Editorial note: Source collation note — paragraph 2: “he is expressly called ιησους, jesus; see acts 7”. source PDF page 3: “he is expressly called Ιησους see Acts 7:45”. Compared with CLA_JOS.PDF PDF p. 3. The source-font or layout comparison does not securely establish every letter, mark or local sequence in these passages. The flagged language readings or layout are retained; the original source pages should be consulted for these specific readings. Additional-source investigation: an automated comparison of surrounding English text located possible corresponding passages in OCR from separately digitized printed volumes. The linked scan pages are research locators; their images have not been collated for this note's flagged readings. OCR agreement does not verify Greek or Hebrew letters, diacritics, word order, or table layout. The flagged readings or layout remain uncertain. CLA_JOS.PDF, PDF page 3; Additional printed-scan page locator (OCR context only; flagged reading unverified).
PREFACE TO THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
JOSHUA, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, was first called Oshea or Hoshea, הושע, Numbers 13:16, which signifies saved, a saviour, or salvation; but afterwards Moses, guided no doubt by a prophetic spirit, changed his name into יהושא Yehoshua or Joshua, which signifies he shall save, or the salvation of Jehovah; referring, no doubt, to his being God’s instrument in saving the people from the hands of their enemies, and leading them from victory to victory over the different Canaanitish nations, till he put them in possession of the promised land. On the change and meaning of the name, see Clarke’s note on “Numbers 13:16”. By the Septuagint he is called Ιησους Ναυη, Jesus Naue, or Jesus son of Nave: and in the New Testament he is expressly called Ιησους, JESUS; see Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8. Joshua was denominated the servant of Moses, as he seems to have acted sometimes as his secretary, sometimes as his aid-du-camp, and sometimes as the general of the army. He was early appointed to be the successor of Moses, see Exodus 17:14; and under the instruction of this great master he was fully qualified for the important office. He was a great and pious man, and God honoured him in a most extraordinary manner, as the sequel of the history amply proves. From the preceding books it appears that he became attached to Moses shortly after the exodus from Egypt; that he was held by him in the highest esteem; had the command of the army confided to him in the war with the Amalekites; and accompanied his master to the Mount, when he went up to receive the Law from God. These were the highest honours he could possibly receive during the life-time of Moses.
Commentators and critics are divided in opinion whether the book that goes under his name was actually compiled by him.
It is argued by those who deny Joshua to be the author, that there are both names and transactions in it which did not exist till considerably after Joshua’s time. The account we have, Joshua 4:9, of the twelve stones set up by Joshua in the midst of Jordan remaining to the present day, seems to prove that the book, at least this verse, was not written till after Joshua’s time; the same may be said of the account of Ai, that Joshua made it a heap for ever, even a desolation to the present day, Joshua 8:28, which is a proof, however, that the book was not written after the time of the kings, as Ai subsisted after the return from the captivity; see Ezra 2:28: The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred twenty and three. It is supposed also, that the relation of the marriage of Achsah, daughter of Caleb, with Othniel the son of Kenaz, necessarily belongs to the time of the Judges; Joshua 15:16-19; as also the account of the capture of Leshem by the Danites Joshua 19:47, compared with Judges 18:7, 29. “What is related, Joshua 15:63, concerning the Jebusites dwelling with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day, must certainly have been written before the time of David; for he took the strong hold of Zion, and expelled the Jebusites; see 2 Samuel 5:7-9. Also, what is said, Joshua 16:10, They drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but they dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this day, must have been written before the time of Solomon, for in his time Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had taken Gezer, burnt it with fire, slain the Canaanites that dwelt in it, and given it a present to his daughter, the wife of Solomon, 1 Kings 9:16. The country of Cabul, mentioned Joshua 19:27, had not this name till the time of Solomon, as appears from 1 Kings 9:13; and the city called Joktheel, Joshua 15:38, had not this name till the reign of Joash, as appears from 2 Kings 14:7, it having been previously called Selah. The like may be said of Tyre, Joshua 19:29; and of Galilee Joshua 20:7; 21:32.”
These are the principal objections which are made against the book as being the work of Joshua. Some of these difficulties might be so removed as to render it still probable that Joshua was the author of the whole book, as some think to be intimated Joshua 24:26; And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of the Lord; (but this probably refers to nothing more than the words of the covenant which was then made, and which is included in Joshua 24:2-24;) but there are other difficulties that cannot be removed on the above supposition and therefore it has been generally supposed that the book was written by some inspired person after the time of Joshua; and positively before many kings had reigned in Israel. The book has been attributed to Samuel, though some give this honour to Ezra.
After all, I cannot help considering the book in the main as the composition of Joshua himself. It is certain that Moses kept an accurate register of all the events that took place during his administration in the wilderness, at least from the giving of the law to the time of his death. And in that wilderness he wrote the book of Genesis, as well as the others that bear his name. Now, it is not likely that Joshua, the constant servant and companion of Moses, could see all this-be convinced, as he must be, of its utility-and not adopt the same practice; especially as at the death of Moses he came into the same office. I therefore take it for granted, that the Book of Joshua is as truly his work, as the Commentaries of Cæsar are his; and all the real difficulties mentioned above may be rationally and satisfactorily accounted for on the ground, that in transcribing this book in after ages, especially between the times of Joshua and the Kings, some few changes were made, and a very few slight additions, which referred chiefly to the insertion of names by which cities were then known instead of those by which they had been anciently denominated. This book therefore I conceive to be not the work of Ezra, nor of Samuel, nor of any other person of those times; nor can I allow that “it is called the Book of Joshua, because he is the chief subject of it, as the heroic poem of Virgil is called the Æneis, because of the prince whose travels and actions it relates;” but I conceive it to be called the Book of Joshua, 1. Because Joshua wrote it. 2. Because it is the relation of his own conduct in the conquest, division, and settlement of the promised land. 3. Because it contains a multitude of particulars that only himself, or a constant eye-witness, could possibly relate. 4. Because it was evidently designed to be a continuation of the Book of Deuteronomy, and is so connected with it, in narrative, as to prove that it must have been immediately commenced on the termination of the other. 5. I might add to this, that with the exception of a few individuals, the whole of the ancient Jewish and Christian Churches have uniformly acknowledged Joshua to be its author.
The Book of Joshua is one of the most important writings in the old covenant, and should never be separated from the Pentateuch, of which it is at once both the continuation and completion. Between this Book and the five Books of Moses, there is the same analogy as between the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The PENTATEUCH contains a history of the ACTS of the great Jewish legislator, and the LAWS on which the Jewish Church should be established. The Book of JOSHUA gives an account of the establishment of that Church in the Land of Canaan, according to the oft-repeated promises and declarations of God. The GOSPELS give an account of the transactions of JESUS CHRIST, the great Christian legislator, and of those LAWS on which his Church should be established, and by which it should be governed. The ACTS of the APOSTLES gives an account of the actual establishment of that Church, according to the predictions and promises of its great founder. Thus, then, the Pentateuch bears as pointed a relation to the Gospels as the Book of Joshua does to the Acts of the Apostles. And we might, with great appearance of probability, carry this analogy yet farther, and show that the writings of several of the Prophets bear as strict a relation to the Apostolical Epistles, as the Books of Ezekiel and Daniel do to the Apocalypse. On this very ground of analogy Christ obviously founded the Christian Church; hence he had his twelve disciples, from whom the Christian Church was to spring, as the Jewish Church or twelve tribes sprang from the twelve sons of Jacob. He had his seventy or seventy-two disciples, in reference to the seventy-two elders, six chosen out of each of the twelve tribes, who were united with Moses and Aaron in the administration of justice, &c., among the people. CHRIST united in his person the characters both of Moses and Aaron, or legislator and high priest; hence he ever considers himself, and is considered by his apostles and followers, the same in the Christian Church that MOSES and AARON were in the Jewish. As a rite of initiation into his Church, he instituted baptism in the place of circumcision, both being types of the purification of the heart and holiness of life; and as a rite of establishment and confirmation, the holy eucharist in place of the paschal lamb, both being intended to commemorate the atonement made to God for the sins of the people. The analogies are so abundant, and indeed universal, that time would fail to enumerate them. On this very principle it would be a matter of high utility to read these Old Testament and the New Testament books together, as they reflect a strong and mutual light on each other, bear the most decided testimony to the words and truth of prophecy, and show the ample fulfilment of all the ancient and gracious designs of God. This appears particularly evident in the five Books of Moses and the Book of Joshua compared and collated with the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; and the analogy will be the more complete as to the number of those books, though that is a matter of minor consideration, when we consider Joshua, as we ought, a continuation of the Book of Deuteronomy, though written by a different hand, which two books should be rated only as one history. Of Judges and Ruth it may be said they are a sort of supplement to the Book of Joshua.
