Ver.*e 23. Bioiighl out lialud>, mid her father, &c.] llahab haviuQ; been lliilhlul to her vow of stcresy; the I.-raehtes were hound by the oath of the s])ics, who acted as then' representatives in this business, to preserve her and her family alive.
And lift them v^ithout tlie cuiiip] They were considered as persons unclean, v.\A consequently left without the cainp; see I.evit. xiii. 46. Numb. xii. 11. When they had abjured heathenism, were purified, and the males received circumcision, they were doubtless admitted into the camp, and became incorporatt d with Israel.
Verse 'J4. Onli/ the sil-er imd the gold — they put into the /iwrsun/, &c.] 'I'he people were to have no share of the s|Kiils, because they had no hand in the conquest. God alone overthrew the city; and into his treasury only, the spoils were brought. This is one proot that the agitation of the air, by the sound of the people's voice, was not the cause of the fall of the city walls.
Vessels of brass and of iron'] Instead of h^ Mey, VE.<1- SF.I^S; the.Septua;,-int, in the Alexandrian copy, evidently have read hi kol, ALL, with the omi.ssion of the * yod; for they translate in ver. 19. ■Ttaf x^'^sf *«' C'^VfCf, ALL the hruss and iron; but this readin-j does not ajipcar in any of Kcnnicott's or De Rossi's Mss.
And she dieelleth in Israel even unto this day] This is on? proof that the book was written in the time to which it is commonly referred; and certainly mip;hl have been done by tile hand of.Tosliua him.self, thou^'h doublh-i* many marginal notes may have since crept into the Text, which, to superficial observers, give it the appearance of having bfen uriiten after the days of Joshua..See the Preface to this jjook.
Verse 26. And Joahua adjured them at that time'] It appears that he had received intimations from God, that this idolatrous city should continue a monument of the divine displeasure: and having con»cned the princes and ciders uf the people, he bound them by an oath, that they should nevir rebuild it: and then, in their presence, pronounced a cur»e upon the person who should attempt it. The ruins of this city contiiuiing, would be a permanent proof, not only of God's displeasure against idolatry; but of the miracle which he had wrought in behalf of the I-raelites; and for these reasons, God willed that it should not be rebuilt, nevcnlielcs-s he left men to the operation of their own fr«>c will, and recorded the penalty which those must pay who should disobey him.
lie shall lay the foundation thereof. &c.] Tliis is a strange execration; but it may rather be consideretl io the light of a prediction. It.<eenis to intimate that he who should attempt to rebuild this city, should lose all his children in the interim, from Isying the foundation, to the completion of the walls; which the author of I Kings svi. 34.
■yl curse is denounced on time, saying, ' Cui-sed be tlie man before tlie Loud, that risetli up and buildetli this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest those 'who shall rebuild Jericho.
says was accomplished in Hiel the Betlielite, who rebuilt Jericho, under the reign of Ahaz, and laid the foundation cf it in Abiram, his first-horn; and set tip its gales in his youngest son Segub: this was 550 years after Joshua pronounced the curse. TJiit we are not sure that this means, that the children cither died a natural or violent death on this pccasion, for we may understand the history as relating to the slow progress of the work. Hiel having begun the work at the birth of his first-born, was not able to conclude before the l)irth of liis last child, who was born many years after: and as Their names are menlroned, it is very likely that the distance of time between the birth of each, was well known when this liistory was written: and that I he extraordinary length of time spent in the work, in which a multitude of vexatious tielays had taken place, is that to which the prophetic execration relates. Yet the first opinion is the most probable. We must not suppose that Jericho bad been wholly neglected from its overthrow by Joshua, to the days of Jliel; if it lie She same with the city of Palm-trees, mentioned Deut. xxxiv. 3. We find it mentioned as an inhabited place in the. beginning of J Lid;i;es, chap. i. 16. a short time after the deaih of Joshua; And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-lau), went vp out of the citi/ of palm-trees, tvilh the children of Jiidah, Sfc. and this said city, if the same with the city of palm-trees, was taken from the Israelites by Eglon king of Moab, Judg. iii. 13. The ambassadors of David who were disgracefully treated by Hanun king of the Ammonites, were connnanded to tarry at Jericho till their beards should grow, 2 Sam. x. 4, 5. It apjiears therefore, that there was a city which went under this name, long before the time of Hiel, unless we can suppose that the ciiy of fahn-trees was a diil'erent place from Jericho, or that the name Jericho was given to some part of the circumjacent country, after the city was destro}"*!!, which is very probable. After Hiel had rebuilt this city, it became of considerable consequence in the land of Judea: the courses of priests lodged there, who served in their turns at the temple; see I. like X. 30. There was a school of the prophets there, vhich was visited by Elijah and Ehshah, 2 Kings ii. 4, 5, 18. and it was at this city that our Lord miraculously healed blind Rartimeus, Matt, x. 46. Luke xix. 1, &c. At present, Jericho is almost entirely deserted, having but thirty T>r forty miserable cabins in it, which servo for a place of refu"e to some wretched Moors and Arabs, who live there like beasts. The plain of Jericho, formerly so celebrated for its fertility, is at present uncultivated, producing nothing but a few wild trees, and some very indifterent fruits. Sec Calmet,
Vcrac 27. So the Lord viat ivith Joshuii] Giving hiin miraculous assistance in all his enterprises: and this was what
son shall he set up the gates of it. 27 "" So the Lord was with Joshua: and ' his fame was noised throughout all the country.
he was naturally led to expect from the communication tnacle to him by the captain of the Lord's host, chap. v. 14, &c.
J. Many attempts have been made either to deny the miracle in the fall of Jericho, or to account for it on naturalcauses. Reference has already been made to some of these in the note on ver. 20. But to those who believe the Divina authenticity of the New Testament, every objection of this kind is removed by the authority of the author of the Epistle, to the Hebrews, chap. xi. 30. By FAITH the walls of Jericho fill doivn, after they had been compassed about seven day.x Hence we find that it was a miraculous interference; and. that Joshua's failh in the promise made to him by the taptain of the Lord's host, was the instrument which God chose to employ in the accomplishment of this important purpose.
2. The same is said of Rahab, By FArrii the harlot R<'thab perished not, with them that believed not, iihen she had received the spies xuith peace, Heb. xi. 31. She believed that the true God was on the side of the Hebrews; and that all opposition to them must be in vain; and this faith led her to put herself under the Divine protection, and in virtue of it, she escaped the destruction that fell on her countrymen. Thus God has ever chosen to put honour on faith, as the instrument by which he will perform his greatest miracles of justice and mercy. God, who cannot lie, has given the promise: he that believes shall have it accomplished; for, with God, nothing shall be impossible; and all things are possible to him that believes. These are scriptural maxims, and God cannot deny himself
3. On the curse pronounced by Joshua on those \vho should rebuild Jericho, it may be necessary to make a few remarks. In ancient history we have many instances of execrations against those who should rebuild tho.se cities which had been destroyed in war, the revival of whose power and influence was dreaded; especially such cities as had been remarkable for oppression, insolence or perfidy. Strubo observes, lib. xiii. p. 898. edit, nol, that Agamemnon pronounced execrations on those who should rebuild Troy, a» CroDsus did against those who should rebudd Sidcna, in which the tyrant Glaucas had taken refuge; and this mode of execrating cities, according to Strabo, was an ancient custom — fiTE iiat tcccra^aaa/XEVOV rou Aya/xii/.vovoi xara 'TraTiaiov iSof naOaTTt^ Kai o K^oio'of fIfXov thi/ Hiovvriv ei; nv o ru^awo; xarf- ^uye r^ianxiaf, afotf eSeto xara tuv TcixdounToiv TtccMv rov
The Romans made a decree, full of execrations, against those who should rebuild Carthage, which had been the rival of their empire; and which, from its advantageous situation, might again become formidable should it be rebuilt. Sea Zonaras, Annal,
Jcf/aii steals and secretes CILA V. \' 1 1. port of the f.poils.
Tlic trespass of tin' hrucUtca, 1. Jns/iim seiitis nun to view tlu tnlc cf W, C. I'/iei/ return kU/i a favourable report, ". 'I'lircc tlinii^niid men arc. sent /i^ainsl it, rcho are dij'cuted, and l/iirtij-sii liilled, 4,.5. Josliua ii grcat/i/ distressed, prostrates liimsclf, and enquires of tlie Lord the reason u'liij lie lias abandoned Israel lo their encmie^ G — 9. 'J'/ic Lord raises him, and informs him, that, eontrarj/ to the command, some of the people had secreted some of the spoils of Jerieho, 10 — 12. Jle is directed how to discover the delinquent, \3 — Ij. Joshua etM/uires in nhat iiMni; the i^aill is found, andjinds it to he in the tribe o/' JudaW — in ichat family, and finds it to beaming, //(f Zariiitus — in n-lial uoL'siioi.n, mid finds it to be in that of Yyabdi — /// rchat individual, uiidfnids it In be Aclmn, sow of Va\v\\\\, son of Zabdi, IG — 18. Joshua exhorts him to confess his sin. If). lie does so,, and gives a eiirumstanlial account, 20, '21. Joshua sends for the stolen articles, 22,23. And Ac\iat\, and nil that belonged to him, are brought to the t'alle// if Achor, stoned and burnt, 24 — 2G.
UT the children of Israel coin- land view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
3 And they returned to Joshua, and j said unto him. Let not all the people
go uj); but let '•' about two or tliree thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all thu people to labour tliithcr; for they are but iew,
4 So there went up tliither oi'the peoj)le aijoiit three thousand men: ' and they fled before the men of Ai.
mitted a trespass in the accursed thing: Jur " Achan, ^ the son of Car-
Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Loud was kinilled against the children of Israel.
2 ^f And Joshua sent men fiom Jericho to Ai, •which is beside Betli-aven, on the cast side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying. Go up
Verse 1. The diitdren of Israel eomiiiiltrd cticspasi^ It is certain that one only was guilty; and yet the trespass is imputed lure to the whole eonijrcgatiou; and the whole congregation soon sulVered shame and disgrico on the account, as their armies were defeated, ihirty-six per.-ons.^lain, and general terror spread through the whole camp. l<elng one body, God attributes the crime of the individual to the whole, till the trespass was discovered, and by a jiiiblic act of justice inflicted on the culprit, die congregation had purged itself of the iniquity. This was done to render every n,an extremely cautious, and lo make the ])C'>]>lo waiciiful over each other, that sin might be no where tolerated or connived at, as one transgression might bring down the wrath of God upon the whole camp. Sec on ver. 12.
'iVie accursed lliiiig] A portion of the spoils of the city of Jericho, the whole of which God had coaimandcd lo be destroyed.
For Achan, the son of Carmi, &c.] Judah had two sons by Tamar, Pharcz and Zarah, Zarab wa^ falLcr of Zabdi, and Zabdi of Canni, the father of Achan. These five persons extend through a |>eriod of 265 years; and hence Cahnet concludes, that tluy could not have had children le- (bre they were 50 or 55 years of age. This Achan, son of Ziibdl, is called, in 1 Chron. ii. 6. Achar, son of Zimri; but this reading!.•« corrected info Achan by some MSS. ii» llie place above cited.
