So PS a
word to fignify, which were thrown up to reftrain fo of a tribe drawn afide to idolatry; and which the waters from overflowing; fome by Geliloth underftand a place fo called; and ‘ferom® fays it was near Jordan, in the tribe of Benjamin: but rather the word fignifies the meanders, windings and turnings of the river®; and fuch circuits and compafies it fetched near Yericho, as the fame writer’ obferves, where we may fuppofe thefe tribes went over, and at a place where the river jetted out into the land of Canaan: the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, -built there an altar; or then; that is, when they had paffed over the river into their own country, for which Fo/epbus is exprefs*; and certain it is, that the altar was built not on the Canaan-fide of Fordan, but on the oppofite fide, as is clear from the following verfe: and indeed they had no right to build on any other ground than their own; and they pitched upon a fpot where the river jetted out into the land of Canaan, as moft proper to erect it on, to be a witnefs, that though feparated from the reft of the Lfraelites by the river Fordan, yet were a part of them, and had a right to join them in the fervice of God, and bring their facrifices to the altar of God in the tabernacle, as more fully appears in fome after verfes: @ great altar to fee to; built up very high, fo that it might be feen at a great diftance.
¥.11. And the children of Ifrael beard fay, &c..] Thofe that dwelt in the land of Canaan, for otherwife, as before obferved, the two tribes and a half on the other fide Yordan were I/raelites alfo; and this is a farther proof, that the altar was built on their fide, or thofe in the land of Canaan would have known of the building of it, and have feen them at it, and not come at the knowledge of it by hearfay only, as it feems they did, it being reported to them by fome who had been in thofe parts, and had feen the ftructure: debold, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manaffeh, have built an altar overagainft the land of Canaan, which clearly fhews it was on the other fide Jordan, tho’ Noldius, who places it in the land of €azaan, renders the words, in the neighbourbood of it; ‘which will not much help him, fince it might be in the neighbourhood of it, and yet not init: in the borders of ‘fordan; on the banks of jt, or in one of the meanders and windings of it, at a place they imagined was the cafe of thefe tribes, or ar leaft what they had done had a tendency to apoftafy from the true worfhip of God, which they were zealous to defend at the hazard of their lives, and though it fhould iffue in an extirpation of one or more of their tribes; fee Deut. xiii. 12—16.
¥. 13. And the children of Ifrael, &c.) In the land of Canaan: fent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manaffeh, unto the land of Gilead, they were poffeffed of, and had now returned unto and dwelt in; hither they fent an embaffy to them, to enquire into the truth of what they had heard, and the reafon of it, before they went to war with them, or proclaimed it, or took any farther fteps towards it; and which they were obliged to do by the-above law, when there was any fufpicion of idolatry, and any good ground and reafon for it, Deut. xiii. 14. and at the head of this deputation was Phinebas the fon of Eleazar the prie# a man zealous for the Lord of hofts, and his glory, of which there is an inftance in Numb, xxv. 7, 11, 13. and fo a fit perfon to be employed in this affair, who would be faithful, bold and zealous, as well as capable of giving advice and counfel to both parties, if needful.
y¥.14. And with him ten princes, of cach chief houfe a prince, throughout all the tribes of Irael, &c.] The nine tribes and a half, fo that the half tribe of Manaffeb fent a prince, as well as the whole tribes: and each one was an head of the houfe of their fathers among the thoufands of Ifrael; that is, among the rulers of the thoufands of J/rae?; and fo the Greek verfion calls them Chiliarchs, rulers of thoufands; for the people were divided into tens, fifties, hundreds, and thoufands, over whom there were diftinét rulers, Exod. xviii. 25. Now thefe were the chief among them, of the higheft rankand authority; they were the chief princes, heads of feveral tribes, a very honourable deputation this! the fon of the high-prieft, and ten princes, the heads of the tribes; thefe. were chofen and fent, partly in honour to their brethren beyond Jordan, and partly that they might carry the greater authority with them, and prevail upon them to hearken to them.;
¥.15. And they came unto the children of Reuben,
where it ran out and fetched a compais in the land of and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of
Canaan: at the paffage of the children of Ijrael; where they pafied over when they firft came into Canaan, and where thofe tribes alfo pafled over at their return; fuppofed to be the Bethabara beyond Jordan, where Fohn was baptizing, Fobn i. 28. ¥.12. And when the children of Ifrael heard of it, &c.] Of the building the altar in the above place, namely the nine tribes and a half fettled in the land of Canaan: the whole congregation of the children of Ifrael gathered themfelves together at Shilob; where the tabernacle and altar of the Lord were, whole caufe they undertook to avenge, being injured as they imagined by the altar the other tribes had built, and where they could confult the Lord by Urim and Thummim, if needful; hither they repaired from the feveral places around, where their tribes were fettled; not the whole body of the people, but their heads and reprefentatives: te g0 up to war againft them, to confult about it, and to prepare for it, which they were obliged to do by the law of God, as in the cafe of a city,
Manaffeh, unto the land of Gilead, &c.| The deputation came thither; they either fent for the chiefs among the two tribes and.a half, to meet them at - fome place, or they having a notion of their coming, afiembled together to receive them, and hear what they had to fay to them: and they /pake with them, faying; as follows; very probably Phinebas was the mouth of the whole, for there could be but one fpeaker.