Whoever goes immediately from the reading of the Pentateuch to the reading of the Gospels, and from the reading of Joshua to that of the Acts, will carry with him advantages which on no other plan he will be able to command. Even a commentator himself will derive advantages from this plan, which he will seek in vain from any other. To see the wisdom and goodness of God in the ritual of Moses, we must have an eye continually on the incarnation and death of Christ, to which it refers. And to have a proper view of the great atonement made by the sacrifice of our Lord, we must have a constant reference to the Mosaic law, where this is shadowed forth. Without this reference the law of Moses is a system of expensive and burdensome ceremonies, destitute of adequate meaning; and without this entering in of the law that the offense might abound, to show the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the frailty of man, and the holiness of God; the Gospel of Christ, including the account of his incarnation, preaching, miracles, passion, death, burial, ascension, and intercession, would not appear to have a sufficient necessity to explain and justify it. By the LAW is the knowledge of sin, and by the GOSPEL its cure. Either, taken separately, will not answer the purpose for which God gave these astonishing revelations of his justice and his grace.
Table of Contents to the Book of Joshua
CLA_JOS.PDF, source PDF p. 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
God commands Joshua to lead the people over the Jordan, and promises to put them in possession of the whole land. He encourages and commands him to be obedient, and promises him his continual presence and protection; Jos. 1.
Joshua sends two spies to examine the state of the inhabitants; they are received and concealed in the house of Rahab, with whom and her family they make a covenant. After three days they return to Joshua and make a favourable report; Jos. 2.
The whole Israelitish camp pass the Jordan, opposite to Jericho. The waters of the Jordan are miraculously cut off, and stand in a heap till the whole camp passed over; Jos. 3.
By the command of God twelve stones are taken up from the bed of the river, and twelve other stones are set up in it as a memorial. The twelve stones brought out of the river are set up in Gilgal as a monument of the miraculous interposition of God; Jos. 4.
At the command of God, Joshua circumcises the Israelites; they keep their first passover; and Joshua is encouraged by the appearance of an extraordinary person, who calls himself Captain of the Lord’s host; Jos. 5. The Israelites invest Jericho, and surround it seven days, the priests blowing with seven trumpets. On the seventh day, at the command of Joshua, the people shout, and the walls of Jericho fall down; the Israelites enter and put all to the sword, except Rahab and her family. The city is laid under a curse; Jos. 6.
Three thousand men, being sent against Ai, are repulsed, and thirty-six of them slain; Joshua being distressed, and the people greatly discouraged, he inquires of the Lord why they fell before their enemies? And is answered that, contrary to the express command of God, some of the people had secreted part of the spoils of Jericho, which they had been ordered wholly to destroy. An inquiry is instituted, and Achan, the son of Zerah, is discovered to have taken a rich Babylonish garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold. He is sentenced to be stoned. He and all his property, his asses, sheep, oxen, and tent, are destroyed in the valley of Achor, and a heap of stones raised over the place; Jos. 7.
Thirty thousand men attack Ai, and take it by stratagem; they put the inhabitants to the sword, to the amount of twelve thousand persons, and hang the king; they preserve the cattle and spoil to themselves. Joshua builds an altar to the Lord, and offers sacrifices, writes the law upon the stones of it and reads all the blessings and curses over against Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, as the Lord commanded Moses; Jos. 8.
The Gibeonites send ambassadors to the Israelites, and, pretending to be of a very distant nation, get the princes of Israel to make a league with them; the deception is discovered, and they are condemned to a state of perpetual slavery; Jos. 9.
The kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, attack the Gibeonites, because they had made a league with the Israelites. They send to Joshua for assistance. Joshua attacks those five kings, and during the battle, by an extraordinary fall of hail-stones, many are killed; and at the intercession of Joshua, the sun and moon stand still, and the day is prolonged till all the confederate Amorites are destroyed. The five kings are taken in a cave at Makkedah, brought out and hanged. The Israelites afterwards take and destroy Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, Debir, and all the country of the hills, south, vale, and springs; Jos. 10.
Many Canaanite, Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite, and Hivite kings join together against Israel; Joshua attacks and discomfits them at Merom. Afterwards he attacks the Anakim, and conquers the whole land; Jos. 11. A catalogue of all the kings and kingdoms that were conquered in this war; thirty-three in the whole, two on the east side of Jordan, and thirty-one on the west; Jos. 12.
An account of the countries not yet subjugated to the Israelites. The manner in which the territories of Sihon and Og were divided among the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh; Jos. 13. Joshua, and Eleazar the priest, begin the distribution of the land by lot; Caleb’s portion; Jos. 14.
The borders of the tribe of Judah described. Othniel smites Kirjath-sepher, and marries Achsah, the daughter of Caleb. The cities of the tribe of Judah are enumerated; Jos. 15.
The boundaries of the children of Joseph. The Canaanites of Gezer are not expelled, but become tributary to the Ephraimites; Jos. 16. The boundaries of the half tribe of Manasseh. The inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad. The Canaanites are not expelled by the children of Manasseh, but serve under tribute. The children of Joseph complain that their portion is too small for them; and Joshua commands them to subdue and inhabit the mountain country of the Perizzites; Jos. 17. The tabernacle of God is set up at Shiloh, and the remnant of the land is farther examined and divided by lot; Benjamin’s portion is described; Jos. 18.
The lot of Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan. The Danites take the city of Leshem; and the Israelites give Joshua the city of Timnath-serah, which he rebuilds and inhabits; Jos. 19.
Six cities of refuge are appointed, at the commandment of God; Jos. 20. The Levites have forty-eight cities appointed to them out of the different tribes; they and their suburbs are described. The people enjoy rest, all the promises of God being accomplished; Jos. 21.
Joshua dismisses the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. On their return, they build an altar of testimony on the east side of the Jordan, at which the other tribes are alarmed, fearing some idolatrous design; and preparing to go to war with them, they first send Phinehas and ten of the princes to require an explanation; they inquire into the business, and find that the altar was built to Jehovah, merely to prevent all idolatrous worship; and the people are satisfied; Jos. 22. Joshua, in his old age, exhorts the people to be faithful to their God; Jos. 23.
He assembles all the tribes at Shechem; recounts God’s merciful dealings with them, and the deliverances he had wrought for them and their fathers; and causes them to make a solemn covenant, which he writes in the book of the law. Joshua dies aged 110 years, and shortly after Eleazar, the high priest, dies also; Jos. 24.
N. B. In pursuance of the promise made in the General Preface, I have given in the Chronological note at the head of each transaction, in the following book, not only the Year of the World, the Year before Christ, and the Year of the Exodus from Egypt, but also the Year before the first OLYMPIAD. According to the Arundelian Marbles, and the most accurate computation, the first OLYMPIAD commenced in the 3938th year of the Julian Period; 3228 years from the Creation; 780 years from the foundation of the Athenian Empire-408 years after the taking of Troy; 24 years before the building of Rome, and 776 before the incarnation of our Lord. THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
-Year before the common Year of Christ, 1451.
-Julian Period, 3263.
-Cycle of the Sun, 10.
-Dominical Letter, B.
-Cycle of the Moon, 10.
-Indiction, 15.
-Creation from Tisri or September, 2553.
