Lange Commentary - Joshua 23:1 - 24:33

Online Resource Library

Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | Download

Lange Commentary - Joshua 23:1 - 24:33


(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)

This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

2. Joshua’s Parting with the People. His Death and that of Eleazar

Joshua 23, 24

a. The First Parting Address

Joshua 23

á . Promise that Jehovah will still fight for his people, and help them to the complete possession of the land

Jos_23:1-11

1And it came to pass, a long time [many days] after that the Lord [Jehovah] had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed

2old and stricken in age. And Joshua called for [omit: for] all Israel, and [omit: and] for their elders, and for their heads, and for their officers [overseers], and said unto them, I am old and [omit: and] stricken in age [far gone in years]: 3And ye have seen all that the Lord [Jehovah] your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord [Jehovah] your God is he that hath fought 4for you. Behold [See], I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance [as a possession] for your tribes; from [the] Jordan, with [and] all the nations that I have cut off, even unto [and] the great sea westward 5[toward the going down of the sun]. And the Lord [Jehovah] your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight;4 and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord [Jehovah] your God hath promised [spoken] unto you. 6Be ye therefore very courageous [And be ye, or, ye shall be, very strong] to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or [and] to the left; 7That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among [with] you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them [it], neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: 8But cleave unto the Lord [Jehovah] your God, as ye have 9done unto this day. For [And] the Lord [Jehovah] hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for [and] you, no man hath been able to stand [hath stood] before you unto this day. 10One man of you shall chase [chaseth] a thousand: for the Lord [Jehovah] your God, he it is that fighteth for 11you, as he hath promised [spoken] unto you. Take [And take] good heed therefore [omit: therefore] unto yourselves [your souls], that ye love the Lord [Jehovah] your God.

â
. Warning against Apostasy from God

Jos_23:12-16

12Else [For] if ye do in any wise go back [return], and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even [omit: even] these that remain among [with] you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you [and come among them, and they among you]: 13Know for a certainty that the Lord [Jehovah] your God will no more drive out any of [omit: any of] these nations from before you: but [and] they shall be snares [a snare] and traps [a trap] unto you, and scourges [a scourge] in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land [ground àֲãָîָä ] which the Lord [Jehovah] your God hath given you.

14And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth; and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing [word] hath failed of all the good things [words] which the Lord [Jehovah] your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and [omit: and] not one thing [word] hath failed 15thereof. Therefore [And] it shall come to pass, that as all good things are [every good word is] come upon you, which the Lord [Jehovah] your God promised [spoke to] you; so shall the Lord [Jehovah] bring upon you all evil things [every evil word], until he have destroyed you from off this good land [ground] which the Lord 16[Jehovah] your God hath given you. When ye have transgressed [transgress] the covenant of the Lord [Jehovah] your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served [go and serve] other gods, and bowed [bow] yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord [Jehovah] be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

b. The Second Parting Address. Renewal of the Covenant. Conclusion

24

a. The Second Parting Address

Jos_24:1-15

. 1And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for [omit: for] the elders of Israel, and for their heads and for their judges, and for their officers [overseers]; and they presented themselves before God. 2And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah] God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood [river] in old time, even [omit: even] Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods. 3And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood [river], and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

4And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess 5it; but [and] Jacob and his children [sons] went down into Egypt. I sent [And I sent] Moses also [omit: also] and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red Sea. 7And when they cried unto the Lord [Jehovah], he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen [saw] what I have done [did] in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season [many days]. 8And I brought you into the land of the Amorites [Amorite], which [who] dwelt on the other side [of the] Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess [or, and ye possessed] their land; and I destroyed 9them from before you. Then [And] Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred [fought] against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: 10But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore [and] he blessed you still: so [and] I delivered you out of his hand. 11And ye went over [the] Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I delivered [gave] them into your hand. 12And I sent the hornet before you, which [and it] drave them out from before you, even the [omit: even the] two kings of the Amorites: but [omit: but] not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 13And I have given you a land for [or, in] which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the14[omit: the] vineyards and olive-yards [trees] which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore [And now] fear the Lord [Jehovah], and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood15[river], and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord [Jehovah]. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord [Jehovah], choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood [river] or the gods of the Amorites [Amorite] in whose land ye dwell: but as for me [and I] and my house, we [omit: we] will serve the Lord [Jehovah].

â
. The Renewal of the Covenant

Jos_24:16-28

16And the people answered and said, God forbid [Far be it from us] that we should forsake the Lord [Jehovah], to serve other gods; 17For the Lord [Jehovah] our God, he it is that brought us up, and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, from [out of] the house of bondage [lit. of bondmen], and which [who] did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people [peoples] through whom we passed: 18And the Lord [Jehovah] drave out from before us all the people [peoples], even [and] the Amorites [Amorite] which [who] dwelt in the land: therefore [omit: therefore] will we also [we also will] serve the Lord [Jehovah]; for he is our God.

19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord [Jehovah]: for he is an holy God: he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions, nor20[and] your sins. If [when] ye forsake the Lord [Jehovah], and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

21And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord [Jehovah].

