Men of the Bible,
Their Lives and Times.

Edited by Rev. J. S. EXELL, .SLA.
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Abraham. By Rev. W. J. Dean, M.A.
Daniel. By Rev. H. Deane, B.D.
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/IDen of tbe Bible

JOSHUA

HIS LIFE AND TIMES

Rev. William J. Deane, M.A.
Rector of Ashen, Essex

FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
New York Chicago Toronto
Publishers of Evangelical Literature

j>uio D344,

PREFACE.

The materials for the Life of Joshua are found in the Book
which bears his name, in portions of the Pentateuch, and some
scattered notices in the rest of Scripture and the Apocrypha.
Josephus and Rabbinical traditions add little of any value, and
the Samaritan Book of Joshua is a compilation of the thirteenth
century altogether untrustworthy and useless for historical pur
poses. The " Records of the Past " afford a curious commentary
on our Book in the account of the travels of an Egyptian officer
through Palestine shortly before the Jewish invasion. A large
number of the places visited by him are easily identified, and
the notices of the towns and the state of the country are full of
interest and instruction.
I have not thought it necessary, nor have I space, to burden
my pages with controversial matter. The careful reader, how
ever, will gather that I have endeavoured virtually to reply to
theoretical fancies by the statement of assured facts. When the
critics are agreed among themselves as to the age, date, and
distribution of the several parts of what they call the Hexateuch,
it will be time to see how far we have to modify old opinions.
A comparative analysis of its treatment by four great German
critics (not, however, including Dillmann's last essay, 1886) may
be seen in Ladd's " Doctrine of Sacred Scripture," i. 517 ff.
This is most instructive and perplexing.
To the many commentaries on Joshua I owe much assistance;
the most useful, perhaps, are those of Dillmann, in " Kurzge-
fasstes exegetisches Handbuch" (1886), and Dr. Maclear in

IV PREFACE.
" The Cambridge Bible for Schools." As it is impossible to
understand or appreciate this Book without an accurate know
ledge of geographical details, I have endeavoured to embody in
my account the latest identifications of Biblical sites, and have
been fain to add reality to my descriptions by inserting the
actual words of recent travellers. To increase the utility of my
little work, and to make it in some sort a handbook of Scrip
tural topography, I have appended a geographical index.
Oct., 1889. W.J. D.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. PA IE
3Uruer Years  i
First appearani e of Joshua in history ; his name and paren
tage — The minister of Moses — Jealousy for his master's
honour — Sent as one of the twelve spies ; his report — Lessons in
the wilderness — Appointed successor of Moses— Death of Moses
— Phoenicians, Hittites, and Canaanites ; their religion and moral
degradation — Different views concerning the settlement of Israel
in Palestine — The destruction of the Canaanites considered ; the
Israelites' part therein— Joshua encouraged.
CHAPTER II.
Jordan Crossed  .....15
Canaan described — Encampment at Shittim — Number of the
people ; their character and spirit — Joshua's plan of campaign —
Jericho ; spies sent thither — Rahab — Escape of the spies and their
covenant with Rahab ; their report — Preparation for crossing the
Jordan — Appeal to the two-and-a-half tribes — The miraculous
p-issage of the river — A possible explanation — Memorials of the
event — Circumcision renewed — The Passover celebrated.
CHAPTER III.
Jericho Captured  36
The capture of Jericho necessary— Joshua encouraged by a reve
lation — Scriptural Theopbanies — Investment of Jericho by a reli
gious ceremony — The number seven — Miraculous fall of the city ;
its destruction — The ban — The curse on Jericho — Fate and cha
racter of Rahab. CHAPTER IV.
First Check — its Cause and Removal  50
Ai — Israelites defeated — Rending of clothes in token of grief —
Joshua's complaint — The sin indicated ; fixed on Achan — The
punishment of the criminal in the Valley of Achor — Successful
attack on Ai, and destruction of the city — Fate 01 BetheL

vl CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V. PAGB
The Law set up in Canaan  62
Injunction of Moses ; its import — Pilgrimage to Shechem — Ebal
and Gerizim, and the Vale of Shechem — The altar of unhewn
stones erected — Inscription on stones — The blessing and the
cursing. CHAPTER VI.
Conquest of the South  71
Gibeon and its confederate cities, Beeroth, Kirjath-jearim, and
Chephirah — Stratagem of the Gibeonites ; its success ; their des
tiny — Five kings combine to attack GiLeon — Jerusalem— Jarmuth
— Joshua marches to relieve Gibeon — Battle of Beth-horon —
Hailstorm — The daylight lengthened — The miracle considered —
Defeat of the Canaanites — Azekah ; Makkedah — Humiliation
and execution of the kings — The southern campaign — Conquest
of Makkedah ; Libnah ; Lachish ; Gezer ; Eglon ; Hebron ; Uebir
—The Hills— The Negeb— The Shephelah— The Slopes— Kadesh-
barnea — Goshen — The dispossession only partial.
CHAPTER VII.
Conquest of the North  98
Confederacy formed in the North— Jabin — Waters of Merom —
Hazor — The confederate cities and tribes ; Madon ; Shiinron ;
Achshaph ; Dor — Canaanite cavalry and chariots — Kadesh —
Joshua makes a forced march ; defeats the Canaanites at Merom
— Sidon — Misrephoth-Maim — Treatment of horses — Hazor de
stroyed — Conquest gradually completed — Anakim — Hardening of
the heart — General survey of the conquest — Eastern Palestine-
Extent of West territory — Baal-Gad — Mount Halak — List of con
quered kings — Geder ; Hormah ; Arad ; Adullam ; Taanach ;
Megiddo ; Jokneam ; Carmel ; Gilgal ; Tirzah — Unconquered ter
ritory — The Philistines ; Geshurites ; river of Egypt ; Phoenicia ;
Mearah ; Aphek ; Haniath.

"7

CHAPTER VIII.
Allotment of the East ........
Age of Joshua — Principles of the division of the land — Settlement
of Reuben — The Belka — Fertility of the region — Zerka or Callir-
rhoe — Heshbon — Medeba— Dibon ; the Moabite stone — Nebo —
Aroer; the Arnon— Kirjathaim— Sibmah — Beth-peor— Zareth-
Shahar— Characteristics and fate of the Reubenites— Settlement
of Gad ; its extent and character — The Jarmuk — The Jabbok —
Jebel-Osha— Mahanaim — Penuel — Succoth — Ramoth-Mizpeh—
Uebir — Jabesh-Gilead — Rabbath-Ammon — Beth-aram — Beth-
nimrah — Zaphon — Characteristics and fate of the Gadites — Settle
ment of the half-tribe of Manasseh— The territory described —
Bashan — The Hauran — Argob — Edrei — Ashtaroth-Karnaim —
Nobah — Salcah — Golan — Havoth - J air — Characteristics of
Manasseh. CHAPTER IX.
Allotments of Judah and Joseph  14c
Arrangements for the further distribution of territory — The lot —
Caleb's inheritance at Hebron— Othniel and Achsah — Settlement

Contents. vii
TACB
of Judah — Boundaries of the territory — The Negeb ; Kerioth ;
Beersheba— The Shephelah ; Zoreah ; Socoh ; Keilah— The Hill
country and its cities ; Places connected with David's outlaw life ;
Bethlehem ; Jeshimon ; Engedi — Characteristics and fortunes of
Judah— Settlement of the tribe of Joseph — Boundaries of the terri
tory ; its physical character — Complaint and pride of Ephraim —
Inheritance of Ephraim ; Shiloh ; Timnath-Serah — Inheritance of
Manasseh — Daughters of Zelophehad— Esdraelon ; Bethshan ;
Ibleam ; Endor ; Megiddo ; Ophrah — Tabernacle removed to
Shiloh. CHAPTER X.
Allotments of the Remaining Tribes  159
Renewed arrangements for completing the partition. The lot of
Benjamin — Characteristics of Benjamin — Boundaries of the terri
tory — Physical peculiarities — Its cities ; Ekron ; Uaba ; Ramah —
Fortunes of Benjamin — The lot of Simeon— Characteristics —
Cities assigned ; Moladah ; Ziklag ; Beth-Marcaboth — Fate of the
tribe — The lot of Zelmlun — Limits of the territory — Places on the
border lines — Character of the tribe and its territory — The lot of
Issacliar — Plain of Esdraelon — Cities of Issachar; Jezreel ;
Shunem ; Engannim — Characteristics and fortunes of the tribe —
The lot of Asher— Limits of the territory — The Crocodile River —
Towns of Asher ; Hammon ; Tyre — Characteristics and fortunes
of the tribe— The lot of Naphtali ; its limits — Cities of Naphtali ;
Tiberias ; Chinnereth ; Kedesh ; Magdala — Nature of the country
— Fortunes of the tribe — Tiielot of Dan — Limits of the territory —
Its towns ; Ajalon ; Mahaneh-Dan — Expedition to the North —
Seizure of Laish— Characteristics and history of the tribe —
Joshua's inheritance. CHAPTER XI.
Religious Arrangements  184
The custom of blood-revenge — Homicide and murder— Cities
of refuge— Right of asylum ; how guarded — The death of the
high priest — Inheritance of Levi— Cities with pasturage assigned
—The three families of Levites— Towns allotted to each— Ana-
thoth — Distribution of Levites— Trans-Jordanic tribes dismissed —
They erect an altar ; its situation — Action of Western Israelites
under a misapprehension — The matter explained and settled
satisfactorily. CHAPTER XII.
Last Days  : .... 196
The commonwealth of Israel— First address of Joshua— Final
charge at Shechem — The people's response— Ratincation of the
Covenant— Death of Joshua — His tomb — Tomb of Eleazar.
CHAPTER XIII.
Character and Work . .  204
Character of Joshua ; his faith, generalship, unselfishness —The
Book of Joshua ; its age, origin, place in Canon— Miracles —
Typical character of Joshua and his work.

