Times, and in various Manners, before fhewed unto them by the Things which he had done (s) from the Creation of the World (t): But as these things had, ere this Age, loft their Influence in almost all Nations, and the World was departed from the living God, to go after the Sun, Moon and Stars, to ferve them; what could there have been done more remarkably worthy of God's infinite Power, to fhew himself to be a God above all Gods, than to have the Sun and Moon made to ftand still in favour of his declared Will, to fupport a People, chofen to be diftinguished by his Worfhip? The time of Day in Canaan when this Miracle happened, was fuch, that the Sight of it could not but go forth through all the then known Nations of the Earth; fo that there could be no Speech nor Language (u), where, had a due Inquiry been made into it, the Voice of it would not have been heard, powerfully proclaiming that however the World had been falfly amufed with the Beauty, or aftonifhed at the imagined Power of the Lights of Heaven (w); yet that there was a Being, who ruleth in the Heavens, higher than them all; and who could over-rule and difpofe of any of them as he pleased. ; After the Defeat of the Army of the five Kings, ofbua reduced the Nations of the South-Parts of Canaan, and having broken every Oppofition that could here make head a (3) Τοῖς ποιήμασι. (t) Rom. i. 19, 20. xix. 3. (w) Wisdom xiii. 3, 4. (u) Pfalm gainst 1 gainst him, he marched his victorious Forces back to Gilgal (x). Upon Joshua's Return to Gilgal, Jabin King of Hazor, a City of great Figure and Command in the North Parts of Canaan (a), fent unto the Kings of the Nations round about him, and proposed to them to unite their Forces, in order to act with their whole Strength against the Ifraelites (b): The Kings he fent to, agreed to his Propofal, made their Levies, and came together a numerous and well-appointed Army (c): They rendezvoused at the Waters of Merom (d): Joshua on the other hand led the Ifraelites against them, under a fpecial Promife of God's Affiftance and Protection (e), and gave thein Battle and obtained a great Victory (f): After having given them this Defeat he turned back, took the City Hazor and burnt it to the Ground (g): From Hazor Joshua marched against the Cities of the other Kings, and in time became Mafter of all this Country (b); but it was the Work of fome Years for him to reduce these Nations (i): In about five Years he entirely fubdued them (k), and having now triumphed over, in all, one and thirty Kings (1), and obtained the Ifraelites full room to fettle their Families in all Parts of the Land, he was ordered to put an end to the War (m). Caleb (d) ver. 5. (e) ver. 6. (g) ver. 1o, 11. -17. (b) ver. 1, 2, 3. (f) ver. 7, 8, 9. (i) ver. 18. (m) xiii. (k) Jofeph. Antiq. Lab. 5. c. 1. (4) Jofh. xii, 24. -7. Dd 2 the the Son of Jephunneh was forty Years old, when Mofes fent him as one of the Spies into the Land of Canaan (n); the Spies were fent into Canaan after the Tabernacle was erected, in the fecond Year of the Exit (0) A. M. 2514. Caleb was now at the finishing of the War eighty five (p); fo that the War was finished A. M. 2559, I fuppofe towards the end of the Year: Joshua paffed over fordan on the tenth Day of the firft (pp) Month A. M. 2554, and began the War by the Siege of Jericho a few Days after: From this Time to about the End of the Year 2559, are near fix Years, and fo long was Joshua engaged in his Wars against the Canaanites: Almost one Year was employed in his first Campaign in the South Parts of Canaan (q); the other five were spent against the King of Hazor and his Confederates (r). Upon giving over the War Joshua was directed by God to apply himself to the dividing the Land of Canaan amongst the Ifraelites (s): Mofes, before he died, had fixed the Inheritance of two Tribes and an half Tribe on the other Side Jordan (t): There remained nine Tribes and an half to be now fettled (u): And unto these Joshua and Eleazar the Priest, and the Heads of the Tribes, were preparing to fet out their Inheritance: But before they () Jofh. xiv. 7. (0) See Book xi. p. 298. (p) Josh. xiv. 10. (pp) iv. 19. (2) Josh. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. (r) xi. (5) xiii. (2) Id. xiii. 8, 32. Numb. xxxii. Deut. iii. 12—17. (u) Josh. xiii. 7. began began to make Divifion of the Land, the Children of Judah came to them, and Caleb, who was of this Tribe, represented, that Mofes had made him a folemn Promife, which might determine the Place of his particular Inheritance (x): When the Spies were fent by Mofes into Canaan, they went to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai the Children of Anak were (y), and at their Return they took occafion from the Largeness of the Stature of these Men to fill the Camp with Fears, that the Ifraelites would never be able to make their way into the Country (x): But Caleb endeavoured to animate the People with better Hopes (a); whereupon, when God pronounced against the Congregation, that the Men who had feen his Miracles and Glory fhould not come into the Land, but should die in the Wildernefs (b), he was pleased to promife, that Caleb fhould be brought [el ha Aretz, afher bashammah] into the Land, to the very Place he went to (c), and that his Seed should possess it (d): Now Hebron was the particular Place they went to, and from whence they brought home the Fears which had fo difturbed the Camp (e), for faithfully endeavouring to quell which, Caleb had this particular Promise made to him (f), and upon this account Caleb argued, that this was the Place, at which God had promised that he should be fettled, adding withal, that tho' the very Men were then in Poffeffion of it, who had fo terrified! his Companions; yet that he should not at all doubt, but be enabled to eject them (b): Joshua admitted the Plea of Caleb, and appointed his Inheritance at Hebron (c), and then allotted the Tribe of Judab the Countrey from Hebron to Kadeshbarnea, as defcribed in the xvth Chapter of the Book of Joshua. INext after Judah the Children of Jofeph were allotted their Inheritance (d), and we have in the xvith and xviith Chapters of Jobua a particular Account of the Boundaries of the Lands affigned to them, namely, to the Tribe of Ephraim, and to the half Tribe of Manaffeb, which was to inherit on this fide Jordan (e). The Families of this Tribe and half Tribe were fettled on the North fide the Countrey, wherein the Camp of the Ifraelites, which was formed at Gilgal, refted, as the Tribe of Judah was fettled on the South of it; fo that the Camp was, as it were, fecured on either fide from any fudden Irruption, and having proceeded thus far, the whole Congregation affembled at (f) Numb. xiv. 24. (b) Jofh. xiv. 12. (c) We must bese remark, that the City of Hebron was not the Property and Inheritance of Caleb; for Hebron was one of the Levitical Cities: Caleb's Inheritance confifted of fome Fields near adjoining to this Torn. See Jofhua xxi. 11, 12. (d) Joh. xvi. 1, c. (e) xvii. 5. 5: |