Joseph Benson
Argument
BEN_VOL1.PDF, source PDF p. 866
Editorial note: Source collation note — paragraph 3: “the jewish writers call נביאים ראשונים, nebiaim rishonim, the former”. source PDF page 866: “the Jewish writers call ראשונים נביאים nebiaim rishonim, The former”. Compared with BEN_VOL1.PDF PDF p. 866. The source-font or layout comparison does not securely establish every letter, mark or local sequence in these passages. The flagged language readings or layout are retained; the original source pages should be consulted for these specific readings. Additional-source investigation: an automated comparison of surrounding English text located possible corresponding passages in OCR from separately digitized printed volumes. The linked scan pages are research locators; their images have not been collated for this note's flagged readings. OCR agreement does not verify Greek or Hebrew letters, diacritics, word order, or table layout. The flagged readings or layout remain uncertain. BEN_VOL1.PDF, PDF page 866; Additional printed-scan page locator (OCR context only; flagged reading unverified).
THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.
ARGUMENT.
IN this book, and those that follow, to the end of ESTHER, we have the history of the Jewish nation. These books, to the end of the second book of KINGS, the Jewish writers call נביאים ראשונים, nebiaim rishonim, The former Prophets, or, The first book of the Prophets: as being written by prophets, men divinely inspired. Indeed, it is probable they were collections of the authentic records of the nation, which some of the prophets were divinely directed and assisted to put together. It seems the substance of the several histories was written, under divine direction, when the events had just happened, and long after put into the form wherein they stand now, perhaps all by the same hand.
In the five books of MOSES we had a full account of the rise and constitution of the Old Testament church, the miracles by which it was established, and the laws and ordinances by which it was to be governed. And a nation that had statutes and judgments so righteous, one would think, should have been very holy. But, alas! a great part of the history is a representation of their sins and miseries. For the law made nothing perfect; that was to be done by the bringing in of the better hope.
The book of JOSHUA, containing the history of about twenty-seven years, if not written by him, was at least collected out of his journals or memoirs. It contains the history of Israel under the command of JOSHUA: how he presided over them, 1, In their entrance into Canaan, chap. 1. to 5:2, In their conquest of Canaan, chap. 6. to 12:3, In the distribution of the land among the tribes of Israel, chap. 13. to 21:4, In the establishment of religion among them, chap. 21. to 24. In all which he was a great example of wisdom, courage, fidelity, and piety.
To be a little more particular. — In this book is recited the confirmation of JOSHUA’S succession to MOSES, by the attestation of wonderful facts, or miracles, which GOD did by him, in bringing the Israelites, under his conduct, into the land of Canaan. The actual settlement of them in this promised land, and that in so short a time, and with so little loss, was a punctual accomplishment of the divine predictions to Abraham and the succeeding patriarchs: predictions of so early a date, so often renewed in many particular circumstances, and every one of these so exactly fulfilled, cannot but be esteemed a great confirmation both to the Israelites themselves then, and to us now, of the authority of their religion, and of the truth of those writings wherein it is contained. By the destruction of the seven nations, who, it appears, abounded in wickedness to a very high degree, and had even, we are expressly told, filled up the measure of their iniquity, GOD demonstrated his divine justice and providence over the whole world, and his determination to punish the wickedness of every nation, when it is at its height. The account of the division of the land shows that a very careful provision was made for a constant and uninterrupted distinction of tribes, families, and genealogies; thence to preserve, and clearly to ascertain, the genealogy of CHRIST, in whom was to be completed all the purposes of this dispensation. In the conclusion of the book, JOSHUA, after having divided the land, and set up the tabernacle at Shiloh, and settled every thing according as it was ordered by GOD to MOSES, calls the people together, and represents to them how fully every thing had been fulfilled to them which the LORD their GOD had promised them, and spoken concerning them; and from hence, he takes occasion to exhort them to serve HIM alone, and no other gods. Upon the whole, in this history we may see, 1, Much of GOD and his providence; his power in the kingdom of nature; his justice in punishing the Canaanites; his faithfulness to his covenant with the patriarchs; his kindness to his people: 2, Much of CHRIST and his grace; JOSHUA being, in many respects, an eminent type of him.
Joseph Sutcliffe
The Book of Joshua.
SUT_VOL1.PDF, source PDF p. 551
THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.
This book contains the passage of the Israelites through Jordan; the renewal of their covenant at Gilgal; the conquest and partition of the country by Joshua. It marks the faithfulness of God to his promises made to Abraham, and his seed: and it marks not less the faithfulness of God to his threatenings in the excision of the seven devoted nations. It delineates the religious, the military, and political character of Joshua as a model for christian princes, and men invested with command. Having written the covenant in a book, Joshua 24:26, there can be no doubt but he wrote his own history, leaving the last chapter to be finished by another person; as was the case with the last chapter of Deuteronomy. It must have been written by Joshua himself, because he says, Joshua 5. l, “until we passed over Jordan.” The body of the history comprises a period of seventeen years. But to the death of Eleazar, it was about twenty seven years.
Daniel Whedon
Introduction
WHD_CO03.PDF, source PDF p. 5
JOSHUA
INTRODUCTION
General Character of the Historical Books.
IN the Hebrew Canon the Book of Joshua is the first of the Prior Prophets, which division comprises the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books were probably so named because they were written by prophets, and are so largely devoted to the history and work of the prophetical order in Israel. And a deeper reason may be found in the fact that they are a history written from the prophetic or theocratic stand-point. In the arrangement of books in our English Bible they form, together with Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, the division appropriately called the “Historical Books of the Old Testament;” but they contain THEOCRATIC HISTORY, and through them all, as through the other Scriptures, runs a unity of purpose and of general form in which we may trace the gradual unfolding of the plan of man’s redemption. None but prophets could write such books as these; none but those who have communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit can read them with proper appreciation. The inspired penmen wrote not in order to preserve great historical facts from oblivion, nor to furnish an exhaustive record of their times and people, but to show the hand of God in all the affairs of men — Jehovah in history.
Very noticeable is the anonymous character of these sacred books. The writers sought not to immortalize themselves as authors, nor seem they to have once thought that their readers in after times would be curious to know their names. But, whether conscious or unconscious of the purpose they were serving, they have written books of instruction for all time. More than a hundred generations have already found them “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” We are not to suppose that these writers attempted to compose an original history, in the modern sense: still less should we presume to test the value of these ancient records by the standard of modern historical composition, or assume that in any event the narrator has given us a full account of all he knew. The sacred writers evidently had within their reach a large number of books and documents, from which they gathered such material as suited their purpose. Old documents, such as genealogical tables, songs, public addresses, and perhaps, in some cases, narratives of particular events, were transferred entire, or with slight modification, to their pages. Sometimes the writer acknowledged his sources of information or of quotation, and sometimes not. It serves no useful purpose to attempt, with De Wette, Ewald, and other kindred spirits, to decide on purely subjective grounds the date and authorship of all the ancient sources from which the present books of Scripture were compiled. The results of such criticism are at best only a confusing mass of more or less plausible conjectures. The biblical writers often omit the details of many interesting facts of which they evidently had abundant knowledge, and aim to give prominence to such persons and events as noticeably helped or hindered the cause of divine truth. Thus Keil truly says: “All the efforts of the people to perfect trades, arts, and sciences, also domestic, municipal, and political arrangements, are either passed over entirely, or are intimated briefly, and only in so far as they stand in connexion with the higher aims of the theocracy.” Hence they are truly a sacred history, and not merely a secular history of a chosen race. But while magnifying the wonders of the Lord’s hand, there is ample reason for believing that they never deviate from the strictest fidelity to fact. They seek to hide no sin of their immortal heroes, nor to cover any reproach that ever visited the chosen people. And herein lies much of the real greatness and imperishable worth of these inspired histories.
As to the general style of the Hebrew historians, several peculiarities in the matter of arrangement and chronology are very noticeable, and attention to them will often obviate difficulties which some critics have been prone to magnify. The exact order of events is often disregarded, and facts with their moral lessons are made prominent, as if the writer took it for granted that his readers would either know the order of events, or at least need no information on that point. The very fact that the Hebrew language has only two tenses, past and future, is evidence of a lack of precision among the Hebrews in their habits of designating time and the succession of events. In commencing a narrative the Old Testament writers sometimes announce a summary, or else the result of the whole affair, and then go on to record details in a way that might easily lead to the impression that they had passed on to narrate other events, when in fact they are only enlarging on the details of events already in substance told. At other times they anticipate events, and record them out of their proper chronological order because they are associated, in place, name, or other circumstance, with what the writer has at the time in hand. Hence the order in which a series of events is narrated is not in all cases a certain guide to the chronology of the several events.
The Historical Books, and other parts of the Old Testament Canon, contain much internal evidence to show that they were edited and arranged in their present form by a later hand. An ancient and very probable tradition assigns that work to Ezra and the Great Synagogue.
Name, Author, and Date.
The Book of Joshua takes its name from the great hero whose achievements in the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land it records. “It is not often,” says Stanley, “either in sacred or common history, that we are justified in pausing on anything so outward, and usually so accidental, as a name. But if ever there be an exception, it is in the case of Joshua. His original name Hoshea (Salvation) is transformed into Jehosua or Joshua, (God’s Salvation;) and this, according to the modification which Hebrew names underwent in their passage through the Greek language, took, in the later ages of the Jewish Church, sometimes the form of Jason, but more frequently that which has now become indelibly impressed upon history as the greatest of all names — JESUS. (Hebrews 4:8.) The first Joshua was to save his people from their actual foes; the second was to ‘save his people from their sins.’” Among most Christian nations human reverence has long prevented its bestowal, in its New Testament form, on any human individual. (See note, Matthew 1:21.)
The distinguished chieftain of whom this history treats is already familiar to the reader of the last four books of Moses. He may be humanly styled the Conqueror of Canaan. Born about the time of Moses’ flight to Midian, he must have grown up a serf in the brickyards of Egypt, and afterwards have witnessed the miracles of the Exodus. His first appearance is in the war with Amalek, (Exodus 17:9,) and it is noticeable that he is there introduced to us as already a valiant soldier of Jehovah. During the sublime events at Sinai he repeatedly appears as the confidential servant and companion of Moses, (Exodus 24:13; 32:17; 33:11;) and before the death of the great lawgiver Joshua was solemnly invested with authority, and designated as his successor, Numbers 27:18-23; Deuteronomy 31:23. His courage, sagacity, and faith appear conspicuously in the minority report which he and Caleb boldly urged after exploring the land of the Canaanites, (Numbers 14:6-10,) and for their noble faith and heroism on that occasion they only, of all the thousands of Israel, twenty years old and upwards, who saw the miracles of the Exodus, were permitted to enter the Land of Promise. Numbers 14:30. In his history of the Vandal War, Procopius relates that when the Phenicians found Joshua’s invading forces irresistible, they migrated first to Egypt, and thence westward along the northern coast of Africa, and built Tingis in Mauritania, near which, in the sixth century, was found a monument bearing in the Phenician language the inscription, “We are those who fled from the face of Joshua the robber, the son of Nun.” But modern scholars quite generally reject the whole story.
It does not follow, because the book bears the name of Joshua, that it was written by that great commander; but portions of it bear evidence of having been composed by an eye-witness of the events it records. Joshua 5:1,
6. The concluding portion, containing the account of Joshua’s death, must, of course, have been written by a later hand; and Keil very plausibly supposes that the entire work was written by one of the elders who outlived Joshua. He argues, quite conclusively, that the conquest of Hebron by Caleb, of Debir by Othniel, and of Leshem by the Danites, did not take place during Joshua’s life-time. Comp. Joshua 15:13-19, and 19:47, with Judges 1:10-15, and 18. But the date of the book must be before the time of David, for the Jebusites still held the citadel of Jerusalem, (Joshua 15:63;) and even before the death of Rahab, for, according to Joshua 6:25, she was still dwelling in Israel when our author wrote. The oft-recurring phrase, unto this day. cannot be used to prove a date long after Joshua’s time, nor even after his death; for in Joshua 22:3, 17, and Joshua 23:9, it is used of time previous to his death, and in no instance in the book is its use incompatible with the supposition that Joshua was still living. The authorship cannot be authoritatively decided. There is much to render probable the Jewish tradition that the main portion of the book was written at various times by Joshua; but a later hand appended the account of Joshua’s death, and inserted a few other passages in different parts of the work. We may reasonably suppose that Moses’ minister succeeded his master in the use of the pen, as well as in command.
Design and Value of the Book of Joshua.
The design of this book was evidently to record the leading events in the history of Israel from the death of Moses to the death of Joshua; to record the conquest and settlement of Canaan; and especially to magnify the inviolable faithfulness of Jehovah as a covenant-keeping God. The central idea on which the whole work rests is announced in Joshua’s divine commission at the very beginning of the book. Chap. 1:1-9. Hence the importance of this book as a connecting link between the Book of the Law and the subsequent history of Israel in Palestine cannot be over estimated. It holds a relation to the Pentateuch similar to that which the Acts of the Apostles holds to the four Gospels.
A large portion of the work is invaluable for the study of sacred geography. It is a complete Doomsday-book of Palestine, and all modern research and discovery tend more and more to confirm its accuracy. The general authenticity of the narrative has not been questioned except in its supernatural events. But the a priori assumption that “no amount of testimony can render a miracle credible,” precludes all argument so far as these records are concerned, and the discussion of the possibility of miracles is beside the purpose of this work. The alleged contradictions and discrepancies of the Book of Joshua are fully explained in our notes on the passages where they occur.
The book is readily divided into Two Parts, the first containing the History of the Conquest, the second the Allotment of the Promised Land. The following Table of Contents will serve both for an analysis and a convenient index of the whole:
THE THIRD PASSOVER AND CEASING OF THE MANNA Joshua 5:10-12 THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD’S HOST REVEALED Joshua 5:13-6:5 THE CONQUEST OF JERICHO Joshua 6:6-21
LIST OF THE TRANS-JORDANIC CONQUESTS Joshua 12:1-6 LAST OF THE KINGS SUBDUED BY JOSHUA Joshua 12:7-24 Part Second — The Division and Settlement of Canaan. Chaps. 13-24. LIST OF UNCONQUERED CITIES AND DISTRICTS Joshua 13:1-6 THE TRANS-JORDANIC ALLOTMENTS REVIEWED Joshua 13:7-14 REUBEN’S LOT Joshua 13:15-23
Adam Clarke
Preface to the Book of Joshua
CLA_JOS.PDF, source PDF p. 3
Editorial note: Source collation note — paragraph 2: “he is expressly called ιησους, jesus; see acts 7”. source PDF page 3: “he is expressly called Ιησους see Acts 7:45”. Compared with CLA_JOS.PDF PDF p. 3. The source-font or layout comparison does not securely establish every letter, mark or local sequence in these passages. The flagged language readings or layout are retained; the original source pages should be consulted for these specific readings. Additional-source investigation: an automated comparison of surrounding English text located possible corresponding passages in OCR from separately digitized printed volumes. The linked scan pages are research locators; their images have not been collated for this note's flagged readings. OCR agreement does not verify Greek or Hebrew letters, diacritics, word order, or table layout. The flagged readings or layout remain uncertain. CLA_JOS.PDF, PDF page 3; Additional printed-scan page locator (OCR context only; flagged reading unverified).
PREFACE TO THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
JOSHUA, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, was first called Oshea or Hoshea, הושע, Numbers 13:16, which signifies saved, a saviour, or salvation; but afterwards Moses, guided no doubt by a prophetic spirit, changed his name into יהושא Yehoshua or Joshua, which signifies he shall save, or the salvation of Jehovah; referring, no doubt, to his being God’s instrument in saving the people from the hands of their enemies, and leading them from victory to victory over the different Canaanitish nations, till he put them in possession of the promised land. On the change and meaning of the name, see Clarke’s note on “Numbers 13:16”. By the Septuagint he is called Ιησους Ναυη, Jesus Naue, or Jesus son of Nave: and in the New Testament he is expressly called Ιησους, JESUS; see Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8. Joshua was denominated the servant of Moses, as he seems to have acted sometimes as his secretary, sometimes as his aid-du-camp, and sometimes as the general of the army. He was early appointed to be the successor of Moses, see Exodus 17:14; and under the instruction of this great master he was fully qualified for the important office. He was a great and pious man, and God honoured him in a most extraordinary manner, as the sequel of the history amply proves. From the preceding books it appears that he became attached to Moses shortly after the exodus from Egypt; that he was held by him in the highest esteem; had the command of the army confided to him in the war with the Amalekites; and accompanied his master to the Mount, when he went up to receive the Law from God. These were the highest honours he could possibly receive during the life-time of Moses.