y.16. Thus faith the whole congregation of the Lord, &c.] By whom they were fent, and whom they reprefented; and they- don’t call them the congregation of J/rae/, but of the Lord, becaufe it was not on a civil but religious account they were come, and not to plead their awn caule, but the caufe of God; and not fo much to fhew a concern for their own honour and intereft, as for — the glory of God: what tre/pafs is this that ye have committed againft the God of I/rael,; they took”
it for granted, that they had committed a fin, and that fo great, they were not able to exprefs the owe ose se ett. 8 ew. Ch. xxi. ¥. 17—22. * greatnefs of it in all its aggravated circumftances, and plainly fuggeit ic was idolatry; which was too premature, when as yet they had not enquired into it; but their-Zeal for God, and his honour, hurried them into this hafty ftep: to turn away this day from following the Lord; they intimate, that they had begun a revolt from the worfhip of God, which is aggravated by their falling into it fo foon, having received fo many favours from God, and had fo lately feen fuch wonderful appearances of his power and goodnefs, and had juft had fuch excellent inftructions, exhortations and cautions given them by Yo/bua, when he difmiffed them: é# that ye have bwilt you an altar; which they fuppofed was to offer facrifices upon; whereas there was to be but one altar, and that in the place which the Lord fhould chufe to put his name in, and which he had now chofen, where all facrifices were to be brought and offered up; fee Exod. xx. 24. Lev. xvii. 3, 4. Deut. xii. 5, 6: that ye might rebel this day againft the Lord? again{t the commandment of the Lord exprefied in the places referred to, which they charge with rebellion againft himfelf, a very high and heavy charge indeed! but they fhould firft have enquired whether they were guilty of the trefpafs, or with what view they had built the altar, whether for facrifice, or for fome other ufe; but they took it for granted it was for facrifice.
¥.17. Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, &c.
The worfhipping of that idol, when in the plains of Moab; the hiftory of which, fee in Numb. xxv. 2, 3. was, that fo fmalla fin, that another muft be added toit, or a greater committed? fince building an altar feemed defigned not fora fingle action of idolatrous worfhip, but for the continuance of it, whereas the fin of Peor was only committed at one time, and not continued in: from which we are not cleanfed until this day, not cleared from the fhame and difgrace of it, or the guilt of it expiated or removed; but it might be expected, as in the cafe of the golden calf, that God would ftill at times punifk for it, when provoked by new crimes; or the fenfe is, that there were thofe among them that were infected with the fame contagion, and whofe inclinations were to commit the fame, or like fin of idolatry: although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord; of which 24,000 died, Numb. xxv. 9 ¥. 18. But that you mnft turn away this day from following the Lord? &c.} From the worfhip of the Lord, as the Targum, and fo on y¥. 16. not content with the former tranfgreffion, but mutt add this revolt unto it, and at a time which fadly ageravates it: and it will be, that feeing ye rebel to-day againft the Lord, againft the Word of the Lord, as the Targum, and fo on ¥. 16. that tomorrow be will be wroth with the whole congregation; or in a little time, if a {top is not put to this revolt, the whole body of the people will fuffer for it: here they exprefs a concern for the whole nation of J/rae/, as well as for the glory of God; for fometimes the whole congregation has been ‘charged with the fins of individuals, and punifhed for it, as a cafe after-mentioned fhews; fee ch. Vii. 1, 5. ¥. iy. Notwithfanding, if the land of your poffelion be unclean, &c.] That is, if it was judged to be fo by them, becaufe not cleanfed from the fins of the former inhabitants of it by facrifice, or becaufe there was no altar in it to offer up facrifice for the expiation of fin: then pafs ye over unto the land of the poffeifion of the Lord, wherein tbe
Lord’s tabernacle dwelleth; if you repent’ of the choice you have made of a country to dwell in, quit it, and come over into the land of Canaan, which the Lord has taken poffeffion of, and refidence in, and where his tabernacle is fixed, the place of his prefence and worfhip, and where an altar is erected to facrifice upon: and take poffeffion among us; they were willing to quit poffeffion of their own, and make room for them in their feveral tribes, and even though they ftraitened themfelves, and parted with much of their eftates, rather than they fhould make a fchifm, or go into idolatrous practices; which wasa brave, noble fpirit indeed, and fhewed their great concern for the honour and glory of God, and his worfhip, and their love to their brethren, and affectionate regard for their {piritual welfare, above their own private, perfonal and temporal good: but rebel not againf? the Lord; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum, either Chrift the effential Word, the angel of Jehovah’s prefence, or his word of command: wor rebed againft us by breaking off from us, and fetting up another religion or form of worfhip: in building you an alar befide the altar of the Lord our God;-which ought to be common to both, and no other to be fet up againft it, or ufed befide it.