22And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord [Jehovah], to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.23Now therefore [And now], said he, put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord [Jehovah] God of Israel. 24And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord [Jehovah] our God will we serve, and [to] his voice will we obey [hearken].

25So [And so] Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an [the] oak that was by [in] the sanctuary of the Lord [Jehovah]. 27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness [for witness ìְöֵãָä ] unto [against Jos_24:22] us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord [Jehovah] which he spake [hath spoken] unto [with] us: it shall be therefore [, and shall be] a witness unto 28[against] you, lest ye deny your God. So [And] Joshua let the people depart, every man [one] unto his inheritance [possession].

ã
. Death of Joshua and Eleazar. The Bones of Joseph

Jos_24:29-33

29And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the Lord [Jehovah] died, being an hundred and ten years old. 30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance [possession] in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of [of mount] Gaash. 31And Israel served the Lord [Jehovah] all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over-lived [lit. prolonged days after] Joshua, and which [who] had known [knew] all the works of the Lord [Jehovah] that he had done for Israel.

32And the bones of Joseph, which the children [sons] of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground [portion of the field] which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver [kesita]; and it became the inheritance of [they were for a possession to] the children [sons] of Joseph.

33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to [in Gibeah of] Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

These two closing chapters of the book are intimately related, containing the two farewell addresses of Joshua to the people, an account of the renewal of the covenant in connection with the latter of those addresses, and the report of the death of Joshua and Eleazar. They give information also concerning the last transactions of Joshua, and the closing circumstances of his life so full of activity, and so significant with reference to the establishment of the religious character of the people of Israel.

Particularly to be considered here, from the first, is the relation between the two farewell addresses in respect to differences and agreement of their subject-matter; and manifestly, the first presents to the Israelites what Jehovah mil do for them to bring them into full possession of the land, while the second in powerful words calls to mind in detail what Jehovah, since the time of the patriarchs, has already done for them. Admonitions to fidelity towards Jehovah, warnings against backsliding from him, are found in both addresses (Jos_23:6-8; Jos_23:11-13; Jos_23:15-16; Jos_24:14-15), and are repeated, at the renewal of the covenant, in a lively dialogue between Joshua and the people (Jos_24:19-20; Jos_24:27).

a. Ch. 23. The First Farewell Discourse. This, after the introduction, Jos_23:1-2, falls into two sections, Jos_23:3-16. á . In the first section Joshua announces that Jehovah will continue to fight for his people, and help them to the entire possession of their land; â . in the second he warns them vehemently against apostasy from him, lest, instead of help, the judgment of God, consisting in their expulsion from Canaan, shall come upon them.

Jos_23:1-2. Introduction, recalling Jos_13:1, as well as Jos_21:42. Where Joshua held this discourse, is not said; perhaps at his residence in Timnath-serah (Jos_19:50), perhaps, and this is more probable, at Shiloh. He first begins by reminding them that he is become old, but that they have seen all that Jehovah has done to all these nations before them, for he has fought for them. Of his own merits toward Israel the modest hero boasts not a word. He only remarks (Jos_23:4) that he has divided by lot for them the remaining nations also, from the Jordan, and all the nations which I have cut off, and the great sea toward the going down of the sun. The sense is, In the country lying between the Jordan on the east and the great sea on the west, have I distributed to you by lot as well the still remaining peoples, therefore to be driven out (comp. Jos_17:15), as those already destroyed (comp. Jos_11:12), that you may possess their land.

Jos_23:5. These nations, viz., the âּåֹéִí äַðּùְׁàֽøִéּí , will Jehovah himself expel, thrust out ( éֶäãָּôí , comp. Deu_6:19; Deu_9:14, likewise used of the expulsion of the Canaanites) before them, and drive them off ( éְäåֹøִéùׁ ), and they (the Israelites) shall possess the land (Jos_1:15) as Jehovah has spoken (Jos_13:6; Exo_23:23 ff.). That will Jehovah do, as is afterward repeated in Jos_23:10. But they must, as Joshua admonishes, Jos_23:8, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, etc., comp. Jos_1:7.

Jos_23:7-8. Especially they are warned against all intercourse with those nations, and above all, against participation in their idolatry. “On áְּùֵí äִæְëִּø , to mention any one by his name, i.e., to make him the object of a call and proclamation, comp. Isa_48:1; Psa_20:8; ÷ָøָà áּùֵׁí , Isa_12:4; Isa_41:25” (Knobel). Keil appositely remarks further, that, “to mention the names of the gods (Exo_23:13), to swear by them, to serve them (by offerings), and to bow down to them (call upon them in prayer), are the four expressions of divine worship,” see Deu_6:13; Deu_10:20.

Jos_23:9. A fresh reminiscence of God’s help, who has driven out before them great and strong nations, cf. Jos_23:3. And you—no man hath stood before you unto this day. Meaning: and you were so powerful through his assistance that you conquered everything before you, comp. Jos_21:44.