Commentators and critics are divided in opinion whether the book that goes under his name was actually compiled by him.
It is argued by those who deny Joshua to be the author, that there are both names and transactions in it which did not exist till considerably after Joshua’s time. The account we have, Joshua 4:9, of the twelve stones set up by Joshua in the midst of Jordan remaining to the present day, seems to prove that the book, at least this verse, was not written till after Joshua’s time; the same may be said of the account of Ai, that Joshua made it a heap for ever, even a desolation to the present day, Joshua 8:28, which is a proof, however, that the book was not written after the time of the kings, as Ai subsisted after the return from the captivity; see Ezra 2:28: The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred twenty and three. It is supposed also, that the relation of the marriage of Achsah, daughter of Caleb, with Othniel the son of Kenaz, necessarily belongs to the time of the Judges; Joshua 15:16-19; as also the account of the capture of Leshem by the Danites Joshua 19:47, compared with Judges 18:7, 29. “What is related, Joshua 15:63, concerning the Jebusites dwelling with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day, must certainly have been written before the time of David; for he took the strong hold of Zion, and expelled the Jebusites; see 2 Samuel 5:7-9. Also, what is said, Joshua 16:10, They drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but they dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this day, must have been written before the time of Solomon, for in his time Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had taken Gezer, burnt it with fire, slain the Canaanites that dwelt in it, and given it a present to his daughter, the wife of Solomon, 1 Kings 9:16. The country of Cabul, mentioned Joshua 19:27, had not this name till the time of Solomon, as appears from 1 Kings 9:13; and the city called Joktheel, Joshua 15:38, had not this name till the reign of Joash, as appears from 2 Kings 14:7, it having been previously called Selah. The like may be said of Tyre, Joshua 19:29; and of Galilee Joshua 20:7; 21:32.”
These are the principal objections which are made against the book as being the work of Joshua. Some of these difficulties might be so removed as to render it still probable that Joshua was the author of the whole book, as some think to be intimated Joshua 24:26; And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of the Lord; (but this probably refers to nothing more than the words of the covenant which was then made, and which is included in Joshua 24:2-24;) but there are other difficulties that cannot be removed on the above supposition and therefore it has been generally supposed that the book was written by some inspired person after the time of Joshua; and positively before many kings had reigned in Israel. The book has been attributed to Samuel, though some give this honour to Ezra.
After all, I cannot help considering the book in the main as the composition of Joshua himself. It is certain that Moses kept an accurate register of all the events that took place during his administration in the wilderness, at least from the giving of the law to the time of his death. And in that wilderness he wrote the book of Genesis, as well as the others that bear his name. Now, it is not likely that Joshua, the constant servant and companion of Moses, could see all this-be convinced, as he must be, of its utility-and not adopt the same practice; especially as at the death of Moses he came into the same office. I therefore take it for granted, that the Book of Joshua is as truly his work, as the Commentaries of Cæsar are his; and all the real difficulties mentioned above may be rationally and satisfactorily accounted for on the ground, that in transcribing this book in after ages, especially between the times of Joshua and the Kings, some few changes were made, and a very few slight additions, which referred chiefly to the insertion of names by which cities were then known instead of those by which they had been anciently denominated. This book therefore I conceive to be not the work of Ezra, nor of Samuel, nor of any other person of those times; nor can I allow that “it is called the Book of Joshua, because he is the chief subject of it, as the heroic poem of Virgil is called the Æneis, because of the prince whose travels and actions it relates;” but I conceive it to be called the Book of Joshua, 1. Because Joshua wrote it. 2. Because it is the relation of his own conduct in the conquest, division, and settlement of the promised land. 3. Because it contains a multitude of particulars that only himself, or a constant eye-witness, could possibly relate. 4. Because it was evidently designed to be a continuation of the Book of Deuteronomy, and is so connected with it, in narrative, as to prove that it must have been immediately commenced on the termination of the other. 5. I might add to this, that with the exception of a few individuals, the whole of the ancient Jewish and Christian Churches have uniformly acknowledged Joshua to be its author.
The Book of Joshua is one of the most important writings in the old covenant, and should never be separated from the Pentateuch, of which it is at once both the continuation and completion. Between this Book and the five Books of Moses, there is the same analogy as between the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The PENTATEUCH contains a history of the ACTS of the great Jewish legislator, and the LAWS on which the Jewish Church should be established. The Book of JOSHUA gives an account of the establishment of that Church in the Land of Canaan, according to the oft-repeated promises and declarations of God. The GOSPELS give an account of the transactions of JESUS CHRIST, the great Christian legislator, and of those LAWS on which his Church should be established, and by which it should be governed. The ACTS of the APOSTLES gives an account of the actual establishment of that Church, according to the predictions and promises of its great founder. Thus, then, the Pentateuch bears as pointed a relation to the Gospels as the Book of Joshua does to the Acts of the Apostles. And we might, with great appearance of probability, carry this analogy yet farther, and show that the writings of several of the Prophets bear as strict a relation to the Apostolical Epistles, as the Books of Ezekiel and Daniel do to the Apocalypse. On this very ground of analogy Christ obviously founded the Christian Church; hence he had his twelve disciples, from whom the Christian Church was to spring, as the Jewish Church or twelve tribes sprang from the twelve sons of Jacob. He had his seventy or seventy-two disciples, in reference to the seventy-two elders, six chosen out of each of the twelve tribes, who were united with Moses and Aaron in the administration of justice, &c., among the people. CHRIST united in his person the characters both of Moses and Aaron, or legislator and high priest; hence he ever considers himself, and is considered by his apostles and followers, the same in the Christian Church that MOSES and AARON were in the Jewish. As a rite of initiation into his Church, he instituted baptism in the place of circumcision, both being types of the purification of the heart and holiness of life; and as a rite of establishment and confirmation, the holy eucharist in place of the paschal lamb, both being intended to commemorate the atonement made to God for the sins of the people. The analogies are so abundant, and indeed universal, that time would fail to enumerate them. On this very principle it would be a matter of high utility to read these Old Testament and the New Testament books together, as they reflect a strong and mutual light on each other, bear the most decided testimony to the words and truth of prophecy, and show the ample fulfilment of all the ancient and gracious designs of God. This appears particularly evident in the five Books of Moses and the Book of Joshua compared and collated with the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; and the analogy will be the more complete as to the number of those books, though that is a matter of minor consideration, when we consider Joshua, as we ought, a continuation of the Book of Deuteronomy, though written by a different hand, which two books should be rated only as one history. Of Judges and Ruth it may be said they are a sort of supplement to the Book of Joshua.
Whoever goes immediately from the reading of the Pentateuch to the reading of the Gospels, and from the reading of Joshua to that of the Acts, will carry with him advantages which on no other plan he will be able to command. Even a commentator himself will derive advantages from this plan, which he will seek in vain from any other. To see the wisdom and goodness of God in the ritual of Moses, we must have an eye continually on the incarnation and death of Christ, to which it refers. And to have a proper view of the great atonement made by the sacrifice of our Lord, we must have a constant reference to the Mosaic law, where this is shadowed forth. Without this reference the law of Moses is a system of expensive and burdensome ceremonies, destitute of adequate meaning; and without this entering in of the law that the offense might abound, to show the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the frailty of man, and the holiness of God; the Gospel of Christ, including the account of his incarnation, preaching, miracles, passion, death, burial, ascension, and intercession, would not appear to have a sufficient necessity to explain and justify it. By the LAW is the knowledge of sin, and by the GOSPEL its cure. Either, taken separately, will not answer the purpose for which God gave these astonishing revelations of his justice and his grace.
Table of Contents to the Book of Joshua
CLA_JOS.PDF, source PDF p. 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
God commands Joshua to lead the people over the Jordan, and promises to put them in possession of the whole land. He encourages and commands him to be obedient, and promises him his continual presence and protection; Jos. 1.
