John Calvin on Joshua 19:49-51

49. When they had made an end of dividing, etc We have here, at length, an account of the gratitude of the people towards Joshua. For although the partition of the land of Canaan, among the posterity of Abraham, behooved to be equitable, yet Joshua, by his excellent virtues, deserved some honorary reward. Nor could any complain that a single individual was enriched at their expense. For, first, in the delay there was a striking proof of the moderation of this holy servant of God. He does not give any heed to his own interest till the commonweal has been secured. How seldom do we find any who, after they have given one or two specimens of valor, do not forthwith make haste to the prey? Not so Joshua, who thinks not of himself till the land has been divided. In the reward itself also the same temperance and frugality are conspicuous. The city he asks to be given to himself and his family was a mere heap of stones, either because it had been demolished and converted into a heap of ruins, or because no city had yet been built upon it.

It is conjectured with probability, that with the view of making the grant as little invidious as possible, the city he requested was of no great value. If any one thinks it strange that he did not give his labor gratuitously, let him reflect that Joshua liberally obeyed the divine call, and had no mercenary feelings in undergoing so many labors, dangers, and troubles; but having spontaneously performed his duty, he behooved not to repudiate a memorial of the favor of God, unless he wished by perverse contempt to suppress his glory. For the grant voted to him was nothing else than a simple testimonial of the divine power, which had been manifested through his hand. Truly no ambition can be detected here, inasmuch as he desires nothing for himself, and does not rashly act from a feeling of covetousness, but seeks in the popular consent a confirmation of the honor which God had already bestowed upon him. To have been silent in such a case, would have been more indicative of heartlessness than of modesty. The statement in the concluding verse of the chapter, that Joshua and Eleazar made an end of dividing the land, points to the perpetuity of the boundaries, which had been fixed, and warns the children of Israel against moving in any way to unsettle an inviolable decree.

CHAPTER 20

Joshua 20:1-9

1. The LORD also spoke unto Joshua, saying,

1. Loquutus est autem Jehova ad Josue, dicendo,

2. Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spoke unto you by the hand of Moses:

2. Alloquere filios Israel, his verbis, Date urbes refugii, de quibus loquutus sum ad vos per manum Mosis:

3. That the slayer that kills any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

3. Ut fugiat illuc homicida qui percusserit animam per errorem, absque scientia: eruntque vobis in refugium a propinquo sanguinis.

4. And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

4. Et fugiet ad unam ex civitatibus istis, stabitque ad ostium portae urbis, ac loquetur in auribus seniorum urbis ipsius verba sua, et recolligent eum in urbem ad se, dabuntque ei locum, ac habitabit apud eos.

5. And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbor unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.

5. Quum autem persequutus fuerit eum propinquus sanguinis, non tradent homicidam in manum ejus: quia absque scientia percussit proximum suum, neque odio habuerat eum ab heri et nudiustertius.

6. And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

6. Et habitabit in ea civitate donec stet ante coetum ad judicium, aut donec moriatur sacerdos magnus qui erit in diebus illis: tunc enim revertetur homicida venietque ad urbem suam, et ad domum suam, ad urbem unde fugerat.

7. And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

7. Et addixerunt Cedes in Galil in monte Nephtali, et Sechem in monte Ephraim, et Cirjath-arba (ipsa est Hebron) in monte Jehudae.

8. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

8. De trans Jordane autem Jericho, ad orientem dederunt Beser in deserto in planitie, de tribu Ruben: et Ramoth in Gilead, de tribu Gadi: et Golan in Basan, de tribu Manasse.

9. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourns among them, that whosoever kills any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

9. Istae fuerunt urbes conventionis omnibus filiis Israel, et peregrino qui peregrinatur in medio eorum: ut fugeret illuc quicunque interfecisset aliquem per errorem, et non moreretur manu propinqui sanguinis, donec stetisset coram coetu.