CHAPTER I.
EARLIER YEARS.
First appearance of Joshua in history ; his name and parentage — The
minister of Moses— Jealousy for his master's honour— Sent as one of
the twelve spies ; his report— Lessons in the wilderness — Appointed
successor of Moses— Death of Moses— Phoenicians, Hittites, and
Canaanites ; their religion and moral degradation — Different views
concerning the settlement of Israel in Palestine — The destruction of
the Canaanites considered ; the Israelites' part therein— Joshua en
couraged.
There is something strange and unexpected in the first
appearance of the name of Joshua in the pages of Scripture.
It comes suddenly, heralded by no announcement, explained by
no previous allusion. The Amalekites have withstood Israel at .'
its entrance into the peninsula of Sinai, and their opposition;
must be defeated at all hazards. Then with no preliminary re
mark the narrator continues : " And Moses said unto Joshua,
Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek.™ Con
scious of his own impaired activity, and recognizing the military
skill of Joshua, Moses does not hesitate to give him the com
mand at this crisis. The choice was proved to be good. Though
the enemy was brave and determined, and the battle was
obstinately contested till the close of day, the Israelites under
their new leader were thoroughly successful, the Amalekites
suffered a very severe defeat, and, taught by this lesson, re
frained from molesting the pilgrims during the rest of their long
wanderings. The account of this victory Moses was directed
to record in the annals of the people, and especially to impress
upon the mind of Joshua the foreordained doom of the
1 Exod- xvii. 9.
2

2 JOSHUA.
Amalekites — a premonition of the part which he would have to
play in the conquest and subjugation of this and kindred
nations.' Joshua at this time was no young, untried man ; he must
have been forty years old or more,3 and had gone through all
the hardships of the life and bondage in Egypt, and had doubt
less on many occasions proved his ability and endeared himself
to Moses. His name was originally Hosea, but was changed
by Moses tojehoshua,3 shortened later into Joshua and Jeshua.
It is written Oshea, Hoshea, and Hosea, and in the Septuagint
appears as Jesus, as it does in the Epistle to the Hebrews
(chap. iv. 8), and in Acts (chap. vii. 45). The original word
means " deliverance," or " salvation " ; to this was added the
syllable denoting the sacred name Jah or Jehovah, which would
give to the word the signification, "the Lord's salvation," or
"the Lord is salvation," or, as Pearson4 takes it, "God the
Saviour." It was a great name, the greatest of all names, a fit
prelude to notable deeds, an appellation which would incite its
bearer to act worthily of so august a reference. Joshua was the
son of Nun, a member of the tribe of Ephraim, and, according
to the Chronicler,s twelfth in descent from the Patriarch Joseph.
The name of his mother is unknown. Among his ancestors his
grandfather Elishama is mentioned as being the chief of
Ephraim and bearing the standard of the tribe. Born in the
land of Goshen, his birth would synchronize with Moses'
flight into Midian, when the treatment of the Israelites was
most harsh and their condition growing daily more insupport
able. This, according to the common chronology, was about
1531 B.C.; but if, as late discoveries lead us to believe, the
Exodus took place not B.C. 1491, but B.C. 1320,6 the year of
Joshua's birth would be B.C. 1360, his death occurring in his
1 loth year, B.C. 1250. What was his experience during his early
life in Egypt we know not ; the idolatry of the inhabitants, with
' " Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of
Joshua." a Josephus, "Ant." v. 1. 29, makes him forty-five at the time of the
Exodus. See below, chap. viii. 3 Numb. xiii. 8, 16 ; Deut xxxii. 44,
4 "On the Creed," Art. ii. 5 1 Chron. viii. 23 ; Numb. ii. 18 ; x. 22.
6 Two recent articles in "The Theological Monthly" (March and July,
1889) fix the Exodus at B.C. 1438. But the writer takes no account of the
discoveries at Tel-el-Maskhutah.

