was "not important," for every place is important, when we wish to find it, and get what information we can about it. To a thorough student, it is a grievous vexation, to look over a Geographical Concordance or Dictionary, to find a name, and not find it, at the same time knowing that there is such a name in the Bible. We have been thus particular and thorough, in this department of Biblical investigation, from a deep conviction of its paramount importance to the right understanding of the history here given us. This is our apology, if apology is needed, for preparing this long chapter.

CHAPTER VI.

CONQUEST OF CANAAN.

CONTENTS:-Passage of the Jordan; Circumcision and the Passover; The Fall of Jericho; The Culprit; Conquest of Ai; Blessings and Cursings; The League with the Gibeonites; The Five Confederate Kings; Cities Taken and Destroyed; A General Uprising and the Result; Recapitulation.

SECTION I.-PASSAGE OF the Jordan.

JOS. I.

1. Now, after the death of Mo. ses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

2. Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people,❘ unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

4. From the wilderness and this

Lebanon, even unto the great riv. er, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

5. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses, 80 I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

6. Be strong, and of a good courage; for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

7 Only be thou strong, and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

8. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day

and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good

success.

9. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.

Moses is denominated the servant of God, but Joshua is called the minister of Moses. These terms are essentially the same, but the usage is slightly varied. Joshua was a young man, and the servant or minister of Moses, when the Israelites were at Sinai. Ex. xxxiii. 11. With the exception of Caleb, Joshua alone remained of those that left Egypt under the conduct of Moses. These two had made a favorable report, when sent from Kadesh to spy the land; and for that they were excepted from the sentence pronounced on the rest of the people. Num. xiv. 6; xxvi. 65.

Joshua had been designated as the successor of Moses; and the latter had given him his charge, in view of his duties and responsibilities. Deut. xxxi. 23; xxxiv. 9.

Go over this Jordan. This language implies that the Jordan was near. "This Jordan," as if the speaker pointed to it when he spake, there being no allusion to it that could have called for this expression.

This book of the law. It is certain that the law which was to be the guide of Joshua, was a book written down and put into his hands. It is enjoined on him "to do according to all that is written therein.'

JOS. I.

10. Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,

11. Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land,

which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

12. And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,

13. Remember the word which

Moses, the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.

14. Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them;

15. Until the Lord hath given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them; then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave

you on this side Jordan, towards the sun-rising.

16. And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go.

17. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.

18. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words, in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death; only be strong, and of a good

courage.

The Hebrews as a body were well organized. Besides the commander-in-chief and his lieutenants, every tribe had a chief; and the men of each tribe, fit to bear arms, were divided into tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands, with a suitable officer over each division. Every tribe, too, had an appropriate standard. Ex. xviii. 25; Num. ii. 2, etc.,

Pass through the host. The term host is used to denote an organized army. It is not necessary that the army should be large. We often read of the God of hosts. In some instances the original is retained, and then we read of "the God of Sabaoth," meaning the God of hosts. The term has no connection with the Sabbath, as some excellent writers have assumed.

Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had desired to settle east of the Jordan; and Moses had complied with their wishes. But it was expressly stipulated, that the fighting men of these tribes, or a sufficient portion of them, should go with their brethren across the river, and help them conquer that part of the country, after which they should return to their possessions. Num. xxxii. 11-42; Deut. iii. 12-20. All the tribes had been engaged in subduing the country east of the

river; and now all must unite in the subjugation of the country on the west side. All that did not obey, should be put to death. In the army, death is inflicted for many offences, that would be punished with a much milder infliction under other circumstances.

JOS. II.

16. And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourself there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

17. And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear:

18. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by; and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.

19. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

20. And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

21. And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

22. And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned. And the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

23. So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befel them:

24. And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

Joshua the son of Nun. The Septuagint has it "son of Naue or Nave." The reason is not obvious. The Vulgate has Nun, with the English version; and the Hebrew is plainly Nun.

כרך

It was not uncommon in ancient times for women to keep houses of entertainment; and plainly the writer means to inform us, that the spies called at an inn, kept by a woman whose name was Rahab. This is true, independent of the question whether the original term for harlot, in this passage, has the meaning of inn-keeper or not. Nor, with this view of the case, is it necessary to attach any other meaning to the term, than the one here given, in order to vindicate the character of the Hebrew spies. They did not call on Rahab, because she was a harlot, but because she kept a house of entertainment, whatever they may have ascertained about her afterwards.