he died, and which served him for a grave. But the text says, that although he died in the mountain, he was buried in the valley. In 1655, some Maronite shepherds found, near Mount Nebo, a tomb bearing the inscription, in Hebrew, of, "Moses, the servant of the Lord," and this was forthwith determined to be the long lost sepulchre of the Hebrew legislator. But a learned Jew, Rabbi Jakum, proved so convincingly that this must be the tomb of some other and much later Moses, that the report speedily died away. Some think that the whole story about the discovery of the tomb, and the refutation of Jakum, is a fabrication. But as we find that a supposed tomb of Moses is still shown in the neighbourhood, we suspect that the only fabricated part of the story is that which assigns so convincing a character to Rabbi Jakum's reply. It might have convinced the Jews themselves; and all instructed minds will of course concur in his conclusion. But the natives are not an instructed people; and the Rabbi's best arguments were likely to avail little, when they had once got into their heads the conceit that they had found the tomb of Moses. 9. "Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom."-It will be well to understand the precise office which Joshua was appointed to fill. He was not the successor of Moses; for Moses had no successor: but he was commissioned as a military leader, divinely appointed to be the conqueror of the land of Canaan, and to portion it out among the victors. The position of Joshua was very different, not only from that of Moses, but from that of every ruler, general, or prophet who ever after appeared in Israel. His office, like that of Moses, was isolated, and suited to peculiar circumstances which could not again occur. CHAPTER I. OF JOSHUA. 1 The Lord appointeth Joshua to succeed Moses. 3 The borders of the promised land. 5, 9 God promiseth to assist Joshua. 8 He giveth him instructions. 10 He prepareth the people to pass over Jordan. 12 Joshua putteth the two tribes and half in mind of their promise to Moses. 16 They promise him fealty. OW 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, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go this Jordan, thou, and all over 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. 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. 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 sunto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 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 thee? 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 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 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 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 13 Remember 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. 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land 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 he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising. 16 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 1 Deut. 1. 38. 4 Deut. 31. 23. 5 Or, thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land, &e. Num. 32, 20. 10 Heb. marshalled by five. [B.C. 1451 in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: | thy commandment, and will not hearken unto only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong 18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against | and of a good courage. JOSHUA. This is the first book called after the name of an individual. Of the books thus distinguished, some bear the names of their authors-as all the books of Prophecy; and others, those of persons who act a conspicuous part in the transactions which the books record-as Ruth, Job, and others. The present book might well be called "The Book of Joshua," on the latter ground, as it exclusively relates to the proceedings of that great leader, in fulfilment of the high commission which was entrusted to him; and it terminates with his death. But Joshua is also very generally thought to have been the author of the book; and that it had thus a two-fold claim to his name. But the date and authorship of the book of Joshua have been by no means satisfactorily ascertained; and it would be to little profit to investigate the different opinions which have been entertained. The sum of the matter seems to be, that the book was either written by Joshua, towards the close of his life-the last five verses being, after his death, added by a properly authorised person-or else, that it was wholly written, after his demise, from documents written by him or under his direction. These are the substantial alternatives; and the only further question is, at what period, and by what priest or prophet the book was, under the latter hypothesis, compiled from such ancient and contemporary documents. Different authorities assign this service to Eleazer, Phineas, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezra. But if it was not written by Joshua himself, a comparison of ch. xv. 63 (see the note) with 2 Sam. v. 6-8 will make it quite evident that it must have been written before the seventh year of David's reign. Besides the five last verses, there are some others interspersed in the book, which Joshua could not have written; and which, so far, favour the conclusion that it was compiled by a later hand. But these passages are few and brief, and are regarded as subsequent additions and interpolations, by those who consider that the balance of evidence assigns its authorship to the hero whose name it bears. The book relates the history of Israel while under the command and government of Joshua; the entrance of the Hebrews into Canaan; their conquest of the greater part of the country; the division of the territory by lot among the several tribes; and the provision made for the settlement and establishment of the Jewish church in that country. The period it embraces is variously stated by different chronologists as seventeen, twenty-seven, or thirty years. Between twenty-six and twenty-seven years is the usually received period. Professor Heeren designates the period of Jewish history, through which we have now passed, as the "Period of the Nomade State," extending from Abraham to the conquest of Palestine; and that period on which we now enter, from the occupation of Palestine to the estavushment of monarchy, he denominates the "Period of the Federative Republic." This period he characterises as the heroic age of the nation, during which, after the gradual adoption of fixed dwellings and agriculture, it was engaged in constant feuds with its neighbours, the vagrant Arabs, the Philistines, and the Edomites. In consequence of the division of the land, according to the tribes, and their separation from one another, the government long remained patriarchal; each tribe preserving its patriarch or elder, as in the nomade state. But at the same time, all the tribes had, in the worship of the true God, one common bond, uniting them in one federative state. CHAPTER II. 1 Rahab receiveth and concealeth the two spies sent from Shittim. 