Before CHRIST 1451. Before CHRIST 1451. Joshua succeedeth Moses. The praise of Moses. 10 I And there arose not a pro79. And Moses was an hundred phet since in Israel like unto Moses, and twenty years old when he died: whom the Lord knew face to face, his eye was not dim, nor his t natural 11 In all the signs and the won1 Heb. fled. force + abated. ders, which the LORD sent him to do 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was and in all the great terror which + Heb. moisture. by Samuel, or some Prophet who succeeded him. “ buried his body in a valley opposite Beth-peor, in the They were admitted by Ezra as authentick, and we land of Moab; but no man knoweth his sepulchre unto have no reason to question the fidelity of the account. this day,” observes the sacred historian, who annexed Dr. Gray. It is an opinion, which seems very con- the circumstances of his death to the book of Deuterosonant to reason, that the book of Deuteronomy ended nomy, ver. 6. From an obscure passage in the New with the prophetick blessing of Moses upon the twelve Testament, in which Michael the archangel is said to tribes. Before the invention of sections and other di- have contended with the devil, about the body of Moses,” visions, and when sometimes several books were con- Jude 9, we may collect that he was buried by the minected together, and followed each other upon the same nistry of angels, near the scene of the idolatry of the roll, according to the ancient method of writing, it is Israelites; but that the spot was purposely concealed, no hard matter to conceive how easily the beginning of lest his tomb might also be converted into an object of one book may have been transferred to the end of idolatrous worship among the Israelites, like the brasen another; so that in process of time that may have been serpent. Beth-peor lay in the lot of the Reubenites, reputed the conclusion of Deuteronomy, which was Josh. xiii. 20. His death was announced by the Lord originally intended for the introduction to Joshua Himself to Joshua, “ Moses my servant is dead, &c.” Stackhouse. Josh, i. 2. So that there was no human witness of his 6. And he buried him] The same God, that by the decease; the account of which was probably added by hands of his angels carried up the soul of Moses to his Joshua from revelation. glory, doth also by the hand of his angels carry his The pre-eminence of his character is briefly described body down into the valley of Moab, to his sepulture. by the sacred historian, Samuel or Ezra : “And there Those hands, which had received the law from Him, arose not a Prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, those eyes that had seen his presence, those lips that whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and had conferred so often with Him, that face that did so the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land shine with the beams of his glory, may not be neglected of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all when the soul is gone : He, that took charge of his his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the birth and preservation in the reeds, takes charge of his great terrour which Moses shewed in the sight of all carriage out of the world: the care of God ceaseth not Israel.” over his own, either in death, or after it. Bp. Hall. The noblest trait in his moral character was his patri 10. And there arose not a prophet-like unto Moses,] otick disinterestedness. He twice refused the tempting Moses was mighty both in words and deeds, Acts vii. offer of the aggrandizement of his own family, when 22. He excelled in miracles and prophecies, and still God threatened to reject the Israelites for their rebelmore in legislation. His laws and institutions have lions, and make of him “a great nation” in their stead. been admired and adopted by the wisest sages of an- And he left his sons, without rank or patrimony, as tiquity. And upon the closest scrutiny, they breathe a private Levites, to subsist on the national bounty, in spirit of the most exalted piety, the most extensive be- common with their brethren !-And, melancholy to renevolence, and the most enlightened policy, worthy late, his grandson, Jonathan, the son of Gershom,” indeed of the tutelar God of Israel, by whom they were and his family, became idolatrous priests to the Danites, dictated to this most highly favoured “man of God,” until the capture of the ark by the Philistines, Judg. because most “ faithful servant of the Lord;” Deut. xviii. 30; where the Masorite doctors, to hide the disxxxiii. 1; Numb. xii. 7; Heb. ii. 2; with whom God grace to his memory, changed “ Moses” into “ Maconversed “ face to face;" or familiarly, “as a man nasses,” by interpolating the letter N in the present speaketh unto his friend,” Exod. xxxii. 11. copies of the Hebrew text. The posterity of his son The faculties of this illustrious legislator, both of Eliezer were numerous in Solomon's time, and some mind and body, were unimpared at the age of 120 of them high in office, i Chron. xxiii. 