EARLIER YEARS. 3
its degradation and immorality, must have been daily before his
eyes ; he must have seen the attraction which this sensuous
worship exercised upon his countrymen ; doubtless he shared
in the rigour with which his brethren were treated, and by
serving learned to command ; doubtless, too, he had hailed with
joy the judgments of' God which preceded the uprising of the
people, and aided in marshalling the unwieldy mass for its
hurried flight. As a chief of the important tribe of Ephraim,
and as one already well known for his skill in organization, and
one thoroughly trusted by the people, to him Moses turned as
the leader best fitted to select and arrange the combatants for
their first and most important struggle. From this time he is
associated with the great prophet in the closest relation, and
is called his minister or servant, attending him on the most
solemn occasions. Thus when Moses, Aaron with his sons,
and the seventy elders, went some way up the awful mountain
Sinai to eat the sacrificial meal which was the seal of the
newly made covenant, Joshua accompanied Moses as his
servant, and was left by him on the mount while he himself
advanced into the cloud to hold mysterious communion with
the Lord. And when after the forty days' revelation was con
summated, and Moses, informed of the people's lapse into
idolatry, was returning sadly to his common life and cares,
Joshua was the first to meet him, and call his attention to the
commotion and shouting in the camp below. Ignorant of the
real cause, the warrior can think of but one origin for the un
wonted tumult : " There is a noise of war in the camp," he says.
It is characteristic of the thought of one whose mind is set on
milita.y matters and the defence of a position in a hostile
country to attribute such excitement to the presence of enemies
and the strife of combatants. In the severe punishment of the
idolaters Joshua took no part ; that was left to the children of
Levi ; but thenceforward he adhered more closely than ever to
the side of Moses, so that it is said that he departed not out of
Moses' tent ;* he ministered to his great master when present,
- ExoA xxxiii. n. The A. V. has :" the tabernacle "; but the tabernacle
properwas not yet erected ; and this " tent of meeting" was most probably
Moses' own temporary habitation used for this special purpose. In the
above passage Joshua is called "a young man" fnaar), but the term is
often used vaguely of pupilage, or as expressive of vigour and activity, with
out special reference to actual age.

4 JOSHUA.
and during the frequent absence of the latter he guarded the
sacred residence and the various holy relics deposited therein.
The next occasion on which his name- appears is on the appoint
ment of the seventy elders to assist Moses in the administration
of his onerous charge. Here he comes forth as jealous of his
master's honour. Among those thus duly appointed, two, Eldad
and Medad, had not gone with the others to the tent of meeting
to receive their public inauguration ; yet when these others had
their office accredited by receiving the power of " prophesying,"
i.e., uttering the praises of God and declaring His will, the
same sign was granted to the absentees, "and they prophesied
in the camp." Joshua, conceiving that they were acting in
dependently and setting up a rival authority, urged Moses to
forbid them, but was answered by that meek saint : " Would
God that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord
would put His spirit upon them." *
For many months now we lose sight of Joshua, nor is it till
the host was approaching the borders of the Promised Land, in
the second year after the Exodus, that his name again appears
in the sacred record. On this occasion he represents his own
tribe as one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan to prepare the
way for the contemplated invasion by making careful observa
tion of the people, the country with its soil and cultivation, the
strength and fortification of the cities, and all other points the
knowledge of which might be a guide to future proceedings.
As these messengers, starting from the southern wilderness,
penetrated to the plain of Ccele Syria, in the far north, between
Lebanon and Antilebanon, Joshua had a good opportunity of
gaining acquaintance not only with the nature of the population,
but also with the physical features of the country, which was of
great assistance to him in subsequent operations. It was at
this time, perhaps, that Moses added the honourable syllable to
Joshua's name, as if he would denote that this leader was
specially under the protection of God ("God-help"), and
already destined for great things. Similarly we have new
names bestowed on Abram and Jacob, with a deep significance,
the former receiving the name Abraham (" Father of a multi
tude"), the latter that of Israel ("God fighteth"). Distinguished
for bravery and resolution, Joshua at this crisis showed himself
possessed of a far more uncommon attribute, moral courage,
1 Numb. «. 35 ff. Comp. Mark ix. 3B.

EARLIER YEARS. £
In the face of the unfavourable repoit of their companions'
and the general opposition of the disheartened people, Joshua
and Caleb alone expressed their belief in the possibility of
success, and urged the invasion of the land which was to be
their inheritance. Strong in faith and trusting in Divine
protection, these two men were not appalled by the thought of
the task that lay before them ; fortified cities, gigantic foes,
insecure tenure, had no terrors for them ; the Lord had
promised to give the country to His people, and He would
prosper their proceedings. To the warrior Joshua it seemed a
feasible enterprise. It had been the dream of his life for many
a month ; he could not bear to think of disappointment now ;
a resolute purpose, a vigorous blow, a brief campaign, and the
result could not be doubted. He and his friend were of one
mind in the matter. " The land, which we passed through to
spy it out," they said, "is an exceeding good land. If the Lord
delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it
unto us. Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the
people of the land ; for they are bread for us ; their defence is
removed from over them, and the Lord is with us ; fear them
not." These were brave, faithful words ; but they fell on deaf
ears. These two righteous men had their reward in being
spared when the other spies died by the heaven-sent plague.
In the subsequent ill-advised attack on the Amalekites and
Canaanites with its disastrous issue Joshua took no part ; he
remained with Moses and the ark in the camp. And now we
lose sight of him for eight-and-thyrty^ ears, the term of the
penal wanderings in the wilderness. But this weary time must
have taught him much. One lesson must have forcibly im
pressed him ; the terrible punishment of the rebellion of Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram could not have been witnessed unmoved ;
nor could he help gathering therefrom the great truth of the
sanctity of the priesthood and the sin of unhallowed intrusion
into the sacerdotal office. Then, again, what a lesson of entire
submission to the will of God did he learn from the one lapse
of his master Moses, so sternly punished 1 He had seen
Miriam die ; he had seen Aaron buried in Mount Hor ; he had
1 "A land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof" (Numb. xiii. 32). This
expression is explained as denoting that the country was malarious and
pestilential, or so exposed to attack that its occupants must be always oc
the watch.