Jos_23:10. To be understood neither with the LXX., who render éִøãָּóÎàֶìֶó by ἔäéùîå ÷éëßïíò , of the past, nor with the Vulg., which translates persequetur, of the future, but rather of the present; one man of you chaseth a thousand, for Jehovah your God, he it is who fighteth for you ashe hath spoken to you. So De Wette rightly translates, for it must be the actual present state of the people, and their actual present relation to Jehovah, in which the sure guarantee of their future complete extirpation of the Canaanites will consist. Deu_32:30; Num_26:8, should be compared.

Jos_23:11. A repeated admonition to love Jehovah their God. There follows â , in Jos_23:12-16, the warning against apostasy from God, which is closely connected by ëִּé with the last words of the admonition.

Jos_23:12-13. For if ye do in any wise turn back ( úּùׁåּáåּ ), and cleave åּãְáַ÷ְúֶּí to the remnant of these nations, these that remain with you, and make marriages with them (contrary to the prohibition, Exo_34:16; éְäúְçִúַּðúֶּí , from çָúַå , prop. to cut off, then = çָúַãּ , to determine, make fast; to betroth, as in old Lat. festa for bridegroom [ çָçָå ] or the father of the bride [ çֹúֵå ], Exo_18:1 ff.; Jdg_19:4 ff. Hithpael: to intermarry, to contract affinities by marriage, and that either by taking another’s daughter, or giving him one’s own, with áְּ as here (Deu_7:3; 1Sa_18:22-23; 1Sa_18:26-27; Ezr_9:14. Gesen.), and ye come among them and they among you, know for a certainty ( éָãåֹòַ úֵּãְòåּ ) that Jehovah your God will no more drive out these nations from before you, and they will be for you a trap ( ìְôַç , in the same tragic sense as in Psa_69:23 and Isa_8:15, where also ôַּç is connected with îåֹ÷ֵùׁ , as likewise in the N. T., Luk_21:35, ðáãßò ), and a snare and a scourge ( ìְù ̈ èֶè , commonly ùׁåֹè , e.g.,Pro_26:3; 1Ki_12:11) in your sides, and thorns ( öְðִéðִéí , Num_33:55, from öָáַé , in the signif. to be interwoven, entangled) in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good ground ( äָàֲãָîָä ) which Jehovah your God hath given you. The declaration of Joshua is much more severe than that of Moses, Num_33:55, which speaks only of ùִׂëִּéí (thorns), parallel to öְðִéðִéí . But here Joshua threatens that the Canaanites shall be to them a trap and snare for their feet; a scourge—in their sides; thorns—in their eyes, so that they shall be endangered by them and plagued on every side of the body, as it were. Keil: Joshua multiplies the figures to picture the inconvenience and distress which will arise from their intercourse with the Canaanites, because, knowing the fickleness of the people, and the pride of the human heart, he foresaw that the falling away from God, which Moses had in his day predicted, will only too soon take place; as indeed it did, according to Jdg_2:3 ff., in the next generation. The words òַãְÎàֲáָãְëֶí åâå , repeat the threat of Moses, Deu_11:17; comp. Joshua 28:21 ff.”

Jos_23:14. Joshua, as in Jos_23:3, calls to mind his approaching end: I am going the way of all the earth,i.e., on the way to death, which a man goes and returns not, into the land of darkness and the shadow of death (Job_10:21; 1Ki_2:2). This way all the earth, the whole world must take. The lesson which he connects with these words teaches them to perceive that, as was said Jos_21:45, God has fulfilled to them all his promises, in which Joshua thinks particularly of the conquest of Canaan.

Jos_23:15-16. Reiterated warning against backsliding (comp. Jos_23:13). As God has fulfilled the good words concerning them, so will Jehovah bring ( éָáִéà ) upon them also every evil word (Lev_26:14-33; Deu_28:15-68; Deu_29:14-28; Deu_30:1; Deu_30:15; comp. Jos_8:34-35), until he destroys them ( òַãÎäַùְׁîִéãåֹ , as Deut. 7:34; 28:48, Keil). Nay, if they transgress the covenant of Jehovah, to serve other gods and worship them, then his anger will burn against them, and they will quickly ( îְçøָä ) perish out of the good land, which he has given them. The second part of Jos_23:16 occurs word for word in Deu_11:17, the first in part.

b. Ch. 24. The Second Farewell. Renewal of the Covenant. Conclusion. a. Jos_24:1-15. The discourse, the general character of which has been described, falls, after the exordium, into two divisions; Jos_24:2-13 a recapitulation of what God, since the time of the patriarchs, has done for his people; Jos_24:14-16, a demand to abstain entirely from idolatry, and to cleave to Jehovah, whom Joshua, at all events, and his family, will serve.

Jos_24:1. The assembly gathered not in Shiloh but in Shechem, where the solemn transaction related Jos_8:30-35, had taken place. On this account particularly, to recall that transaction, were the people summoned thither. A second reason is found by Hengstenberg (Beiträge, iii. p. 14 ff.) and Keil, in the fact that Jacob had dwelt here after his return from Mesopotamia, here purified his house of strange gods and buried their images under the oak at Shechem (Gen_33:19; Gen_35:2; Gen_35:4). An opinion intrinsically probable, but neither in the context of our chapter nor elsewhere in the book is it mentioned. The ù ̈ èְøִéí , as Jos_1:10; Jos_3:2; Jos_8:33; Jos_23:2.

And they presented themselves before God [ éִúְéַöְּáåּ ìâְðֵé çַàַ× , as in Job_1:6; Job_2:1, öì éé äúéöáå ]. Joshua had, Jos_8:31, raised an altar on Mount Ebal, on which at that time, before the building of the tabernacle, sacrifices were offered. Of offerings there is no mention here.

Jos_24:2. God of Israel; significant, so Jos_24:23. In this verse, as in Jos_24:3-4, Joshua, in the name of Jehovah, holds up to the people what He has done for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the first proof of his divine grace. The fathers dwelt of old ( îֵòåֹìָí ) beyond the stream, i.e., the Euphrates, namely, in Ur in Chaldea, and then in Haran (Gen_11:28; Gen_11:31).

Terah ( úֶּøַç , LXX.: ÈÜῤῤá , from úָּøַç , in Chald. to delay, comp. also Num_33:27) the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, and served other gods. And I took your father Abraham. … Isaac. The gods which Terah reverenced were, as appears from Gen_31:19; Gen_31:34, Teraphim, Penates (see Winer, Realw. s. v. Theraphim, [Smith’s Dict. of Bible, art. “Teraphim.”] It is worthy of notice that it is not said distinctly of Abraham that he served other gods, on which account we agree with Knobel, who says: “Whether, according to our author, Abraham also was originally an idolater, is rather to be denied than affirmed, comp. Gen_31:53.” Dangerous even for him certainly were the idolatrous surroundings, wherefore God took him ( ì÷ä ) and caused him to wander through Canaan. According to a tradition preserved in the Targum Jonathan (Keil, Com. üb. Jos. 169, Anm. 1), and which recurs in the latter Rabbins, Abraham had to suffer persecution on account of his aversion to idolatry, and to forsake his native country; while an Arabic story (Hottinger, Hist. or. 50 ap. Winer, Realw. s. v. Abraham) makes him wander as far as Mecca, and there lay the first foundation of the Caaba. According to this, therefore, it must be assumed that he was a Sabæan.

Of Abraham’s life nothing further is mentioned, Jos_24:3, than that Jehovah caused him to wander through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac.

Jos_24:4. To Isaac gave Jehovah Jacob, and Esau, who received Mount Seir (Gen_26:6 ff.) for a possession. Jacob alone was to have Canaan for himself and his posterity, of which, however, nothing further is here said. Rather, there is added only the remark, which leads to Jos_24:5, that Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt, as is told Gen_46:1 ff.

Jos_24:5-7. The second proof of the Divine favor: Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt, the chief incidents of which are succinctly enumerated, namely, (1) the sending of Moses and Aaron and the infliction of the plagues upon Egypt (Exo_3:4); (2) the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Exodus 14 ).

Jos_24:5-6. The words in Jos_24:5, according to that which I did in the midst of them ( òֲùִׂéúִé áְ÷øְáּåֹ ëַּàֲùֶׁø ), occasion some difficulty. The LXX., without doubt, read áַּàֲùֶׁø , for they translate the whole verse, “freely it is true:” êáß ἐðÜôáîá ôὴí Áἴãõðôïí ἐí óçìåßïéò , ïἷò ἐðïßçóá Ýí áí ̓ ôïῖò , êáὶ ìåôὰ ôáí ͂ ôá ἐîÞãáãïí . The Vulgate also, following them, offers no sure standing ground when it renders: “Et percussi Ægyptum multis signis atque portentis eduxique vos.” Knobel, appealing to the translation of the LXX., would read áַּàֲùֶׁø instead of ëַּàֲùֶׁø ; but even ëַּàֲùֶׁø , gives not a bad sense, if we paraphrase the very curtly spoken sentence thus: “As you, according to all that which I did in the midst of them, sc. the Egyptians, perfectly well know.” Bunsen: “So as you know that I did among them.” We retain ëַּàְùֶׁø , therefore, because it is the more difficult reading.

Red sea, see on Jos_2:10.

Jos_24:7. A poetical, noble description. The Israelites cried to Jehovah. Then he placed darkness ( îַàֲôֵì , LXX.: íåöÝëçí êáὶ ãíüöïí , from àָôַì , to go down [of the sun], to become dark, ἄð . ëåë . In Jer_2:21, we meet again with the compound îַàְôַìְéָä , as a designation of the wilderness, i.e., the pillar of cloud (Exo_13:1 ff; Exo_14:19 ff.) between them and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon the latter and covered them. But the eyes of the Israelites saw what Jehovah did to the Egyptians. The change between the third and the first person is to be noticed. While we find the first person in Jos_24:5-6, Jehovah is spoken of at the beginning of Jos_24:7 in the third person, and then proceeds in the first. Ye dwelt in the wilderness many days. Transition to Jos_24:8, comp. Jos_24:5 b.

Jos_24:8-10. The third proof of God’s favor Victory over the Amorites (Num_21:23), and turning away of Balaam’s purposed curse from Israel (Num_22:22-24).

Jos_24:8. They fought with you, namely, under the command of their kings, Sihon, who was slain at Jahaz (Num_21:23), and Og, who was slain at Edrei (Num_21:33).

Jos_24:9. When it is said of Balak that he, the king of the Moabites, warred against Israel, we learn from the following words, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to come and curse you, how this is meant by the author. Balak contended not with arms against the Israelites, but would have them cursed by the false prophet Balaam, the ÷ֹñֵí (Jos_13:22), in which the terrified king at least staked his gold (Num_22:7), although it did not win. He lacked the courage for warfare with arms.

Jos_24:11. The fourth proof of God’s favor: The passage of the Jordan, capture of Jericho, victory over the Canaanites. The áַּòְְìֵé éְøִéúåֹ are not, as Knobel supposes, appealing to Jos_6:2, the king and his heroes, since the author in this case would have chosen the same expression; but, according to the example of 2Sa_21:12; 1Sa_23:11; Jdg_9:6, the citizens of Jericho.

Jos_24:12-13. Summary conclusion of the first division of Joshua’s speech, in which he again emphasizes the fact, that it was God who inspired the Canaanites, particularly Sihon and Og, with terror, and who has given the Israelites a rich and well cultivated land.

Jos_24:12. And I sent the hornet ( öִøְòָä ) before you. (So had it been promised by God, Exo_23:28; Deu_7:20, and now also fulfilled, comp. Wis_12:8). öִøְòָä is not to be understood literally, nor of plagues generally, but with Knobel and Keil, and most of the recent authorities, in such figurative sense as to be compared with Deu_2:25; Jos_2:11, where it is stated that Jehovah began, on the day of the victory over Sihon, to spread among all peoples, fear and terror, trembling and quaking and anguish, on account of Israel. The swarm of hornets is a terror and consternation to those against whom it turns, to fall upon them; before it they cannot stand but hurry away in distress. Like this is the consternation which, after their first great battle, preceded the Hebrews, and, like a heaven-sent spiritual plague, fell upon the peoples so that they fainted before Israel. Elsewhere the bees appear as an image of terrible foes (Deu_1:44; Psa_118:12; Knobel, on Exo_23:28). It ought also to be considered that in Exo_23:27, the next preceding verse, terror is spoken of ( ìְôֽðֶéãָàֶúÎàֵéîָúִé àַùַׁìַּç ). The same conclusion follows if we compare Deu_7:20 with Jos_24:19, Jos_24:21 (end), Jos_24:23-24.

Not by thy sword and not by thy bow. The same thought as in Psa_44:4.

Jos_24:13. Thus Israel has, through God’s goodness, without merit on his part, received a glorious land, a land which he has not worked with the sweat of his brow ( ìàֹÎéָâַòְúָּ áָäּ ), i.e., made productive, cities which he has not built, vineyards and olive-trees which he has not planted, but of which he shall eat. The LXX. render æֵéúִéí by ἐëáéῶíáò , the Vulgate, by oliveta = olive plantations, olive-yards, as Luther and De Wette translate; rightly, no doubt, for the sense. If the Hebrew language had a special word for this, as it had in ëֶøֶí for vineyard, it would certainly have made use of it here. This all happened as Jehovah had promised, Deu_6:10.

Jos_24:14-16. A demand to forsake idolatry entirely, and cleave to Jehovah alone, whom Joshua at least with his house will serve.

Jos_24:14. And now fear Jehovah(cf. Psa_2:11; Psa_5:8; especially Pro_1:7; Job_28:28) and serve him ( òִáãåּ àֹúåֹ , LXX.; ëáôñåí ́ óáôå , comp. Rom_1:25) in sincerity and in truth ( áְּúֽîִéí åּáֶàָîֶú , cf. Jdg_9:16; Jdg_9:19, and on áְּúָîִéí , in the N. T. åἰëéêñßíåéá , 1Co_5:8; 2Co_1:12; 2Co_2:17), and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt (comp. Lev_17:7; Amo_5:26; as well as Eze_20:7 ff; Eze_23:3; Eze_23:8), and serve Jehovah.

Jos_24:15. Finally, Joshua challenges the people to decide with the utmost freedom: “if it seem evil in your eyes, if it please you not (LXX.: åἰ ìὴ ἀñÝóêåé ), he calls to them, to serve Jehovah, then choose you (for yourselves, áַּäֲøåּ ìָëֶí ) this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell.” He gives them the choice, therefore, between the old worship of the Penates practiced by their fathers and the Baal-worship of the inhabitants of the land, if they will not serve Jehovah. The latter will he for his part and his family do, in any case, for he adds: but I and my house will serve Jehovah.