14–17; xxvi. years, when he died. “ His eye was not dim, nor his 24, 25. Dr. Hales. natural strength abated,” ver. 7. And the noblest of Thus, with the death of this eminent Prophet and all his compositions was his Song, or the Divine Ode, Lawgiver, ended the Pentateuch : containing the sawhich Bp. Lowth elegantly styles, “the dying swan's cred history of the world, and of mankind in general, oration." and of the Abrahamick family in particular, for the first His death took place after the Lord had shewn him two thousand, five hundred, and fifty-three years : from the top of Pisgah a distant view of the promised namely, from the Creation to the arrival of the Israelites land, throughout its whole extent: and He then in the land of Canaan. Pyle. DEUTERONOMY. ... The following are the Chapters from the Book of Deuteronomy, appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays : .Morning. Evening. .Morning. .Evening. Morning. Evening. Morning. .Evening. Morning. Evening. ..Morning. Tuesday in Whitsun-week....... ...........Evening. Salt , Plain English Miles Hazard 10 30 23 Jordan Golan A B n) Thidoth Terbore R S e Jebel Waters of the Brook Kenal: Damascus Beaul hamon Shahob 1. Heimon Abd beli manchah Leshan. Lush or- Dan Kenath Achshaph Harustetty Edna M Α Ν E H Ashtuith Pain of the Finando 1. Libor Endopane Hepidato dalla SS Japesh gilmd Jizpeh lor Gilard/ Ophrah Hahannig a Bah-gamul Sagraria KENT Sumth Ramoth;gplead Id'ail Ephraim Betonim Jogtegrah Rabbath-annon Amman Apelushittim kamgh Chach T! Xebo Eilgul Beth harm Beth jesimothy Flal "Heshliom Baal moon Bechthon Kirjuthaimb sledeling doarch Jahori Beter Benery Dibert Kodepoth An J D guttah A olimo nab Man Rabbath moab Rabba M o b Bola, or hir Sela, Kina op) Valley)od sebe Ir-othor or Hormho Wilde T ne T A Plain of $ha Tag R THE BOOK OF JOSHU A. INTRODUCTION. AFTER the Pentateuch, we enter on those, which are commonly called the Historical Books of the Old Testa ment; comprising the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, the two books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles : also those of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These books contain a compendium of the Jewish history for a period of 1042 years: that is, from the death of Moses, in the year of the world 2553 (before Christ 1451), to the reformation established by Nehemiah, after the return from the captivity, in the year of the world 3595 (before Christ 409). In these books, the object of the sacred historians is, to communicate instruction to mankind, and to illustrate the nature of God's providence, in small as well as great occurrences; in particular instances as well as general appointments. They therefore often descend from the great outline of national concerns to the minute details of private history. The relations however of individual events occasionally inte persed are highly interesting: and admirably develop the designs of the Almighty, and the character of those times to which they are respectively assigned. Those seeming digressions too, in which the inspired writers have recorded such remarkable events as related to particular personages, or such occurrences in foreign countries, as tended to affect the history of the Jews, are not only valuable for the religious spirit which they breathe, and the incidental evidence of authenticity which they afford, but are to be admired, as strictly consistent with the sacred plan. These books therefore constitute an important part of the sacred volume; furnishing a complete code of instructive lessons, conveyed under every form, diversified with every style of composition, and enlivened with various illustrations of circumstance and character. The book of Joshua continues the sacred history from the death of Moses to the deaths of Joshua and Eleazar, a space of about thirty years. It contains an account of the conquest and division of the land of Canaan, the renewal of the covenant with the Israelites, and the death of Joshua. There are two passages in this book which shew that it was written by a person, who lived at the time when the events happened. In the 1st verse of chap. v, the author speaks of himself as being one of those who passed into Canaan, by using the expression, “ Until we were passed over.” And in the 25th verse of the following chapter, it appears that the book was written when Rahab was alive : for it is said of her, “she dwelleth in Israel unto this day.” There is not a perfect agreement among the learned, respecting the author of this book : but by far the most general opinion is, that it was written by Joshua himself. The five last verses, giving an account of the death of Joshua, were added by one of his successors, probably by Phinehas or Samuel. Dr. Gray, Bp. Tomline. Before CHRIST 1451. Before CHRIST 1451. mind of their promise to Moses. 16 They CHAP. I. promise him fealty. Moses. 3 The borders of the promised the servant of the Lord it came that the LORD spake unto prepareth the people to pass over Jordan. 12 Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' a minis- a Deut. 1. 38. Joshua pulteth the two tribes and half in ter, saying, to pass, Chap. I. ver. 1. Joshua the son of Nun,] His ori- repel their attack, at which time he was about forty-four ginal name was Hoshea or Oshea, Deut. xxxii. 44, which years of age, and was called a young man, Exod. xxxiii. Moses, whose minister he was, Exod. xxiv. 13, changed 11. Even then he was pre-ordained by the Lord to put into Jehoshua, Numb.xiii. 16; and by contraction, Joshua the Israelites in possession of the promised land, as apor Jeshua, or Jesus, (according to the Greek pronuncia- pears from the injunction to Moses to record in a book tion,) Acts vii. 45; Heb. iv. 8; signifying “Saviour." the aggression of the Amalekites, and the decree of their He therefore was a type of Christ, both in his name and extermination, and to rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, in his actions, as well as Moses. The first notice of as a memorial to him and the future judges, Exod. xvii. him is on the occasion of the Amalekite war, Exod. xvii. 14. The Lord appointed him to succeed Moses, at 9, where he was appointed captain of a chosen party to Numb. xxvii, 18. *Joshua was about the age of eighty, |