Matthew Poole and continuators on Joshua 6

NOW Jericho † was straitly shut up , because of the children of Israel, none went out, and none came in.

Not only by night, as before, Iosh. 2. 5. but constantly and diligently.

Marginal references: ‡ Heb. did shut up, and was shut up.

2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour .

Who are in it resolved and ready to defend it with their utmost strength.

3 And ye shall compass the City, all ye men of war, and go round about the City once : thus shalt thou do six days .

At convenient distance, out of the reach of their Arrows.

Every day once. This and the following course might seem ridiculous and absurd, and is therefore prescribed and used by God, that they might learn to take new measures of things, and to expect success not from their own valour, or skill, or probable means, but meerly from Gods appointment and blessing; and in general, not to judge of any of Gods Institutions by meer carnal reason, to which divers of their Ceremonies would seem no less foolish than this action; and that they might have a full Demonstration of the All-sufficiency of that God who can do what he pleaseth, even by the most contemptible means.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams horns : and the seventh day ye shall compass the City seven times, and the Priests shall blow with the trumpets.

Or, of the Iubilees; i. e. such Trumpets wherewith they were to sound in the years of Jubile, Lev. 25. 9. Either this, or one of the other six was certainly a Sabbath-day; and it is not material which was it, for the Command of the Lord of the Sabbath was sufficient to legitimate any Action.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the rams horns, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout: and the wall of the City shall fall down † flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

As is usual in the close of musical sounds.

Not all of it; which was not only unnecessary, but inconvenient, and might have given the people better opportunity of escaping, but only a considerable part of it where the Israelites might fitly enter: for Rahabs house was not overthrown, v. 22.

Heb. under it, i. e. below the place they stood in: Or, in its place: it was not battered down with Engines, which would have made part of it fall out of its place; but it fell without any force, and of its own accord, and therefore in the place it did formerly stand in.

Marginal references: ‡ Heb. [illegible: 1 word] it.

7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.

God would have them armed both for the defence of themselves and the Ark, in case the Enemies should make a sally upon them, and for the Execution of the Lords vengeance upon that City.

9 And the armed men went before the Priests that blew with the trumpets: and the † rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the Trumpets.

Which being opposed to the armed men, may seem to note the unarmed people, who were desirous to be Spectators of this wonderful work.

Which is rightly supplied here from v. 4.

Marginal references: ‡ Heb. [illegible: 1+ letters] ing host.

10 And Joshua commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout , nor † make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout, then shall ye shout.

Because shouting before the time appointed, would be ineffectual, and so might give them some Discouragement, and their Enemies matter of insulting.

Marginal references: ‡ Heb. [illegible: 1 word] your voice [illegible: 1 word] be heard.

16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout , for the LORD hath given you the city.

To testifie your faith in Gods promise, and thankfulness for this glorious mercy, and to encourage your selves and Brethren, and to strike a terror into your Enemies.

17 And the City shall be † accursed , even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD : only Rahab the harlot shall live, she, and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent:

i. e. Devoted to utter Destruction, Levit. 27. 21, 29. Deut. 12. This he spake by instinct or direction from God, as is evident from 1 King. 16. 34.

Partly because the first-fruits were appropriated to God; partly lest the soldiers being glutted with the Spoil of this rich City, should grow [illegible: 1+ letters]ensual and sluggish in their work; and partly to strike the greater terror into the rest of their Enemies.

Marginal references: ‡ Or, [illegible: 1 word]; Chap. 2. [illegible: 1+ letters]

18 And ye, in any wise keep your selves from the accursed thing, lest ye make your selves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse , and trouble it.

By provoking God to punish them for your sin, in which they may be one way or other involved; or at least upon the occasion of your sin: for to speak properly, God will not (the case of Adams sin only excepted) punish one man for the sin of another, as he hath oft declared; but the whole Camp having sins of their own, God might take what occasion he saw fit to inflict this Punishment.

Marginal references: Deut. 7. 26. & 13. 17.

19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron , are † consecrated unto the LORD : they shall come into the treasury of the LORD .

Except that of which Images were made, which were to be utterly destroyed, Exod. 32. 20. Deut. 7. 25.

Being first made to pass through the fire, Numb. 31. 22, 23.

To be employed wholly for the service or uses of the Tabernacle, not to be applied to the use of any private person or Priest.

Marginal references: ‡ Heb. [illegible: 1 word].

21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the City, both man and woman, young and old , and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

Being commanded to do so by the Soveraign Lord of every mans life; and being informed by God before that the Canaanites were abominably wicked, and deserved the severest Punishments. As for the Infants, they were guilty of Original sin, and otherwise at the disposal of their Creator, as the clay is in the hands of the Potter; but if they had been wholly innocent, it was a great favour to them to take them away in infancy, rather than reserve them to those dreadful Calamities which those who survived them, were liable to.

22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlots house , and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.

Which together with the wall upon which it leaned, was left standing, either by a special favour of God to her, or for the reason alledged upon, v. 6.

Marginal references: Chap. 2. 14. Hebr. 11. 31.

23 And the young men that were spies, went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had: and they brought out all her † kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel .

Till they were cleansed from the impurities of their Gentile state, and instructed in the Iewish Religion, and solemnly admitted into that Church in the usual way, to which Rahabs good Counsel and Example had doubtless very much prepared them; and this stupendious work of God confirmed their purposes.

Marginal references: ‡ Heb. families.

25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive , and her fathers houshold, and all that she had: and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day, because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

For that general commanding of rooting out the Canaanites seems to have had some exception, in case any of them had sincerely and seasonably cast off their Idolatry and Wickedness, and submitted themselves to the Israelites, as we shall see hereafter.

26 ¶ And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD , that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho, he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it .

Or, made them to swear; caused the people, or some in the name of all, to swear for the present and succeeding Generations, and to confirm their Oath by a Curse.

i. e. From Gods presence, and by his sentence, as they are said to cast lots before the Lord, Josh. 18. 8, 10. i. e. expecting the Decision from God. He intimates, that he doth not utter this in a Passion, or upon a particular dislike of that place, but by divine Inspiration, as appears from 1 King. 16. 34. God would have the Ruines of this City remain as a standing Monument of Gods Justice against this wicked and idolatrous People, and of his Almighty Power in destroying so great and strong a City by such contemptible means.

i. e. That shall attempt or endeavour to build it. So this Curse is restrained to the Builder, but no way belongs to those who should inhabit it after it was built, as is evident from 2 King. 4. 18. Luke 19. 1, 5.

i. e He shall lose all his Children in the work, the first at the beginning, others in the progress of it by degrees, and the youngest in the close of it, when the Gates use to be set up. This was fulfilled, 1 King. 16. 34.

Marginal references: 1 King. 16. 34.