Vei>e 2. S.tit 7nen from Jericho lo Ai^ This i» the place called Ilai, Gen xii. 8. It was in the ea»t of 13eth-il, nortlr of Jericho, from which it was di.-tanl alwut ten or tnj-lve miles. From verses 4 and 5., it appears to hare been sihialeil upon a hill, and belonged to the Amorites, as we learn frt.in verse 7. It is very likely that it was a strong place, as it chose to risk a siege, notwiib>tanding the exiraordinarj- destruction of Jericho, which it had lately wiines,<ed.
Wrse 4. Abou: three thousand kkvi] The spies sent lo reconnoitre the place, ver. 3. reported, that the town was meanly garrisoned, and that two or three thousand men would. be surticient to lake it. These were accordingly seiit up, acui were repulsed by the Amorites.
The Israelites are defeated
5 And tlie men of Ai smote ofj them about thirty and six men: for' they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them * in the going dowii: wherefore " the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6 % And Joshua ' rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his iiice before the ark of the
rites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
S O Lord, wliat shall I say, when Israel turneth their "^ backs before their enemies?
9 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: Lord, until the eventide, he, and the elders of and "■ what wilt thou do unto thy great name? Israel, and '' put dust upon their heads. 10 ^ And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, "where- thee up; wherefore ' Hest thou thus upon thy fore hast thou at all brought this ])eople over face? Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amo- 11 ''Israel hath sinned, and thisy have also
Verse 5. T/ify chased them from before the gale even unlo Shebarwi] Tliey seem to have presumed, that the men of Ai would have immedialely opened their gates to them, and thereftire they marched up v ith confidence; but the enemy appearing, they were put to flight, their i-anks uiler/j/ broken, and thirty-si-^c of thcin killed. Shebarim nnaa^ signifies breaches, or broken places, and may here ap[)ly to the ranks of the Israehtes, which w ere broken by the men of Ai; for the people were totally routed, though there were but few slain. Tiiey were panic struck, and fled in the utmost confusion.
The hearts of the people melted] They were utterly discouran^cd; and by this gave an ample proof, that without the supernatural assistance of God, tliey could never have conquei'cd the land.
Verse 6. Joshua rent his clothes, &c.] It v.'as nof in consequence of this slight discomfiture, simply considered in itself, tliat Joshua laid this busines-s so much to heart: Ijiit, 1. because the people melted, and became us xraler, and there was little hope that they would make any stand against the enemy; and, 2. because this defrat evidently shewed that God had turned his hand against them. Had it not been so, iheir enemies could not have prevailed.
Vut dust upon their heads.'] Rending the clothes, beating the breast, tearing the hair, putting ditst upon the head, am\ falling down prostrate, were the usual marks of deep affliction and distress. Most nations have expressed their sorrow in a iimilar way. The £xam})lc of die distressed family of king Lalinus, so aflectingly related by Virgil, may be adduced in illustration of many passages in the history of the Patriarchs, ■Prophets, Apostles, &c.
licgina tit tectis venicntem pro^picit hoxtem — Turpureos morititra, nianu di>cindit amictus — I'iliu prima manu flavos Lavinia crines, Et roseas laniata genas. —
It scMssa vcste Latinus, —
Caniliem immundo ptrfusam pulvere turpans.
" The queen, who saw the foes invade the town.
And brands on tops of burning houses thrown.
She raves against the gods, she beats ker breast.
And tears, with both her hands, hev puiple vest.
The sad Lavinia rer.ds her yellow hair.
And rosy checks: the rest her sorrow share.
I.atinvis tears his garments, as he goes,
Botli for his public and his private woes;
With filth his venerable beard besmears.
And sordid dust deforms his silver hairs." Drydek.
Verse 1. Alas, 0 Lord God] Particles of exxlamations and di.'-tress, or what arc called interjections, are nearlj' the same in all languages; and the reason is, because they are the simple voice of nature. The Hebrew word, which we translate alas, is nnx ah, ah. The complaint of Joshua, in this and the following verses, seems principally to have arisen from his deep concern fur the glory of God, and the aflccting interest he took in behalf of the people: he felt for the thousands of Israel, whom he considered as abandoned to destruction; and he felt for the glory of God; for he knew, should Israel be destroyed, God's name w'ould be blasphemed among the heathen; and his expostulations with his Maker, which have been loo hastily blamed by some, as savouring of too great freedom and impatience, arc founded on God's own words, Deut. xxxii. '2b, '21. and on the practice of Moses himself, who had used similar expressions on a similar occasion. See Exod. v. 22, 23. Num. xiv. 13 — 18.
Ver.sc 10. Wherefore liest thou thus upon thj/ face?] It is plain there was nothing in Joshua's prayer, or complaint, that was oflcnsive to God, for here diere is no reprehension. Ji'hj/ liest thou thus? This is no lime for complaint; something' else is indispensably necessary to be done.
Verse 11. Israel hath sinned] It is impossible that God should turn against his people, if they had not turned /nc<iy from liim. They have taken of the accursed thing — iiotH ith- ■■tanding my severe prohibition: they ha;e also stolen — supposing, if not seen liy their brethren, I should either not see, or not regard it. 'J'hry have dissanbled — pretended to have
The lot is dirccUd to be c^ixt, C 1 1 A
Annomitr evpn tiikcn of llu' uccnisc'cl tiling,
12 ' 'I'iicn'rorc tlu* (•liiidrcn ol' Israel couKl not stand belinc tlieir oneniii's, /ml tiiinud l/icir backs betbrc their enemies, because '' tliey were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed ironi among
I;i Up, 'sanctify the ])e()])!e, and say, "^Sanctily yourselves against to morrow: lor thus saith the Loud God of Israel, 'J'hcrc is an accursed thing in the mitlst of thee, () Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take iuvay the accursed thing liom among you.
to ascertain the transgressor.
1<fpt strictly tlic commaml I fi^ave them: and linx-e put it (tinou'^.il their oicn sliij)' — coiisidoi'td il now a-s a ]>art of tlieir own pio|)erlj'.
Verse 12. Dcatusc tluy ivcrc accursed] From tlijs verse it appears, tliat tiie nature of the exetTalion or anatliema wa.s siu-li, tliat tl)nse wlio took 6f tlie tiling doomrd to destruction, foil inuncdiatcly iMulcr tlic same condeiiinution. Tlie inlia- I)itanls of Jtriclio, ami all tliat tliey liad, ivere accursed; tiirrclorc tliey, and all llieir sulistaiice, were to be destroyed. 'J'lie Israelites toclc of llie (ucuiscd tiling, and thrrefore Ijecamc accursed with it. 'lliis was certainly unilcrslood when the cor.se was pionounced — Every man who touches this property, shall be involved in the same execration. Achan, iherefore, was sufliciently aware of the ri.'k I'.e ran in takincf any part of the aualhcniatized thing;; and vhen viewed in this lit^ht, the punishment inflicted on him will appear to be perfectly just and proijer.
Vii'se I'.]. I'p, s/niciifj/ the jienplJ] Joshua, nil the time that God spake, lay prostrate before the ark; he is now coiiimaniled to get up, and sanrtily the people; i. e. cause them to WLwh themselves, and gel into a proper disposition to iicar llie judgment of the Lord, relative to llic late transactions.
' 11 In the morning therefore yc \iT;fi^{ shall be biought acc(jr<ling to your An.fcioj iw.
Il tribes: and it shall lie, that the.Amwunir tribe which "^ the Loiio taketh shall '■•^'J'^'r'-t's. come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Loud shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LoBD
, shall take, shall come man by man.
I 1 J " And it Hhall be, that he that is taken with
[the accursed thing, shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath ' tran.s-
Igrcssed the covenant of the Lord, and becau.sc he " hath wrought ' f()lly in Israel.
16 ^ So Joshua rose uj) early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe ofMudah was taken:
17 And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he
tribe, next the family, thirdly the household, and lastlv tlu; individual. This was nearly the plan pursued in die election of Saul, by Sanuicl. " Now, tlicrclore," says he, " |)resent yourselves before the I^ord by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when.Samuel had caused all the tribes of I Israel to come near, the irilie of Ijenjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to coine near by lhe:r familie.s, the family of Matri was taken; anil.Saul the sou of Kisli was taken." If the lot was used in the one case, it was doubtless used in the other also, as tlic procedure, in the main, was entirely similar. The same mode was used to find out who it was that tran.s;^re.ssed the king-'s command, when it was found that Jonathan had eaten a little honey, I Sam. xiv. 40 — 4.'i. It is well known, that the promised land wasdivitled by lot anionif the Israelites, see Numb..xxiv. 55. xxxiii. 5 t. Deut. i..38, &c. and lli.it the courses of the priests were regulated by lot in the day; of Uavid, I Chron. x.viv. 5, &c. '1 hat this was a frL<)ucnt mode of determining difficult questions, and appointed by God himself, is evident from Lev. xvi. 8. Psal. xxii. 18. I'rov. xvi. 'ii. xviii. 18. Acts i. 26.
Verse 1 7. And he brought the family of Judah] Dr. Kennicott observes, " All Israel came near by TIIIUKS, and Vir.sc 14. Yf */(«// be brought according to your tribes] It ' one tribe was fixed on: tlicn that tribe came by its F.\.M!I.IFS, has been a subject of.serious enquiry, in what manner, and '| and one /aH/(Vy was fixed on; then came ihat J'ainHy by its by wlint means, the ciilpalile tribe, family, household, and '| HOUSEHOLDS, and one household was fixed on; and then individual, were discovered. The Jews have many conceits on the subject: the most rational is, that the tribes being, in their repre.senlalivcs, broui;ht belbre the higli-pricst, the stone on the breast-plate gave inin\e<liatc intimation by sudilciily losing its lustre, ac-cording to them.- This is what is termed, consulting Ciod by Vrint and Tlmmmim. Il is, however, most |)robal)le, that the whole w.ns ditcrmincd by the lot; and that Gud chose this uielhod to delect the guilty thai household, coming M.\N by M.\N, one wan was fixed on. Yet, according to the jireseni text, in the execution of this command, all Israel came, and the tribe of Judah was fixed on: secondly came the fauiiliet of Judah, and the fanii'.'i/ of the Zarhites was fixeil on; thirdly came lite family of the Zarhiies, MAN hy MAS, and ZrJ>di was fixed on; and fourtblv came the household of Zubdi, M.V-N" by M.\N, and Achan was j fixed on. So that, in the third article, tl;e word, fur hy
It falls on Achun, ilJio JOSHUA.
brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
18 And he brought his houshold man by man; and Achan, tlie son
of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son ofZerah,
of the trihj of Judah, ^ was taken.
19 ^ And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, 1 pray thee, glory to the Lord God of
confesses his transgression.
20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said. Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
21 When 1 sav/ among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels
i of silver, and a " wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them;
Israel, " and make confession unto him; and 1 and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the
'' tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me,
households, is most certainly left out; and ihe fourth article, man by man, is improperly expressed twice. Instead of C:"3jS la^nherim, MAN hi/ M.AX, in ver. 17. the true word □'i^aS kbcithhn, by HOUSEHOLDS, is preserved in six Hebrew conies, and the Syriac vert-ion. By this method vas discovered Ach'in, as he is here five times called, though the valley in which he was stoned is called Achor. He is also called Achtir in the text, and in all the versions, in 1 Chron. ii. 7. He is called Achar in the Jive places o( Joshua, in the Syriac version; also, in all /re, in the Greek of the Vatican!\iS. and tmce in the Alexandrian MS. and so in Josephus." Keimicott's Observat.
