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JOS 23:1
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JOS 23:2
Ver. 2. Joshua called for all Israel, &c.— That is, he convoked them by their chief men, whose different quality is here specified: the elders, they who composed the great council of the nation, afterwards called the Sanhedrin; the heads of tribes and families; the judges, or city magistrates; and the officers, who executed the sentences pronounced by those magistrates. And, without doubt, all such Israelites as were desirous of assisting at this respectable assembly of the representatives of the nation, had liberty so to do.
And said unto them, I am old, &c.— "Being now grown old amongst you, at the head of your armies, and the helm of the state; nothing remains for me, before my death, but to set before your view, all that the Lord hath done for you, and what you ought to do for him. Receive then this advice of an old man, which his age and experience, far more than his rank, should render dear and valuable to you."
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Ver. 1. And it came to pass a long time after, &c.— That is to say, fourteen years after the conquest of the land of Canaan, and seven after the division of the country among the tribes. See ch. Jos 11:23 Joshua 14:10. Dr. Wells is of opinion, that the assembly here mentioned met at Shiloh before the tabernacle. Joshua is before spoken of as being old and stricken in years, chap. Joshua 13:1. He was now, probably, in the last year of his life.
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