6 JOSHUA.
seen Israel warring, tempted, fallen, recovered. But his part
in these momentous matters is not recorded. It is at the close
of the life of Moses that he next comes before us, and this at
the most important point of his career. History does not
mention who was the leader that had the conduct of the three
wars which gave Israel possession of Eastern Palestine, adding
a final glory to the fame of the great lawgiver ; " but it is most
probable that they were waged and brought to a successful
issue under the leadership of Joshua, the experienced com
mander, and the tried friend of his eminent master. When
Moses was warned that his end was approaching, knowing that
he himself was debarred font entering the promised land, he
desired God to give the people a competent leader who would
rightly conduct this momentous undertaking, " that the congre
gation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd."
No thought of obtaining the post for either of his sons, Gershoin
and Eliezer, entered his mind. They had shown no aptitude
for such an office ; and to place the enterprise in incompetent
hands would ensure failure, and restrain the favour of the Lord
without which success was impossible. Neither were his
nephews or grand-nephews eligible. Phinehas, indeed, was a
man of vast energy and of some military skill, but his ecclesi
astical duties were numerous and absorbing ; they would
certainly interfere with his leadership, and one of the two must
perforce be neglected. But Moses was spared the selection ;
he had committed the choice to God, and the matter was
decided for him. He was directed to take Joshua, "a man in
whom is the Spirit," and solemnly dedicate him as his successor,
by laying his hand upon him, and at once giving him a Certain
authority and dignity. The chosen one was in every relation
acceptable ; he was joined to Moses by the closest ties of love
and respect ; he had given constant proof of courage and ability,
and the leadership could not be committed to more competent
hands. Yet great and highly regarded as he was, in one
particular he came far behind his predecessor. This vice-
leader was distinguished from Moses by the mode of com
munication with God. Both, indeed, were theocratic chiefs ;
both were directed by Divine monitions ; but while Moses had
enjoyed direct intercourse with God, the Lord "speaking unto
• See Prof. Rawlinson, " Moses : his Life and Tiroes," pp. x8a ff.

EARLIER YEARS. 7
him face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend," * Joshua
was to seek counsel through the High Priest, by the use of the
Urim and Thummim. The designation of Joshua was made
some little time before Moses' death ; the final transference of
succession followed. A solemn assembly of all Israel was sum
moned, and Moses publicly handed over to Joshua the leader
ship which for forty years he himself had exercised. He knew
the arduous nature of the work that had to be accomplished,
and his constant injunction to his successor is, " Be strong and
of a good courage" : there is, indeed, necessity for great fortitude,
but there is a happy assurance of support, for the Lord will go
with him and never fail him, therefore he confidently repeats :
" Fear not, neither be dismayed." Jewish tradition 2 narrates
how the dying prophet commits to Joshua not only the office of
leader, but also certain documents containing the laws of the
community, which he is to keep safely stored in earthenware
receptacles till a place is found on which the Lord shall set His
name. Moses then gives a prophetic sketch of Jewish history
down to the time of the Herods. Appalled at the greatness of
the task before him, Joshua rends his clothes and falls at the
feet of Moses, weeping to think that he in his incompetence is
left to take the place of this mighty leader, and that there will be
no one to intercede for the people, if they fall into sin, no one to
inspire terror into the mind of their enemies. But Moses raises
him from the ground and places him on the seat by his side ;
comforts him with the assurance that God has foreseen and
provided for all these things from the beginning ; and adds
that he himself has been chosen by the Lord for this post not
on account of his virtue or his weakness, but through the Divine
compassion. According to the sacred historian3 the delegation
was finally confirmed by God Himself in the Tabernacle,
whither the two chiefs were summoned. Here the Lord gave
Joshua a charge, appearing in the pillar of cloud, and saying to
him, " Be strong and of a good courage : for thou shalt bring
the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them ;
and I will be with thee." Such a declaration, so wonderfully
bestowed, drove aside all diffidence and distrust, and filled him
with the courage of a hero, and the calm consciousness of
1 Exod. xxxiv. n ; Deut. xxxi. 7, 8.
¦ See "Assumptio Moyseos" in Fritzsche's "Libri Apocryphi V.T."
There are also editions by Volkmar and others. 3 Deut. xxxi. 14, 23,