Verse 1-9. J^Ty son, t^ive — glorj/ to the Lord God] The jterson being now detected, Josiiua wishes him to acknowledge.the omniscience of God, and confess his crime. And doubtless this was designed, not only for tlie edification of the people, and a vindication of the righteous judgment of God, but in reference to his own salvation: for as his life was now become forteiled to the Law, there was the utmost necessity of humiliation before GckI, that his soul might be saved. Give i^lory to God, signifies the same as make a thorough confession as in the presence of God, and disguise no part of the truth. In this way, and in these very words, the.Fews adjured the man who had been born blind, that he would truly tell who had healed him; for diey pretended to believe that Christ was such a sinner, that God would not work a miracle by him, John ix. 24.
Vf rse 'JO. I have sinned against the Lord God] This seems a very honest and hearty confession; and there is hope, that this poor culprit escaped perdition.
Verse 21. A i^oodlj/ Babylonish garment] iJ'JtJ' miX ndereth Shinedr, a sjdendid or costly robe of Sliindr: but as Babylon, or Babel, was built in the plain of Shinar, the word has, in "•eneral, been translated Babylon in. this place. It is very proba!>k', that this was the robe of the king of Jericho; for the same word is used, Jonah iii. (i. to express the royal robe of the king of Niniveh, which he laid aside, in order to liumbic himself before God.
Bochart and Cabnet have shewn at large, that Babylonish robes were very splendid, and in high reputation. " They
are," »ays Cahnet, " generally allowed to liave been ■ of furious colours, though some suppose they were ueten thus;
midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran
Others, that they were embroidered with the needle; and others, that they were painted. Sllius Italicus appears to think they were woven, thus:
Vestis sinranlcs rcferens subtemine vulliis.
" Martial seems to say they were embroidered with the needle:
Non ego pra:tiderim BaBYLONICA PICTA superbc Texta, Semiramia qtiti varianlnr A< i;.
" Pliny (lib. viii. c. 48.) and APUI.EIUS (Florid, lib. i.) speak of them as if painted: Colores diversos picturic intcxere Babylon maxime celebravit, Sf nomcn imposuit."
Thus far Cabnet; but it may be observed, that the clothes woven of divers colours at Babylon, which were so greatly celebrated, and hence called Babylonic garments, appear rather to have had the pictures woven or embroidered in them, lUdLix puinicd on them, as Calmet supposes; though it is most likely, the figures referred to, were the work of the needle, after the cloth came I'rom the loom.
Aquila translates the original, IWUr niix aderelh Shindr, by rcX)]'/ BiXcfMivi^ny, a Babylonish robe — SvMMACHUS, sv^u/xm auva^, a robe of Sinar — the SepTUAGINT, Vaw montiX-nv, a fine garment of different colours — and'the VULGATE, Pallinm coccineum, a scarlet cloke. There is no doubt it was both beautiful and costly; and on the.se grounds it was coveted by Achan.
7U'o hundred shekels of silver] At three shillings per shekel, amount to about;50/. sterling.
'ihis verse gives us a notable instance of the progress of sin. 1. It enters by the eye; 2. sinks into the heart; 2. tictttates the hand; and, 4. leads to secresy and di.<:sii}iulution. 1 saw, &c. I coveted, &c. I took and hid them in the earth. Thus says St. James: " When lust (evil desire) is cou-
Achun is stoned lo dciitJi, unto llio tent; ami, bcliold, // tcn.s hid ill liis tent, and llic sil\iT iiiiiicr it. '."••'•"'•"••• 2.'i And tlicv took tlicm out of tin.- midst of" llio ti'iit, and f)roii;;lit tlicni nnto.losluia, and iiiilo all tin: cliildrcii ol Israc-I, and * laid them out hcforc the Loud.
24 % And Joshua, and all Israel with him, t(jok Aeliaii the.son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and iiis sons, and his (laughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his slu-ep, and his tent, and all
Vcr.-e '24. Jo.tlma — look Aclian — (ind all ihrit lie IkkI] He, and his cattle and sulistancc, were broii;^ht to the valliy to lie consumed; his sons and his daughters (probalily) to witness lliejiid|.,'uitnts of God inflicted on their disobedient parent. —.See ver. '25.
Verse 25. IVIiy lirist thou troubled u.^.^] Here is a reference to the meaning of Achuii's or Achur's name, uniSl" TVZ meh M:.\V.-tanu; and as "OJ? acur is M-.ed liere, and not pp dean, and the valley is called the Vidlei; of Acnr, and not the Valley of Acan, hence sonic have su|i|)osed that Acur was liis proper name, as it is read in 1 Chron. ii. T. and in 8ome M.SS. and ancient versions. See the note on ver. M.
And all Israel stoned him iiith stonea, and burned them iiilh (Sir, lifter they had stoned them nilh stones.] ^\'ilh great de- ItTcncc to the judgment of others, I ask. Can it be fairly proved from the text, that the suns and daughters of Achan were stoned to death and burnt, as well as their father? The text certainly leaves it doubifid, but seems rather to intimate, that Aehan alone was stoned, and that his substance was burnt with fire. The reading of the present HebiskW text is — they stoned lUM with stones, and burnt THEM u.(</i fire, qfler they hail stoned riir.M tiilh stones. The iiH^'»/u)- number being n^^d in the first clause of the verse, and the plural in the lust, leaves the matter doubtful. The VlIL(i.\TK is very clear: Lapidax-itque tUM omnis Israel; ^' cuncta qua: illius front.!i;/itf consumpla sum — " All Israel stoned him; and all that he had was consumed with fire." The Sepi I'AGINr add this and the first clau>e of the next verse together: itai t^l9ofo^>l<7lXv auTOv Xifloif wa{ I<rpart>., xai cTcniffav aJTn cii^ov Xifiiiv niyav — And all Israel stoned HIM iiith stones, and rai-^ied oier lUM a threat heap of stones. The SvRIAC says simply, 'iliey stoned illM with stones, and burned what pertained to III.M with fire. The T.VRtJUM is the same as the Hebrew. 'Jhe AstM.O-SAXON seems lo rtt'er the whole to Aehan and his GOODS: TT nb lime |);ep j-r;enbon, •] luj- (iinj potiba'pubon —.ind lUM tliey stoned there, and burnt his j^oods. The Arabic version alone says. They stoned H1.M and his CHILDRlN, and his i;ood.i, a]1^ _, juij _, «.* Instead of burr.t TIH.V, CTIN otham, two of De Kossi's.M!SS.
that he hail: and they brought them iV-"*' n",i' unto '' the valley of Achor. An. i)..•, i r.
2.1 And.Joshua.said, ' ^VIly hast '.n.-,..hthou troubled us? the Louo.shall ' trouble thee this day. "^ And all I.Srael..toiiei him with stones, and burned (hem with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
2fi And they 'raised over him a great hr.ui of stones unto this day..So ' the Loiio tin ncd fioin the fierceness of his.tngcr. Wherefore the name of that place was callecf, '• The valloy of '' Achor, unto this day.
read l,"\N o//(i>, HIM; which reading, if genuine, wouhl i.'■ • the dillerent menibers of the ver>e agree belter. It i.- p<.-. i, lethal Achan, his oxen, asses, sheep, lent, and all his hoiairliold lioods, were destroyed; but his sons and daughters lea uninjured. I5ut it may be asked. Why are ihey brought out inl<» the valley witli the rest? \\'\\y, that tlit-y might see and fear, and be for ever deterred by their father's punishment from imitating liis exani]ile.
I have gone thus far into this impoiiant transaction, in which the Justice and mercy of God are so much concerned, that I might be able to assign to each its due. That Achan's life was forfeited to justice by his transgression, no one doubts: /iff sinned against a known.and positive la«. Hn children could not sillier with him, because of the law, Dci;t xxiv. lo. unless they had been accomplices in his guill: of this there is no evidence; and the text in question, which sjjeaks of Achan's punishment, is extren.ely dubious, as far as it relates to this point. One circumstance tlial flrenglhens the supposition that the children were not included, is the coniinaiid of the Lord, ver. 15. " He that is taken with the accursed thing, shall be burnt with fire; he, and all that he hath. Now, all that he hath, may certainly rtftr to his goods, and not to his children; and his puiiishiiunt, and the destruction of his propfrty, would answer every pur|» se of public ju-tice, bolh as a punishment and preventative of the crime; and both mercy and justice require, that the inimrent shall not sufler with the guilty, unless in very extraordinary cases, where God may permit the righteous or the innocent, to be in\olve«l in those public calamities, by which the ungodly arc snej>t away from the face of the earth: but in the ease before us, no necessity of this kind urged; and thcretore I conclude, that Achan alone sutlered, and that his rcpenlaace and confession were genuine and siiuerv; and that while JlSTtCE n-quired bis life, MERCY was extended to the salvation of his soul.
\'erpe 2G. They raised oz-er him a threat heap of stones'] The burial-places, both of heroes and eminent culprits, were an- i ciently thus distinguished; and transactions of this kind
I gave rise to those great piles of stones called cairm, thai are so frcxjucntly to be met with, especially in nonltcni
From the wliole of this account, we may see the exceeding- sinfulness of sin,;iiid die great danger of not ■withstanding its first approaches. By C'lvetousness many lives and many soids have been destroyed; and yet the living 'ay it not to heart! ^^ ho fears the love of monei/, provided he can get riches? Through the intensity of this desire, every ])art of the surface of the earth, and as far as possible its bowels, are ransatked in order to get wealth; and God alone can tell, who sees all things, to how many private crimes, frauds and dissimulations, \.\\\s gwes birth; by which the wrath of God is brought down upon the community at large! Who is an enemy to his country? The sinner against his God. An open foe may be resisted and repelled, because he is knoivn;
but the covetous man, who, as far as his personal safety will admit, is outraging all the requisitioits of justice, is an unseen pestilence, sowing the seeds of desolation and ruin in society. Achan's covetousness, which led him to break the law of God, had nearly proved the destruction of the Israehtish camp; nor would the Lord turn away from iiis displeasure till the evil was detected, and the criminal punislied.
Header, is the face of God turned against thee, because of some private transgression? Are not thy circumstances and family suflering in consequence of sometliing in tliy ])rivate lite? O search and try thy ways, return to God, and humble thyself before him, lest thy iniquity instantly Jifii thee ow /
The Lord encourages Joshua, and promises to deliver Ai intu his hands; and iiislnut^ hiiu ho:c he is to proceed against if, I, 2. Joshua talces thirty thousand of Ids best troops, and gives them instructions concerning his inlcniion of tailing Ai hi/ stratagem, 3 — S. The men dispose themselves according to these direclionf, y — 13. The kin<T of Ai attacks the Israelites, who, feigning, to be beaten, ft/ before him; in consequence of zchich, all the troops of A'l issue out, and pursue the Israelites, 14— -17. Joshua, at the command of God, stretches otd his spear towards Ai, and then f re thousand men that he had placed in ambush in the valletj, rise up, enter the cifj/, and set it onjire, 18, 19. Then Joshua and his men turned against the men of A\, and, at the same tinte, those rcho had taken the city, stdlicd forth, and attacked them in the rear; thus the men of Ai tceiv defeated, their king taken prisoner, the city sacked, and ttcelve thousand persons slain, GO— 26. T//e Israelites take the spoils, and hang the king of Ai, 27 — Cg. Joshua builds an altar to God on Mount Ebal, and zariles on it a copy cyf the lure of Moses, 30 — j2. The elders, officers, and judges, stand on each side of the Ark, one half oi'er-against mount Gerizim, and the other against mount Ebal, and read all the blessings and cvrses of the Law, according to the command of Moses, 33 — 35.