¥. 20. Did not Achan the fon of Zerab, &c.] One that defcended from Zerah the fon of Fudah, ch. vii. 18. commit a trefpafs in the accurfed thing; in taking what was devoted to facred ufes: and wrath fell on all the congregation? and which was what was feared now; and this inftance is brought to fhew, that fuch fears were not groundlefs: and that man perifhed not alone in his iniquity; which feems to confirm the notion of thofe who think that his children fuffered with him; though it may be obferved, that it was through his fin that 36 men were flain by the men of 4, ch. vii. 5.
y¥. 21. Then the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manaffeb, anfwered, &c.| By fome perfon whom they appointed to deliver the anfwer in their name: and faid unto the heads of the thoufands of Ifrael; who were over thofe that were rulers of the thoufands of I/rael, perfons of greater authority than they, being princes of the refpective tribes to which they belonged.
v.22. The Lord God of gods, the Lord’ God of gods, &c.] They firft fet out in their anfwer with aflerting their firm belief of Jehovah, the God of Tfrael, being the fupreme God, God over all; over all that are called gods, whether angels, of whom Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; or civil magiftrates and judges of the earth, who bare the fame name; nor are the gods of the Gentiles to be fpoken of with Febovab, the God of Irael, who is the fupreme Being, felf-exiftent, the Being of beings, eternal and immutable, all which is contained in his name Jehovah; now this is repeated by them for the confirmation of their faith in this great article of it, and fhews the fteadinefs of ir, and to exprefs their earneft and vehement affection for this truth, and to clear themfelves from any imputation of idolatry, or thought of it, or doing any thing that might have a tendency to it: he knoweth; he is the omnifcient God, the fearcher of the hearts, and the trier of the reins of the children of men; he knows our cordial belief of this truth, the integrity of our hearts, the intention of our minds, that we never had a thought in us of departing from his worfhip, and of fetting up an altar befide his in oppofition to it: and Ifrael he foall know 5 our brethren the J/raeijtes that dwell in the land of Canaan, whofe reprefentatives you are, fhall know, not only by our prefent declara- ‘tion, but by our future conduct, and ftriét adherence to the pure worfhip of God in time to come, that it was never our view by what we have.done to depart from it: if it be ia rebellion, or if in tranferefion againft the Lord; with a defign to rebel again{t his word, and tranfgrefs his command: fave us not this day; this is faid with refpect to God, and as an apoftrophe to him, as Yarchi, Kimchi and Abarbinel obferve; as exprefling their defire to have no mercy fhewn them by him, but that vengeance might be taken on them by him, Jas to whom all things were naked and open, and full well knew whether they were guilty or not; or elfe the addrefs is to Phinebas, and the princes, that they would rife up and put them to death by {word, if this appeared to be the cafe; or that all the other tribes would rife up, and make war. againft them, and cut them off with the edge, the fword, and not fpare them.
