성경 주석서

Ver. 1. Now Jericho was straitly shut up— While every necessary preparation was making in the camp of Joshua for the attack of Jericho, the king of that city, on his part, took all possible precautions for his security. Having refused the offers of peace, which were doubtless made him by the Hebrew general, (see Deuteronomy 20:10.) and resolved to defend himself to the last extremity, he had shut himself in Jericho, and set so good a guard there, that Joshua, who kept the place blocked up, could carry on no intelligence with, nor know what passed in it. The city, according to Onkelos, was shut up with gates of iron, and bars of brass; so that no one could issue out either to fight, or to talk of peace. The adventure of the spies, who had crept into Rahab's house, was a sufficient caution not to be satisfied with keeping the place shut by night only. We may further observe, that the division of the Bible into chapters and verses is not always very exact, and may frequently mislead readers. This chapter should not naturally have begun till the 6th verse; for the five first verses are a continuation of the discourse addressed by the Captain of the Lord's hosts to Joshua, on shewing himself to him: or the foregoing chapter should have ended at ver. 12 as the account of the appearance of the angel and of the conference begins at ver. 13. It is certain, that the words in ver. 1 in this chapter, are properly only a parenthesis of the sacred historian, prudently added to shew the necessity of the miracle.

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Ver. 2. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, &c.— The same person, who in the preceding chapter is called the Captain of the host of the Lord, is here named the LORD. There is no doubt, therefore, that this was a divine personage, the angel of the covenant, the Son of God.

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Ver. 4. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns— Some have observed, that rams' horns cannot be bored, and made so as to give any thing of a strong sound; and therefore by rams' horns here, they would understand trumpets made in the shape of rams' horns. But this supposed difficulty, of making such an instrument of a ram's horn as may give a pretty strong sound, is not well founded; it being certain, that the inside of these horns is no way hard, and may easily be taken out, excepting a space at the point, of about four or five inches, part of which is sawed off, in order to proportion the aperture to the mouth; after which, the rest is easily pierced. We can assure our readers, say the authors of the Universal History, that we have seen some of these trumpets, thus made, used by shepherds in the southern parts of Germany.

And the seventh day you shall compass the city, &c.— Grotius very properly observes, that the number seven is suited or appropriated to things sacred: it is evidently so in this place. We shall not, however, insist upon it. The reader may consult a variety of authors respecting the facts; particularly Drusius on the passage, and on Leviticus 4:6.

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Ver. 5. The wall of the city shall fall down flat— The Hebrew literally is, shall fall under itself. The LXX render it, the walls shall fall down of themselves; and Onkelos has it, the wall shall fall, and be swallowed up under itself. If we are to believe the Jews, the walls of Jericho sunk entirely into the earth, without leaving the least outward trace of them; so that the Jews entered into the city on plain ground. But the text only says, that the walls fell down upon their foundations. The latter clause, and the people shall ascend up, &c. is explained two different ways. 1. Some are of opinion, that the walls of Jericho fell down only in particular places, where wide breaches were made, through which the Israelites might pass with ease; and this they suppose, because otherwise Rahab's house, which was annexed to the city-wall, must have been overturned. 2. But others think, that the whole wall was beaten down, and the house of Rahab only preserved; still more apparently to display the irresistibility of that Power, which, while it overthrows, can yet exempt from destruction: He killeth, and He saveth alive.

REFLECTIONS.—Jericho was now close besieged without, and close shut up and guarded within, by the strength of the fortifications and the number of the inhabitants; but the captain of the Lord's hosts assures Joshua that the place is his own: and, to try the obedience of the people, as well as to spread the terror of such a scene wide through the land, he issues a strange order. No military attack need be made, no engines drawn to the walls, but only the ark of God be carried in solemn procession six days round the city, by the priests, blowing with rams' horns, accompanied by all the people; on the seventh day the city must be compassed seven times, when, at the signal given of a long blast of the trumpets, the people must shout together, and the walls shall fall down flat; so that every man may go up instantly, and smite the inhabitants surprised and defenceless. Note; Though the sinner's heart be walled and barred as fast as Jericho, the word of God, spoken by his ministers, has mighty power to cast down the strong-holds of Satan; and though the instruments seem weak as these rams' horns, yet that Divine power is with them which nothing can resist.

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Ver. 16. And—at the seventh time—Joshua said unto the people, Shout, &c.— This shouting might be made in a two-fold view. It might be designed to terrify the enemy, and to animate at the same time the Israelitish soldiery; and, doubtless, it was also to express the faith of the whole people, and the confidence wherewith they relied upon the divine promises. By faith, says St. Paul, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about seven days. Hebrews 11:30.

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Ver. 17. The city shall be accursed,—and all that are therein, to the Lord— That is, Jericho, and whatever it contains, shall be devoted to utter destruction, save what is expressly excepted in this and the 19th verse. Respecting the Cherem, we refer to the Reflections at the end of Deut. ch. 20: It is necessary, however, to add here, that if God used the utmost severity towards Jericho, even to the forbidding to spare the wives and children, or to keep any spoil, which he had allowed on other occasions, it was for reasons well worthy his supreme wisdom. On the other hand, he ordered all the inhabitants of this city to be put to the sword, in order to intimidate the rest of the Canaanites, and to determine them, by this act of justice, to prevent, by accepting peace, or by flight, a punishment which their enormous and wilful crimes rendered unavoidable. But then he forbad the Israelites keeping any booty to themselves, that, on their entering into the land of Canaan, they might the better understand that they had no right to the riches of that country but what he gave them; and that he would ever continue to himself the power of restraining that right as he should think proper.

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Ver. 18. In any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, &c.— "Be sure not to carry off for your private emolument any of the spoil of your enemy: ye are to consider it as a thing devoted to the Lord, and which you are not to touch, on pain of being yourselves devoted to death; of drawing down upon you the immediate curse of God, and of stopping the progress of your victories."

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Ver. 19. But all the silver, and gold,—are consecrated unto the Lord— God requires, that all the silver, gold, brass, iron, and all other metal found in Jericho, should be consecrated to the use of his sanctuary, and carried into his tabernacle, to supply the wants of that sacred house; but, doubtless, first to be purified by passing through the fire, according to the law, Num 31:22-23 and excepting the idols, which were to be absolutely destroyed.

Deuteronomy 7:25-26. The Jews say, that all these riches belonged to God, inasmuch as Jericho was taken on a sabbath-day; but, as we before remarked, God required them as a tribute and homage, by which the Israelites acknowledged that to his power and goodness they owed the victory which now opened to them the entrance and possession of the country.

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