AND the Lord said unto Jo.shua, * Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all tlie people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai:
Verse 1. Fear not~\ The iniquity being now purged away, because of which, God had turned his hand against Israel, there was now no cause to dread any other disaster; and tliercfore Joshua is ordered to take courage.
Take nil the people of war xvith lhee'\ From the letter of this verse it appears, that all that were capable of carrying arm.s, were to march out of the camp on this occasion: thirty thousand chosen men formed an ambuscade m one place; five thousand he placed in another, who had all gained their positions in the niglit season: with the rest of the anny he appeared the next morning before Ai, which the men of that city ■would naturally suppose were the whole of the Israelitisli forces; and consequently be the more emboldened to come out and attack them. But some think that thirty thousand men were the whole that were emiiloyed on this occasion: live thousand of whom were placed as an aiubuscadc on the sec, " I have given into thy hand tlic iV c' w^' king ofAi, and his people, and his An'.E.wd.isr.
city, and his land: Anno iute west side of the city, between Bcth-El and Ai, ver. 12. and with the rest he appeared before the city in the morning. The king of Ai seeing but about twenty-five thousand coming against him, and being determined to defend his city and crown to the last extremity, though he had but twelve thousand persons in the whole city, ver. 2a. scarcely one-half of whom we can suppose to be ellective men, he was determined to risk a battle; and accordingly issued out, and was defeated by the stratagem mentioned m the preceding part of this chapter.
Several eminent commentators are of opinion, that the whole Israelitish force was em])loycd on this occasion, because of what is said in the first verse; but this is not at all likely. I. It appears that but thirty thousand were chosen out of the whole camp for this expedition, the rest being drawn up in readiness, should their co-operation be necessary. See vei-ses 3. and 10. 2, That all the people were mustered, in an ambush for Uic city Ix liiiid il. '
;} ^f So Josliua arose, and all tlio people of" war,! 1o t;(> Up against, Ai; and Josliua cliose onl tliii1y| llioiisand n)i;j,li1y men ol'xaloiir, and sent tlu'ni' «way by nigiit.
4 And he eonnnanded tir>r;i, sasinu;, Mihold, "^yc sh.all lie in wait against the city, ccfii beliind the eity: i;o not veiy lar lioni the eifv, hut he ye all ready:
.T Anil 1 and all the ])eo|)le that are ■with me, uill a])])roach nnto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, tliat '^ we will flee bet()re them,
6 (For they will come out after us) till we
nnlrr to make tliis selection, rcr. I. ". 'I'lr.it tlii'so tliirty Himisaml wore sent o(V liy nitjlit, vcr. 3. Jo-liiia liiinst ll'roiitmiiintf ill the camp a part of tluit iiiylit, ver. 9. willi llio (IcMgii to put liiuisi'lf at tlic btail of the army jicxt morning. 4. 'I'liat of the thirty tlioiisand men, /iir thousand were tlircclcd to lie in ambush betu'cen licth.-Et and Ai, on llie «tst side of the city, vcr. IC. tlic tMcnty-five tlionsand liavinp taken a position oil the north sidcof the city, ver. 11. 5. That the whole of the troopa employed atrainst Ai on this occasion, were those on the north and west, ver. 13. wliicii we know (roin t!ie preccdinj verses, were composed of thirty tlionsand chosen men. o. That.loshna went m the conr.<e of the nii;ht, probably berore day-break, into the valley, between Bclh-El and Ai, where the amViuscade of five thou.sand men was placed, vcr. 13. and gave them the proper directions how they were to proceed, and agreed on the sign he was to give them, at the moment he wished them to act, sec vcr. 1 S. and that after liaving done so, lie put himself at the bead of the twenly-fivc thousand men on the norlh side of the eity, for we find liini among them when the men of Ai issued out, ver. 15. though! he ^^as the night before in tlic valley on the west side, where the ambuscade lay, vcr. 13. 7. That as Ai was but a small city, containing only twelve thousand inhabitants, it would liave been absurd to have employed an army of several luinflred thousand men ag^ii.^-t them. S. This is confirmed by the I opinion of the spicf, chap. vii. ver. 3. whi>, from l!ic smallness of the place, the Icwness of its inhabitants, and the panicstruck state in whicb they found them, judged that three tliou-.sand troops would be quite.suflicient to reduce the place, i). That it appears this judgment was correctly enough formed, as the whole population of the place amounted only to twelve thousand persons, as wc have already seen, ver. "5. 10. That even a less force might have been suflicient for the reduction of this place, had they been supplied- with battering-
7 i Ik n ye shall rise up from flic ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Loitu your God will deliver it into your harid.
H And it tiiail ije, when ye have taken the city* ///«/ ye shall set the city on fire: according to the comuiandment of the Loun shall ye do. ' See, I have conunanded you.
!) % Joshua therefore.sent them foilh: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Jk-tliel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the peojilc.
10 And Joshua rose up early in the morm'ng, and muiibered the peojile, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
I rams, and such Jike instruments, which if doc» not.nppcar the I Israelites ])o>,«esscd. 1 I. 'I'liat thi'* is the reason why Joshua I employed the stratagems detailed in this chapter, for having 'no proper mstrumentii or machines by means of which lie: might hope to take the cily by a—sault; and to reduce it by I famine, which was quite possible, wculd jiave consumed too I much time, he used the feigned (light, ver. ID. to draw the I inhabitants from the city, (hat the ambush, ver. 12. 15. mi<»lit then enter, and lake posse8i.iun of it. 12. TJ;at had lie ad- I vance<l w iih a greater Ibrce against the city, the inhabitants I would have had no confidenrc in risking a battle, and consequently would have kept witliin their walls, which would hare defeated the design of the Israelites, which was to gel them to issue from their city. 13. That all these circumstances considered, thirty thousand men, di>po:-ed as above, were amply suflicient for the reduction of the cily; and were (he « hole of the Isratlitish troops nhich were employed on the occasion.
Verse 8. Ye shall set the city on fire"] Probably tliis mean* no more than that they should kindle a fire in the city, tl* smoke of which should be an indication that they had taken it. For as the spoils of the city were to be divided amor^ (he people, had they at this time set fire to the eity itself, all the property must have been consumed, for the five thousand men did not wait to.save any thing, as they immediately issued out to attack the men of Ai in the rear.
Verse 10. Nnmhered the jxf^pW] CTr" rx ip£»r ■.ayiphkr'd et haam, he visited the people, that is, iii-pcctcd their ranks, to see whether every thing were in perfect rcadinc<s, that in case they should be needed, they might be led on to the attack. There is no doubt thai Joshua had left the r«st of the army so disposed and ready, part of which bad }>robably adranced towards Ai, that he might easily receive reinforcements, in case of any disaster to the thirtv thousand which had advanced
TTe tisen. stratagems, and they b.'^mm: 1 1 ' ^'^"'^^ 'il' the people, eien the An Exo.1 br. people of wur tliat awe with hjm,
Anno ante wcut up, aucl cU'ew iiipjh, aiid caiiie Xaijmp^ before the city, and i^itched on the nortli side ot" Ai: now there teas a valley between them and. Ai.
12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side '' of the city.. 13 And when they had set the people, even, all the host that xcas on the north of the city, and "^ their liers in wait on the west of the city, •Joshua went that night into the midst of the V'alley.
14 % And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he ''wist not that tliere Iverc liers in ambush against him behind tlie city.
15 And Joshua and all Israel " made as if they! were beaten before them; and fled by the way of:
JOSHUA. arc crotcned uilh success.
left the city open, and pursued after
18 And the Loud said unto Joshua, AMnoimte Stretch out the spear that is in thy i;^iJ""i'«'- hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Josluia stretched out the spear that he had in his jiand toward the city.
19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on ftre.
20 And when the nien of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no ' power to flee this way or that way: and the peo|)]e tliat fled to tb.e wilderness, turned back upon the pursuers.
21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and tliat the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.
22 And the other issued out of the city against the wilderness, ji them: so they were in the midst of Israel, some
16 And all the people that were in Ai were | on this side, and some on that side: and they called together to pursue after them: and they '. smote them, so that they ^ let none of them repursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from i main or escape.
the city. |j 23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and
17 And there was not a man left in Ai or brouaht him to Joshua
Beth-el, tliat went not out after Israel: and they against the city: and this consideration will serve to remove apart of the difficulty wliicli arises from the 1st,.3rd, and lOtli verses, collated witli otlier parts of lliis chapter. Had he brought all his troops in sij:;ht, the peO[)le of yVi would not have attenipud to risk a l>atlle, and would consequently have kept within their walls, from which it was the object of Joshua to decoy tiiein. See the preceding observations, particularly the 10, 11. and 12.
Verse 17. There 'xas not a man left in Ai or lietli-El] It is very likely, that the principal strength of Betli-El iiad been previously brought into Ai, as the strongest place to make a stand in: l?eth-I''l lieing but about three miles di.stant from Ai, arid probably not greatly fortified. Therefore Ai contained, on this occasion, (ill tlic vuii of Bctli-El, all the warriors of that city, as well as its own troops and inliahilant.s. Others think, that the Bethelilcs, seeing the Israelites fly, sallied out of their city as against a common enemy, but that finding the ru<;n of Ai distumfited, and tlie city taken, they return-id to Bttb-EI, which Joshua did not think proper to
24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made
attack at this time. From.Judges i. 24. we find that Beth-El was then a ivalltd ciiy, in the hands of the Canaanites, and was taken by the house of Joseph.
Verse 18. Stretch out the speiirl It is very probable thai Joshua had ajicig or ensign at the end of his spear, which might be easily seen at a considerable distance; and that the unfurling or waving of this, was the sign agreed on between him and the ambush. — See ver. 13. and the preceding observations on ver. 1. obsenation 6. and on seeing this^H^ or ensign unfurled, the men who lay in ambush arose, and. entered, the city; making the /ire previously agreed on. See ver. 8.
Verse 20. They hud no poiccr to fire ifUs wcty or that iffly] They were in utter consternation; they saw tliat the city was taken — they found themselves in the midst (.f their foes — tliat their wives, ehihlren, and property, had fallen a prey to their enemies, in consequence of which, they were so utterly panicstruck, as to be incapable of making any resistance.
Ai h flcsfror/cf/, Joshuft erects ail t'lid of shiyiiiL;-;ill the inlial)ilants i.i^.Hi.ibf. of'Aiiiillie liiUi, in llic wildoniess
AiNMi'n vlivifln llicy rliasod tlieni; aiul wlicii the swonl, until tiicy wtTi- consnnicd, that, all tho Israelites letiiriioil unto Ai, ami smote il with the edge of the sword.
'_'■; Ami.10 it was, thai all that (ell that day, l)()t.h oliiuMi and women, Xivrc twelve thousand, rvcn all the men of Ai.
2i) i'or Joshua drew not his hand hack, ■wherewith he stretehed out the s])car, nntil lie had utterly destroyed all the iiihahitants of Ai.
'27 ■' Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel toolv for a ])rey unto themselves, aeconliii;;- unto the word of the Loud, which he '' commanded Joshua.
'JS Ami Joshua burnt Ai, and made it " an heap lor ever, even a desolation unto this day.
