Deu. 4. 39; Ps. 83. 18. feh. 9. 15, 18-20; 1 Sam. 20. 14, 15, 17. #1 Tim. 5. 8. * ver. 18 12 for 'the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, 'swear unto me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto "my father's house, and give me 13 a true token: and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal ch. 6. 17, 25: Judg. kindly and truly with thee. 14 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was 16 upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers bé returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 с 1. 24; Mt. 5. 7. 1 Sam. 19. 12; Ac. 9.25 aver. 20: Ge. 24. 8; Ex. 20. 7. b ver. 12. And the men said unto her, We will be a blameless of this thine oath which 18 thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread1 in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy ch. 6. 23 19 father's household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his ver. 14; Mt. 27. 25. 20 blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. 22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. 23 ⚫ ver. 17. So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, 24 and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: and they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the ch. 6. 2; 21. 44; EL land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do & faint because of us. 3 2 Passage of the Jordan; a memorial erected. AND Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over: i And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, 'and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall 4 remove from your place, and go after it:2 yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it: that ye may know the way by which ye must go for ye have not passed this way heretofore. 5 6 7 And Joshua said unto the people, "Sanctify yourselves: for to-morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be 8 with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, 'ye shall stand still in Jordan. 9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words 10 of the LORD your God. And Joshua said, 'Hereby ye shall know that "the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the 11 Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 12 Now therefore "take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe 23.31. 5 ver. 9; Ps. 48, 5, 6 A ch. 2. 1. í ch. 1. 10, 11. * ver. 11; see Nam Num. 4. 15: 10. 21: Ex. 19. 12. ch. 7. 13; Fr. 19. 10 -15; L. 10 3; 21 7: Num. 11. 18: 1 Sam. 16. 5; Joe! 216 ver. 3; Num. 4. 15 Peh. 4. 14: 1 Chr. 29. 9 ch. 1. 5, 17. Num. 16 28-30. 9 Ex 38: 332; Dea. Joshua, and through him to the people, when they were all in order of march. 4 This miracle afforded a timely encouragement to Israel, as well as a great discouragement to their ene mies, who probably regarded the Jordan, in its then swollen state, as an impassable barrier, at least for some weeks, to the host of the Hebrews. 13 a man. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. 14 d d Ex. 15 8; Ps. 78. 13; 114.3 Ac. 7. 45 ver. 13. 21.Chr. 12. 15; Jer. 12.5 49. 19. A ch.418; 5. 10, 12. i 1 Ki. 4. 12; 7. 46. ▲ Deu. 3. 17. Ge. 14. 3; Num. 34. 3. Ex. 14. 22, 29; Ps. 66. 6. • ch. 3. 12. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over 15 Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; and as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth 16 all his banks all the time of harvest,) that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heaps very far from the city Adam, that is beside 'Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even 'the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against 17 Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan; "and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. 4 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed "over Jordan, that" ch. 3. 17; Deu. 27. 2. 2 the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out 3 of every tribe a man, and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging 4 place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, 5 whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: and Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, 6 according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to 7 come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That 'the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 8 9 10 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day." Pch. & 13 Ex. 13. 9. ver. 21; Ex. 12. 26, 27: 13. 14: Deu. 6. 2); Ps. 44. 1; 78. 3 -6. ch. 3. 13, 16. "Ex. 12. 14; Num. 16. 40. Ex. 12 39; Ps. 119. 60; Pro. 27. 1; Ece. 9. 10. For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and 11 passed over. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of ch. 1. 14; Num. 22. Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto 13 them about forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 12 14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they "feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15,16 And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Command the 17 ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 18 manded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 1 As the channel of the Jordan is steep, and the stream rapid, almost all the lower part of its course would be quickly left dry for the people. 