Joshua sends two spies to examine the state of the inhabitants; they are received and concealed in the house of Rahab, with whom and her family they make a covenant. After three days they return to Joshua and make a favourable report; Jos. 2.
The whole Israelitish camp pass the Jordan, opposite to Jericho. The waters of the Jordan are miraculously cut off, and stand in a heap till the whole camp passed over; Jos. 3.
By the command of God twelve stones are taken up from the bed of the river, and twelve other stones are set up in it as a memorial. The twelve stones brought out of the river are set up in Gilgal as a monument of the miraculous interposition of God; Jos. 4.
At the command of God, Joshua circumcises the Israelites; they keep their first passover; and Joshua is encouraged by the appearance of an extraordinary person, who calls himself Captain of the Lord’s host; Jos. 5. The Israelites invest Jericho, and surround it seven days, the priests blowing with seven trumpets. On the seventh day, at the command of Joshua, the people shout, and the walls of Jericho fall down; the Israelites enter and put all to the sword, except Rahab and her family. The city is laid under a curse; Jos. 6.
Three thousand men, being sent against Ai, are repulsed, and thirty-six of them slain; Joshua being distressed, and the people greatly discouraged, he inquires of the Lord why they fell before their enemies? And is answered that, contrary to the express command of God, some of the people had secreted part of the spoils of Jericho, which they had been ordered wholly to destroy. An inquiry is instituted, and Achan, the son of Zerah, is discovered to have taken a rich Babylonish garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold. He is sentenced to be stoned. He and all his property, his asses, sheep, oxen, and tent, are destroyed in the valley of Achor, and a heap of stones raised over the place; Jos. 7.
Thirty thousand men attack Ai, and take it by stratagem; they put the inhabitants to the sword, to the amount of twelve thousand persons, and hang the king; they preserve the cattle and spoil to themselves. Joshua builds an altar to the Lord, and offers sacrifices, writes the law upon the stones of it and reads all the blessings and curses over against Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, as the Lord commanded Moses; Jos. 8.
The Gibeonites send ambassadors to the Israelites, and, pretending to be of a very distant nation, get the princes of Israel to make a league with them; the deception is discovered, and they are condemned to a state of perpetual slavery; Jos. 9.
The kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, attack the Gibeonites, because they had made a league with the Israelites. They send to Joshua for assistance. Joshua attacks those five kings, and during the battle, by an extraordinary fall of hail-stones, many are killed; and at the intercession of Joshua, the sun and moon stand still, and the day is prolonged till all the confederate Amorites are destroyed. The five kings are taken in a cave at Makkedah, brought out and hanged. The Israelites afterwards take and destroy Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, Debir, and all the country of the hills, south, vale, and springs; Jos. 10.
Many Canaanite, Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite, and Hivite kings join together against Israel; Joshua attacks and discomfits them at Merom. Afterwards he attacks the Anakim, and conquers the whole land; Jos. 11. A catalogue of all the kings and kingdoms that were conquered in this war; thirty-three in the whole, two on the east side of Jordan, and thirty-one on the west; Jos. 12.
An account of the countries not yet subjugated to the Israelites. The manner in which the territories of Sihon and Og were divided among the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh; Jos. 13. Joshua, and Eleazar the priest, begin the distribution of the land by lot; Caleb’s portion; Jos. 14.
The borders of the tribe of Judah described. Othniel smites Kirjath-sepher, and marries Achsah, the daughter of Caleb. The cities of the tribe of Judah are enumerated; Jos. 15.
The boundaries of the children of Joseph. The Canaanites of Gezer are not expelled, but become tributary to the Ephraimites; Jos. 16. The boundaries of the half tribe of Manasseh. The inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad. The Canaanites are not expelled by the children of Manasseh, but serve under tribute. The children of Joseph complain that their portion is too small for them; and Joshua commands them to subdue and inhabit the mountain country of the Perizzites; Jos. 17. The tabernacle of God is set up at Shiloh, and the remnant of the land is farther examined and divided by lot; Benjamin’s portion is described; Jos. 18.
The lot of Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan. The Danites take the city of Leshem; and the Israelites give Joshua the city of Timnath-serah, which he rebuilds and inhabits; Jos. 19.
Six cities of refuge are appointed, at the commandment of God; Jos. 20. The Levites have forty-eight cities appointed to them out of the different tribes; they and their suburbs are described. The people enjoy rest, all the promises of God being accomplished; Jos. 21.
Joshua dismisses the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. On their return, they build an altar of testimony on the east side of the Jordan, at which the other tribes are alarmed, fearing some idolatrous design; and preparing to go to war with them, they first send Phinehas and ten of the princes to require an explanation; they inquire into the business, and find that the altar was built to Jehovah, merely to prevent all idolatrous worship; and the people are satisfied; Jos. 22. Joshua, in his old age, exhorts the people to be faithful to their God; Jos. 23.
He assembles all the tribes at Shechem; recounts God’s merciful dealings with them, and the deliverances he had wrought for them and their fathers; and causes them to make a solemn covenant, which he writes in the book of the law. Joshua dies aged 110 years, and shortly after Eleazar, the high priest, dies also; Jos. 24.
N. B. In pursuance of the promise made in the General Preface, I have given in the Chronological note at the head of each transaction, in the following book, not only the Year of the World, the Year before Christ, and the Year of the Exodus from Egypt, but also the Year before the first OLYMPIAD. According to the Arundelian Marbles, and the most accurate computation, the first OLYMPIAD commenced in the 3938th year of the Julian Period; 3228 years from the Creation; 780 years from the foundation of the Athenian Empire-408 years after the taking of Troy; 24 years before the building of Rome, and 776 before the incarnation of our Lord. THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
-Year before the common Year of Christ, 1451.
-Julian Period, 3263.
-Cycle of the Sun, 10.
-Dominical Letter, B.
-Cycle of the Moon, 10.
-Indiction, 15.
-Creation from Tisri or September, 2553.
Joseph Benson
Argument
BEN_VOL1.PDF, source PDF p. 866
Editorial note: Source collation note — paragraph 3: “the jewish writers call נביאים ראשונים, nebiaim rishonim, the former”. source PDF page 866: “the Jewish writers call ראשונים נביאים nebiaim rishonim, The former”. Compared with BEN_VOL1.PDF PDF p. 866. The source-font or layout comparison does not securely establish every letter, mark or local sequence in these passages. The flagged language readings or layout are retained; the original source pages should be consulted for these specific readings. Additional-source investigation: an automated comparison of surrounding English text located possible corresponding passages in OCR from separately digitized printed volumes. The linked scan pages are research locators; their images have not been collated for this note's flagged readings. OCR agreement does not verify Greek or Hebrew letters, diacritics, word order, or table layout. The flagged readings or layout remain uncertain. BEN_VOL1.PDF, PDF page 866; Additional printed-scan page locator (OCR context only; flagged reading unverified).
THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.
ARGUMENT.
IN this book, and those that follow, to the end of ESTHER, we have the history of the Jewish nation. These books, to the end of the second book of KINGS, the Jewish writers call נביאים ראשונים, nebiaim rishonim, The former Prophets, or, The first book of the Prophets: as being written by prophets, men divinely inspired. Indeed, it is probable they were collections of the authentic records of the nation, which some of the prophets were divinely directed and assisted to put together. It seems the substance of the several histories was written, under divine direction, when the events had just happened, and long after put into the form wherein they stand now, perhaps all by the same hand.
In the five books of MOSES we had a full account of the rise and constitution of the Old Testament church, the miracles by which it was established, and the laws and ordinances by which it was to be governed. And a nation that had statutes and judgments so righteous, one would think, should have been very holy. But, alas! a great part of the history is a representation of their sins and miseries. For the law made nothing perfect; that was to be done by the bringing in of the better hope.
The book of JOSHUA, containing the history of about twenty-seven years, if not written by him, was at least collected out of his journals or memoirs. It contains the history of Israel under the command of JOSHUA: how he presided over them, 1, In their entrance into Canaan, chap. 1. to 5:2, In their conquest of Canaan, chap. 6. to 12:3, In the distribution of the land among the tribes of Israel, chap. 13. to 21:4, In the establishment of religion among them, chap. 21. to 24. In all which he was a great example of wisdom, courage, fidelity, and piety.