CIIAI'. VII r. an Altnr on mount KbaL
2i> " And the kinfjof Ai lie haii;,'ed Vf:?+.?.' on a tree until eventide: ' and as soon Ai..Kx..rt. iir. as the sun was down, Joshua com- Ai.i...ji,ie matided that they should take his car- l!'^'"'!"!!: case ih)wn liom the tree, and cast it at the entering of the f^ate of the city, and ' raise thereon a great heap ol stones, thai rcinainclli unto this
•M %, Then Joshua huill an altar unto the Loud God ot Israel, '' in mount Kbal.
.31 As Moses the servant f»f the Lonn commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the '' book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and ' thev ottered tliereon hiniit oH'erings unto the LoiM), and sacriliced peace ofl'erings.
32 And ^ he wrote there upon the stones a co))y of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence ot tlic children of Israel.
tlie sivnrd i] This niiKt rcfi-r tn llio women, chililrcn, and old pcr.-ons let\ bcliinil; for it is likely tliat all the cll'ictive men iiad sallied out when they iina^nied the Israelites had fled. See vcr. If!.
Verse '20. Joshua drew not his hand back'] lie was not only ihe general, but the slanJard-hearer or ens/gii, of his own army; and continued in this cniploynicnt during the whole of the battle. Hce on vcr. 18. Some commentators understand this, and IS \er. Jii^iirativclt/, a^ if they implied that Joshua continued id prayer to God for the success of his troop>; nor did he cease, till the armies of Ai were annihilated, and the i <ily taken and destroyed. The Hebrew word J.T3 Icidon, I which we render spear, is rendered by tiie Vulijate clj/peum, \ buckler; and it must be owned, thai it seems to have this ' signification in several passages of Scripture. See 1 Sam. xvii. i 6. and -to. Job xxxi.\. 2'i. but it is clear enough also, ihat it ' means a spear, or some kind of oj^ensite armour, in other places. See Job xli. 29. Jerem. vi. 2.3. 1 cannot therefore think that it has any metaphorical meaning, such as that attributed to the Iiolding up of IMo-ses's hands, P!xod. xvii. 10 — 12. which is generally allowed to have a spirilnal meaning, lliough it might be understood a.s the act of Joshua is here; and to this meaning an indirect glance is given in the note on the above place. 15ut however the place in Exod. may be nnderstood, that before us docs not appear to have any metaplioiical or equivocal meaning — Joshua continued to hold up or stretch out lii.» spear, and did not slack from the pursuit, till t)ie forces o( Ai were ulti riy discomlitcil.
Verse 27. 0/j/y ihe cattle and the spoil] In the ca.se of.Icricho, these were all consigned to desiruclion, and therefore it was criminal to take any thing pertaining to the city, as we liavc already seen; hut in the case before us, the cattle and spoils were expressly given to the conquerors by the onUr of God. See ver. 2.
Verse 2y. The king of At he hanged on a tree] He liad gone out at the head of his men, and hati been taken pri.-^ner, ver. 23. and the battle being over, he was ordered to be banged, probably after having been strangled, or in some way deprived of life, as in the caj.e mentioned, chap. x. 26. for in those times, it was not customary to hang people alire.
As soon as the sun ivas doiin] It was not lawful to let llic bodies remain all night lijion the tree. See the note on Dent. xxi. 2.3. The Sepluaginl say, the king of.li was hanged E9n ^uMv oiiv/iov upon a double tree, which probably means a forked tree, or something in the form of a crois. The tree on which criminals were hanged among the Ilomans was railed arbor iifclix, and lignum injelii, the unfortunate, illfatid, or accursed tree.
Raise tliereon a great heap of stones'] Tliis was a common custom through all antiquity in every country, as we ha\e already seen in the case of.-Jc'/nn. Chap. vii. 20.
Verse 30. Then Joshua built an altar] This was done in j obedience to the express command of God. Deut xxvii. 4 —?. See the notes there.
Verse.32. A copy of the Ian: of ^foscs] n">V> TJCr; w/jA/kt/i toraih, the repetition of the Ian-; thai i<, a copy of ihe blessings and curses, as conmiandcd by Mo>cs — not a copy of the Decahzue, a,s some imagine; nor of the book of Deuteronomy, as others think; much less of the whole Pentateuch, but merely of tijat part which contained the blessings and cun-es, and which was to be read on this solemn occasion. See the note on Deuu. xsvii. 3.
The blesshigs mid cin^ses are pronounced from Ebal and Gerlzim.
on this side tlie ark, and on that side, before the priests the Le\ ites, "^ which i bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well ^ the strano-cr, as ho that was born among-; them; half of them over against mount (lerizim, | and half of them over against mount Ebal: "as Moses the servant of the Loan had connnanded ' before, that they should bless the people of Israel.!
I 34 And afterward " he read all the ^"faM.
: words of the law, * tlie blessings luid Aji.Exud.hr.
; cursings, according to all that is writ- Anno ante ten in the book ot^he law. ujiymp^.
35 Thei-e was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joiihua read not before all the congregation of Israel, ' with the w'omen, and the little ones, and ° the strangers that " were conversant among them.
Verse 33. Half of them otrr agninst mnunl Gcrizini] Seethe arranof-nicnt of the whole of this busine.=:s in the note and obsenation.s on Dent. xwii. 26. And.see also the notes on chap, xxviii. of the same book.
Veise?>5. With the women, luid theliitlc ones] It ^vas necessan* that all should know, that they were under the.'.ame obligation to obey — even the womtn are brought fbr\vard, not only because of their personal responsibility, but because, to them, ■nas principally intrusted the ediication of the children. — The children also witness this solemn ti-ansaciion, that a salutary fear of oflending God might be early, diliijently, and deeply, impressed upon their hearts. Thus every precaution is taken to ensure obedience 16 the Divine precepts, and con-.«equently to promote the happiness of the people: for this, every ordinance of God is remarkable, as he ever causes the interest and ilvii/ of his followeis to go hand in hand.
I. It may be asked, seeing God promised to deliver Ai into the hands of the Israelites, why needed they to employ so many men, and so many stratagems, in order to its reduction? To this it may be answered, that God will have man to put forth the wisdom and power with which he has endued him, in every important purpose of life; — that he endued him with those powers, for this very end; and that it would be inconsistent with his gracious design,.so to help man at any time, as to render tlie powers he had given him usele.ss.
2. It is only in the use of lawful means that we have any reason to expect God's blessing and help. One of the ancients has remarked, " Though God has made man without himself, he will not save him without himself;" and therefore man's own concufrence of vjitl, and co-operation of poucr with God, are essentially necessary to his preservation and salvation. This co-operation is the grand condition, sine qvt'i nor., on which God will helper save. Uut is not this " endeavouring to merit salvation by our own works?" No: for this is impossible, unless we could prove that all the mental and corporeal powers which we posse.^s, came from and of ourselves, and that we iield them indepenclantlj/ of the power and beneficence of our Creator; and that every act of these was of infinite value, to make it an equivalent for the lieavcn we wished to purchase. Putting forth the hand to receive the alms of a benevolent man, can never be considered a purchase price for the bounty bestow ed. For ever shall that word stand true in all its parts, Christ is the AUTHOR of eternal salvation to all them that OBEY him. Heb. v. 9.
All the kings of the Yliltiies, Amoritcs, Canaanites, Perlzzites, Ilivites, anf? Jebusitcs, unite their forces against Joshua, 1, '2. The inhabitants o/"Giboou hearing nhat Joshua had done to Ai, sent ambassadors to him, feigning themselvei to come from a tcnj distant tribe, reqitesling a friendhj alliance zcith him, 3 — 5. Their address to Joshua, and the means they used to deceive the Israelites, 6 — 13. The Israelitish elders are deceived, attd mahe a league Tiith them, zchichthci/ confirm zcith an oath, 14, 15. After three days, they are informed that rAeGibconites belong to the seven Canaanitish nations, yet they spare their cities, 17. The congregation murmuring because of this, the elders excuse themselves, because of their oath, 18, 19. They purpose, to make the Giheoniles, slaves to the congregation, 20, Q\. Joshua calls them, and pronounces this sentence against them, Q.1, 23. They vindicate them~ selves, and submit to their lot, <i4, 2j. They are sparul, and made heners of zcood and drapers of icaler to the congregation, and to the altar, 2ti, £7.
AND it came to ])as.s, when all j! sacks upon tiicir asses, and wine hot
Side Jordan, in tlic liil valleys and in all the coa.sts of ' the great sea over against Lchanoii, ''the Ilittite, and tile Aniorite, the (Jaiiaaiiite, the I'erixzile, the Hivite, anil the Jehnsitc, heard thereof;
'1 'I'hat lliev '"'gathered themselves together, to light with Joshua, and with Israel, with one " accord.
;} % And when the inhahitants of '"Ciibcon 'heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
4 They did work wiliiy, and went and maile as if they hud been ambassadors, and took old
Vcrsp 1. And it cnme to pass M'hcn all the kin^n — licard tlicrenC] From this account, it oppeai-.s, that tliu capture ami (Vest nu" I ion ol" Jcridio ami Ai, liail been lieard of to the rcniottAl part.s of the land: tliat a uoncral fear of tlic Israelilisli arm.-! prevailed; and that the dill'irent dyiuntics or petty govcrnincnls, into whicli the land \va.s divided, lelt all tlicir interests at stake; and determined to make the defence of their country a common cause. This was the most prudent step they could take in their ciixumstances; and therefore they entered into a confederation, in order to arrest tlic progress of the Israelites. 'J'hc (Jitut Sea nictitioned liiTP, is I lie Mediterranean Sea, the toasts of which were inhahited l>y the I'I'.a-nicians, Tyriunx, Sidoniniis, and Pltilistincs. It is very likely that all these united with the Canaanites, for their coiniuon sattty.
Verse 3. T/ie inhabitants of Gibeon ficard] These alone, did tiot join the confederation. Gibeon is supposed to have heen ' the capital of the Hiviles. In the division of the land it fell to the lot of l?enjainiii, chap, xviii. 25. and was alUrwards given to the priests, cliap. xxii. 17. See the note on thap. x. 2.
Verse •!•. Tliei/ did vjork ■.i'i7//y] finesse of this kind is allowed by the conduct of all nations: and strata^aii^ in war, ' are all considered as legal. Nine tenths of the victories' gained, are attributable to slratn^in; all sides practise them, j and therefore none can condemn thcni. Much time and labour have been lost in the enquiry, " did not the Gibconites tell lies?" Certainly they did — and what is that to ttsf Does the word of God co/mnaid them for it.' It docs not. Are they held up to us as examples? surely no. T/ic^ did what any other nation wouhl have done in their circum- i stances; and we have nothinu; to do with their example. ' Had they ronie to the Israelites, and simply submitted them-!.selves without opposition, anil without (rami, they had certainly!ai-ed much belter. Lying and hypocrisy always defeat their own purpose; and at best, can succeed only for a sliort season. Trut/i and lionesti/ never wear out.
old, and rent, and bound up;
5 And old shoes ami clouted, njioii their (bet, and old garntentK upon them; and all the breatl of iheir provision was dry atiJ monlily.
G And tiicy went to Joshua ' inito the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the nicTi of Isiael, V.e be come liom a liir country: now therefore itiakc yc a league widi us.
7 And the men of Israel said unfo the '" Ili- \ites, I'eratheiittne ye iluell among ur; and ' how shall we make a league with you?
S And they said inito Joshua, *■ W'e are thv servants. And Joshua said unlo them, Who
Old sacLx — and wine hnttles, old, &c.] They pretended to have come from a very distant country, and that thiir 'sik-., and the goal shins that served them for carry m;^ tlnir wine and water, were worn out by the lcnt;lli of liie Journey.