8 The covenant between her and them. 23 Their return and relation. AND Joshua the son of Nun 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. 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. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are cone 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 were: 5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she 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. 8 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. 10 For we have heard how the LORD 'dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, 'Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither 'did there 1 Heb. 11. 31. James 2.25. * Heb. lay. 3 Heb, melt. 4 Exod. 14. 21. Chap. 4. 23. 5 Num. 21. 24. 6 Heb. rose up. 529 remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life 'for your's, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. 15 'Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 1.8 Behold, when we come into the land, 7 Heb. tastead of you to die. thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's houshold, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, 8 Heb. gather. and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. 22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. 23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do 'faint because of us. Heb. mell. Verse 1. "Jericho." See the note to ch. vi. 26, and 1 Kings xvi. 34. "They went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab."-As this woman is honourably mentioned in the New Testament for her faith; and as, moreover, it appears from Matt. i. 5, that she was ultimately married to Salmon, by which marriage she became an ancestress of our Saviour, there has been considerable anxiety to rescue her name from the imputation which rests upon her character. Her vindication is made to rest, chiefly, upon the derivation of the word rendered "harlot." This is זונה zona and it is contended that this word ought not to be here derived from zanah, " to commit fornication; but from זון, zun, "to nourish," and, consequently, that it should be rendered not "harlot," but "hostess." The Chaldee paraphrase of Onkelos, Josephus, and several rabbins, agree in the same view; but the balance of cpinion is against it. We feel obliged to express our entire concurrence in the common translation. The word zonah does not occur any where else in a sense which the context will allow to be rendered "hostess" (see Lev. xxi. 7. 14; Deut. xxi. 18); and there is no sufficient reason for giving it here a different derivation from that which it elsewhere bears. Moreover, the Septuagint, and the apostles Paul (Heb. xi. 31) and James (ii. 25) have given it the common interpretation. It will also be observed that, while Rahab so anxiously provides for the safety of her relations, she does not say a word about her husband or children: which is a more remarkable circumstance than it would be in England, as, in the East, scarcely any women but those of low character remain single. Another reason, which has escaped the notice of expositors, but which seems to us of considerable weight, is, that in the East there are no such persons as hostesses. The places of public entertainment (caravanserais) in towns only furnish empty lodging, and cannot be said to have even a host, much less a hostess; and if a stranger be accommodated in a private house, he never sees the lady of the house, or hears or asks any thing about her. The only woman in general who has a house to herself, and certainly the only woman to whose house a stranger can have access, is one who bears the stigma which attaches to the name of Rahab. To the house of such a woman, therefore, the spies went. Probably also they did not overlook the advantageous situation of the house, which was built against the town wall and had a window towards the open country, thus affording facilities for escape, of which they afterwards actually had occasion to avail themselves. The story of the Jews concerning Rahab is, that she was ten years of age when the Hebrews left Egypt, that she had followed evil courses all the time that they were in the wilderness, and that after the destruction of Jericho she was married to Joshua himself, and had daughters by him, to whom eight prophets traced their origin, namely Jeremiah, Hilkiah, Maasia, Hanameel, Shallum, Baruch, Ezekiel, and Huldab the prophetess. This, although wrong, is valuable; because it shows that the Jews themselves thought that the faith and repentance of this woman rendered her worthy to be the wife of Joshua and the mother of prophets; and they would not therefore have deemed her unworthy to have been the wife of Salmon, and the ancestress of David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, and Christ. (See Matt. i.) 6. "Stalks of flax )פשתי העץ pishtai ha-aitz.)-Gesenius and others say this was cotton; but this could not be, for the time is early spring, and cotton is not gathered till autumn;-not to mention the improbability that cotton was at this early period cultivated in Palestine. Understood, then, as flax, the text reads literally, "flax of the wood," that is, undressed flax, or flax with its ligneous parts. Rahab had doubtless placed it on the roof of her house to dry; the flat roofs of the Oriental houses (see Deut. xxii. 8) being, from their full exposure to the air and secure situation, admirably suited to, and much employed for, laying out such vegetable products, of whatever kind, as require to be dried in the sun. 18. "This line of scarlet thread."--Boothroyd renders: "This scarlet coloured rope." It was probably the same cord or rope by which they were let down from the window. As it was to be a sign by which her house should be recognized when the city was sacked, it must have been something too conspicuous to be easily overlooked by those who were acquainted with its purport. 3F2 531 |