Expository notes on the book of Joshua

Front matter

J"V

I

„fOSHUA

Preface

npHE Book of Joshua records the conquest of Canaan by the children of Israel, and their permanent establishment in the land. Although the destructive criticism has attempted to disprove its unity, its arguments have been specious and puerile. No book of the Scriptures is more consistent with itself, and is more well-proportioned and complete in its construction. It opens with God's order to Joshua, as Moses' successor, to lead Israel into Canaan, and it closes with Joshua's death, after the conquest and settlement of the country under his leadership had been sealed by twenty years of peaceful possession.

In a few places there are indications of omissions, where it is likely parts of the book have failed in the transcription ; but these occur in geographical lists, where such omissions would be most apt to occur, and where they are of least importance. Examples of such omissions are in chap. XV., between the fifty-ninth and sixtieth verses, where a group of prominent towns of Judah

6 PREFACE.

are wanting (though given in the LXX), and in the description of Manasseh's border in chap. xvii. The narrative, though regular in its order, sometimes, it is true, mentions an incident out of its chronological place, but in such cases forms the exception for the sake of the continuity of another chain of events. Neither the omissions nor these occasional departures from an annalist's chronological exactness invalidate in the slightest the perfect unity of the book ; and therefore from this argument no ground is gained against its authenticity as a work composed very soon after the events it records, perhaps by Phinehas the high-priest. All attempts to find a later date from the character of the Hebrew used in the book are equally vain, the language being precisely that which we should expect to follow the Mosaic period, and presenting no difficulty whatever to the comparative linguist.

That the book was written shortly after the events which it records, is evident from chap. vi. 25, where Rahab is spoken of as still living in the writer's time.

The book naturally divides itself into two parts : the conquest of the land, and the distribution of its districts to the tribes. Each of these divisions occupies twelve chapters of the twenty-four. In composing the book, doubtless public records prepared by Joshua and by Eleazer were used ; and to this fact may be attributed such repetitions as that

PEEFACE. 7

of the phrase, " the land had rest from war," in chap. xi. 23, and chap. xiv. 15, and such gaps as those between chap. xxii. and xxiii., and between chap, xxiii. and xxiv., only such selections beiug made as were appropriate to a people* s hook^ that should be in constant use among the tribes.

The two general divisions of the book, the one touching the conquest and the other touching the distribution, may be subdivided as follows: —

I. Joshua's encouragement, chap. i. 1-9. II. Joshua's preliminary preparations for crossing Jordan, chap. i. 10 — ii. 24.

III. Joshua's ultimate preparations for crossing Jordan, chap. iii. 1-13. lY. The crossmg, chap. iii. 14-v. 1. V. Preparations for the conquest, chap. v. 2-vi. VI. The conquest, chap, vii.-xii.

YII. The inheritance of the two tribes and a half , chap.

xiii.

VIII. The inheritance of the nine tribes and a half, chap, xiv.-xix.

IX. The cities of refuge, chap. xx. X. The Levitical cities, chap. xxi.

XI. The return of the two tribes and a half, chap. xxii. XII. Joshua's two farewell addresses, chap, xxiii.-xxiv.

The present little volume is an attempt to put in succinct form such explanations of the text as may help the reader to its clearer understanding, without annoying him with the details of criticism. For a thorough topographical examination of the Book of Joshua, one should use the maps of Rob-

8 PEEFACE.

inson or Van de Velde, or the newly published and very valuable maps found in Smith's Ancient Atlas.

Not wishing to burden the notes with discussion, I have put in an Appendix such thoughts on some of the main points of the history as I wished to express at greater length.

In the hope that this effort may contribute its

little to the extension of Bible knowledge, and to

the blessed fruits of such knowledge, I submit it

to its readers.

COMMENTARY ON JOSHUA

CHAPTER L

I. Joshua's Encouragement. (Yer. 1-9.)

1 Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

'T^HIS passage is the connecting link between -*■ Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua. It presents Joshua taking the place of Moses by the Divine command.

