God hath requited me. And 8 (Now 'the children of Judah they brought him to Jerusalem, had fought against Jerusalem, and there he died. f See Josh. 15. 63, 6 Canaanites previous to the arrival of have proceeded only from the most the Israelites, and this circumstance | barbarous and brutal dispositions. probably tended to facilitate their But we have cause to be humbled conquests. 'Judah,' says Lightfoot, for human nature that such propenin conquering Adoni-bezek did insities still adhere to it. This is evieffect conquer seventy kings.' In dent from the pleasure which childthe case of this cruel tyrant we can-ren often take in torturing insects not fail to perceive the uncertainty and animals, and in vexing and tyof human greatness. The mighty rannizing over those who are weaker potentate is here reduced to the con- than themselves-a disposition which dition of a prisoner, to the very ex-in after life displays itself in a fondtremity of meanness and disgrace; ness for despotic sway, in a vindicshowing that pre-eminence in station tive spirit, and in a career of ruthless often leads only to a sad pre-emi- ambition. But God is known by the nence in misery and distress. 'Let judgments that he executeth, and this not the highest be proud, nor the cruel Canaanite was in his turn strongest secure, for they know not made to feel the anguish which he how low they may be brought before | had so wantonly inflicted upon oththey die.'-Henry.- -T As I have ers. The Israelites were led to deal done, so God hath requited me. A with him on the principle of their striking acknowledgment, extorted own law of retaliation, an eye for from a guilty conscience, of the re- an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' &c.; tributive justice of Heaven. 'When although, as it would have been inGod's judgments awaken the con- consistent with those gracious affecscience we shall own his righteous- tions which, as the Lord's chosen ness, and stand self-condemned be- people, they were bound to exercise, fore him.'—Haweis. What pretences they did not reduce him to the same he had for warring against these ignominy or insult over him with kings, we know not; but thus to in- the same arrogance that he had sult over the misfortunes of the van- shown towards others. Thus it is quished, to maim their persons, and that God sometimes makes men's compel them, like dogs, to gather up punishments to correspond with their the crumbs from under his table, ar- crimes; and in this case, notwithgued a degree of cruelty which one standing all the feelings of humanicould scarcely have conceived to ty, we cannot but acquiesce in the exist in a rational being. As the judgment that befel him, or help personal injuries he had inflicted being conscious of a secret satisfacwould of course disable them from tion that the same evils he had so harming him as long as they were cruelly inflicted upon others should kept in bondage, thus to sport him- be brought home to himself. self in their miseries, was a conduct of pure gratuitous cruelty, and could 8. Had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it. This event of and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.) 9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron (now the name of He g Josh. 10. 36. and 11. 21. and 15. 13. prior occurrence is mentioned here to intimate how it happened that they were able to convey the captive king to Jerusalem. It was because they had before taken that city, and it was now in their possession. The reason of removing him thither was perhaps to make him a more public spectacle of the just judgments of God against barbarous and bloodthirsty tyrants. But though the city is said to have been taken, yet the hill of Zion, as appears from the subsequent history, was still held by the Jebusites till the time of David. -T Set the city on fire. Heb. 289 1730 1197 hâir shillehu bâësh, cast the city into the fire; an inverted phraseology, peculiar to the Hebrew. Thus Ps. 74. 7, 'They have cast fire into the sanctuary;' Heb. ' they have cast thy sanctuary into the fire.' Joel, 3.-18, 'The hills shall flow with milk;' Heb. 'milk shall flow with hills.' This burning the city or a part of it, was probably in token of their detestation of the idolatry which had been practised there. 9. Went down to fight, &c. That is, descended to the hill-country lying south of Jerusalem. 10. And Judah went down against | the Canaanites, &c. That is, under the conduct of Caleb, as we learn from Josh. 15. 14-19, where substantially the same account with the present occurs. How this has happened, whether the writer of Judges took this narrative from Joshua, or the writer of Joshua inserted his from Judges, it is impossible to determine. That both accounts relate the same events there can be no doubt, but whether those events occurred before or after the death of Joshua, is a point which we despair of ever having satisfactorily settled. As the discussion of the question would encumber our pages with matter of little profit to the general reader, we waive it entirely without offering an opinion. Slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. In the parallel passage, Josh. 15. 14, Caleb is said merely to have 'driven out' these sons of Anak. The probability is, that the words before us give the true sense, and that they were actually slain. An enemy driven out is not necessarily understood to be slain, but whoever is slain is virtually driven out, by being expelled from among the living. 11-15. See on Josh. 15. 15-19. 13 And Othniel the son of Ke- | Caleb gave her the upper springs, naz, 'Caleb's younger brother, and the nether springs. took it and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. 14 "And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou ? 15 And she said unto him, "Give me a blessing for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.. And 1 ch. 3. 9. m Josh. 15. 18, 19. n Gen. 33. 11. 0 16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palmtrees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. 16. The children of the Kenite, Mo- the Amalekites, he sent a message ses' father in-law. That is, of Jeth- to the Kenites to depart from among ro; but why he is called the Kenite them, as God would not destroy it is not easy to say. The probabil- them with that devoted people. From ity is, that he inhabited the country them descended Hemath, the father occupied by a people of this name, of the house of Rechab, of whom Num. 24. 21. 22, and on this account we have so interesting an account, in process of time came to be distin- Jerem. 35.- -T Arad. Of this place guished by the same appellation. see on Num. 21. 1.-¶ And they Whether Jethro himself accompa- went and dwelt, &c. That is, the nied Israel into Canaan, according to greatest part of them. Some few Moses' invitation, Num. 10. 