8 JOSHUA.
power that insured success. Fire kindles fire ; the intrepidity
of the commander would augment the foititude of the troops,
and the unwarlike Israelites, following such guidance and
upheld by such hopes, might achieve momentous results, and
attain the object of their ambition.
It was not permitted to Joshua to see the actual death of his
master. He and Eleazar the priest had accompanied the dying
saint on his pilgrimage to Pisgah ; but when the end came they
saw not. Alone, removed from all human ken, Moses yielded up
his spirit. Where he died, and where his sacred body rests, no
mortal man knoweth. The sacred record says vaguely, " He
was buried in the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-
peor.'' This may well have been the weird gorge of Callirrhoe
(Zerka M'ain), on the ridge immediately north of which it is
probable Beth-peor stood, where a narrow spur runs out to
Minyeh, and where a prehistoric circle of stones exists to this
day.1 The work which Moses was not allowed to accomplish,
Joshua had now to undertake and carry to completion. This
task was an arduous one. He had not to take possession of
and colonize an uninhabited country ; he had not to expel or
subdue mere savages, of inferior race and culture ; on the
contrary, the people whom he was about to displace were in
many respects more civilized and advanced than the Hebrews,
and were vastly their superiors in the use of arms and in all
matters pertaining to military experience* Canaan, the country
which he proposed to conquer, was already, and had for
centuries been, inhabited by Phoenicians, the greatest com
mercial nation of antiquity, to whom Europe owes her letters,
who in their restless energy penetrated beyond the bounds of
the Mediterranean Sea, and carried off stores of minerals from
the shores of Britain. While the Israelites were sojourning in
Egypt, Phoenicia had reached the height of its prosperity. In
close union with the Hittites it may be said to have become a
power in the world, the rival of Assyria and Egypt. The
Hittites, as we have lately discovered, were a people of wide
possessions, of high culture, and of vast importance in human
history. From Kadesh on the Orontes, far north of Palestine,
to Carchemish on the Euphrates in the distant East, their
empire extended ; the promised land was included in their
* Conder, " Heth and Moab," 141 f.

EARLIER YEARS. 0
territories, the petty kings of this country owing allegiance to
them ; and it was not to be supposed that they and their
dependants would be displaced without a severe struggle. If
they are mentioned only as one of the seven nations which
occupied the country at this time, we have evidence that they
were the most prominent tribe in Palestine, being an offshoot
of the great nation whose name they bore. In the time of
Abraham they dwelt in the neighbourhood of Hebron, and later
they appear as mingled with the Amorites, and inhabiting the
mountains of Ephraim and Judaea. The other nations which
had their home in this territory were the following, as enume
rated by Joshua to his assembled army : x the Canaanites, or
Lowlanders who dwelt on the sea-coast and the Jordan valley ;
the Hivites, a peaceful tribe who inhabited Shechem and its
vicinity, and had a settlement also in Anti-Libanus ; the Periz-
zites, agriculturists dwelling in the unwalled villages of Central
and Southern Palestine ; the Girgashites, who are supposed to
have taken their name from Gergesa or Gerasa on Lake Gen-
nesareth, and appear to have been a clan of small importance ;
the Amorites, or mountaineers, the most powerful of the
Canaanite peoples, who, in close connection with the Hittites,
had established themselves both east and west of the Jordan in
various localities ; the Jebusites, who held the central highlands
round their impregnable capital, Jerusalem, and were of Hittite
or Amorite race.
The religious and moral condition of these nations was
utterly corrupt. Luxury and commercial prosperity had pro
duced a moral depravity which cried aloud for punishment
and repression. If, as is probable, the religions of Greece and
Romu owed their origin to Phoenician elements, we see them
at their best in the case of the former, and in their most degraded
shape in the country from which they sprung. The Phoenician
religion was a deification of the forces of nature, and led natu
rally to the grossest licentiousness practised under the guise of
worship. The chief god was Baal, who under various names
was adored as the sun, and the prevalence of whose worship is
seen in the numerous appellations of places and persons which
contain the word. To him as consort was united Ashtaroth
cr Astarte, who seems to have combined the characteristics
of the classic Artemis and Aphrodite, and to have been taken
1 Josh iii. 10. Comp. DeuV vii. r