¥. 23. That we have built us an altar, to turn following the Lord, &c.] That is, we defire, as -we deferve, to be.cut to pieces, and not faved, if it fhould appear to be our view in building *this altar, to revolt from the pure worfhip of God: or if to offer thereon burnt-offering, or meat-offering, or if to offer peace-offerings; even to the Lord himfelf: they declare that.as they had no deffgn to apoftatize from God, and worfhip idols, fo it was not their intention to offer any kind of facrifice on the.altar they had built, even to the Lord ftriétly fo called, eaftward, Nenb se sea ‘ it did not. exclude the land of the two tri ahalf.from being part of the land of promife 5 fer the Amorites, which before inhabited it, and were driven out of it, were Cenaamites, and were one part of the people, whole land the Lord promifed to Abraham, Gen. xv. 18—21. ye children of Reuben, and children of Gad, bave no part in the Lord; in his covenant and promifes, in his worfhip, word and ordinances; thele are things you have nothing | to do with, being feparated from us his peculiar people; or bave no part in the Word of the Lord, the Targum, the _promifed Meffiah, being withwhojout, or feparated from him, as the Gentiles are. faid to be, Eph ii. 12. fo fhall your children make our children ceafe from fearing the Lord; trom worfhipping the Lord, the fear of the Lord being often put for tpe whole worfhip of God, external and ‘internal, #ccl. xii. 13. by behaving in the off above manner towards them, they would be the |caufe and occafion of their apoftacy from the true from)God, and it woutd be in effect to fay to them, go ferve other gods, 1 Sam. xxvi. 1g.. Sas
¥. 26, Dherefore we /aid, &c.| One to another, in order to prevent the apoftacy of our children from God, ‘their departure from his worthip, and going into idolatry: /et ws now prepare to build us an a/tar; get materials ready, and fec about it inftancly, without any delay, whilft the thing dwells upon our minds: wot for durnt-offering, nor for /acrifice; not for offerings of any kind required by the law, neither for fin-offerings nor trefpafs- himfelf; and they take notice of every kind of offering, to remove every charge of this fort from them, and to purge themfelyes of every imputation of this nature; then the Lord bimfelf require it; feek it out, who is the omnifcient God, and revenge it, who is the Lord God almighty, ju and true, y.24. And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, &c.] So far they fuggeft were they
_ trom doing this, in order toturn from the pure worfhip of God, and introduce idolatrous _worhhip, that it was to guard againft every thing of that kind for the future; and through fear of it, and anxiety and diftrefs. of mind, left fome time or another there fhould be any temptation to it in their pofterity, had they built this altar: /aying, in time to come your children might peak unto our children, or to-morrow ™, in a fhort time after your heads, and ours, are laid in the grave, your pofterity will accoft us: faying, what have you to do with the -Lord God of Irael? you are aliens and ftrangers from the commonwealth of J/rae/, live in a foreign land, and not in the land of Canaan; are feparated, from us by the river Fordan, are a different peo-' ple from us, and have nothing to do with the tabernacle of the Lord, and the fervice of it, or with the altar of the Lord, to offer facrifice on it. Now as they returned to their own country, or when got there, fuch anxious thoughts and fears rofe up in their minds, which they communicated to one another, and thought of this expedient to prevent what would be fo fatal to their pofterity.
The Targum is, ‘* you have no part in the Word
“of the Lord God of J/rael,” fee Fobn xiii. 8.
¥.25. For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, &c.| And by it feparated them from them, as if they were a diftiné& people; not that this was really the cafe, but fo they feared it would be reprefented in time to come; for though
Jordan was the border of the land of Canaan,’
offerings, nor any other not named.
y¥.27. But that it may bea witne/s between us and you, and our generations after-us, &e.|] That we are one people, worfhip one God, and ferve at one altar, of which this built was a refemblance, nd would put them in mind ofit: thet we might do the fervice of the Lord before bim; in the tabernacle,. and at the altar, in the place where he had chofen to put his name and dwell: with our burnt-offerings, and with our facrifices, andwith our peace-offerings, to be brought at ftated times, or as occafion required: ‘hat your children may not
fay to our children in time to come, ye hawe no part
in the Lord; nor right to his altar, and fo forbid them offering their facrifices on it; or ** hayeno part in the Word of the Lord,” as the Targum; the Mefiiah, whofe facrifice was typified by the facrifices of the legal difpenfation, and all fuch who offered theirs in the faith of that, had a part in it, and their fins were expiated by it.
¥. 28. Therefore faid we, &c.] To prevent any fuch ufage of our children, and that they might have a ready anfwer to give: thet it fhall be when they foould {o fay unto us, or to our: generations in time to come; as above fuggefted, that they were a feparate people from them, and had no intereft in the Lord, nor right to his altar, nor-concern in his worfhip: that we may fay again; in reply, that is, our pofterity: ¢ebold, the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, which exactly agrees with the Mo/aic altar; and which they could never have framed in fo exaGt ~ a manner, if they had not feen it, and ferved at
| it; wherefore this was a plain proof of their be- — ing originally worfhippers of the fame God, partakers of the fame altar, and were in the fellowfhip aud communion of J/rael. _Accordingto Guffetius", this was not the altar the Reuben~ ites, &c. built, which the children of Ifrael would be bid to behold, but the Mo/aic altar at the ta- "t ‘ge, bernacle or temple, which was the archetype and exemplar, according to which, that of the Rewbenites was formed; and therefore fay not, come and behold, but behold the altar prefent before them, that of Mo/es, and acknowledge that to be a type and exemplar, which they had related, fo confefs it to be a teftimony of their mutual fellowfhip: and what they had made in imitation of it, which exactly anfweréd to it, was mot for burntofferings, nor for facrifices, of any fort, that was not the intention of erecting it: du¢ it is @ witnefs between us and you; that.