Vee,. 1. Moses the servant of the Lord. Moses has this high designation given him in the Scriptures far oftener than any other man (Ex. xiv. 31 ; Num. xii. 7 ; Dent, xxxiv. 6 ; Josh. ix. 24 ; 1 Kings viii. 56 ; 2 Kings xviii. 12 ; 2 Kings xxi. 8; 1 Chron. vi. 49; 2 Chron. xxiv. 9; Neh. x. 29 ; Dan. ix. 11 ; Mai. iv. 4 ; Rev. xv. 3 ; Ps. cv. 26). The ground of this peculiar emphasis may be found (Num. xii. 8, and Heb. iii. 5) in Moses' singular faithfulness. The title '' servant of God " is also applied in Scripture to patriarchs, as Abraham, Jacob, and Job ; to prophets, as Elijah, Jonah, 1*

Daniel, and Isaiah ; to a pious king, as Hezekiah ; to a good leader, as Zerubbabel ; to an upright statesman, as Eliakim, in He-zekiah's time ; to apostles, as Paul and James and John ; and even to a heathen monarch, as Nebuchadnezzar. May the application in the last case be an indication that Nebuchadnezzar became a true child of God by faith ?

Spake unto. By Urim and Thummini. (See latter part of thQ next note.)

Joshua^ the son of Nun^ was of the tribe of Ephraim, and first appears as generalissimo of the army of Israel (as distinguished from the " children of Israel" at large), in the battle against the Amalekites near Rephidim (Ex. xviii. 9). He was then over forty years of age, according to Josephus (Ant. V. 1, 29). At Mount Sinai he was the special attendant upon Moses (Ex. xxiv. 18, xxxii. 17, xxxiii. 11), holding a position near him during the first forty days' separation on the mount, and also afterward in the provisional tabernacle. He next appears as, in conjunction with Caleb, opposing the cowardly report of ten of the spies who had been sent to view the land of Canaan (Num. xiv. 6). Thirty-eight years later, God orders his special appointment as the successor of Moses (Num. xxvii. 18). He was to be to Eleazar what Moses had been to Aaron. Yet Joshua never had the high distinction which Moses had of having the Lord talk to him "mouth to mouth" (Num. xii. 8). The phraseology in Num. xxvii. 20 shows

JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 11

2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

Joshua's inferiority to Moses, as well as the fact that he was directed to apply to the Urim and Thummim of the high-priest for direction, whereas Moses went directly to the Lord.

Joshua is here called " Moses" minister ; " that is, '' Moses' attendant," indicative of his previous position before the people.

Ver. 2. Moses my servant is dead. Yet we see Moses with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration fifteen centuries afterward. There is no death for the servant of God (John xi. 26). It cannot be too much insisted upon that our common use of the word '' death " has relation only to a semblance and type of death, to wit, the dissolution of the body, and the soul's departure from it (2 Cor. V. 8), while the only true death, the death intended in Gen. ii. 17, is the dreadful departure of the soul from God.

Cro over this Jordan, There is here a double definition of Israel's future possession that should be carefully noted. First, there is the land beyond the Jordan, that is, between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, which was the land originally promised to Abraham (Gen. xii. 7).

Then, secondly, there is the larger territory, ^^ Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon^ that have I given you^ as I said unto Moses^

(z.6., in Ex. xxiii. 81}, from the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river ^ the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun^ This second definition takes in the whole country from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean, a territory six times as large as the tract between the Jordan and the sea. The smaller tract, which we call Palestine or Canaan, was to be, so to speak, the " adytum," or sacred centre of the holy nation, while, according to their faith and faithfulness, they should extend their sway to the limits of the larger district, southward to the Red Sea, and northward and eastward to the Euphrates. The latter boundaries were reached in the days of David and Solomon. Joshua was simply to lead Israel into their central home, where they were all to be settled, except the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. These were to settle east of the Jordan, by a permission granted to their earnestness of petition, and not according to the original command of God. A careful reading of Numbers xxxii. will show that this exceptional treatment of Reuben, Gad, and one half Manasseh, was, like the establishment of the kingdom afterward (1 Sam. viii. 7), and the building of the temple (2 Sam. vii. 7), an action not ordered by God, but permitted to the importunity of the people. All these three actions proved disastrous. The settlement of Reuben, Gad, and one half Manasseh east of Jordan exposed them to early

JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 13

4 From the "wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

iDJury from enemies and broke up the national unitj^ the establishment of the kingdom made the people to seek foreign alliances and introduce foreign manners, and the building of the temple turned their religion from its simple channels into a pompous and gorgeous externalism, encouraging wealth and display among the people, and destroying the heart-piety of the nation.

Vek. 4. This Lebanon. Lebanon (strictly Anti- Lebanon, yet the same system of mountains) was in sight from the camp at Shittim. Hence the demonstrative ''this." [It is possible that "this" may refer to the desert and Lebanon as one line.] The line from the desert, say at Akabah on the Red Sea to Lebanon, north and south, is taken as a base line, and then the country east to the Euphrates is given, and afterward that west to the sea. It is the former (from the base line to the Euphrates) that is called the land of the Hittites. It is true that some Hittites lived west of the Jordan (Gen. xxiii. 3), but the bulk of this important people dwelt between Damascus and the Euphrates, as we find by the lately discovered chronicles of the Assyrian monarchs. They are spoken of as the Khatti^ a formidable people against whom the first Tiglath Pileser (about B.C. 1180) Avaged war. Their territory, it is probable, extended at one time as far east as Lake Urumiyeh. They were,

5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee : I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

6 Be strong and of a good courage : for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

doubtless, the most warlike, formidable, and extended of all the Canaanitish races. In the Egyptian records we find them in the time of Sethos (say B.C. 1325) near the Orontes.

Ver. 5. There shall not any man he able to stand hefore thee^ &c. The promise, given (Deut. xi. 25) to all the people as God's holy nation, is here given to Joshua as its head. So also the words, used to all Israel by Moses (Deut. xxxi. 6), and afterward to Joshua personally (Deut. xxxi. 8), are here repeated to Joshua for his encouragement. The apostle shows (Heb. xiii. 5) that every child of God may apply such a promise directlj^ to himself. The principles of God's government are always the same, however much the local details may change.

Ver. 6. Be strong aiid of a good courage. There is very little difference in the meanings of these two words. We might refer the former to strength, and the latter to the firm stand which is the result of strength. We should be led to suppose from the repetition of these words that Joshua was by nature timid or diffident (Deut. xxxi. 7, 23 ; Josh. i. 6, 7, 9). The immense responsibility, now placed upon his shoulders through the death of Moses, began to be felt.

JOSHUA, CHAP. T. 15

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein : for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

9 Have not I commanded theeV Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

10 T Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,

Ver. 7-9. It would require strength and courage to observe strictly God's law before so great a people, and then agam a strict observance of that law would make him prosperous and wise in action. It is no cursory look at God's written word that is required, but a meditating therein day and night (comp. Ps. i. 2), that needs the courage and confers the success. Fear and dismay at one's enemies are for ever gone under this spiritual regimen.

n. Joshua's Preliminary Preparations for Crossing Jordan. (Ver. 10-18, and chap. ii. 1-24.)

1. General Ord-ers.

Ver. 10. The officers of the people. The people of Israel had officers (shoterim) over them when in Egypt (Ex. v. 6, 19). From Num. xi. 16, we gather they were elders also, men selected in each tribe and family for their years and experience. The "seventy" (Num. 1. c.) were selected from

11 Pass through the host and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

12 If And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, these as the special assessors of Moses. In the semi-patriarchal condition of Israel, these men were probably recognized without any uniform method of election. Joshua moves the great host through their agency.

Vee-. 11. Pass through the host. Lit., '' Pass over in the middle of the camp." It implies personal contact with all parts of the vast host.

Victuals. Heb., '' zedah," which is.foodfor a journey. On the sixteenth day of Nisan the manna, that had been their miraculous food for forty years, was to cease (chap. v. 12). Between that time and their /i^W supply from the land of Canaan there would be an interval of scant supply. This present provision was for that emergencj^. If this order was given on the seventh of Nisan, it was given more than a week before the manna ceased, and would be a token of that coming fact, and, in the sequel, a helper to their faith. The verse may, therefore, be thus paraphrased: " Prepare you victuals, for in a few days you shall cross Jordan and enter your own land, where the manna, your wilderness-bread, shall cease, and you will need your own prepared supply." This preparation of victuals was thus itself an exercise of their faith.

JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 17

13 Eemember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.

Within three days. They crossed on the tenth day of Msan (chap. iv. 19). Hence this order is given on the seventh of the month. As the spies returned to the camp before the people crossed (chap. ii. 23), and as these spies had been three days (z.6., parts of three days) in the mountain west of Jordan (chap. ii. 22), they must have been sent out by Joshua on the sixth of the month, although the story of their expedition is not given until after this account of the command issued on the seventh.

Which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. Lit., ''Jehovah your God." It is important that Israel should bear in mind, at the very beginning of their occupation of the land, that they did not possess it in their own right or by their own might, but received it as a gift from God. This is the true basis of all human possession, a knowledge of which will tend to make us humble and satisfied,

Vee. 13. The word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you. The record is fouud in Num. xxxii. 20-28, and Deut. iii. 18-20. It was necessary to remind the two and a half tribes of the arrangement made ; for the same love of ease which prompted them at first to ask for the land east of Jordan, might tempt them to be lax in keeping their engagement to help their brethren.

This land^ i.e.^ the land on which Joshua stood when he spake, east of the Jordan.

18 COMIVIENTAIIY 0:N'

14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the laud which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;

15 Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as lie hath f/icen you, and they also have possessed the land w^hich the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, w^hich Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sun-rising.

Ver. 14. On this side Jordan. Lit., "beyond Jordan." (See on ver. 15.)

Armed, A peculiar Hebrew word, used of Israel at the exodus (Ex. xiii. 18), and also in Josh. iv. 12, and Judges vii. 11, and supposed by some to mean '' arranged in ranks of five," but better understood as meaning primarily " girded."

All the mighty men of valour. That is, all who could be spared from the equally necessary duty of protecting the wives, little ones, and cattle on the east side. In chap. iv. 13, we see that forty thousand of these two and a half tribes passed over ; but from Num. xxxvi. 7, 18, 34, we find that the warriors of these tribes were 110,580 ; so that over seventy thousand must have remained to guard their country. This was not consulting their ease, and hence was no breach of their contract. Yet the necessity of leaving seventy thousand warriors behind may be quoted as one of the evils attending upon their original desire to settle outside of Canaan.

Ver. 15. On this side Jordan totvard the sun-rising. Lit., " Beyond Jordan toward the sun-rising," i.e.^ beyond, as viewed from the promised land.

JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 19

16 If And they answered Joshua saying, All that thou commandest us, we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.

17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.

18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

Ver. 16-18. These two and a half tribes show a very praiseworthy zeal, and a desire to sustain the courage of Joshua. (See note on ver. 6.) They were faithful to their word. (See chap. xxii. 1-6.)

20 COMMENTAEY OK

Chapter II

2. The Spies.

1 And Joshua the son of Xun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

Ver. 1. Shittim. The full name is (Num. xxxiii. 49) Abel-hash-Shittim. The shittah is a species of acacia-tree, of which several varieties are found in Egypt and the neighboring lands. Abel-hash-Shittim is literally " meadow of the acacias." From these acacia-trees the gum-arabic is obtained. The Arabs give the name of Seyal to the species which is most abundant in the Palestine region. It is a thorny tree and grows in thickets. The place Shittim doubtless derived its name from their abundance. Shittim was situated on the east side of the Arabah (Num. xxii. 1, Arhoth Moah^ or '' plains of Moab "), close under the Moab mountains, probably at the debouchure of the Wady Hesban into the plain, about five miles from the Jordan. The Arabah (now El-Ghor) is here about thirteen miles wide, the eastern heights averaging five miles, and the western averaging eight miles from the river. Under the mountains the plain is green, and was probably more so in ancient times ; but out toward the river it is dry and sterile, except where the dense verdure along the course of the Jordan irself makes an exception. Shittim was the head-quarters of the host of Israel during the attempt of Balak to curse Israel. (Comp. Num. xxii. 1, and xxv. 1.) They doubtless abode there a long time, to rest and prepare the host after the contests with Sihon, with Og, and with the Midianites. It was from Shittim that Moses went up to the top of Pisgah and died (Deut. xxxiv. 1). In Num. xxxiii. 49, we find that the encampment stretched from Beth-jesimoth to Shittim. Now if Beth-jesimoth is rightly placed by Kiepert, Van de Velde, and others near the spot where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea, then the host of Israel may be considered as occupying all the south side of Wady Hesban from the hills to Jordan, a distance of five miles, their more compact desert order being altered for the emergency.

Two men. Two, for mutual counsel and support. The Saviour sent out his disciples two and two. One of these men was probably Salmon, the son of Nahshon, prince of Judah, who afterward married Rahab. (See Num. ii. 3, Ruth iv. 20, and Matt. i. 5.) It is likely that the spies would be taken from the leading men of Israel, as in the former instance, thirty-eight years previously ; and Salmon's probable age would agree with the statement that these spies were young men (Josh. vi. 23).

To spy secretly. The words in Hebrew are "spies, secretly saying." That is, Joshua gave

2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel, to search out the country.

them secret instructions, not letting the host know aught about it, lest they might spread information of the fact to the marring of the plan.

The land^ even Jericho, Rather, " the land and Jericho." They were especially to inspect Jericho, but also to notice the condition of the land generally. Jericho lay about six miles west of the Jordan, near the prolific fountain of Ain es-Sultan.

A harlot'' s house. Their going to such a house would prevent observation, they might suppose. And, moreover, it was probably very near the gate they entered, for we know the house was partly built on the town-wall (Josh. ii. 15).

Ver. 2. The king of Jericho. From the enumeration in chap. xii. we see there were at least thirty-one kings in Canaan. This would not give a territory much over ten miles square to each. The king of Jericho would naturally hold sway over the lower Jordan valley, west of the river, his territory being bounded on the west by the limestone heights, of which Kuruntul is most conspicuous. The region near the fountain is to-day very green and fertile. A few Arab houses, and a ruined castle called Eriha or Er-Riha, may be considered the sorry representation of the famous Jericho.

Behold^ there came men in hither to-night. The speed with which the news reached the king shows, what we should naturally expect, that the

3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.

4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they loere :

5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men w^ent out: whither the men went, I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.

greatest vigilance was used against the vast host of Israelites that threatened the border. A great terror had seized upon the Canaanitish kings, as they knew that this strange and numerous people, who had for forty years been dwelling in the southern desert, and regarding whom they had heard such stories of wonder, was about to move upon them and invade tlieir land. (See ver. 9-11.) The only safety could be in the most thorough vigilance.

Ver. 3. For they he come to search out all the country. The king takes for granted that Rahab is ignorant of the true object of the two men, and is therefore wholly unprepared for her ruse. This makes her task the easier.

Ver. 4, 5. I wist noty&c. Rahab's lie is not to be defended. She was ignorant of the moral iniquity of a lie, as she was probably of that of her own style of life. The depravity of Canaan had certainly lowered the standard of morality in the minds of all ; but this should not lead us to justify Rahab, however much the flagrancy of her offence be modified. God regarded her faith and overlooked her lie, as in the case of Jael.

6 But' slie had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords : and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

Ver. 6. Hid them ivith the stalks of flax. Lit., "buried them in the flax of wood." The word translated ''hid" is entirely different from the word so translated in the fourth verse. This verb, taman^ signifies a hiding by putting down under something. On the house-top (the flab roof of an oriental house) Rahab had piles of woody flax^ or flax-stalks, and under these she put the two young men.

Ver. 7. The men^ i.e.^ the messengers of the king.

The ivay to Jordan unto the fords. The Jordan has several fording-places over against Jericho, all of which, however, are impassable when the river is full. At this time the river ivas full (chap. iii. 15). Hence, we may suppose the Jericho people felt tolerably secure against any immediate attack from the Israelites. The Arabs swim across the river ; but, owing to the great swiftness of the current, it is not an easy matter. Swimming across for an armed host would be impossible. The river is from eighty to one hundred feet wide at this part.

They shut the gate. A mark of time. (Comp. ver. 5.) The time of gate-shutting would naturally be when day-light was entirely past, say at seven o'clock in the evening at the season indicated in

8 T And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

the narrative. Rahab had represented the young men as leaving about gate-shutting time, that is, just before the messengers arrived. The messengers hurry away, and pass out the gate exactly at gate-shutting. Jericho may have had only one gate (like Osiout, the capital of Upper Egypt, to-day) ; or '' the gate " may mean the particular gate in question, i,e,^ that on the side toward the Jordan.