IO JOSHUjC.
as representative of the reproductive process and the fecundity
of nature. Of the gross impurity practised in her worship it
becomes us not to speak. But the general nature of the
religion as it appears in our sacred books is such as we
gather it to have been from other sources, cruel, bloodthirsty,
licentious. When a people has come to believe that the
deities whom it worships are best propitiated by human sacri
fices, by ruthless severing of nearest ties, by debauchery, and
unspeakable degradation, it is time for judgment to begin.
According to neologian criticism the settlement of Israel
in the land of Canaan took place at various times, and under
varying conditions. Some tribes settled peaceably among the
Canaanites ; others forced their way sword in hand. The
notion that there were ever twelve tribes existing at the same
time is chimerical, and has been foisted into the history for
genealogical purposes. The immigration was dictated by the
customary restlessness of a nomadic people, and was only
partially successful^ but the new-comers gradually took the
lead, their religion and moral force being superior to those
of the nations whom they dispossessed." The Bible gives
a very different representation of the transaction ; it exhibits
the Israelites as entering upon a long promised inheritance,
and as executing the wrath of God upon a horde of offenders
who were unfit to live. Many centuries ago the Land of
Canaan had been promised to Abraham and his posterity.
The earth is the Lord's, and He giveth possession to whom
soever He pleaseth ; and He had dislinctly and often declared
that the people whom He had chosen should in due time
immigrate hither and become a mighty nation in whom all
the world should be blessed. This hope had been continually
set before the patriarchs ; it had animated their faith, inspired
them with patience, and encouraged them under pressure of
adverse circumstances. It was this hope that led the dying
Jacob to engage his sons to bury his body in the cave of
Machpelah ; it was this hope that constrained Joseph to direct
that when God visited His people to deliver them out of Egypt,
they should carry his bones with them to their new home.
And now the time was come for them to enter upon their
1 These are the views of Wellhausen and Stade. A summary ot
them is given by the Rev. A. W. Oxford in his " Introduction to the
History of Ancient Israel." (Loudon, 1887.)

EARLIER YEARS. II
inheritance, and settle whither the Providence of God was
leading them. Whatever right the Canaanites had to the land
by force of long possession was forfeited by their wickedness,
and it was made over to the Hebrews to be the centre of
pure religion and the earthly scene of the kingdom of God.
The morality of this dispossession and wholesale destruction
of the Canaanites has often been questioned. Grounded here
upon objections against God's justice and mercifulness were
made in primitive times, and have been repeated in various
forms down to this present day. But they admit of a satis
factory answer, which can be shortly stated. Granted that
the moral condition of these nations was so utterly corrupt
that their eradication was a necessary result of God's govern
ment of the world by a system of rewards and punishments,
and we are at once constrained to think more of the result
than of the agents by which the result was obtained. Whether
the intended destruction was effected by war, or famine, or
pestilence, or earthquake, the particular visitation was God's
instrument, and was guided in its ravages by His Providence.
The Israelites were specially designated, and felt themselves
to be, agents in the Lord's hands to execute His purpose of
vengeance upon outrageous sinners. Their conscience was
quite clear in the matter. In an age when human life was
little regarded, the annihilation of a people aroused no feeling
of abhorrence, was not felt to be cruel and monstrous, and no
squeamish pity interfered to check the course of the judicial
punishment. The destruction is in no degree more ruthless and
unreasonable because inflicted by human agents. Men are
carried off by all manners of death, by sickness, by accident,
by old age, and we think these inflictions natural, and never
complain of their injustice ; why should death at the hands of
man be placed in a different category ? If the Canaanites had
been gradually obliterated by famine or pestilence, men would
not have arraigned God's Providence, though their sufferings
and misery would have been enhanced tenfold ; yet surely,
if they had to be executed, the edge of the sword, as it was
the speediest, so it was the most merciful mode of death.
We must also remember that it was the common practice of
the time and country to put to death the whole population
of a conquered town or district. The Assyrian monuments
constantly record the general slaughter that ensued on the

12 JOSHUA.
capture of a city. Such a boast may be seen on the celebrated
Moabite Stone, wherein King Mesha felicitates himself in
having killed all the men of Ataroth, in the tribe of Gad.
The sentiment which spares a resisting enemy was wholly
foreign to the minds of combatants in those days, and would
have been regarded as culpable weakness or incomprehensible
folly. It must be observed also that the destruction of the
Canaanites was by no means so complete as the terms used
seem to imply. From apathy, or cowardice, the Israelites
failed signally in carrying out the strict injunctions of the Law,
and left large districts unconquered, or lived on peaceful
terms with the original inhabitants. And many of these latter
avoided extermination by flying from the country, or into
districts as yet unsubdued, or took refuge in cities on the
sea-board. An inscription (which may possibly be authentic)
is known to have been seen at Tangiers, in Africa, which stated
that the inhabitants were the descendants of fugitives who were
driven from their home by "Joshua, the son of Nun, the
plunderer." *
That the innocent should be involved in the destruction of
the guilty, is a matter of every-day experience. National
calamities, convulsions of nature, material scourges, spare
neither age nor sex, are utterly pitiless in operation. We
patiently acquiesce in such indiscriminate dealing because we
have faith in God's justice, and know that this present life is
only one little scene in an infinite space where all inequalities
shall be righted, and all incongruities shall be remedied. If
the degrading idolatry, the atrocious cruelty, the unnatural
crimes, of these Canaanites cried aloud for punishment, what
good result would be attained by sparing any, even innocent
children ? Would these grow up better than their parents ?
Would they rise superior to their surroundings ? God's mercy
had waited long for the repentance of these nations. They
had had high examples of piety in such men as Melchizedek
and the holy patriarchs who sojourned among them ; ever
before their eyes lay the ruins on the fatal Plain of the Salt
Sea, that told of God's vengeance on their favourite sins.
Example and warning were given in vain. The wonders
which had led the Israelites out of Egypt, the Providence
1 Rawlinson, " Bampton Lectures," i. 72.