fame God, and are of the fame faith and felagainft the Lord; which they were fearful and jealous of they had, but they found that the Lord had been good and gracious in preferving them trom it: now ye have delivered the children of Ifrael jout of the band of the Lord; into which they would andjhave fallen, had that been the cafe, and would have felt the effects of the divine refentment, but now they were fecure from them..
y. 32. And Phinebas the fon of Eleazar the prieft, and the princes, &c.] Being fully fatisfied with the relation of things that had been given them, we worfhip thejand having taken their leave of the aflembly: returned from the children of Reuben, and from the lowfhip. children of Gad; the Greek verfion adds, and from
¥. 29. God forbid that we fhould rebel againft the Lord, &c. |}, Againft the command of the Lord, who ordered one altar to be made, to which all facrifices were to be brought from the parts of the land of J/rael, and there to be offered on it; or “ againft the Word of the Lord,” as the Zargum, Chrift typified both by the altar and the facrifices on it; and who is but one, one prieft, one facrifice, one altar, one mediator and faviour: and turn this day from following the Lord, apoftatize from him, and from his worfhip: ¢o build an altar for burnt-offerings, for meat-offerings, or for Jacrifices; which was never our intention, or ever entered into our hearts to erect one for fuch a purpole: befides the altar of the Lord our God, that is before his tabernacle; it ftanding in the court the tabernacle before the holy place.
¥. 31. And Phinebas the fon of Eleazar the prief, &c.] As the mouth of the deputation, and inJit, their name: /aid unto ihe children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manaffeh; the reprefentatives of them affembled together on this occafion: this day we perceive that the Lord is among us; his Shekinah, as the Targum; his powerful prefence in preferving their brethren from committing a trefpafs, as they feared; his gracious prefence fmiling upon them; and as the God of peace and order, and not of confufion, uniting and cementing their hearts in love to one another: becaufe ye bave not committed this tre/pa the half tribe of Manaffeb, which though not in the Hedrew text, is undoubtedly meant: out of the /and of Gilead; which though only a part of the feveral jcountry thefe tribes inhabited, is put for the whole, and it is not improbable that the affembly might be held in it: unto the land of Canaan, to the children of D/rael; the reft of the children of Jfrael who dwelt in the land of Canaan, properly fo called: and brought them word again, reported the whole affair, related all that had pafied, and acquainted them with the intention and defign of \their brethrenverecting the altar, and what had been the iffue of their embaffy to them, y. 33. And the thing pleafed the children of 1/- rael, &c.} They were quite fatishied with the acofjcount of things, and were pleafed and delighted with what their brethren, the other two tribes, had done: and the children of Ifrael bleffed God; returned thanks to him, that there was no trefpafs committed againft him, and no {fchifm like to be and the princes of the;made among them, nor any wrath to come upon them: and did not intend to go up againft them in dazt/e; for though upon firft hearing of their building an altar, which they fuppofed was for idolatry, they had intended to make war againft them, but now underftanding the defign of that building, they laid afide all thoughts of that kind: to deftroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwe/t; which they judged by the law in Deut. xiii. 12. they were obliged todo. The Greek verfion here adds alfo, and the half tribe of Manaffeb, and renders the laft claufe, and they dwelt in it; continued to dwell in it undifturbed by their brethren.