Verse 5. Old ihoes and vlouied] Their sandals, they jwetendrd, hud been worn out by long and dillicult truvcllinp, and they had been obliged to have llien> frequently patched during the way; (heir garments al.so being worn tliin, and what remained of their bread, mouldy, and.«poitcd willi atje; or, as our old vtrsion ha.s it, bored, pien:ed uitli ninny li<iles by the vermin which had bred in it, tliroiii^li the Iwigili of the time it had been in their sacks: and this is llic mo-t literal meaning of the original zyipj nikkudim, which means spoiled, or pierced Kitli many huks.
The old and clouicd shoes, has been a subject of some controversy: the Hebrew word r\hz baloth. signifies::or» out, from n73 baluk, to ucar au-Hy, and nxSt?3 metkllavih, fnim ^M tula, to spot, or patch, i.e. spo'ted with patches. Our wor<l clouted, in the Anglo-saxon jeclwrob, signifies teamed up, patched, from chit a clout, crtf, or small pitve of cloth,
I u.scd for piecing or jKitchiiig. But some suppo«e, the word here comes from doner, the diminutive of cIoh, a small nail, with which the Gibeonites had fortified the.<olcs of their shoes, to prevent them from wearing out in so long a journey; but this seems very unlikely: and our old English terra clouted, seamed or patched, expresses the sjiirit of tiie He«- ■ brew word.
V erse fi. 3Jake ye a letigue 'xiih us.'] rc^ \h V\'0 earitn lamt berith, cut, or divide the cotennnt Kicrifice wit/i kt. From this it appears, that heathenism at this time, had its *acrlficcs; and covenants were ratified by sacrificing to, and invoking the objects of their adoration.
\'trsc 7. Vtradvenlure ye dwelt amons us"] It is slranf^, they should have had such a suspicion, as the Gibccnites had acted so artfully; and it is ns strange, that having; such a suspicion, they acted with?o little ca'Uion.
2'he Gibeomtes hy deceit, gel
Israel to maJce a league Kith them.
are ye? and from whence come [ww^? new; and, behold, they be rent:
I and these our garments, and om* shoes, An.Ejod.iir. 9 And they said unto him, ' From j are become old by reason of the very Anno 'ante a very far countiy thy servants are: long journey. i.oiymp.er*
come, because, of the name of the Lord thy God: for we liave ^ heard the fame of him, and all that he did ir* Egypt. \
10 x\nd "all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that nere beyond Jordan, to Si
14 And 'the men took of their victuals, ^and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. "
1.5 And Joshua ° made jieace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware un-
hon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Ba- j to them, shall, which TJias at Ashtaroth. | 16 % And it came to pass at the end of
1 1 Wherefore our elders and aH the inhabit- | three days after they had made a league with ants of our country spake to us, saying. Take, them, that they heard that they ivere their victuals ^ with you for the journey, and go to neighbours; and thai they dwelt among them, meet them, and say unto them, We ^r^'your ser- i 17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and
came unto their cities on the third day. Now
vauts? therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took \\oi for our provision, out of our houses, on the day we came
dry, and it is mouldy: 13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled.
** Heb. in tfour hand. ^ Or, tltey received the men by reason nj' their i the only answer tliey gave to the question of tlie Israelitish ciders, and this they gave to Joshua, not to tliem, as they saw that Joshua was conunander in chief, of the host.
Who are ye? and from whence come j/e.?] To tiicse questions, from such an authority, tliey felt themselves ohliijed to give an explicit answer; and they do it very artiully, by a ini.xture of iriitli, fiihehood, and hj/pocri>>j/.
A'erse 9. Because of the name of the Lord thy God] Tiiey pretend that they had undertaken this journey on a religious account: and seem to intiuiate, that they had the highest re- S|>ect tor Jehovah, the object of the Lsraelites' wor.ship; this «as hj/pocri.y.
He huxe heard the fume of him] This was true: the wonders which God did in Et^it, and the discomfiture of Sihon and Uif, had reached the whole land of Canaan; and it was on this accoiuit, that the inhabitants of it were panic struck. '1 he Gilieonites knowing that they could not stand, where such mighty lorces had fallen, wished to make the Israelites their friends. This part of their relatioa was strict- Jy true.
Verse 11. Wherefore our elders, &c.] All this, and what follows to the end of ver. 10, was _/«/sf, contrived merely for the purpose of deceiving; the Israelites; and this they did (o save their own lives; as they e.vpected all the inhabitants of Canaan to be put to the sword.
Verse 14. The men look of their victuuls] This was done in all probability, In \\ie way oi friendship: for, from time immemorial to the picsent day, eating together, in the Asiatic countries, is considered a token of unalterable friendship;
their cities xoere '' Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim.
1 8 And the children of Israel smote them not, ' because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel.
and lho=e who eat, even salt together, feel themselves bound thereby in a perpetual covenant. But the marginal reading of this clause, should not be hastily rejected.
And asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord] They made the covi nant vidi the Gibeonites, without consultuig God by Vrim and Thtaiimim, winch was highly reprehensible in them, as it^was a State transaction, \n which the interests and honour of God their king, were intimately concerned.
Verse 15. Jtshua made peace with litem] Joshua agreed to receive them into a friendly connection with the Israelites; and to respect their lives and properties; and the elders of I.»rael bound themselves to the observance of it, and confirmed it with an oath. As the same words are used here, as in ver. G. we may suppose that the covenant was made in the ordinary way, a sacrifice being olVered on tlie occasion, and its blood poured out before the Lord. See on Gen. xv. 10, &c.
\'er.<e It). At lite end of three duyi-] ■ Oibcon is reputed to be only about eight leagues distant from Gilgal, and on this account the fraud might be easily discovered m the time mentioned above.
\'erse 1 1. The children of Israel — came unto their cities] Prol)ably when Ihe fi'aud was discovered, Joshua sent out a detachment to examine their connliy, and to see what use could be made of it in the prosecution of their war wiih the (,'ana;;nites..Some of the cities mentioned here, were afterwards in great repute among the Israelites; and God chose to make one of them, Kirjath-jearim, the residence of the ark of the covenant, for tacntj/ years, in the reigns of Suui " 3
And all flic coiigrofj.ition muinmrfil against tl»c piiiitcs.
.1.unr 1!) ]iiil ail liu- princes said unto all lob-i"'"- tlio c-()ii,trrcL,r:ilioii, Wv have sworn unto tlit'iii by the Loud (iod ol" Israel: now tlii'ieibre we niav not toneh them.
'2i) This we will do to (hem; we will (■\('ii let „ them live, lest "wrath be upon lis, becau^e ol nien, and " hewers of wood and drawers ol wathe oath which we sware unto them. r ter for the house of my (iod.
21 And the princes said unto them, Lot them ] 'J* And they answerecT Jo«sInia, and said, Be live; but let them be 'luwcrs of wood and 'cause it was certainly told thy servants, how ilrawers of water unto all the conj^regation; as that the Loan thy CJod 'commanded his ser-
'22 % And Joshua called ior then), and he s|)ake unto them, saying, W herelorc lia\e ye beguilfd us, saving, " We arc \ery lar from you;
when 'ye dwell among us f
'2'.i Now therefore ye are 'cursed, and there shall ' none of you be freed from being bond-
the princes had ' promised them.
vant Moses to give you all the land, and t«
Ham ami liis po'stcrity? Did not the cMirw of Ham imply, j/f/rcry, and n'liliinir elst-? Cursed be Ciouiiin, a frrrayit of and David. There is no evidrnco fliat llir prescrrathn of till' CJibeonites, was displeasiii;^ lo Jeliovuli-
Vtrse 18. All the coni^cgdtion murnmral^ Merely l)ccaiisc |' -vcri'iM/.v sluill lie hr — and doc* it not sufTiiientlv appear tliat they were deprived of the spoils of tlie (iil)ei)nilc-i. TIk y ] nothing el.-c tliaii jierpeliial sliiv<-ry is implied in llic ciipic of liad now got under the full inthieiice <>f a predatory spirit; I the Giljconite*? Tliey were Iironglil, no duulit, under Iri- < iod saw their prnnenesu to this, and therefoie, at partieular j hutc; performed the meanest ollices for the Israelites, Ix.-inr' times, totally interdicted the spoils of conquered cities, a.s in i in the same cireuinslances wiili the servile clas,« of Hindoos, the ease of Jericho. I called the C/icirecs; had their national importance amiihi-
Verse 19. We have sworn unto lheiii\ Although the Is- I lated, and yet were never permitted to incorporn/f ihemtelve* raelites were tftrc/rrrf in this hiisiness, and the covenant was |l with the Israelite*. And we mav reasonably sup|]osc, that niaile on a certain sup])osition, which was afterwards proved 1, this was the purpose of God relative lo all llic Canaaniti.''h to have had no foundation in tnilli, and const (|uently the 'nations: those who would not renounce their idolatrv, &c. whole cnga<jemcnt on tlie i)art of the deceived, was liereliy were to be extirpated, — those who did, were to be jireserved vitiale<l, and rendered null and roid; yet, lieeause the elders ij alive, on condition of l(eci>min;» tributary, and serving as had cnten xiith them, olTered a cnvmnnt snerifice, and sworn h\j;' slaves. See the note on Dent. xx. 17. ■lehoi-iili, ihey ihd not consider themselves at liherlr lo break ' Ife-.iers nf aood and <lrav:ers nf -^alcr] The disjjrace of the terms of the ajjreement, as far as the lixes of the (Jibeonitcs were concerned. That their conduct in this respect was hi^;hly pleasintc to God, is evident from this, that Joshua is no where reprehended for makinfj this coienant, and sparing the Gibeonites; and that Saul, who four hundred years after this, thought himself and the Israelites loosed from this obligation, aiul in consequence, oppressed and destroyed the Gibeonites, was punishe<l for the breach of this treaty, l)eing considered as the violater of a most solemn oath, and covenant engai^ement. See 2 Sam. xxi. 'J — 9. and.sec Kzek. xvii. 18, 19.
All these circumslances laid together, pro(c that the comiTiand to destroy the C'anaunites was not so absolute as is ge- this stale, lay not in the labon'oiisncss ol it, Imu in its t)einj the common employment of the fanales; if the ancient cu»- toms among ihe same jieople, were such as prevail now: the most intelligent travellers in those C'untries, represent colleeliiiir iLood for fuel, and carrying dialer, as the |>ecidi3r employment of the fiwales. The Arab aonien of liarbary do so, according (o Dr. Shav:. The datii^hlrrs of tlie 1 urcomans in Palestine, are employed, according to D'Arvieux, in fetching woo<J and water for the accommodalion of their rcspeciive fanulies. From ihese circumstances IMr. Harrier reasons thus: " The bitternes-s of the doom of the Gil»tvnile.s, does not seem to have consisted in the laborioasnr.ss of the service enjoined them, for it was usual lor ■j.mnen and nerally supposed: and should Iw understood xs rather reler-;| c/i/Wren to perform what was required of llient; but its de rmg to the destruction of the political eiisiencc of the Ca- j; grading them from the eharacttristic « mployment of mt'n, naanilish n(((jo/M. than to the destruction of their //:■«. Sec,< that nf hearing arms; and coikU nming them and tlieir posthe notes un Deut. xx. ID, and 17. '| terity for ever, to the employment of female.s. The not rc-
Vcr.se21. nirj.irs of tiood and dra'.iers of •.i'ater'] Per- 'I ceiving ihem as allies, was bitter; the disanning thcin who haps this u a sorl of proverbial expression, signifying the 1 had been warriors, and condemning them to the emplovmmt lowest state of servitude, though it may also be uniler»tood, of /ew(i/e.«, was worse; but the extending this degradation to literally. Sec below.,'; tlieir />o,5/en/y, was bitterest of all. It is no wonder, that in
Ver.se 23.,Vo:y therefore ye are cursed] Does not this '■ these circnnistances, th*y are said to have been ctirsrd." Oh-, refer to what was pronounced by Noah, Gen. i.\. '23. against | vol. iv. p. J9".
