A.C. 1451. * Heb. rose up. + Heb. instead of you to die. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither * did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life + for your's, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let Heb. gather. us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's houshold, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. 22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. 23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath de livered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabit- A.C.1451. ants of the country do * faint because of us. SECTION III. Passage of the River Jordan. JOSHUA I. VER. 10, TO THE END. 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, pass 11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it. 12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, * Heb. melt. 20-28. 13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Num.xxxii. LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren + armed, all the Heb. marmighty men of valour, and help them; 15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising. 16¶ And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage. JOSHUA III 3. 1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they re Throughout the whole of this arrangement of the Old Testament, I have not attempted to transpose a sentence, to make the mere language or the composition of the inspired writers appear to more advantage. My only object has been to relate the facts in their order, according to the best authorities. The third chapter of the book of Joshua contains an account of the passage of the Israelites over к к VOL. I. shalled by five: as Ex. xiii. 18. A.C. 1451. moved from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. the river Jordan. The fact, as related by the sacred historian, is inserted in the Bible in its proper place: but Bishop Horsley is of opinion, that the narration of the fact itself is confused; he has, therefore, altered the arrangement of the sentences and verses, to give a more orderly and clear account: and he has done the same with other passages. In the present case the Bishop's arrangement has undoubtedly given greater elegance to the relation of the passage of the river Jordan, and I have therefore added it in this note, as one specimen of the manner in which that learned and ingenious author has proceeded in his proposed emendations of the sacred text: though the boldness of his criticisms is not always to be approved. The twelfth verse of this third chapter of Joshua he places after the first of chapter the 4th. CHAPTER III. 1 And it came to pass after three days, that they removed from Shittim, and came unto Jordan, Joshua and all the children of Israel, and there they passed the night, before they passed over. 2 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves, for to morrow Jehovah will perform wonders among you. 3 And Joshua arose early in the morning; and Jehovah said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the eyes of all Israel, that they may understand that as I was with Moses I will be with thee. 4 And thou, command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye enter the brink of the water of Jordan, then stand ye still in Jordan. 5 And the officers went through the camp; 6 And they commanded the people, saying, So soon as ye shall see the priests the Levites take up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, then ye shall march from your place, and go after it. 7 Only there shall be a space between you and it. Ye shall not approach it within the distance of full two thousand cubits, in order that ye may know the way which ye must go, for ye have not passed this way heretofore. 8 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant, and marched before the people. 9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God. 10 And Joshua said, By this ye shall know that the living God is among you, and assuredly he will drive out before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite. 11 Behold the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth goeth on before you into Jordan. 12 And it shall be, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan shall be intercepted, the waters that come down from above, and they shall stand up in one heap. 2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers A.C. 1451. went through the host; 3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go for ye have not passed this way heretofore. * 5 And Joshua said unto the people, 'Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. 6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. 7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. 9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. 10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. 13 And it came to pass, when the people marched from their tents to pass over Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 14 When they that bare the ark came unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the water upon the brink, (now Jordan is swollen over all his banks all the season of harvest :) 15 Then the waters which came down from the upper parts [of the river] stood still; they rose up in one heap to a great distance above the city Adam †, which is hard by Zaredan. And those that were going down toward the sea of the plain, the salt sea, ran quite off, being separated [from the upper stream.] So the people crossed over opposite to Jericho. 16 And the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm upon dry land in the midst of Jordan. And all Israel crossed over upon dry land, until the whole army had crossed over Jordan. The current was stopped. * Hcb. since yesterday, and the third day. 1 Lev. xx. 7. Num. xi. 18. ch. vii. 13. Sam. xvi. 5. m Ch. i. 5. .is the reading of many MSS מאדם ? A.C. 1451. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come n Ps. cxliv. 3. down from above; and they "shall stand upon an heap. 14¶ And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the o Acts vii. 45. ° ark of the covenant before the people; 15 Eectus. xxiv. 26. 15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for P Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. JOSHUA IV. 1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean Deut. xxvii. passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, r Ch. iii. 12. * Heb to morrow. saying, г 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan |