1Joshua assembleth the tribes at Shechem, 2and layeth before them a brief history of God's benefits from the days of Terah. 14He reneweth the covenant between God and them. 26A stone is set up to witness the covenant. 29Joshua's age, death, and burial. 32Joseph's bones are buried. 33Eleazar dieth.
1AND Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel 1to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves 2before God.
1 That is, according to the opinion of some, at Shiloh, which is situated in the land of Shechem, for there was the tabernacle. Understand this likewise verse 32. But others perceive that upon this day of solemn assembly, Joshua caused the ark to be brought from Shiloh unto the city of Shechem, as the same has been often done, namely, under Eli, Samuel, Saul, and David.
2 That is, before the tabernacle wherein God dwelt.
2And Joshua said 3unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt ona the other side 4of the flood in old time, even Terah,b the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
3 See Joshua 23 on verse 2.
a Deut. 26:5.
4 Understand the river Euphrates, and also verses 3, 14, 15.
b Gen. 11:26, 31.
3Andc I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multipliedd his seed, and gave him Isaac.
c Gen. 12:1.
d Gen. 21:2.
4Ande I gave unto Isaac 5Jacob and Esau: and If gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; butg Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
e Gen. 25:24.
5 Here Esau, the firstborn, is not named first, but Jacob. See similarly also Gen. 11:26. 1 Chron. 1:28.
f Gen. 36:8.
g Gen. 46:1.
5 Ih sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
h Exod. 3:10, etc.; 12:37.
6And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; andi the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
i Exod. 14:1, etc.
7And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and 6your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
6 This is to be understood of many of those who were under twenty years old when they departed out of Egypt, for they, who were above the age of twenty (except Caleb and Joshua), they all died in the wilderness.
8Andj I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
j Num. 21:21, 33.
9Thenk Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and 7warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
k Num. 22:5; Deut. 23:4; Judges 11:25.
7 That is, intended, or purposed to fight. See Judges 11:25. Compare John 10:32, 33, where the word stoning, is put for intending, or going about to stone. So that it seems, that this is to be understood of Balak’s enmity shown against Israel, first when he went about to curse them by Balaam; and after that, when by Balaam’s counsel, (by means of the Moabitish women) he brought them to commit first whoredom, and then idolatry, and so caused the wrath of God to come upon them.
10But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
11Andl ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the 8men of Jericho 9fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; andm I delivered them into your hand.
l Joshua 3:14; 6:1.
8 Or, lords, or citizens.
9 Namely, those of Jericho by shutting their gates; but these nations, which are named, by force of arms.
m Joshua 6:20; 10:8; 11:8.
12And In sent the 10hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, 11even theo two kings of the Amorites; but not with 12thy sword, nor with thy bow.
n Exod. 23:28; Deut. 7:20.
10 Or, the hornets. Hebr. the hornet.
11 As if he would say: As ye beforetime drove out both the kings of the Amorites, namely, Sihon and Og. See verse 18.
o Psalm 44:3.
12 Understand, besides their swords and bows, this also of all other weapons and arms, as Gen. 48:22. Psalm 7:12; 44:3, 6. The meaning of these words is: That their swords and bows had been in vain, had not the Lord destroyed their enemies.
13Andp I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, 13and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the 14vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
p Deut. 6:10, 11, 12.
13 Joshua 11:13 it is said: That the Israelites banned or utterly destroyed no cities, save Hazor only. This was therefore done, that the children of Israel might find houses and cities to dwell in.
14 That is, of the fruits of the vineyards and of the olives that grew upon the trees. See similar phrase or manner of speaking, Gen. 3:12; Rev. 2:7.
14¶Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him 15in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which 16your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
15 That is, uprightly, sincerely, with all the heart, without dissembling.
16 Namely, Terah, Nahor, etc. yea, Abraham himself, before God called him out of Ur of the Chaldees.
1517And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
17 Joshua leaves it not arbitrary to the Israelites, whether they should serve God or no; but this he says, that they might freely and without compulsion declare what they were minded to do; and that they might be the more firmly bound to serve God, in that they had freely taken upon them to do it. See the like phrase or manner of speaking, Ruth 1:8, 15.
16And the people answered and said, 18God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
18 Hebr. Be it far to us from forsaking, etc.
17For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we 19also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
19 Namely, as well as thou, and thy father’s house.
19And Joshua said unto the people, 20Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an 21holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not 22forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20 Namely, if you keep with you the strange gods among you, mixing the false worship with the true worship of God, as may be gathered from verse 23.
21 Hebr. Elohim Kedoschim hu. See hereof, Gen. 20 on verse13.
22 Hebr. take away; see similar phrase or manner of speaking, Gen. 50:17. Other, not endure.
20If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, thenq he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
q Joshua 23:15.
21And the people said unto Joshua, 23Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
23 Understand with this: we will not forsake the Lord.
22And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23Now therefore put away, said he, the 24strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
24 Namely, the gods of the strangers. By these words it appears, although idolatry was not publicly tolerated, yet there were some among the Israelites at this time, that had idols in secret, which they worshipped and served. See Amos 5:25, 26; Acts 7:43. See also Gen. 35 on verse 2.
24And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
2525So Joshua mader a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in 26Shechem.
25 That is, he renewed and confirmed the covenant which God had made with the people of Israel.
r Exod. 15:25.
26 See verse 1.
26¶And Joshua wrote these 27words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an 28oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
27 That is, the words of this covenant.
28 See of this oak, Judges 9:6.
27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; 29for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye 30deny your God.
29 That is, it has been present there. Here sense is ascribed and attributed unto the stone, which is void of sense. So likewise it is said, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, Isa. 1:2 and Deut. 32:1, The heavens declare the glory of God, Psalm 19:1, the stones would immediately cry out, Luke 19:40.
30 But keep and do what ye have promised Him.
28So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
29¶And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being 31an hundred and ten years old.
31 Hebr. a son of an hundred and ten years.
30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance 32in Timnath-serah,s which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
32 Otherwise called, Timnath-heres, Judges 2:9.
s Joshua 19:50; Judges 2:9.
31And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders 33that overlivedt Joshua, and which had 34known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.
33 Heb. that prolonged their days after Joshua, See Exod. 20:12.
t outlived, survived
34 Understand here, those who, together with Joshua, had governed the people, and outlived him. See Judges 2:7.
32¶And the bones of Joseph, whichu the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they 35in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an 36hundred pieces of silver: and 37it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
u Gen. 50:25; Exod. 13:19.
35 Understand this as verse 1, for here follows that Josephs’ bones were buried in the parcel of the field or ground, etc., which was not situated in the city of Shechem, as may be gathered from Gen. 33:18.
36 See Gen. 33:19 and the annotation thereon. Stephen, Acts 7:16 says: for the price of silver.
37 Namely, that parcel of the field and the buryingplace that was therein.
33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.