The Gibeo7utes are made JOSHUA.
destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore '' we were sore afraid of our lives because of. you, and have done this thing.
25 And now, behold, w^e are ^ in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.
26 And so did he unto them, and deliver-
servmits to the Israelites.
ed them out of the hand of tlie children of Israel, that they slew them not.
27 And Joshua " made them that day '' hewers of wood and drawers of the congregation, and for the altar of even unto this day, " in the place should choose.
' water for the Lord, which he
Verse 24. We xuere sore afraid of oiir lives] Self-preservation «luch is the most powerful law of nature, dictated to them those measures which they adopted; and they plead this as the motive of their conduct.
As it seemeth good arid right unto thee — rfo.] Whatever justice and tncrci/ dictate to thee to do to us, that perform. They ex[iectj list ice, because they deceived the Israelites; but they expect 7iierci/ also, because they were driven to use this expedient for fear of losing their lives. The appeal to Joshua, is full of delicacy and cogent argument.
Verse 26. And so did he unto tliem] That is, he acted according to justice and merci/; he delivered them out of the hands of the people, so that they slew them not; here was mercy: and he made them hewers of wood and drawers of water to the congregation, and to the altar of God; here was justice. Thus Joshua did nothing bpt what was good and Tiglit, not only in his own eyes, but also in the eyes of the Lord. ■
How long the Gibeonites were preserved as a distinct people after this, we know not. That they existed in the time of David, is evident from the circumstance mentioned on ver. 1 9. Tiiey are not mentioned after the captivity; and it is probable that they wtre nearly annihilated by the persecution raised up against them by Saul. Some suppose that the Gibeonites existed under the appellation of Nethi- nim; but of this there is no decisive proof; the Netliinim were probably slaves of a different race.
On what we meet with in this chapter, we may make the following observations.
1. The Gibeonites told lies, in order to save their lives. No expediency can justify this, nor are we called to attempt it. The Gibeonites were heathens, and we can expect nothing better from them. — See note at the end of chap. ii.
2. Tiiey did not profit by their falsity: had tliey come in fairly, sought peace, and renounced their idolatry, tliey would have had life on honourable terms. As it was, they barely escaped with their lives, atid were utterly deprived of their political liberty. Even the good that is sought by unlawful means, has God's curse on it.
3. We need not be solicitous for the character of the Gibeonites here; they are neither our models, nor believer's in the true God; and therefore pure religion is not concerned in their prevarication and falsity.
4. We see here of what.soltmn importance an oath was considered among the people of God; they swore to their own hurt, and changetl not. When once they had bound themselves to their Maker, they did not believe that any changing circumstances could justify a departure from so awful an obligation. Thus, Reader, shouldst theu fear a lye, and tremble at an oath.
Adoni-zcdec, king of Jerusalem, hearing of the capture of Ai, and that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel, calls to his assistance four other kings, to fight against Gibeon, 1 — 4. They join forces, and encamp against Gibeon, o. The Gibeonites send to Joshua for succour, 6, teho immediately marches to their relief, receives encouragement from God, and falls suddenly on the confederate forces, 7 — 9, and defeats them — theyjiij; and multitudes nj'them are slain by a miraculous shotcer oj hail-stones, 10, 1). Joshua finding, that the day began to fail, prayed that the Hun and Moon might stand still, that ihei/ might have time to pursue and utterly destroy t'hese coj federate forces, 12. The sun and moon stand still, and make that day as long as two, 13,14. Joshua and the people return to their camp at Gilgal, 15. The five kings having taken shelter in a cave at Makkedah, Jejshua commanded the people to roll great stones against the mouth oj' the cave, and set a ualch to keep it, tchiie Israel were pursuing their enemies, 16 — 19. The Israelites return to Maickecluh; bring forth the five kht^s, ihetf
Five Icings of llic Amorllcs CHAP. X. maki war on the CUhcoultes,
NO W it came (o pass, when Acloiii-zcHlc'C, king of Jciuloaril how Joshua had and had uttcilv destroyed
it; "as he had ilone to Jericho so he had done to '' Ai and her king; and 'how the inhabitants of CJiheon liad made peace with Israel, and were among them;
2 Tiuit they '' ieared greatly, because Gibeon ivas a great city, as one of the 'royal cities, and because it xvas greater than Ai, and all the men thereof kwt mighty.
3 Whercrore Adoni-zedec, king of Jerusalem, sent unto Iloham king of lk+<ron, and imto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, s?.ying,
4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: "^fbr it hath made peace with Joshua, and with the children of Israel.
NOTF.S ON CHAP. X. Verse 1. Adoni-zcdcc^ This name signifies tlic Lord of justice or liglitcoiisncss: anil il lias been conjectured that tlie Canaauitisli kin^s assumed this name in iiuilation of tliat of the ancient patriarclial king; of this city, Mclehizedek, whose name signifies king of righleousness, or niy riglitcmts king; a sujipositioii that is not improbable, when the celebrity of Melchizcilek is ronsidered.
Jentwkm] aSttHI' IVri/s/in/iim, this word has been variously explained. — if it be coinpi'iindcd of ZJ'U shalum, peace, perfection, &c. and nXT raah, he sail', it may signify the vision of peace — or, he ^liall see peace or perfection.
Verse '2..Is one of the royal ciucs] Not a rfq-n/citv, Init great, well inliabited and well fortified, iis those cities which served for the royal residence, generally were. It doe* not appear that the Gibeonitts had any king — they seem to have been a small, but powerful, republic, all the men thereof were iniglily, merely governed by their elders; for, in their address to Joshua, chap. ix. II. they mention no king, but simply state tbal they were sent liy their elders and the inliahitants of their country — nor do we any w here read of their king, and ilierefore we may naturally suppose that they bad none.
Verse;J. Hohiim kiui^ qf- Hebron] This city was situated in tbe mountains, southward of.Icrusalmi, from winch it was about thirty miles distant. It fell lo the tribe of Jiidah.
Anivi ante l.(Jljni|)^74,'
.1 Therefore the 'five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusulem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the kingof Lachish, the king of Eglon, •^ gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped belbre Gibeon, and made war against it.
G % And the men of Gibeon.sent unto Joshua "to the camp to Gilgal, saying. Slack not thy hand fiom thy servants; come uj) to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against u.s.
7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and ' all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valoin*.
8 % And the Loud said unto Jo.shua, 'Fear them not: for I have delivered them into tliine hand; ' there shall not a man of them stand before thee.
Piram king of Jarmuth] There were two cities of this name; one belonged to the tribe of Issachar, sec chap. xxi. 2i>. that mentioned here, fell to the tribe of Judah, see chap. XV. 35. it is supposed to have been about eighteen miles distant from Jerusalem.
Japhia king of Lachisli] TTiis city is celebrated in Scripture: in that city Amaziah was slain by conspirators, 2 Kings xiv. 19. It was besieged by Sennacherib, 2 Kings xviii. 14, n. and without effect, by the king of Assyria, as we leam from Isai. xxxvii. S. it was also besieged by the arcnv of ycbuchadnczzar, see Jcr. xxxiv, 7. it also fell lo the lot o^ Judah. Josb. xv. 39.
Debir king of Eglon] ^\'hcre this city was situated, ia very uncertain; but we learn from chap. xv. 3?. ttiat ft fell t(> the lot of the tribe of Ji/rfaA. "' *
Verse 5. The ire kings of the.-imoriles] Tliis is a general name lor ihe inbabitants of Canaan, otherwise called Canaanites — and it is very likely they had this appellation, becaust the Amorites were tbe most powerful tribe or nation in thai country. The inbabitants of.lerusaVm were Jebusiia, XV. G3. Uiose of Hebron were Iliititcs, Genesis xxiii. 2, 3. XXV. i', 10. and the Gibeonites were IJiiitcs,.Tosliua ix. 1. and yet all these are called Amorites occasionally, probably, for the reason already mentioned, viz. because thai" tribe was most numerous and (lowerlul. 5 z 2
9 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.
10 And the Lord ^ discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased tliem along the way that goetli up '' to Beth-horon, and smote them to ' Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
Girai stone.i cast doun on them.
Verse 9. Joshua — caiM unto ihau sudden/y} This he did by a forced march, durina; the night: for he Kent up from Oilgal all ni^ht; from Gilgal to Gibeon was about eigliteen or twenty miles; and having fallen so unexpectedly on these confederate kings, they were immediately thrown into confu.sifin.
Verse 10. Slew them with a great slaughter at Giheoni Multitudes of them fell in the onset; after which they fled, and the Israelites pursued them by the way of Beth-Horon. There were two cities of tliis name, the upper and lower, both in the tribe of Ephraim, and builded by Sherah, the daughter of Epliraim, 1 Chron. vii. 24. The situation of these two cities is not exactly known.
To Azekah and unto Makkedah] These two cities were in tlie tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. 35 — 41.
Verse 1 1. The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon tketn].Some have contended that stones, in the common acceptation of the word, are intended here: and that the term, hail-stones is only used to point out the celerity of their fall, and their quantity. That stones hare fallen from the clouds, if not from a greater height, is a most incontestible fact. That these have fallen in diilerent parts of the world is also true — the East Indies, America, France, Germany, England, &c. have all witnessed this phenomenon: of such stones 1 have seen several fragments; some considerable pieces may be seen in tlie British Museum. That God might have cast down such stones as these, on the Canaanites, there can be no doubt, because liis power is unlimited; and the whole account proves that here there was a miraculous interference. But it is more likely that hail-stones, in the proper sense of the word, are itteant, as well as expressed, in the text. That God on other occasions has made use of hailstones, to destroy both men and cattle, we have ample proof in the plague of hail that fell on the Egyptians. — St e the note on Exod. ix. 18. There is now before mc a square of glass, taken out of a south window in the houne of Mr. Ball of C'rockerton, in tlie parish of Longbridge Deverell, county of Wdta, through which a hail-stone pas.scd in a shower that fell there June 1, HSO, at two o'clock, P. M. The hole is an obtuse ellipsis, or oful, and is cut as true as if it had been done with a diamond: it is three inches and half in diameter; a proof that the stone that pierced it (which was about tteven inches in circumference) came with inconceivable ■velocity, else the glass mast have been shiecred to pieces.