2 The Jordan is usually very shallow; but it has a broad bed with steep banks, which it occasionally fills. This occurs during the months of March and April (the time of the barley harvest in those countries), when the snow of the mountains being melted, a large body of water comes down, in a turbid rapid current. This was just the time when the Israelites crossed; and on this account the miracle was the more impressive. 3 This seems to intimate that the waters, being arrested by the passage of the ark, and forming a wall above it, filled up all the channel as far as Zaretan. If this be the place mentioned in 1 Kings iv. 12, it must be about thirty miles above the crossing, and near the great rapids, where the accumulation of water would naturally be stopped. The river is so much below the level of the 5 It has been supposed that two heaps of stones were made. But the rapid torrent of the Jordan, which brings down great boulders, would probably soon destroy such an erection in the bed of the stream. As there is only one command mentioned, and only one heap said to remain, it seems most natural to suppose that this verse continues the narrative of the former, thus: And Joshua set up twelve stones, which had been taken up in the midst,' etc. 6 That is, at the time either of the writing of the book, or of its arrangement in the canon. 7 These were not all the males of those tribes capable of service; but probably a fair proportion of the able warriors. when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over1 all his banks, as they did before. Ex. 14. 26-28 d ch. 3. 15. vers. 3, & ver. 6. í Ex. 14. 21. 19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and 5 2 * Ex. 9. 16: 1 Sam. 17. eh. 2 9-11; Ex. 15. P ch. 2. 10; 1 Kl. 10. 5. Ge. 17. 10-14 'or, Gibeah-haaraLoth. Num. 14. 29; 25. 64, 65; Deu. 2. 16 "Dea. 12 8, 9; Ho 6. 6. No. 14. 23, 31: Deu. 1. 3; 2 7,14; At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and Ex. 4. 25. 3 circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the 4 foreskins. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the 5 wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, "them they had not circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not show them the land which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he 7 would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncir8 cumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their 9 places in the camp till they were whole. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal [i. e. rolling unto this day. 10 b And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover don the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. e passover, Ex. 16. 35. 11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the 12 unleavened cakes, and parched corn, in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the Deu. & 10, 11. land of Canaan that year. 13 6 Divine manifestation to Joshua; capture and destruction of Jericho. ch, 62: Ge. 18. 2: AND it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for N223, Chr. 1 Or, 'filled up.' 2 Rather, knives of stone' or 'flint;' such being still used for similar purposes by some nations. 3 That is, renewing the observance of a suspended rite. This command would be a test of the Israelites' faith in God's protection and obedience to his law; whilst it would show that he was determined to maintain the terms of that covenant by virtue of which they were to enjoy Canaan and all their national privileges. 4 The meaning of this term is doubtful; but it may refer to the renewal of that covenant by which God set apart the Israelites to be his people. By the suspension of circumcision they seem to have been debarred from many of those privileges to which it was the appointed introduction, till the rejected generation of unbelievers had all been swept away. 5 After the passover, they were to keep the feast of un leavened bread; which they could not do according to the appointment, when they had nothing but manna to live upon. Perhaps this was one reason why the observance of the passover was intermitted in the wilderness. They were now furnished with the means of obeying the command in Lev. xxiii. 10. 6 It was now unnecessary; as not only the old corn, but the new would begin to be available. Thus, in later ages, miraculous powers were withdrawn when the neces sities of the case no longer required them. 7 As God had shown himself to Moses before his great enterprise, so he now appears to Joshua, assuming a form and a name which would remind him of His own supremacy in the command of Israel, and of His guidance and protection in the anticipated conflict. So opportunely adapted to his servants' wants are God's manifestations of himself. 14 us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain [or, prince] of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and 15 did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; 6 for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. (Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none 2 came in.) And "the LORD said unto Joshua, See, "I have given into thine hand 3 Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do 4 six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests 5 shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns 7 before the ark of the LORD. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD. 8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the 10 trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your 11 mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 12 i see Ex. 23. 20-22; Ge. 17. 3. see ch. 5. 13. eh. 2. 9, 24; 8. 1; Ps. 44. 3. • Deu. 7. 24. P Judg. 7. 16, 22. Num. 10. 8. Num. 10. 25. 2 Sam. 5. 23, 24 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Den. 31. 25. 13 LORD. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the 14 priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15 ver. 4. Le. 27. 28; Mic. 4. 13. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: "only on 16 that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, 17 Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. And the city shall be accursed 2 Chr. 13. 15. [or, devoted], even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the 18 messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the ch. 7. 1, 11, 12: Deu. accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed 19 thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. 20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up 21 into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 22 2 ch. 2. 4; 1 Sam. 15. 6. 7. 26; 13. 17; Ro. 12. 9; 2 Cor. 6. 17. ch. 7. 25; Num. 31. 21-23; 2 Sam, 21. 1; 1 Ki. 18. 17, 18. 2 Sam. 8. il; Jon. 1. 12. d ver. 5; Heb. 11. 30. Deu. 7. 2; I Sam. 15. 3. ch. 2. 12-14; Heb. 11. 31. But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, fas 23 ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she ch. 2. 13. 1 Heb., did shut up, and was shut up: perhaps referring both to the besiegers and besieged. 2 Heb., 'trumpets of jubilee,' used on joyful occasions. 3 So that for any person to appropriate anything to himself was sacrilege, by which he would become similarly accursed or devoted to utter destruction. This curse, called in Hebrew cherem, was irrevocable (see ver. 26; 1 Kings xvi. 34); and is fitly used to represent the final and irremediable doom of the enemies of Christ (1 Cor. xvi. 22). 4 That is, by all means, most carefully. 5 There was clearly nothing in what the people did which had any natural connection with the result. It would, however, serve to confirm in themselves, and to exhibit to their enemies, an unhesitating obedience to the Divine commands, and a perfect reliance upon the promised aid of Divine power. See Heb. xi. 30. 6 See note on the destruction of the Canaanites at the end of this book. 7 2 without the camp A Num. 31. 19. had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them of Israel.1 i Den. 13. 16 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, ver. 19. and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and 'she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. I see Mt. 1. 5. see ch. 4. 2. And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the "1 Kl. 16. 34. LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.2 F ch. 9. 1, 3, 9. So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all ch. 1. 5. the country. Achan's covetousness discovered and punished. BUT the children of Israel committed a trespass 3 in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of ch. 22 20; 1 Chr. 2 Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the 3 country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. 4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: "and they 5 fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down [or, in Morad]: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.5 6 a 7. Achar. Ge. 12.8, Hai; Neh. 11. 31, Aja. Le. 26. 17; Dea. 23 25 ch. 2 9, 11; Le. 36 36: P. 2 14; la 13. 7. see refs. Num. 14. & Judg. 21,23, 26: 21.2 Num. 16. 22, 45 1 Sam. 4. 12; 2 Sam. 1. 2; 13. 19; Ne. 9. 1; Job 2. 12. Ex. & 22; Num. 14. 3: 2 K. 3. 10. d Ex. 16. 3. And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD " until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust 7 upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas! O Lord GoD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side 8 Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their 9 enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what PS4 wilt thou do unto thy great name?6 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus E15. 11 upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also 'stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even " among their 12 own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, 'except ye destroy the accursed from 13 among you. Up, 'sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, " until ye take 14 away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD 15 shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with see 1 Sam. 14. 38, 29. the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he 1 As unfit, without purification, for admission to the community of Israel. Ver. 25 seems to intimate that Rahab was afterwards so admitted. 2 If, as is generally supposed, this curse involved the death of all the builder's sons, and consequent extinction of his name, it was well adapted to deter any ambitious projector. For its fulfilment, see 2 Kings xvi. 34. It, however, did not extend beyond the family of the builder, as at various times the city is spoken of as inhabited. 3 Achan was evidently the only delinquent in this matter among all the thousands of Israel: a striking instance of religious discipline and obedience. |