The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 119

tion het ween Gergeae. or Gere.so. e.nd the tre.nslate "the l\rk of the covenant, the ark GirgR.shites, there must he.ve been e. small of the Lord of the whole earth." set-tl~mcnt of them on the ea.stern side of Ver. 12.-Take you twelve men. Joshua the lake of Genncse.reth. The Amorttes. commands the election of twelve men These were themostpowerlulof the Canae.n- pre,·ious to the passage of the Jordan, and itish peoples (see Amos ii. 9). They not in pursuance of the command he had only inhabited the mounte,ins (Num. xiii. alre~dy (eh. iv. 2 ; cf. note on ver. 2) ' 29; Josh. xi. 3), but crossed the Jordan and , recewed from Goel. The reason for which \\Tcste,I the countzy from Amon to Jabbok they we~e to be chosen was probably not out of the hands ·or the Moabitcs (Num. commumcatc,I to the Israelites till after the xxi. 13, 24, 26), e.nd dwelt there until dis- passage had taken place. Masins thinks possesse,l by Moses. In Gen. xiv. 9 we that it would make the narrative clearer find them "'est of Jorde.n, nee.r Engedi, "si proximum is versiculum sequeretur.'~ on the shores of the Dee.d See.. Thence Bnt see note on eh. iv. 1. crossini:; Jordan they seem to ha,·e spread Ver. 13.-The Lord, the Lord of all the eastward. They are found in the ShPphelah, on the borders of Dan (Judges i. 34), and earth. The original is, Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth. That the waters of Jord.a.11 eYen in the moun~ain district near Aja.Ion. shall be cut oft'. The eonstruct1on here ilnt (,·er. :!5) they seem to have been driven seems to have perplexed the LXX., Vulgate out of Judah, and to have occupied e. small and English translators. The former hav; portion of the Are.bah south of the Dead given the sense, but have changed the con- Sea (cf. Josh. xv. 3). Ewe.Id, e.s well e.s struction. The second have supposed pnJf~ Gesenius, rege.rds the word Amorite e.s signifying highlander, and he quotes Isa. to mean fail, and to refer to the waters below x,ii. 9, where Amir signifies the highest the place of crossing. The third have inter- pa.rt of e.nything, as of a tree. So the polated the word "from." The words "the Syrie.c Amori signiBes a hero, e.nd the waters descending from above" are in ap- Arabic Emir signifies e. ruler. With this position to, and explanatory of, the words we may compe.re the term Ameer of Afghan- " the waters" above. If for " from " in our istan, no doubt derived from e. similar root. version we substitute "namely," we she.II See also Isa. nii. 6, and the Hithpahel of il:)~ express the meaning of the original. The in Psa. xciv. 4, with the meaning to exalt Masorites point thus, dividing the verb from one's self. Sliechem, though e. Hivite settle- what follows by Zakeph Katon. A heap Jnent, is spoken of by Jacob (Gen. xlviii. 22) (cf. Psa. xxxiii. 7). The original is pictu- ns an Amorite city, and in eh. x. 6 the resque, "and they shall stand, one heap." sovereigns of Jerusalem and the neighbour Yer. 14.-Removed from their tents. The cities are spoken of as Amonte mone.rchs. word used for " removed " in this chapter This would suggest that the words applied is the same as is nsed of Abraham's remov- to the inhabitants were to a great extent ing. It is appropriate to the nature of the com·ertible terms, just as we apply the term removal, for it signifies originally to pull np Celt, Gael, Highlander indiscriminately to stakes or tent-pins, and has reference, there- the inhabitants of the north of Scotland, fore, to the removal of a people who dwelt in Dutcbman and Hollanderto the inhabitants tents. of Holland, and as Scotus and Erigena were Ver. 15.-Brim. The water's edge 1s both applied to Irishmen up to the 10th meant here, as in ver. 8, where the same century·. The Jebnsites were in possession word is translated brink (see note on ver. of the central highlands around Jeru~alem, 17, and on eh. iv. 19). Jord.a.11 oveJiloweth their stronghold. They retained possession all his banks. Some commentators trans- of this until David dislodged them (2 Sam. late here, jilleth all his ban1's (i.,,.1\11poiiro, ,·. 6-8. See note on eh. x. 1). LXX.). But this rendering is contrary (1) Ver. 11.-The Lord of all the earth. As to the Hebrew, and (2) contrary to fact. lie was about to prove Himself to be by the 'fhe literal rendering here is, " filleth over nughty miracles He wrought to establish (or upon) all its banks." In eh. iv. 18 we th2 Israelites in their land and thus fulfil read that Jordan goeth over all its banks. His promise. The Israelites needed to be And that the Jordan is not merely full, bnt reruinde<l of this to support them during full to overflowing, at the harvest eeiison, is the crossing of the Jordan. The translation proved by the statements of many travellers. of the LXX., though rejected by the Take, for instance, Canon Triatram (' Land: Masorites, who separate the words " cove- of Israel,' p. 223), who describes his visit to nant" and 11 Lord," is admissible here, "the the Jordan as occurring just alter it had covenant of the Lord of all the earth." If l,een overflowing its banks, and the lower we follow the Masoretic punctuation, we level of the valley aa fi Heel with " a deep Jnnst supply the word "ark" again, and slimy ooze." He adc!R that, by measure- CJlt. Ill, 7-17.] 'I'HE 1300K OF' 3'0SHtrA. 65