the two tribes and a he.If who ha.d obtained harnessed in Exod. xiii. 1B, only occurs be- their inheritance beyond Jordan had been sides here in eh. iv. 12, and in Judges vii. given before this, and that therefore it may 11, In the first cited of these passages it have preceded the command given to the has given rise to much discussion among spies, in which case one of Keil'a chief ob- those whose studies have been confined to jections falls to the ground. Other explana- the text of the English Bible, excluding even tions than that of Cornelius a Lapide have the margin. But its meaning is much de- been suggested. Th us Kimchi supposes that bated among scholara. There seems no the spies left on the 5th Niean and returned authority whatever for the translation anned on the Bth ; whi!Q Maeius supposes that they or harn,med. We must either take it (1) to were sent out simultaneously with these mean in five divisions, the usual manner of orders. Auguetine's explAnation, that J oshue. marching under Moses (see Num. ii.), "di- clidnot speak by revelation, but was influenced vided into centre, right and left wings, ve.n by human hope, is noticeable, e.e proving that and rear guard" (Ewalrl); or (2) fierce, eager, the early fathers clid not always take the brave, .from a Semitic root found also in the strictest view of inspiration, Arabic. So Rosenmiiller and Gesenius- Ver. 12.-Alld to the Reubenites, and the who does not, howe,ir,, as Keil asserts, derive Gadites, and the balf-trtbe of Ma.na.seeh (see the word from !!ion to be fat, but from a. Num. xxxii. 1-33). We have here a re- markable instance of undeeigned agreement root a.kin to cr,,i;, -violence, and rPO to be between the various books of the Old Testa- pungent. The former refers to the pa.re.lie! ment : one of those signs of the genuineness passage in Num. xx:xii. 17, where for c•l!it;)!J of the narrative which would be almost im- we find c•l!ir, quick. The first interpretati~n possible to a compiler of fictitious records. We are told in the passage just cited that is rendered probable by Num. ii., where the the reason why these particular tribes desired order of march is described as a fivefold an inheritance on the other side J orde.n was order, and by the similarity of the word to because they were particularly rich in cattle. ~:;, five, and is not excluded hy .)" l!(lgcs ,ii. Now we learn from other passages that this 11, where the army, though disorg,u1ised, region was-and travellers tell us that it is may have still been nnanged in i:s lhefold to this day-a region particularly suited for divisions. The fact thnt there is an Arabic pasture. The ' J ewieh Chronicle,' in De- word, almost precisely similar, which is ap- cember, 1B79, mentions a scheme projected plied to the fivefold division of an army, by ]\fr. Laurence Oliphant for colonising makes it almost certain that this is the true this clistrict for agricultuml purposes under meaning. But some scholars prefer to the auspices of a company. The " fat render it "brave," or II eager for war" (cf. bulls of Bashan " were almost proverbial in •111,n Josh. iv. 13). This last word is also Scripture. Mesha, king of Moab, was a "sheep-fnaster," we read (2 Kings iii. 4), found in the parallel passages in Num. x.xx.ii and his tribute, rendered in sheep to the and Deut. iii. 18---20. Its original meaning is ltlng of Israel, was a very large one; espe- expeditus-unencnmbered. See note on the cially when we remember that Moab was at last-mentioned passage. All the m1ghty that time but little larger than an ordinary men of valour. The number of fighting English county (see also Deut. xxxii. 14 ; men in these tribes would be, from a com- Ezek. xxxix. 1B). The land to the east of parison of Num. xxvi. 7, 1B, 34, remembering J orclan bore the name Miehor, or level land, that half only of the tribe of Manasseh must as contrasted with the rocky region on the be counted, between 110,000 and 111,000. other side of Jordan. But we read in Josh. iv. 13 thnt 40,000 only Ver. 13.-Remember the word. The sub- of them went over. Above 70,000 must stance, and not the ipsissima verba, of the have remained behind to guard their women, directions of Moses in Num. xxxii. is here children,and flocks, a precaution both reason- given (see also Deut. iii. 16-20). Bath able and necessary. So indispensable, in fa.et, gtven you rest. Perhaps, rather, bath ca1,sed was it, that in this appe.:.·ent discrepancy we you to rest-bath permitted you to settle ; may find one of the strongest proofs of the though the LXX. here has ,carbravcr,v, and genuineness of our narrative. For, a_s Calvin the Vulgate, cledit vobis requiem (cf. Heh. iii. remarks, iu a country not yet pa~i.fied,_ all 11-1B; iv. 1-11; and Paa. xcv. 11). Thie the women and children would wfollibly la.ad, i.e., that in which they then were, on h'e.ve been massacred had they been lelt what we call the further side of Jordan. unprotected. Ver. 14.-Armed. This word, translated
JOSHUA, C IS THE DOOK OF JOSHUA. [cu. I. 10-15.