32, is families were dispersed in other planot clear, but that his posterity did is ces, as we find the tent of Jael, who certain. After their arrival, they at was of this stock, far to the north, in - first pitched their tents near Jericho, the tribe of Naphtali, when Sisera called also 'the city of Palm trees,' took shelter there, ch. 4. 17.— which lay in the lot of Benjamin, T Among the people. Heb. YN ON and here remained during the life- eth hââm, that people; viz. the childtime of Joshua. After his death, ren of Judah resident there. They for reasons now unknown, they unit- who willingly share with God's Ised with the tribe of Judah, and went | rael in their sufferings in the wilwith them to attack Arad. After the derness, shall share also with them conquest of that country, the Kenites in the inheritance in glory.'-Haweis. established themselves there and re- 17. And Judah went with Simeon, mained in it mingled with the Amal- &c. According to previous comekites, and leading a quiet life re-pact, v. 3. The thread of the narra mote from public affairs, till the days | tive which had been interrupted for of Saul. When this king received the purpose of introducing the forea commandment from God to destroy going account of Caleb and Othniel, it. And the name of the city was called 'Hormah. 18 Also Judah took "Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof. t Num. 21. 3. Josh. 19. 4. u Josh. 11. 22, 19 And the LOR as with Judah; and he drave the in habitants of the mountain; but could not drive out ne inb-bitants of the valley, we ase they had 'chariots of iron x ver. 2. 2 Kings 18. 7. y Josh and remained for ages an almost incessant source of annoyance and vexation to the Israelites. 16, 18. 19. Drave out the inhabitants of the mountain. Or, Heb. 1 yoresh eth hâhâr, possessed the mountain. The idea of the original however is, possessing in consequence of a previous expulsion. If the former sense of 'driving out' be retained, mountain, i. e. the mountainous region, is of course used for mountaineers, or the inhabitants of the mountain, as the name of a country or city often stands for its occupants. In the parallel member of the sentence immediately following, the word 'inhabitants' is expressed. is here resumed.- - Slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath. A valley called Zephathah, is mentioned 2 Chron. 14. 19, as lying near Maresha in the southern section of Judah, where Asa gained a signal victory over the Ethiopian army. This is probably the same place. It was now destroyed in pursuance of a vow taken by Israel before the death of Moses, Num. 21. 1-3, and which for some reason they had delayed to perform till this time. This seems likely from the fact that the same name, 'Hormath,' importing utter destruction, is there also bestowed upon the devoted region, and we can otherwise see no particular reason for making Zephath an anathe-¶ But could not drive out, &c. That ma on this occasion. Arad appears is, Judah could not. The reason not to have been so much the name why they could not was their unbeof a city, as of a tract of country em- lief. Had they duly confided in ombracing a number of cities, of which nipotence, the chariots of iron would perhaps Zephath was the principal. have been no more of an obstacle to 18. Took Gaza with the coast them than chariots of straw. But thereof. With the adjoining territory although on a former occasion, Josh. thereof; and so in what follows. 11. 4-9, they had seen how complete Having conquered the south, they was the victory which Joshua, relyturned their arms towards the Philis- ing upon God, had obtained over tines' country in the west. These these engines of war, yet now they cities it is said they took,' but it is weakly suffer their fears to prevail not said that they slew the inhabit- over their faith, and instead of trustants, as they ought to have done. ing God under apparent disadvanThey probably contented themselves tages, they meanly withdraw their with making them tributary, and as forces, when one bold stroke would a consequence of their ill-judged have completed their victories. So lenity, they afterwards recovered with believers, when they view outstrength, expelled their invaders, ward difficulties with the eye of 20 And they gave Hebron | busites that inhabited Jerusalem; unto Caleb, as Moses said: and but the Jebusites dwell with the he expelled thence the three children of Benjamin in Jerusasons of Anak. lem unto this day. sense, and forget the almighty power of God; their hearts grow discouraged, their expectations feeble, and their attempts timid and wavering; and then no wonder they do not prosper, for in proportion to our faith will be our vigor, zeal, and success. The Chal. paraphrast renders the verse; 'And the Word of Jehovah was in the support of the house of Judah, and they extirpated the inhabitants of the mountains; but afterwards, when they sinned, they were not able to extirpate the inhabitants of the plain country, because they had chariots of iron.' 20. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, &c. We have little doubt that the true design of inserting this verse in this connexion is lost sight of, by the present mode of rendering. Let the verb be translated in the pluperfect tense, 'had given,' and the drift is obvious. It is as if the writer had said, 'Although they had some time before given Hebron to Caleb, and he had expelled thence the three gigantic sons of Anak, who were deemed the most formidable and invincible of all the old inhabitants of Canaan, and though his success ought to have been regarded as a pledge and earnest of their own, let the opposing power have been what it might, yet notwithstanding this precedent, they ignobly failed in the 22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel and the LORD was with them. b ver. 19. achievement of a conquest equally easy.' Understood in this sense, the words, instead of being an unmeaning repetition of an incident frequently mentioned before, are in fact a tacit but severe rebuke of the cowardice and pusillanimity of the nation. 21. The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites. Jerusalem was situated partly in the tribe of Judah, and partly in that of Benjamin; the northern part belonging to the latter tribe, the southern to the former. This will account for the fact, that what is here said of Benjamin, is, in Josh. 15 63, said of Judah. It was owing to the most culpable remissness on the part of the tribe of Benjamin that these Jebusites were not expelled from their strong-hold. As the Jebusites dwelt in Jerusalem till the days of David, and the author of this book states them to have been in possession of Jerusalem when he wrote, therefore this book was certainly written before the reign of David, or before the date of his capture of that part of the city. 22. The house of Joseph-went up.. That is, the tribe of Ephraim, as appears from the contrary affirmation respecting Manasseh.-——¶ The Lord was with them. Another mode of saying that they were eminently successful in the expedition. The pre |