¥. 30. And when Phinebas the prief, &c.] For fo he was, being the fon of Eveazar the high-prieft, and {fo the word prief, ¥. 13. is to be joined, not to Eleazar but to Phinebas:
congregation; the ten princes, who were fent by the congregation of J/rae/, one out of each tribe: and beads out of the thoufands of I/rael, thefe are the fame with the princes, and this belongs to their title, who were heads of the Chiliarchs, or thofe who were rulers of thoufands in J/rael: which were with him; with Phinebas, who were joined with him in the embafly, and now prefent with him: heard the words that the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the children of Manaffeh fpake; in defence of themfelves, explaining the meaning and defign of the altar they had built: z¢ pleafed them; they were not only fatisfied with their anfwer, but highly delighted with what they had done, as tending to preferve the common faith and fellowhhip of J/rae/. fignifies a witne/s;
y. 34. And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, called the altar Ed, &c.) Which they caufed fuch an infcription to be put upon it, or this word to be engraved on that fo the intention of erecting it might be. known in future time; that it was not for facrifice, but to be a teltimony of their being one with their brethren on the other fide Yordan, in worhhip, faith and fellowthip: for it fhall be @ witne/s between us, that the Lord.is God, is the one God, the God of them both, of all J/rae/, whether on the one or the other fide of ‘orden; to be worfhipped by them in one and the fame manner, and their facrifices to be offered to him on his altar beiore the tabernacle, s his addrefs to them obferves what God had done for them, and would do, y. 3, 4, 5. and exhorts them to keep the commandments of God, and|for the cleave to him, and not to mix with the Gentiles, and join with them in idolatrous practices, and then it would be well with them, ¥.6—r11. otherwife fhould they join with them, and depart from the Lord, who had fo faithfully and punctually performed every good thing he had promifed them, they might expect all evils and calamities, utter ruin and deftruction to befal them, them out of their habitations to make room for them, meaning the feven nations of the Canaanites: Lord your God is he that hath fought for you; Fo/bua does not attribute any of the things that were done to his own valour, nor theirs, nor fo butjmuch as mentions himfelf or them as inftrument but wholly afcribes all to the Lord, who “fouptk their battles for them, and conquered their enemies, and fubdued them under them; the Targum is, ‘* the Word of the Lord fought’ for you;” the captain of the hoft of the Lord, ch. v. 14
¥.1. And it came to pafs a long time after, &c.] Or after many days °, that is, years: had given reft unto Ifrael from all their enemies round about; the greateft part of the land of Canaan was fubdued; the whole divided by lot to the tribes of Trael, and they quietly fettled in*the refpective portions affigned them, the Canaanites that remained giving them no difturbance, in which ftate of reft and peace they had_now been for fome years; and this may be reafonably fuppofed to be the laft nations that remain, &c.| Who are unfubdued, not that the Lord yet conquered, as well as thofe that are fo be an inheritance for your tribes; to be poflefied by them. and their children for ever: from Yordan, with all the nations I have cut off, even unto the great fea weffward; the phrafe with all the nations I have cut off, is to be read in connexion with tho/e nations that remain; both thofe that were cut. off by the {word of ‘fo/hua, and thofe that remained unconquered, being divided by lot to the tribes of J- year of the life of Fofhua, fee ¥.14. that Fofbua waxed old and ftricken in age, and became feeble and decrepit, and greatly declined; for though he was ten years younger than Mo/es when he died, yet not fo vigorous, ftrong and robuft as he,’ but was preffed and bore down with the infirmities of age. ”y. 2. And Fofoua called for all Ifrael, &c.| Summoned them together, whether at Timnath-ferab, his own city, he being old and infirm, and not able to go elfewhere; or whether at Shechem, where it is plain they were afterwards convened, ch. xxiv. 1. or whether rather at S4i/ob, where the tabernacle was, is not certain; and by all I/rael cannot be meant the whole body of the people, unlefs it can be thought to be at one of the featts, when all the males in J/rael appeared before the Lord; though this feems to be not a ftated convocation, but occafionally made, and to be underftood of the reprefentatives of the people called together, as explained in the following clau‘e: and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; the firtt and is fupplied, and another word or words may be fupplied, as evex, or that is, or the like, and fo explanative of all Tjrael, namely their elders, both in age and office, efpecially the latter, the feventy elders, or who compofed what in after-times was called the great Sanhedrim, and the beads of their tribes, the chief princes of every tribe; and their judges in their feveral cities, who heard and tried caufes, and adminiftred juftice and judgment to the people; and their officers, who attended on them to execute the judgment they pronounced: and faid unto them, I am old and ftricken in age; which he obfervés as a reafon of his calling them together to give them fome advice and inftructions before his death, and in order to command greater reverence of him, and refpect to him, and to excite attention to what he had to fay to them.
¥. 3. And ye bave feen all that the Lord your rael; and which reached from Fordan eaftward, where ‘fo/bua and J/rae/ entered into the land, to the Mediterranean fea, called the great fea in comparifon of little ones in Canaan, as the dead fea, and the fea of Tiberias; and which great fea lay weft to the landof J/rael, or where the fun fets, as the phrafe in the Hebrew text is.