To be a little more particular. — In this book is recited the confirmation of JOSHUA’S succession to MOSES, by the attestation of wonderful facts, or miracles, which GOD did by him, in bringing the Israelites, under his conduct, into the land of Canaan. The actual settlement of them in this promised land, and that in so short a time, and with so little loss, was a punctual accomplishment of the divine predictions to Abraham and the succeeding patriarchs: predictions of so early a date, so often renewed in many particular circumstances, and every one of these so exactly fulfilled, cannot but be esteemed a great confirmation both to the Israelites themselves then, and to us now, of the authority of their religion, and of the truth of those writings wherein it is contained. By the destruction of the seven nations, who, it appears, abounded in wickedness to a very high degree, and had even, we are expressly told, filled up the measure of their iniquity, GOD demonstrated his divine justice and providence over the whole world, and his determination to punish the wickedness of every nation, when it is at its height. The account of the division of the land shows that a very careful provision was made for a constant and uninterrupted distinction of tribes, families, and genealogies; thence to preserve, and clearly to ascertain, the genealogy of CHRIST, in whom was to be completed all the purposes of this dispensation. In the conclusion of the book, JOSHUA, after having divided the land, and set up the tabernacle at Shiloh, and settled every thing according as it was ordered by GOD to MOSES, calls the people together, and represents to them how fully every thing had been fulfilled to them which the LORD their GOD had promised them, and spoken concerning them; and from hence, he takes occasion to exhort them to serve HIM alone, and no other gods. Upon the whole, in this history we may see, 1, Much of GOD and his providence; his power in the kingdom of nature; his justice in punishing the Canaanites; his faithfulness to his covenant with the patriarchs; his kindness to his people: 2, Much of CHRIST and his grace; JOSHUA being, in many respects, an eminent type of him.
Joseph Sutcliffe
The Book of Joshua.
SUT_VOL1.PDF, source PDF p. 551
THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.
This book contains the passage of the Israelites through Jordan; the renewal of their covenant at Gilgal; the conquest and partition of the country by Joshua. It marks the faithfulness of God to his promises made to Abraham, and his seed: and it marks not less the faithfulness of God to his threatenings in the excision of the seven devoted nations. It delineates the religious, the military, and political character of Joshua as a model for christian princes, and men invested with command. Having written the covenant in a book, Joshua 24:26, there can be no doubt but he wrote his own history, leaving the last chapter to be finished by another person; as was the case with the last chapter of Deuteronomy. It must have been written by Joshua himself, because he says, Joshua 5. l, “until we passed over Jordan.” The body of the history comprises a period of seventeen years. But to the death of Eleazar, it was about twenty seven years.
Daniel Whedon
Introduction
WHD_CO03.PDF, source PDF p. 5
JOSHUA
INTRODUCTION
General Character of the Historical Books.
IN the Hebrew Canon the Book of Joshua is the first of the Prior Prophets, which division comprises the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books were probably so named because they were written by prophets, and are so largely devoted to the history and work of the prophetical order in Israel. And a deeper reason may be found in the fact that they are a history written from the prophetic or theocratic stand-point. In the arrangement of books in our English Bible they form, together with Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, the division appropriately called the “Historical Books of the Old Testament;” but they contain THEOCRATIC HISTORY, and through them all, as through the other Scriptures, runs a unity of purpose and of general form in which we may trace the gradual unfolding of the plan of man’s redemption. None but prophets could write such books as these; none but those who have communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit can read them with proper appreciation. The inspired penmen wrote not in order to preserve great historical facts from oblivion, nor to furnish an exhaustive record of their times and people, but to show the hand of God in all the affairs of men — Jehovah in history.
Very noticeable is the anonymous character of these sacred books. The writers sought not to immortalize themselves as authors, nor seem they to have once thought that their readers in after times would be curious to know their names. But, whether conscious or unconscious of the purpose they were serving, they have written books of instruction for all time. More than a hundred generations have already found them “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” We are not to suppose that these writers attempted to compose an original history, in the modern sense: still less should we presume to test the value of these ancient records by the standard of modern historical composition, or assume that in any event the narrator has given us a full account of all he knew. The sacred writers evidently had within their reach a large number of books and documents, from which they gathered such material as suited their purpose. Old documents, such as genealogical tables, songs, public addresses, and perhaps, in some cases, narratives of particular events, were transferred entire, or with slight modification, to their pages. Sometimes the writer acknowledged his sources of information or of quotation, and sometimes not. It serves no useful purpose to attempt, with De Wette, Ewald, and other kindred spirits, to decide on purely subjective grounds the date and authorship of all the ancient sources from which the present books of Scripture were compiled. The results of such criticism are at best only a confusing mass of more or less plausible conjectures. The biblical writers often omit the details of many interesting facts of which they evidently had abundant knowledge, and aim to give prominence to such persons and events as noticeably helped or hindered the cause of divine truth. Thus Keil truly says: “All the efforts of the people to perfect trades, arts, and sciences, also domestic, municipal, and political arrangements, are either passed over entirely, or are intimated briefly, and only in so far as they stand in connexion with the higher aims of the theocracy.” Hence they are truly a sacred history, and not merely a secular history of a chosen race. But while magnifying the wonders of the Lord’s hand, there is ample reason for believing that they never deviate from the strictest fidelity to fact. They seek to hide no sin of their immortal heroes, nor to cover any reproach that ever visited the chosen people. And herein lies much of the real greatness and imperishable worth of these inspired histories.
As to the general style of the Hebrew historians, several peculiarities in the matter of arrangement and chronology are very noticeable, and attention to them will often obviate difficulties which some critics have been prone to magnify. The exact order of events is often disregarded, and facts with their moral lessons are made prominent, as if the writer took it for granted that his readers would either know the order of events, or at least need no information on that point. The very fact that the Hebrew language has only two tenses, past and future, is evidence of a lack of precision among the Hebrews in their habits of designating time and the succession of events. In commencing a narrative the Old Testament writers sometimes announce a summary, or else the result of the whole affair, and then go on to record details in a way that might easily lead to the impression that they had passed on to narrate other events, when in fact they are only enlarging on the details of events already in substance told. At other times they anticipate events, and record them out of their proper chronological order because they are associated, in place, name, or other circumstance, with what the writer has at the time in hand. Hence the order in which a series of events is narrated is not in all cases a certain guide to the chronology of the several events.
The Historical Books, and other parts of the Old Testament Canon, contain much internal evidence to show that they were edited and arranged in their present form by a later hand. An ancient and very probable tradition assigns that work to Ezra and the Great Synagogue.
Name, Author, and Date.
The Book of Joshua takes its name from the great hero whose achievements in the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land it records. “It is not often,” says Stanley, “either in sacred or common history, that we are justified in pausing on anything so outward, and usually so accidental, as a name. But if ever there be an exception, it is in the case of Joshua. His original name Hoshea (Salvation) is transformed into Jehosua or Joshua, (God’s Salvation;) and this, according to the modification which Hebrew names underwent in their passage through the Greek language, took, in the later ages of the Jewish Church, sometimes the form of Jason, but more frequently that which has now become indelibly impressed upon history as the greatest of all names — JESUS. (Hebrews 4:8.) The first Joshua was to save his people from their actual foes; the second was to ‘save his people from their sins.’” Among most Christian nations human reverence has long prevented its bestowal, in its New Testament form, on any human individual. (See note, Matthew 1:21.)
