but they immediately purfued them along thofe roads which they moft probably fuppofed them to have gone, and thofe particularly which led to the river, but could hear no tidings of them; fo they left off the pains of any farther purfuit. But when the tumult was over, Rahab brought the men down, and defired them, as foon as they fhould have obtained poffeffion 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 fakes; for that if fhe had been caught concealing them the could not have escaped a terrible destruction, fhe and all her family with her, and so bade them to go home; and defired them to fwear to her to preserve her and her family, when they fhould take the city and deftroy all its inhabitants, as they had decreed to do, for fo far fhe faid he had been affured by thofe divine miraeles of which she had been informed. So these spies acknowledged, that they owed her thanks for what the had done already, and withal fwore to requite her kindnefs, not only in words, but in deeds: But they gave her It plainly appears by the hiftory of thefe spies, and the innkeeper -Rahab's deception of the king of Jericho's meffengers, by telling them what was falfe, in order to fave the lives of the fpies, and yet the great commendation of her faith and good works in the New Teftament, Heb. xi. 31, Jam. ii. 25, as well as by many other parallel examples both in the Old Teftament and in Jofephus, that the beft men did not then fcruple to deceive those publick enemies, who might justly be destroyed, as alfo might deceive ill men, in order to fave life, and deliver themfelves 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 durft venture on fuch à procedure. Nor was JoTephus himself of any other opinion or practice, as I fhall remark in the note on Antiq, B. IX. ch. iv. § 3. Vol. II. And obferve, that I fill call this woman Rahab an innkeeper, not a harlot, the whole history both in our copies, and efpecially in Jofephus, implying no more. It was indeed fo frequent a thing, that women who were innkeepers were alfo harlots or maintainers of harlots, that the word commonly used for real harlots was ufually given them. See Dr. Bernard's note here, and Judg. zi 1, and Antiq. B. V. ch. vii. § 8. her this advice, that when she should perceive that the eity 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 fcarlet 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, faid they, we will inform him of this matter, because of the concern thou haft had to preserve us : But if any one of thy family fall in the battle do not thou blame us; and we beseech that God, by whom we have fworn, not then to be difpleafed with us, as though we had broken our oaths. So these men, when they had made this agreement, went away, letting themfelves down by a rope from the wall, and efcaped, and came and told their own people whatsoever they had done in their journey to this city. Jofhua alfo told Eleazar the high prieft and the fenate, what the fpies had fworn to Rahab, who confirmed what had been sworn. 3. Now while Joshua the commander, was in fear about their paffing over Jordan, for the river ran with a strong current, and could not be paffed over with bridges, for there never had been bridges laid over it hitherto, and while he fufpected, that if he should attempt to make a bridge, that the enemies would not afford him time to perfect it, and for ferry boats they had none, God promised fo to difpofe of the river that they might pass over it, and that by taking away the main part of its waters. So Jofhua, after two days, caufed 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 veffels that belonged to the fac rifices, 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 left they fhould be borne away by the ftream. But as foon as the priests had entered the river firft it appeared fordable, the depth of the water being restrained, and the fand appearing at the bottom, because the current was neither fo ftrong nor so swift as to carry it away by its force, fo they all paffed over the river without fear, finding it to be in the very fame ftate as God had fore told he would put it in but the priests stood still in the the midst of the river till the multitude fhould be paffed over, and should get to the shore in' fafety; 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 foon as the Hebrews were come out of it, arofe again préfently, and came to its own proper magnitude as before. 4. So the Hebrews went on farther fifty furlongs, and pitched their camp at the diftance of ten furlongs from Jericho: But Joshua built an altar of those ftones, 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 divifion of the ftream of this river, and upon it offered facrifice to God; and in that place celebrated the paffover, 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 Ifraelites did this, and the Ca haanites did not attack them, but kept themfelves quiet within their own walls, Jofhua refolved to befiege them; fo on the first day of the feaft [of the paffover] the priests carried the ark, round about which was fome part of the armed men to be a guard to it. Thefe priests went forward, blowing with their feven trumpets; and exhorted the army to be of good courage, and went round about the city, with the fenate 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 fix days, on the feventh Jofhua gathered the armed men, and all the people together, and told them this good tiding, that the city fhould now be taken, fince 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 fhould take, and not to abftain from the flaughter of their enemies, either for wearinefs, or for pity, and not to fall on the spoil, and be thereby diverted from purfuing their enemies as they ran away but to deftroy all the animals, and to take nothing for 28. E a their their own peculiar advantage. He commanded them alfo to bring together all the filver and gold, that it might be fet apart as firft fruits unto God out of this glorious exploit, as having gotten them from the city they first took; only that they should fave Rahab, and her kindred alive, because of the oath which the spies. had fworn to her. 6. When he had faid this, and had fet 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 ftood ftill a little, the wall fell down, while no inftruments of war, nor any other force, was appli ed to it by the Hebrews. 7. So they entered into Jericho, and flew all the men that were therein, while they were affrighted at the furprising overthrow of the walls, and their courage was become ufelefs, and they were not able to defend themselves; fo they were flain and their, throats cut, fome in the ways, and others as caught in their houses; nothing afforded them affiftance, but they all perished,. even to the women and the children, and the city was, filled with dead bodies, and not one perfon efcaped. They alfo burnt the whole, city, and the country about it; but they faved alive Rahab, with her family, who. had fled to her inn. And when fhe was brought to him, Jofhua owned to her, that they owed her thanks for her prefervation of the fpies: So he faid 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 efteem ever afterwards. 8. And if any part of the city, efcaped the fire he overthrew it from the foundation; and he denounced: a* curfe against its inhabitants, if any one fhould de fire Upon occasion of this devoting of Jericho to deftruction, and the exemplary punishment of Açhar, who broke that cherem or anathema, and of the punishment of the future breaker of it, Hiel, 1 Kings xv 34, as alfo 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, Noge devoted, which fhall be devoted of men, fhall be redeemed; but fhall furely be put to death; 1. e. whenever any of the Jews' publick enemies had been, for their wickedness, folemnly devoted to deftruction, according to the divine. command |