â . Jos_24:16-28. The Renewal of the Covenant. Struck by the words of Joshua the whole people with one consent reply, that they will not forsake Jehovah: “We also will serve Jehovah, for he is our God” (Jos_24:16-18). Being reminded further by Joshua how hard this is, since Jehovah is a holy and a jealous God (Jos_24:19-20), the people persist in their former declaration (Jos_24:21) whereupon the choice of Jehovah is, solemnly made (Jos_24:22-24), and the covenant renewed (Jos_24:25). All these things Joshua writes in the law-book of God (Jos_24:26), raises a monument of stone as a witness of what has taken place (Jos_24:27), and then dismisses the people (Jos_24:28) each to his possession.

Jos_24:16-18. The People’s Reply to Joshua’s Speech. Jos_24:16. The idea of forsaking Jehovah and serving other gods, is rejected with expressions of the deepest aversion ( çָìִéìָäִ ìָðåּ åâå ) to idolatry, comp. Jos_22:29.

Jos_24:17. The reason: Jehovah was their God, he who had brought them up ( îַöֲìֶä , for which, in Exo_20:2, we have çåֹöֵàúִéãָ ) out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage ( òַáָãִéí áֵּéú , as Exo_20:2), and had done these great signs, i.e., the wonders mentioned by Joshua (Jos_24:8-12) before their eyes, and had kept them in all the way wherein they went, etc.

Jos_24:18. Among the deeds of Jehovah they retail especially the expulsion of the original inhabitants of the land, and then add, in allusion to Joshua’s last word, “we also will serve Jehovah, for he is our God.

Jos_24:19-20. Joshua still calls the people to notice how difficult it was to serve Jehovah, by showing that he was a holy God ( äִֹéí ÷ְãùׁäéí as 1Sa_17:26; àֱìäִֹéí çַéִéí , where also the adject. is in the plural; in respect to the sense, comp. Exo_19:6; Lev_21:6-8; 1Pe_2:9, as well as the numerous passages in Isaiah, where God is designated as the ÷ְãåֹùׁ éִùְׂøָàֵì , e.g., Isa_5:19; Isa_5:24; Isa 12:6; 30:11, 12; 41:14, 43, etc.), a jealous God ( àֵì ÷ַðּåֹà ; Exo_20:5, àֵì ÷ַðָּà ; Nah_1:2, àֵì ÷ַðּåֹà , as here), who will not forgive transgressions ( ôֶּùַׁò ) and sins, “ ðָùָׂà , spoken of the forgiveness of sins, is commonly construed with acc. rei; less frequently with ìְ rei, besides this passage in Exo_23:21; Psa_25:18, with slight modification of meaning—to award forgiveness to sin” (Keil).

Jos_24:20. This jealousy of the holy God will show itself in this, that if they should forsake him and serve strange gods ( àֱìçֵֹé ðֵëָø , as Gen_35:4, while in Jos_24:16, as in Jos_23:16, we found à× àֲçֵøִéí ) he will turn ( åְùָׁá ) and do them harm and consume ( ëִּìָּä , finish, abolish) them, after that he has done them good, i.e., without any regard to the fact that he had done them good.

Jos_24:21. The people adhere to their resolution to serve Jehovah. On ìàֹ , minime, comp. Jos_5:14.

Jos_24:22. Joshua calls them now to witness against themselves, that they have chosen Jehovah as their God, to serve him, i.e., they will, if they ever fall away, be obliged to admit that they once chose Jehovah, and that he now has a right also to punish them for their unfaithfulness. To this, too, they assent, replying, as with one mouth: witnesses (are we).

Jos_24:23. Still another exhortation of Joshua, resting on that assent, to put away the strange gods (as Jos_24:20, àֱìäֵֹé ðֵëָø ) which were in the midst of them, and incline their heart to Jehovah, the God of Israel (as Jos_24:2). Keil, following the example of R. Levi ben Gerson, Augustine, and Calvin, takes áְּ÷ִøְ áְּëֶí , figuratively = in your hearts, because the people, with all their willing ness to renounce idolatry, yet deliver to Joshua no images to be destroyed, as was done in the similar cases, Gen_35:4; 1Sa_7:4. He thinks further, that although the people, as Amos represents to his generation (Amo_5:26, comp. (Act_7:43), carried about with them idols in the wilderness, yet with the dying out of the generation condemned at Kadesh, gross idolatry would have disappeared from Israel. We may grant that so long as Joshua lived, Israel publicly served the true God, but hold it very probable that, as he might full well know, many a one in secret worshipped the idols which he now demanded that they should put away, using the same word ( äָñéøåּ ) which Jacob had used before, and Samuel used after him. As regards the actual removal of the images, this may have followed, although we are not so informed. Finally, áְּ÷ִøְáְּëֶí here certainly is used precisely as much in the proper sense as in Gen_35:2, áְּúֹëְëֶí , and 1Sa_7:8, îִúֹּëְëְí .

Jos_24:24. For the third time (Jos_24:16; Jos_24:21) the people aver that they will serve Jehovah and hearken to his voice.