¥. 5. And the Lord your God he fhall expel them
from before you, &c.] That is, fuch of them as yet remained among them: and drive them from out of your fight; the fame thing expreffed by different words, for the confirmation of it: and ye fall pof-
Jes their land, as the Lord your God hath promifed unto you; all which is to be underftood on condition of their good behaviour towards the Lord, and obedience to his commands; by which tenure they held the poffeffion of the land when put into it, and for their difobedience did not pofieis the whole., yt. 6. Re ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Mofes, &c.] To obferve which required fpiritual ftrength, fortitude of mind, a holy courage, a firm and fixed refolution, and particularly to deftroy the Canaanites required in that book, and to abftain from all communion and fellowfhip with them: that ye turn not afide therefrom, to the right band or the left; fee the note on ch. i. 7. My ¥. 7. That ye come not among thefe nations, thofe that remain among you, &c.] That remained unfubdued, or that were fuffered to dwell amon them, being tributaries to them; with thefe they were not to converfe freely and familiarly, norto.
carry on trade and commerce with them, nor enter into any alliances or marriages with them, and not even attend any of their fealts, and efpecially their idolatrous ones: neither make mention of the name of their gods; not in common converfation, and {till lefsin any religious matters; never with any reverence of them, or in any refpectable man— ner; but always with indignation and contempt,
Ch. xxiii ¥.8—rg. FOSHUA | ast calling them dunghil-gods.and the like, as they often are in feripture: or caufe to fwear by them; neither fwear by them themfelves, nor caufe others to fwear by them, as Abarbinel; or amanhis neighbour, as Kimchi; noy not a Gentile, as Ben Me-\ lech 5 fo it is faid in the Mifnah’, ‘* he that vows inthe name of an idol, and confirms in his name, (which Barsenora interprets, {wears by his name) tranfgreffes a negative precept.” Mazmonides*alfo fays, ‘¢ he that vows in the name of an idol, &c. and {wears by it, is. to be beaten—he that fwears by it himfelf, or caufes a Gentile to {wear by it for it is forbidden to caufe a Gentile to fwear by his fear (or idol) and even to caufe himto make mention of it, though not in the way of an oath, it is forbidden:” neither ferve them; by offering any facrifice or incenfe to them, or by praying to them, or offering them praifes on any account, or by forming any religious fervice in any inftance form whatever: nor bow yourfelves unto them, them any adoration or worfhip, external or income, what they fhould be able to do if they cleaved unto the Lord; this was fulfilled in Sam/on, /udg. xv. 15. fuch a promife was made, Lev. xxvi. 8. for the Lord your God he it is that fighteth or you; and no wonder then that a thoufand fhould be put to flight by one man; the Zargum interprets Jit of the Word of the Lord, asin ¥. 3. as be bath promifed you, fee Deut. i. 30. and iii. 22,. 11. Take good heed therefore unto yourfelves,, To be upon their guard, and to be watchful, were very neceflary tothem, that they might;,oot be enfnared by the Canaanites, and drawn afide by them into idolatry, and fo apoftatize from the Lord and his worfhip, fince their temptations would be many: that ye love the Lord your God; which would the moft ftrongly influence and engage them to ferve and worfhip the Lord, and per-Jobey his commands, and be the beft prefervative orJagainift idolatry and falfe worfhip. give) -¥.12. Elfe if ye do in any wife go back, &c.] from the Lord and his worfhip, from his word ternal.. and ordinances: aud cleave unto the remnant of thefe
¥. 8. But cleave unto the Lord your God, &c.]| To his word, worfhip, and ordinances; externally, * by clofe adherence to them, and ftri€& obfervation of them; and internally, by ftrong affection him, hope, truft, and confidence in him, expeétation of all good things from him, and conftant application to him for help in all times of need, a fixed dependence on him: as ye have done unto this day; that is, fince’ they came into the land of Canaan, and had been under the government of Fofoua; for otherwife, while in the wildernefs, they frequently revolted from God, and murmuredjriage, againft him; and this is to be underftood not of individuals, who doubtlefs were guilty of various failings and fins: but of the whole body, and with refpect to any notorious offence, particularly idolatry, which they had not fallen into fince came into theland of Canaan, and had very lately fhewn great zea] again{t it;
¥. 10. One man of you fhall chafe a thoufand, &c. Here Kimchi and Ben Melech obferve, that the future tenfe is put for the paft, and that thefenfe is, one of them had chafed a thoufand in their warl|al with the Canaanites; but Abarbinel difapproves of this obfervation, and thinks it refers to time to uations, even thofe that remain among you; in cities not taken, or in feveral which the Phiijftines were in pofleffion of, or lived among them as tributatojries to.them, if they fhould take to them, and be free and familiar with them, which may lead on to nearer connexions in civil and religious matandjters: and fhall make marriages with them; marry their daughters to the fons of Canaanites, or admit the daughters of Canaanites to be married to their fons: and go in unto them, and they to you; which is expreffive of the confummation of marand of the performance of the conjugal duty.