1 1 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, '' that the Loud cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: ///ey tcere more which died with hailstones, than
' t/iej/ whom the children of Israel.slew with the
I have known a cannon ball go through a square of glass in the cabin window of a ship, and make precisely the same kind of liole, without either shattering or even starring the glass. It is needless to add that this hail-shower did great damage, breaking even trees in pieces, and destroying the vegetation through the whole of its extent. But allowing that extr.iordinary showers of hail have fallen in England or France, is it likely that such showers ever fall in the promis(.d land } They certainly have, jilbertus Aquensis, one of the writers in the collection. Gesta Dei per Francos, in describing the expedition of Baldwin I. in the Holy Land, observes, that when he and his army were in the Arabian mountains, in tlie vicinity of the Dead-sea, they suffered incredibly from horrible hail, terrible frost, and zndescrihable ruin and snow. so that thirty of his men perished by them. His words are, " Sextd vero die montanis permensis, in extremo illorum citcutnine maxima pertulerunt pericula, in GUANDINE horribili, in Glacie terribili, in pluvia If nive INAUDrr.-l, quorum immanitate, e< horrore ingruente, ad triginta homines pedites, prcefrigore, 7nonua sunt." — Hist. Hieros. p. 307. 1 conclude therefore, that a shower of hailstones may be meant; and that this shower, though natural in itself, was supematurally employed on this occasion, and miraculously directed to fall where it did, and do the execution described.
But, I am ready to grant notwithstanding, that as a most stupendous miracle was in this instance wrought, in causing the sun and moon to stand still; there can be no doubt that the shower of stones, which was also miraculous, miglit have been of real stones, as well as hail-stones. Of late, this subject of the fall of real stones from the clouds, haa been very closely investigated, and not only the possibility of the fall of such stones from the clouds, or from, much higher regions, but the certainty of the case, has been fully demonstrated. These sub.stanccs are now, in philosophical language, denominated Uroliths, or air-stones; and the following table, con.^tructtd by M. ham, a foreign chemist, exhibits a variety of facts of this kind,.shews the places and times in which these substances fell; and the testimony by which these facts are supported. As it is as po.ssiblo that God might have projected a shower of stom-s on these idolaters, even from the moon, as to arrest that planet in her course, 1 give the table, and leave the Header to decide, ill llie present case, for JEroliths or hail-stoncs, as may scen\ to him most congruous to the fact here related.
Account of aerial stonca li/iich ha've fallen in different places.
Sliowcr olslont's Shower of stones
Am.llici- of 59 ll)s. Two large stones weighing)
Extensive shower of stones About 12 stones A la.-gc stone of 56 lbs.. A stoncof lOlhs. A.stone of about 120 lbs...Shower of stones
Mass of iron, 70 cubic feel
N'lort, Normandy At I.uce, in Le Maine. At Aire, in Artois In I,c Cotentin Knvirons of Agen Sienna, Tuscany Wold Cottage, Yorkshire In Portugal
\bakauk, Siberia Barboutan, near Roquefort Ensishcim, Upper Rhine Near Verona
These stones generally appear luminous in their descent, moving in oblique directions, with very great velocities, and commonly with a hissing noise. They are frequently heard to explode, or burst, and seem to fly in pieces, the larger parts falling first. They often strike the earth with such force, as to sink several inches below the surface. Tliey are always dillercnt from the surrounding bodies but in every case are similar to one another, being seinimetaliic, coated with a thin black encrustation. They bear stronir marks of recent fusion. Chemists have found, on exainuiing thc«c sloncs, that they very nearly agree in their nature and composition, an<l in the proportions of ilieir compuuent part>. The stone which fell at En^ishcim, in Alsare, in 1492, and tiio'e which fell at L'.\igle, in France, in 1803, yielded, by tlie analysis of Fourcroy and Vaiiquclin, as in this table:
Knsisheim stone fell A. D. 149'>.
— oxyd of iron • — magnesia and moon sid7idins still.
12 % Then Lord in the deUvered up spake Joshua to the day when the Lord the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said
Their specific gravities are generally about three or four times thai of water, being heavier than common stones. From the above account, it i.'^ reasonable to conclude, that they have all the same origin. To account for tliis phenomenon, various bypotheses have appeared; we shall mention three: 1. That they are little planets, which, circulating in space, fall into the atmosphere, which by its friction diminishes the velocity, so that they fall by their weight. 2. That they are concretions formed in the atmosphere. 3. That they are projected from lunar volcanos. These are the most probable conjectures we can meet with, and of these the two former possess a very small degree of probability, but there are very strong reasons in favour of the last. Among the reasons we may notice the following: 1. Volcanos in the moon have lieen observed by means of llie telescope. 2. The lunar volcanos are very higli, and the surface of that globe suffers frequent changes, as appears by the late observations of Schroeter. 3. If a body be projected from the moon to a distance greater than that of the point of equilibrium, between the attraction of the earlh and moon, it will, on the known principle of gravitation, fall to the earth. 4. That a body niav be projected from the lunar volcanos beyond the moon's influence, is not only possible, but very probable; for on calculation it is found, that four times the force usually given to a twelve pounder, will be quite sufficient for this purpose: it is to be observed, that the point of equilibrium is much nearer the moon; and that a projectile from the moon will not he so much retarded as one from the earth, both on account of the moon's rarer atmosphere, and its less attractive force. On this subject, see Mr. Haward's valuable paper in the Philosophical Transactions for 1802, and Dr. Hutton's Dissertation in the new abridgment, part xxi. It is highly probable, that the axcile, or.sacred shield, that fell from Leaven in the reign of Numa Pompilius, was a stone of this sort. The description of its fall, as given by Ovid, Fast. lib. iii. bears a striking resemblance to recent accounts of stones falling from the atmosphere, particularly in the luviiiwus appearance and hissini^ noise with which it was accompanied.
Dum loquilur totumjam sol emoverat orbcm.
El gravis alltereo tenil ah axe fragor. Tcr lonuit sine nuhe, tria fiilgura??«s2V;
Crcdiie dicenti; luira, sed acta /of/Mor. El media ca! ton rcgione dchisccre ca-pit:
Summirerc oculos aim dtice turba suos. Ecce levi scutum versalmn tcniter aura
Decidit, a popido clamor ad antra lenit.
Toltit humo muniis
it/^uf ancile vocat, quod ah omni pane rccisum est.
It is very |)ossiblc that the Palladium of Troy, and the Image oi iXid Ejilicsiun Diana, were stones which really fell
in the sight of Israel, ' Sun, " stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou. Moon, in the valley of "Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the
from the atmosphere; bearing some rude resemblance to the human form. — See the IMPERIAL Encycloi'.EDIA, article JErolith.
I believe it is generally agreed among philosophers, 1. That all these asrial stones, chemically analysed, shew the same properties: 2. That no stone, found on our earth, possesses exactly the same properties, nor in the same proportions. This is an extraordinary circumstance, and deserves particular notice.
Verse 12. Then spake Joshua to the Lord'\ Though Joshua saw that the enemies of his people were put to flight, yet he well knew ihat all which escaped would rally again; and that he should be (sbliged to meet them once more in the field of battle if permitted now to escape: finding that the day was drawing towards a close, he feared that he should not have time sufficient to complete the destruction of the confederate armies: In this moment, being suddenly inspired with Divine confidence, he requested the Lord to perform the most stupendous miracle that had ever bseu wrought, which was no less ihan to arrest the sun in his course, and iirolong the day till the destruction of his enemies had been completed!
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, 3Toon, in the valley of AJalou-l To account for this miracle, and to ascertain the manner in which it was wrought, has emplo3'ed the pens of the ablest divines and astronomers, especially of the two last centuries. By their learned labours many difficulties have been removed from the account in general; but the very difl'erent and contradictory methods pursued by several, in their endeavours to explain the whole, and make the relation concord with the present acknowledged system of the universe, and the phenomena of nature, tend greatly t« puzzle the plain unphilosophical reader. The subject cannot be well explained without a dissertation; and a dissertation is not consistent with the nature of short notes, or a commentary on Scripture. It is however necessary to attempt an explanation; and to bring that as much as possible within the apprehension of common readers: in order to this, I must beg leave to introduce a few preliminary observations, or what the Reader may call propositions, if he pleases.
1. I take ii fur granted that a miracle was wrought as nearly as circumstances cotikl admit, in the manner in v\hich it is here recorded. I shall not, Uierel'orc, seek for any allegorical or metaphorical interpretations: the miracle is recorded as a fact; and as a fact 1 take it up.
2. I consider the jiresent accredited system of the universe, called sometimes, the Pythagorean, Copcrnican, or Neielonian system, to lie genuine; and also to bq the system of the upiverse, laid down in the Mosaic writings — that the SuN is in the centre of what is called the solar sy>tcm; and that the earlh and all the olhcv planets, wheiher primary or secondary, move round hiai in certain jieriwdical times, accordinjj to the- and moon statidln^ still.
AhiM. Imt.- lilies. " Is iioL tiiis wiilleii in tlie i|iiiuitlly of their iiiu(ti.'r, und di.stnnce from liiiii, tlicir centre.
3. 1 crmsiilrr tlic siiii to liavo no revolution round any orbil, but to nvolvc round liis own axis, and round tliu common centre of f;r;ivi(y in the |)lanet:iry syteni, uliii:h centre of gravity is included wilhln iii..< own.siirHice, and in all other respects I consider him to be at rc.v< in the sy.steni.
4. I consider the earth, not only a., reiohin-f round the sun, in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 miniitts, and 48 seconds, but as revolving round ils own axis, and niakinfj this revolution in 23 hours, 56 minuter, and 4 seconds: that in the courfc of "4 hours coin])lete, every part of its surface is alternately turned to the sun; and that this revolution constitutes our ddi/ and «/;''''> ^^ '''^ former does our yeiir: that it is day lo all those |)arts whirh have the sun above the UurvMn; and ni-ylit to those which have the sun hclo-w it: and that this diurnal revolution of the earth, or revolvin;^ rour.d its own axis, ill a direclion from west to east, occasions what is commonly called the rising and setting of the sun, which appearance is occasioned, not by any motion in the sun himself, but by this motion of the earth; which may be illustrated by a ball or j;lobc appended to a thread, and caused lo turn round. If this he held oppusitc to a candle, it will appear half enlightened and hall dark; but the d.iik parts will be seen to come succcssiveli/ into the ligl't, and the enlij^htened parts into tlie shade; v^hile the cutiiile itself, which gives the light, is fixed, not changinfj ils position.
5. I consider the solar influence lo be the cause both of the annual and diurnal motion of the earth; and that while that influence continues to act upon it, accordinjj to the law wliich God originally impressed ou both the earth and the sun, the annual and diurnal motions of the earth must continue; and that no power, but the unlimited power of God, can alter this iiifluenee, ehani;e or suspend the operation of •this law; but that lie is such an infinitely FREE Agknt, that He can, when his unerring wisdom sees good, alter, suspend, or even annihilnle all secondary causes and their eft'ects; for it would be degrading to the perfections of his nature to suppose, that he had so bound himself by the laws uliich he has given for the preservation and direction of universal nature, that he could not change them, alter their effects, or suspend their operations, when greater and better eflect.s, in a certain lintc or place, niij;hl be produced by such temporary change or suspension.
6. 1 consider, that the miracle wrought on this occasion, served greally lo confirm the Israelites, not only in the belief of the bting and perfections of'God, but also in the doctrine of an especial providence, and in the nullity of ihe whole system of idolatry and superstition.
. 7. That no evil was done by this miraculous interference, nor any law or properly of nature ultimatelj changed; on the 9 ■
still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to {^o down abmit a wliolc
14 And there wa.s ''no day like
contrary, a most impurlant good wa« produced, which probably, to this people, could nut have been brought al>oul any other way; and that, therelbrc, the miracle wrought on thin occa.'-ioii, was highly worlhy of the wi»<lom and power of God.