Jos_24:25. Upon this, Joshua made a covenant with them that day, i.e., he renewed the covenant concluded on Sinai by God with Israel (Exo_19:20), in like manner as Moses had done (Deu_28:62) in the field of Moab. When it is said further concerning Joshua, that he set them a statute and an ordinance (or judgment) in Israel, these words are in allusion to Exo_15:25, where, in connection with the change (not by this, Keil) of the bitter water into sweet, God himself established for Israel a statute and right. Here, it was precisely through the renewal of the covenant that statute and right for the people were established and determined,—“what in matters of religion should be with Israel law and right” (Knobel).

Jos_24:26-28. After this had been done, Joshua wrote these things, (prop. words, àֶúÎäַãְּáָøִéí ), i.e., all which had happened there at Shechem, the whole transaction between him and the people, in the book of the law of God. He wrote a document—a protocol, so to speak—concerning the matter, and introduced it into the book of the law. At the same time he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak which was in the sanctuary of Jehovah ( áְּîִ÷ְãַּùׁ éé ). The sanctuary is not the tabernacle (Exo_25:8; Lev_12:4; Lev_19:30; Lev_20:3; Lev_21:12; Num_3:38; Num_19:20 ap. Knobel), since this, according to Jos_18:1, stood in Shiloh, but a consecrated space, a sacred spot; and this place, indeed, within whose limits stood the oak, where the great stone was set up by Joshua (cf. Gen_28:18; Jos_4:20-22; 1Sa_7:12), had been hallowed by the altar which Abraham and Jacob had formerly built there (Gen_12:7; Gen_33:20). We may add with Knobel, that according to Jos_8:30, Joshua himself had built an altar on Mount Ebal, therefore in close proximity to Shechem, which, like Gilgal (Jos_4:20 ff; Jos_15:7), became a holy place.

Jos_24:27. Joshua finally explains the significance of the stone, which is to be a witness against the people in case they deny God, since it has heard all the words of Jehovah (Jos_24:2). In a vivid imagination the stone is regarded as a person, so to speak, which has seen and heard every thing, comp. Jos_22:34.

Jos_24:28 relates the dismissal of the people. Every one returns to his possession.

Jos_24:29-33. Death of Joshua and of Eleazar. Jos_24:29-30. It is probable that immediately thereafter Joshua died, one hundred and ten years old, at the same age precisely as that which Joseph reached, Gen_1:26. He was buried at Timnath-serah (Jos_19:50). The mountain of Gaash, mentioned here as well as in Jdg_2:9; 2Sa_23:30; 1Ch_11:32, cannot be identified. Its name, âַּòַùׁ from òַâַּùׁ to push, thrust, signifies, according to Gesenius, perhaps the same as fore-thrust, forespring.

Jos_24:31. So long as Joshua and the elders, who with him had led the people, lived, and those who had known ( éָãְöåּ ), i.e. experienced, all the works ( ëָּìÎîַöֲùֵׁç éé of Jehovah, which he had done for Israel, Israel served Jehovah, as is likewise related Jdg_2:11 ff.

Jos_24:32 contains an additional statement concerning the bones of Joseph, which suited the conclusion here, especially as the discourse in vers, 1–28 had been concerning Shechem, where they were buried, in the piece of ground which Jacob had once bought for one hundred kesita (Gen_23:19) of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem We learn from Exo_13:19, that the Israelites had, in conformity with a last wish of Joseph, recorded Gen_1:25, brought these bones out of Egypt, and this circumstance is mentioned by our author in the beginning of this verse.

Jos_24:33. After Joshua, died Eleazar also, the son of Aaron. How long afterward we cannot determine. They buried him at Gibeah-phinehas, the city of his son, which had been given to the latter on Mount Ephraim. Since it is expressly said that this Gibeah-phinehas lay on mount Ephraim, we agree with Robinson, von Raumer (p. 155), and Knobel, who regarded it as being the present Geeb in Maundrell, p. 87, or Jibia in Rob. iii. 80, 81, or Chirbet Jibia in Ritter, Erdk. 16. p. 559 f., the êþìç , villa Geba of Euseb. and Jerome. It stood five miles, i.e., two hours, north of Guphna, toward Neapolis or Shechem. Keil, however, thinks of the Levitical city Geba (Jos_18:24), to which view the position “on Mount Ephraim” need not, in his opinion, be an objection, because this mountain, according to Jdg_4:5 and other passages, reached far into the territory of Benjamin (?).