¥. 13. Know fora certainty, that the Lord your God w7/l no more drive out any of thefe nations /rom before you, &c.) Or, knowing ye foall know", theyjor kvow ye; this may be taken for granted, or the fulleft. proof, and cleareft demonftration, and not only the tribes on ftrongeft affurance-will be given of it, that in cafe thejof fuch bad condué and difobedience to the will of God, no more of the nations of the Cazaanites will be driven out of the cities in which they are; but they hall be fnares and traps unto you, who by mo-jtheir bad examples would draw them both to idoand in-jlatry and fuperftitious worfhip, and into all irreligion, profanenefs, and immorality, as they did. cvi. 35—39. and fcourges in your fides; who aJeither by enfnaring them, would get an advantage fortifiedjover them, and diftrefs them in their perfons, families, and eftates; or would be the means of the Lord’s correcting and chaftifing them with the rod all this, thejand ftripes of men, for the iniquities thefe would andjdraw them into; the allufion is to fcourges and lafhes laid on the fides of men, or to goads with which beatts are pufhed on their fides and driven: amd thorns in your eyes; very troublefome and dltreffing; for even a mote in the eye is very afflicting, and much moreathorn; feethe note on Numd. xxxili. 55. Farchi interprets this word by camps furrounding them, as fhields do the bodies of men, and which is approved of by Guffetius*: until ye perifh from off this good land, which the Lord |your God bath given you, by {word, famine, peftilence, or captivity, which has been their cafe.
this fide, but thofe on the other fide Yordan, as preceding chapter largely relates.
¥. 9. For the Lord bath driven out before you great nations and ftrong, &c.] Efpecially as they were reckoned in thofe times, before any great narchies had exifted, as did afterwards; deed thefe were, confidering the land they inhabited, very numerous and populous, and were|P very ftour and able-bodied men, and fome of gigantic ftature; and all dwelt in ftrong. cities, and were able to bring out large armies into the field, with chariots of iron, fo that they were very formidable; but notwithftanding: Lord drove them out of their ftrong holds, put J/rae/ into the poffeffion of them, and of their land: but as for you, no man bath been able to ftand before you unto this day; thatis, of thofe that came out againft them, and fought with them; thefe| were all to a man cut off by them, or fled before them, and became tributaries to them; otherwife there were many, who as yet were not expelled by them; this the Lord had promifed, and now had _ fulfilled, Deut. xi. 25. For. 1. 5.
y.14. And bebold, this day Iam going the way of the earth, &c.) ‘That is, about to dye; not that precife day, but in a fhort time, of which the daily increafing infirmities of old age gave him no-.
tice. Death is a journey from this world to another, a man’s going to his long home, a path trodden by all men, and but oncet; a way in which all men without exception muft and do walk, and even the beft as well as the greateft of men, fuch as Yofoua; no man is exempted from death, be he ever fo great or good, ever fo wife and ing, ever fo holy or fo ufeful; fee 1 Kings ii. 2. and ye know in all your hearts, and in all your fouls, intheir confciences; it was a glaring truth which none could deny; it had a teftimony in every man’s breaft: that not one thing hath failed of all the good things, which the Lord your God hath Jpoken concerning you; particularly concerning the good land, and the Lord’s bringing them into it, removing the old inhabitants, and fettling them in their room, and putting them in pofféffion of temporal good things and fpiritual privileges, as the word and ordinances: a// are come to pafs unto you, and not one thing bath failed thereof, evil beafts, and captivity in cafe of difobedience to his commands: until be have deftrayed you from off sbis good land which the Lord your God bath giv you 5 for as he is faithful to his promifes, fo to his threatenings; and from his punctual performance _ of the one, may be argued and expected the fure know- fulfilment of the other, and which has been abundantly verified in that people; fee the notes on Lev. \xxvi. and Deut. xxviii. i y.16. When ye have tranfereffed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, &c.] Vhe law fo called, and the feveral abies 9 it, particularly thofe which relate to the faith and worfhip of the one only true God; fee Exod. xxiv. 7, 8. and have gone and ferved other gods, and have Jowed down your/élves unto them; been guilty of alllidolatry, of having and worfhipping other gods, which are no gods, with or befides the God of J/- rael; fee. 7. then shall the anger of the Lord be ee ch. kindled againft Jou 5 nothing being more provoking
XXi. 45. to him than idolatry, he being a jealous God of y¥. 15. Therefore it fball come to pafs, that as all the good things are come upon you, which the Lord hath promifed you, &c,] Of which there was full proof, and it could not be denied: fo /hal/ the Lord bring upon you all evil things, calamities and diftreffes, by his honour and worthip: and ye Soall perifh quickly from off the good land which be hath given unto you; as they did at the time of the Babylonifh captivity, and at the laft deftruction of Ferufalem by the Romans.
his fore judgments of famine, fword, peftilence,