The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 324

decency find pl'opriety blinds our eyes to the by Joshua, and now it was the intention of impiety iind evil which etill lul'ks amid ue the Israelites to be guided by the ancient unsubtlued. political •ystem of the country, to occupy Vel'. 4.-Giveoutfrom among you. Calvin those cities, and to cultivate the adjacent enlarges wuoh upon the boldness of these land, as the Phcenicians had done before twenty-ono men in venturing upou the task them. Thus, not so much the area of the of the survey, rightly supposing that the land, as the size and importance of its difficulty of the task was enhanced by the cities, was to be the leading principle of the number who undertook it (see note on division. And not unwisely. The Israelites eh. xiv. 12). And here it is impossible to were about to relinquish their nomad life, coma to any other conclusion than that the and if they settled in Palestine, how, twenty-one commissioners went together, without walled cities, could they hold their fol' the object of their selection was to own against the powerful nations round obviate complaints of a kincl which, as we about them? And came again to Joshua. have already seen, the Israelites were not "The result of this examination, whicli was slow to make (see eh. xvii, 14-18), But unquestionably a more careful one than that the Israelites had inspired quite sufficient mado by the spies of Moses, was that the awe into the inhabitants of the land to unsubdued territory was found to be too make such a general survey by no means a small for the wants of seven tribes, while difficult task. Nor is it probable that the that apportioned to J ndah was seen to be commissioners were unprovicled with an disproportionately large. To remedy this escort. Three men for each trtbe. Literally, difficulty a place was found for Benjamin for the tribe. This selection, which was between Judah and Ephraim, and the intended to secure an impartial description portion of Simeon was taken out of the of the country, would render impossible all sonthem portion of Judah, while both future complaints, smce the boundaries Judah and Ephraim had to give up some would be settled according to reports sent in cities to Dan " (Ritter). by the representatives of each tribe. Ver. 8.-Shiloh (see note on ver. I and eh. Ver. 6.-Ye shall therefore describe the xxiv. 1). The seat of the tabernacle became, land into seven parts. Literally, ye shall for the present at least, the head-quarters write the land, seven parts. Similuly in of the Israelites. ver. 8. That is to say, a written report was Ver. 10.-Cast lots. Here, and in ver. 8, to be brought up in seven parts, a fair yet another phrase is used to describe the and equal division of the land having casting of the lots. previously been agree,1 upon among the Ver. 11.-The children of Benjamin. commissioners. Th.is report having been Lying as their inheritance did between that accepted, division was afterwards made of Ephraim and Judah, the chief places of (ver. 10) by lot. Bishop Horsley and note on their border have been already Houbigant here, as elsewhere, would re- mentioned either in eh. xv. or in eh. x,i. arrange the chapter, supposing it to have Ver. 14.-And the border was drawn been accidentally transposed. But there thence, and compassed the border of the seems no ground for the supposition. The sea. This is a serious mistranslation, arising repetition, with its additional particulars at from the same word being used for sea and each 1·epetition, is quite in the style of the west in Hebrew. The LXX. has 1rpi,~ (some author (see eh, ii. and notes). That I may copies have 11'apa) 6aAaO"aav. The literal cast lots. Or, and I will cast a lot. 'fhe translation is, and the border extended, and somewhat unusual word i11' to throw, is deflected to the western side. Vlhat is used here. The more usual word is ~'!:li1 meant is that the further portion of the caused to fall, though other expressions are border now described was the western side also used. of Benjamin. Southward. The western Ver. 7.-But the Levites (see oh. xiii. 14, border of course ran in a southerly direc- 33). The prtesthood of the . Lord. ~ tion. Quarter. This is the same word that equivalent express10n to that m eh. xm. is translated border above, in the phrase, Here the office of the priesthood, thei:e, "border of the sea." Kirjath-jeartm. Any more accurately, the s1tcrifices which it was one who will take the trouble to examine the privilege of that t1ibe to offer u_p, are a map will see how much more probable said to be the possession of the tnbe of the site Kuriet al Enab is here, than any Levi. By cities. It was evidently _not a place " four miles from Beth-shemesh," as land survey, entering into ,uch particulars suggested by Lieut. Conder. The distance as the physico.l conditions of the ground, its from nether Beth-horon to Kuriet el Enab fitness for agriculture, for pasture an,1_ the is not great. It is improbable that the like. The division was made by cities. boundarv should have run double that These cities he.cl been taken and destroyed distance· without /\Dy mention of loclllity. 272 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. [cu. xvm. 1-28.