The Hebrew original of our book closes with this notice of the death of Eleazar. The LXX. have added a supplement, combining Jdg_2:6; Jdg_2:11; Jdg_3:7; Jdg_3:12 ff., which, however, is nowhere found in the MSS. and editions of Joshua. We give it according to the Polyglott Bible of Stier and Theile:̓ Åí ἐêåßíῃ ôῇ ἡìÝñᾳ ëÜâïíôåò ïἱ õἱïὶ ̔ Ἰóñáὴë ôὴí êéâùôὸí ôïῦ èåïῦ ðåñéåöÝñïóáí ἐí ἑáõôïῖò êáὶ Öéíåὲò ἱåñÜôåõóåí ἀíôὶ ÅëåÜæáñ ôïῦ ðáôñὸò áὐôïῦ ἕùò ἀðÝèáíå , êáὶ êáôùñýãç ἐí Ãáâáὰè ôῇ ἑáõôïῦ . Ïἱ äὲ ὑéïὶ Ἱóñáὴë ἀðÞëèïóáí ἕêáóôïò åἰò ôὸí ôüðïí áὐôῶí êáὶ åἰò ôὴí ἑáõôῶí ðüëéí . Êáὶ ἐóÝâïíôï ïἱ õἱïὶ Ἰóñáὴë ôὴí ÁóôÜñôçí êáὶ Ἀóôáñὼè êáὶ ôïὺò èåïὺò ôῶí ἐèíῶí ôῶí êýêëῳ áὐôῶí . Êáὶ ðáñÝäùêåí áὐôïὺò êὺñéïò åἰò ÷åßñáò Åãëὼí âáóéëÝùò Ìùáâéôῶí , êáὶ êáôåêõñßåõóåí áὐôῶí ἔôç äÝêá ὀêôῶ .

THEOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL

1. Joshua’s noble character, his deep insight into God’s leadings of his people, his accurate knowledge of the inconstancy of the human heart, his beautiful treatment of religious occasions, all appear in his last two addresses at parting with the people. As far as possible he keeps his own personal merit in the background. It is God who has fought for Israel (Jos_23:3) and will still further fight for him (Jos_23:10), the God of Israel (Jos_24:2; Jos_24:23), who from ancient times (Jos_24:2) to the present day has wonderfully manifested himself to his people, shown them much favor, and finally given them a beautiful dwelling-place (Jos_24:13). Of himself he says repeatedly that he is old and must go the way of all the earth (Jos_23:2; Jos_23:14), therefore a mortal man subject to the lot of all earthly existence, a man who, having fulfilled his task and distributed the land to the people (Jos_23:4), must now retire from the theatre of his activity, but who, as long as he lives, will with his family serve Jehovah (Jos_24:15). How nobly, on the other hand, he sketches in large features, particularly in the second discourse, the works of God; Abraham’s call (Jos_24:2 ff.), the mission of Moses and Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt (Jos_24:5 ff.), the conquest of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, the turning away of the curse of Balaam, the capture of Jericho, the conquest of the land (Jos_24:8 ff.). Since he knew, however, the human heart in its fickleness, and in particular understood accurately the want of stedfastness on the part of Israel, he repeatedly admonishes them to fidelity towards God (Jos_23:6-7; Jos_23:11; Jos_24:14-15), warns them likewise, and in part with words of sharp severity, against all apostasy (Jos_23:12-16; Jos_24:14; Jos_24:20), and puts them a third time to the test whether they will really serve Jehovah (Jos_24:15; Jos_24:19-20; Jos_24:22). In this, however, appears at the same time Joshua’s excellent understanding of the treatment of religious concerns, for he will employ no constraint, but leaves entirely to their own choice the decision whether Israel will serve Jehovah or the strange gods of whom they had knowledge (Jos_24:15; Jos_24:19-20). But then, after the people have decided for Jehovah, although Joshua has very emphatically pointed out that He is a holy and a jealous God (Jos_24:19), who will not forgive transgressions and sins, he demands of them also so much the more pointedly that they shall put away all strange gods.

2. In respect to this putting away of strange gods, we take the liberty of adding Gerlach’s remark on Jos_24:23, which still more definitely supports our explanation of the passage. “It is remarkable,” he says, “that, after Achan’s trespass in the matter of things devoted, and after the Israelites had not long before been ready to avenge so signally the supposed crime of their transjordanic brethren in erecting a rival altar, idolatry could still have been secretly practiced among them. In this, however, we must fairly consider how hard it was for the thought of the one, almighty, omnipresent God to find lodgment in the mind of the heathen-spirited people, how, with this faith they stood alone among the nations of the whole contemporary world, how they, therefore, were continually overcome anew and taken captive by the spirit of the world and of the age, and incessantly turned away to other helpers from the divinely appointed means of grace which seemed not to satisfy their carnal desires; how, in particular, they still afterwards worshipped partly the true God under images, partly the divining house-gods (teraphim) in secret; and how the judgment of God might indeed seize upon and hold up one example (Achan, ch. vii.), without, therefore, at a later period, in like manner, extirpating the sin. That in the wilderness the people in secret worshipped idols Amos declares (Amos 5:25; comp. Act_7:43), that there were household gods even in David’s house, is shown by 1Sa_19:13; 1Sa_19:16. No apostasy from the true God followed from that, but a partial and ever renewed corruption of his service through superstition.” Analogous examples are found in Grimm’s Mythology, from the history of our German people.

3. Similar representations of the benefits of God to his people may be read in many passages of the Psalms, partly abridged, partly in more full accounts. Thus Psa_44:1-4; Psa_68:8 ff; Psalms 78; Psa_80:9 ff; Psa_81:11; Psa_99:6-7; Psalms 90; Psalms 106; Psa_135:8 ff; Psa_136:10-11; Psa_136:19. Touching the deliverance from