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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:1-16
The last words of the aged servant of God. The influence gained by a long and successful life is immense. It was so in Joshua's case, for it outlasted his life, and continued as long as any of his former colleagues and…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:2
All Israel. By their representatives, as subsequently mentioned. For their officers (see Joshua 1:10). In the original the pronoun is in the singular throughout (see note on Joshua 6:25). And said unto them. This speech…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:3
Because of you. Literally, before you.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:4
Divided unto you by lot. Literally, caused to fall, the lot being of necessity understood. These nations that remain. Israel had therefore not driven them out. This, however, need not of necessity be imputed to them as…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:5
And the Lord your God, he shall expel them. Or, Jehovah your God, He shall thrust them out. Joshua here uses the unusual word found in Deuteronomy 6:19; Deuteronomy 9:4, another instance of quotation from Deuteronomy. T…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:6-8
Cleaving unto the Lord. I. THE DUTY. II. THE DANGER. Joshua saw that there was a danger that the people should cease to "cleave unto the Lord." This arose from various causes: III. THE MOTIVES FOR OVERCOMING THE DANGER…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:6
Be ye therefore very courageous. The original is stronger, Be ye exceedingly courageous (see note on Joshua 1:6). That is written in the book of the law of Moses. A yet more distinct intimation that the words of Moses h…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:7
That ye come not among these nations (see note on Joshua 23:4). We can here perceive that the Israelites, though living among these nations, held no intercourse with them. Neither make mention of the name of their gods.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:8
But cleave unto the Lord your God. Or, ye shall cleave unto Jehovah your God. The phrase denotes the intimate union between God and the soul (see above, and Genesis 2:24).
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:9
For the Lord your God hath driven out. So the Masora and the LXX. The Vulgate and the margin of our version translate by the future. So Luther also. The next verse is undeniably future. An appeal to their experience, wh…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:10
One man of you shall chase a thousand. A quotation from the song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:30).
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:10
Victory assured through the help of God. I. VICTORY IS ASSURED. II. THE SECRET OF VICTORY IS THE HELP OF GOD. Israel must be brave and faithful, and must labour and fight. Yet victory is not secured by these means alone…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:11
A needed caution. Whilst the words of the youthful sometimes claim our attention, none can forbear to give earnest heed to the advice of him whoso head is whitened with the snows of many winters. Respect is due to the a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:11
Love to God. We are called to love God. It is not enough that we discharge our duty to our neighbour; we have a distinct duty to God (Malachi 1:6), This duty is not fulfilled by the most scrupulous devotion to external…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:11
Take good heed to yourselves. This is quoted from Deuteronomy 4:15, word for word. The Hebrew is, take heed exceedingly to your souls; but the meaning is either "as you value your lives" (Gesenius), or "with all your so…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:12
Go back. Literally, return. Cleave. A word (see Joshua 23:8) signifying close and intimate relationship. And the intimacy of the relationship is indicated, as in Joshua 23:8, by the use of the preposition בְּ. Make marr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:13
Snares and traps. Perhaps, rather, nets and snares. The LXX; where our translation has snare, has παγίς, and for traps has incorrectly σκάνδαλα. The snare or pach was evidently (Amos 3:5) laid upon the earth; but ther…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:14
And not one thing hath failed thereof. This is a good instance of the habit of repetition so common to Hebrew writers. It is to be remembered that they had no italics, no stops, and, owing to the want of copiousness in…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:15
All good things. Literally, all the good word. That is to say, the prophecies of good had been fulfilled. Joshua uses this as an argument that the evil also will not fail to follow, if Israel provoke God to inflict it.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:15
Threats as true as promises. There are those who deny God's threats of punishment the same validity which they ascribe to His promises of blessing. Joshua here ascribes equal certainty to both. I. GOD MUST BE TRUE TO HI…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:16
Transgressed. The English is the precise equivalent of the Hebrew, which signifies to "pass over," with the idea of going beyond bounds which had previously been prescribed in the covenant between God and His people. Ot…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:24
The old man eloquent. With much in the detail of these chapters which is of interest, the final farewell of Joshua is worthy of our study in its entirety. The dignity and serenity of saintly ripeness, the vigour of his…
The Pulpit Commentary on Judges 2:1-6
EXPOSITION It is often extremely difficult to make out the sequence of a Hebrew narrative, the narrator going back and travelling over the same ground in respect of time which he had already traversed, in order to intro…
The Pulpit Commentary on Judges 2:7-13
EXPOSITION 2:7 And the people served, etc. This verse is the epitome of the religious history of Israel from the time of the expostulation of the angel till the dying off of all those who had been elders in the time of…