The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 210

words the north 11nd east" (Keil)-precieely perhe.pe with Ewe.Id we may regard it the ploce which 11n able generol would be simply as implying that their mission was likely to select. Though " in a high posi- still in progrese. tion" (Ve.ndevelde), it was "lower than Ver. 9.-And they ea.id unto him. "I Gibeon," and was "an hour west of Sinjil commend their wisdom in seeking peace ; on the Jeruse.lem-Shechem rood." Its situa- I do not commend their falsehood in the tion enabled Joshua to strike a decisive manner of seeking it. Who can looke for blow witl10ut delay (eh. x. 7, 9). It is clee.r any better in pagans? " (Bp. Hall.) It is that -this suggestion entirely obviates the worthy of the craft of the Gibeonites that difficulty of the concluding verses of eh. they evade the first question, and as it is of viii. And as the name implies a circular vital importance to the success of their form as well as motion, and early camps mission, they throw their whole force upon were usually circular, it may have been the the second. The coarse of conduct en- ordine.1·y name for an encampment among joined on J oshaa had reached the ears of the Hebrews. the Canaanitish peoples, as we learn from Ver. 7.-And the men of Israel ea.id. The ver. 24. They also take good care to say Keri here he.s the singular number instee.d nothing of the more recent successes of the of the Chethibh plure.l, in consequence of Israelites. With consummate astutenes~ Isre.el spee.king of itself collectiv~ly in the they confine themselves to the successes word '¥".li?~ e.nd of the singule.r iv•~. But "beyond Jordan." No wonder such mas- this last· with a plural verb, as a noun of tery of the arts of deceit should have im- posed on the Israelites. But inasmuch as multitude, occurs in the historical books in the historian lacked the stimulus of that places too numerous to mention. See, for " necessity" which is proverbially " the instance, 1 Sam. xiv. 22, just as Cl!/ iu many mother of invention," we must recognise pe.esagee, e.g., 2 Sam. xviii. 7, is the here a sign of the genuineness of the narra- nominative to a plural verb. The Hivites tive. (see note on ver. 3). Peradventure ye dwell Ver. 10.--Sihon, king of Heshbon, a.nd among us, and how can we make a. league Og, the lr:1ng of Ba.sha.n (see Num. ,ni. with you? This was strictly forbidden in 21, 35). Ashta.roth (see eh. xii. 4 ; xiii. Exod. xxiii. 32 ; nxiv. 12 ; Deut. vii. 2, in 31; also Dent. i. 4). In Num. xxi. Edrei reference to neighbouring nations, on ac- only is mentioned. This is not the Ash- count of the polluting influence their ex- taroth-Kamaim of Gen. xiv. 5, which is so ample had exercised (Num. xxv.. 1-3), and called from the worship of the horned was sure to exercise, as the subsequent Astarte, or crescent (see below), to distin- history of the Israelites from Judg. ii. on- guish it from this Ashte.roth. The two wards, proves. cities were close together. Eusebias and Ver. 8.-We a.re thy servants. Thie does Jerome state that they were only nine miles not mean altogether, e.e ver. 9 shows, that apart. The site of this city has been iden- the Gibeonites intended b,v this embassy to tified with Tel Ashtereh, in a wide plain on reduce themselves to servitude. Their ob- the east of Jordan. It appears as Astaratu ject, as Grotius remarks, was rather to form in the Ks.rnak list of cities captured by an alliance on terms of something like Thothmcs III. The name has been identi- equality. The phrase was one common in fied with the Assyrian Ishtar, the Persian, the East as a token of respect (e.g., Gen. Greek, and Le.tin aster and our star. So xxxii. 4, 18 ; I. 18 ; 2 Kings x. 5 ; xvi. 7). Gesenius, • Thesaurus,' s.v. Whence Luci11n But no doubt the Gibeonites (see ver. 11) seems to have been wrong in his ideEt that expected to have a tribute laid on them. the worship of Astarte, like that of Artemis Aud they would willingly accept such an at Ephesus, was that of the moon. But impost, for, e.s Ewe.Id reme.rks ( ' History of Rawlinson, in his • Ancient Monarchies, ' Isre.el,' iv. 3), their object was "to secure decides against this identifica.tion. The the peace which II merce.ntile inland city la.at mention of this city in J e"ish history espeoi11.Ily requires" (see e.lso note on eh. iii. is in the bol,l and successful expedition of 10). From whence come ye? Joshua. uses Judas Maccabmus into Gilead, in which he the imperfect, not the perfect, tense here. penetrated as fe.r as this city (called Kar- Commentators are divided about its mee.u- ne.im), and brought the Jews residing there ing. Some suppose that the perfect, "from and in the neighbourhood to Jerusalem whence have ye come? " is more direct and (1 M11cc. vi.). Kuenen, in his 'History of abrupt than "from whence m11y you have the Religion of Israel,' makes a distinction come?" or," from whence were you com- between the worship of Ash te.roth and of ing? " e.nd cert11inly an indirect question is Ashero.h. The former he rega.nts as the in most languages considered m~~• respeot- worship of ,he moon, and e. pure worship; flll than e. direct one (see Gen. xiii. 7), :But the latter oi Venus, 11ud till impure one 1 160 THE BOOK OF JOSllUA. [cu. rx. 1--2'7.