The distinguished chieftain of whom this history treats is already familiar to the reader of the last four books of Moses. He may be humanly styled the Conqueror of Canaan. Born about the time of Moses’ flight to Midian, he must have grown up a serf in the brickyards of Egypt, and afterwards have witnessed the miracles of the Exodus. His first appearance is in the war with Amalek, (Exodus 17:9,) and it is noticeable that he is there introduced to us as already a valiant soldier of Jehovah. During the sublime events at Sinai he repeatedly appears as the confidential servant and companion of Moses, (Exodus 24:13; 32:17; 33:11;) and before the death of the great lawgiver Joshua was solemnly invested with authority, and designated as his successor, Numbers 27:18-23; Deuteronomy 31:23. His courage, sagacity, and faith appear conspicuously in the minority report which he and Caleb boldly urged after exploring the land of the Canaanites, (Numbers 14:6-10,) and for their noble faith and heroism on that occasion they only, of all the thousands of Israel, twenty years old and upwards, who saw the miracles of the Exodus, were permitted to enter the Land of Promise. Numbers 14:30. In his history of the Vandal War, Procopius relates that when the Phenicians found Joshua’s invading forces irresistible, they migrated first to Egypt, and thence westward along the northern coast of Africa, and built Tingis in Mauritania, near which, in the sixth century, was found a monument bearing in the Phenician language the inscription, “We are those who fled from the face of Joshua the robber, the son of Nun.” But modern scholars quite generally reject the whole story.
It does not follow, because the book bears the name of Joshua, that it was written by that great commander; but portions of it bear evidence of having been composed by an eye-witness of the events it records. Joshua 5:1,
6. The concluding portion, containing the account of Joshua’s death, must, of course, have been written by a later hand; and Keil very plausibly supposes that the entire work was written by one of the elders who outlived Joshua. He argues, quite conclusively, that the conquest of Hebron by Caleb, of Debir by Othniel, and of Leshem by the Danites, did not take place during Joshua’s life-time. Comp. Joshua 15:13-19, and 19:47, with Judges 1:10-15, and 18. But the date of the book must be before the time of David, for the Jebusites still held the citadel of Jerusalem, (Joshua 15:63;) and even before the death of Rahab, for, according to Joshua 6:25, she was still dwelling in Israel when our author wrote. The oft-recurring phrase, unto this day. cannot be used to prove a date long after Joshua’s time, nor even after his death; for in Joshua 22:3, 17, and Joshua 23:9, it is used of time previous to his death, and in no instance in the book is its use incompatible with the supposition that Joshua was still living. The authorship cannot be authoritatively decided. There is much to render probable the Jewish tradition that the main portion of the book was written at various times by Joshua; but a later hand appended the account of Joshua’s death, and inserted a few other passages in different parts of the work. We may reasonably suppose that Moses’ minister succeeded his master in the use of the pen, as well as in command.
Design and Value of the Book of Joshua.
The design of this book was evidently to record the leading events in the history of Israel from the death of Moses to the death of Joshua; to record the conquest and settlement of Canaan; and especially to magnify the inviolable faithfulness of Jehovah as a covenant-keeping God. The central idea on which the whole work rests is announced in Joshua’s divine commission at the very beginning of the book. Chap. 1:1-9. Hence the importance of this book as a connecting link between the Book of the Law and the subsequent history of Israel in Palestine cannot be over estimated. It holds a relation to the Pentateuch similar to that which the Acts of the Apostles holds to the four Gospels.
A large portion of the work is invaluable for the study of sacred geography. It is a complete Doomsday-book of Palestine, and all modern research and discovery tend more and more to confirm its accuracy. The general authenticity of the narrative has not been questioned except in its supernatural events. But the a priori assumption that “no amount of testimony can render a miracle credible,” precludes all argument so far as these records are concerned, and the discussion of the possibility of miracles is beside the purpose of this work. The alleged contradictions and discrepancies of the Book of Joshua are fully explained in our notes on the passages where they occur.
The book is readily divided into Two Parts, the first containing the History of the Conquest, the second the Allotment of the Promised Land. The following Table of Contents will serve both for an analysis and a convenient index of the whole:
Part First — The Conquest of Canaan. Chaps. 1-12.
JOSHUA’S DIVINE COMMISSION Joshua 1:1-9
PREPARATIONS FOR THE MARCH Joshua 1:10, 11
ADDRESS TO THE TRANS-JORDANIC TRIBES Joshua 1:12-15 OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO JOSHUA Joshua 1:16-18
THE ADVENTURES OF THE TWO SPIES Joshua 2:1-24
THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN Joshua 3:1-17
BUILDING MONUMENTS Joshua 4:1-24
CONSTERNATION OF THE CANAANITES Joshua 5:1
CIRCUMCISION RESTORED Joshua 5:2-9
THE THIRD PASSOVER AND CEASING OF THE MANNA Joshua 5:10-12 THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD’S HOST REVEALED Joshua 5:13-6:5 THE CONQUEST OF JERICHO Joshua 6:6-21
THE SALVATION OF RAHAB Joshua 6:22-25
JOSHUA’S ADJURATION AND FAME Joshua 6:26, 27
THE TRESPASS AND PUNISHMENT OF ACHAN Joshua 7:1-26 THE CONQUEST OF AI Joshua 8:1-29
THE MEMORIAL ALTAR AND SERVICE ON MOUNT EBAL Joshua 8:30-35 THE CANAANITES CONFEDERATED Joshua 9:1, 2
THE FRAUD AND PUNISHMENT OF THE GIBEONITES Joshua 9:3-27 FIVE KINGS WAR AGAINST GIBEON Joshua 10:1-5
THE GIBEONITES APPEAL FOR AID Joshua 10:6
JOSHUA’S NIGHT MARCH TO GIBEON Joshua 10:7-9
THE GREAT BATTLE OF GIBEON AND BETH-HORON Joshua 10:10, 11 THE SUN AND MOON STAND STILL Joshua 10:12-15
THE PURSUIT AND SLAUGHTER OF THE AMORITES Joshua 10:16-21 THE FIVE KINGS EXECUTED Joshua 10:22-27
CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN CANAAN Joshua 10:28-43
THE GREAT BATTLE OF MEROM Joshua 11:1-15
SUMMARY OF JOSHUA’S CONQUESTS Joshua 11:16-23
LIST OF THE TRANS-JORDANIC CONQUESTS Joshua 12:1-6 LAST OF THE KINGS SUBDUED BY JOSHUA Joshua 12:7-24 Part Second — The Division and Settlement of Canaan. Chaps. 13-24. LIST OF UNCONQUERED CITIES AND DISTRICTS Joshua 13:1-6 THE TRANS-JORDANIC ALLOTMENTS REVIEWED Joshua 13:7-14 REUBEN’S LOT Joshua 13:15-23
GAD’S LOT Joshua 13:24-28
MANASSEH’S (EASTERN) LOT Joshua 13:29-33
INTRODUCTION TO THE WEST-JORDANIC ALLOTMENTS Joshua 14:1-5 CALEB’S INHERITANCE Joshua 14:6-15
ORIGINAL LOT OF JUDAH Joshua 15:1-63
OUTLINE OF JOSEPH’S LOT Joshua 16:1-4
EPHRAIM’S BORDERS Joshua 16:5-10
MANASSEH’S (WESTERN) LOT Joshua 17:1-13
COMPLAINT OF THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH Joshua 17:14-18 THE TABERNACLE ERECTED AT SHILOH Joshua 17:1
THE FURTHER SURVEY AND DIVISION OF THE LAND Joshua 18:2-10 BENJAMIN’S LOT Joshua 18:11-28
SIMEON’S LOT Joshua 19:1-9
ZEBULUN’S LOT Joshua 19:10-16
ISSACHAR’S LOT Joshua 19:17-23
ASHER’S LOT Joshua 19:24-31
NAPHTALI’S LOT Joshua 19:32-39
DAN’S LOT Joshua 19:40-48
JOSHUA’S INHERITANCE Joshua 19:49-51
THE CITIES OF REFUGE Joshua 20:1-9
DESIGNATION OF THE LEVITICAL CITIES Joshua 21:1-42 THE DIVINE PROMISES FULFILLED Joshua 21:43-45
THE TRANS-JORDANIC TRIBES DISMISSED Joshua 22:1-9 THE ALTAR OF WITNESS AT THE JORDAN Joshua 22:10-34 JOSHUA’S ADDRESS TO ISRAEL Joshua 23:1-16
JOSHUA’S FAREWELL ADDRESS AT SHECHEM Joshua 24:1-24 THE GREAT STONE OF WITNESS Joshua 24:25-28
JOSHUA’S DEATH AND BURIAL Joshua 24:29-30
CONCLUDING STATEMENTS Joshua 24:31-33