EARLIER YEARS. 13
which had watched over them for forty years and had now
brought them once more to the borders of Palestine, filled the
heathen with vague apprehension, but produced no tokens
of repentance and correction of error. There was no hope
of improvement ; the right to the land, whatever it was, was
originally the free gift of God, and that was now revoked ;
He who had given reclaimed the gift, and put into the hands
of the Israelites the execution of His fiat. And was it not
well for these to be the agents in carrying out this sentence ?
How better could they have been taught God's abhorrence of
idolatry and the evil practices which it occasioned? When
they found themselves constrained to put to death the whole
inhabitants of city after city, they could not but see that these
victims were abominable in God's sight, and that wickedness
such as theirs was certain to meet with severest punishment.
They were taught in the most practical manner the danger of
evil communication ; they were taught that there could be no
truce between them and the heathens who dwelt around them,
that isolation was their duty and their safety. We see how
necessary was this lesson by the proneness of the Israelites to
imitate the practices of other peoples with whom they came in
contact. And though they never thoroughly carried out the
Divine intention, and shrunk from the complete execution of the
' commands, and made compromises, and were but half-hearted
in their undertaking, yet even this partial accomplishment of
the stern sentence had an enduring and widely extended effect.
The heathen did not grow up intermingled with the people
of God ; the spark of true religion was not smothered by
the overpowering blight of Paganism; and the knowledge
of God and His pure worship were retained and kept alive
till Messiah Himself appeared. Thus these petty struggles in
a remote corner of the earth have a world-wide importance,
did a work which was providentially ordered to help forward
the era of full salvation, preluded the revelation of Bethlehem
and the triumph of Calvary. To the Hebrews alone was con
fided the pure idea of the Deity ; had they been overborne or
absorbed by the heathen peoples around them, polytheistic
abominations would have been vastly encouraged, and th&
history of humanity would have been terribly different.
With a view of softening the apparent severity of the treat
ment of the Canaanites, Rabbinical writers have asserted that

14 JOSHUA.
Joshua, before invading the land, made certain offers to the
inhabitants in accordance with the instructions in Deut. x. 14,
proposing that those who did not wish to fight should either
leave the country or become tributary. But there is no trace
of any such negotiations in our history, and the course of
action prescribed in Deuteronomy applied only to foreign
enemies, and might not be employed in dealing with Canaan
ites whose utter destruction was a religious obligation.
The difficulties of the great work which fell into his hands
at the death of Moses were fully felt by Joshua ; but they only
braced his energies, and nerved him for the accomplishment
of the undertaking. And he received special encouragement.
When the thirty days' mourning for Moses were past, and the
people looked to his successor to fill the blank left by the
departure of their trusted leader and lawgiver, a communication
was made to Joshua by God, either by direct revelation or
through the medium of the high priest. He was told to
commence his labours by leading the host across the river
Jordan, which separated them from the chief portion of their
promised inheritance ; the boundaries of the future kingdom
were pointed out, from the desert of Arabia to the mountains
of Lebanon which they could discern in the far north, from
the Mediterranean Sea to the river Euphrates in the distant
east; all should be theirs. "There shall not any man," says
God, "be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life ; as
I was with Moses, so will I be with thee : I will not fail thee,
nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage." His
success was certain if he governed his conduct by the Divine
command, and obeyed the book of the law which, Moses had
written for his instruction and guidance, and which has been
preserved in the Pentateuch. Here were the comfort and
assurance which were needed for the arduous enterprise. What
more could be desired when God thus speaks to His servant?
' '' Thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded
thee ? Be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed ; for
the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." The
remaining years of Joshua are spent in carrying out God's
design, and proving his claim to be the worthy successor of
Moses, the servant of the Lord.

CHAPTER II.
JORDAN CROSSED.
Canaan described— Encampment at Shittim — Number of the people ; tle'ir
character and spirit— Joshua's plan of campaig 1 — Jericho ; spies sent
thither— Rahab— Escape of the spies and their covenant with Rahab: ;
their report— Preparation for crossingTfieJorda n — Appeal to the two-
and-a-half tribes — The miraculous passage oi the river — A possible
explanation — Memorials of the event — Circuucision renewed — The
Passover celebrated.
The country which was to be occupied by the Israelites is now
so well known owing to the graphic descriptions of modern
travellers, and the valuable publications of the surveys made by
the Palestine Exploration, that a few words on this subject will
suffice. What we call Palestine is a district lying between 34. 30°
and 36.300 east longitude, and 31.15° and 33.15° north latitude.
The extent from north to south is about 1 50 miles, and that from
east to west about 80. If we reckon the average breadth at 70
miles, we have an area of 10,500 square miles. Thus its impor
tance is in no sense due to its size. England is nearly five times
as large, Scotland and Ireland three times. The area of Wales
is reckoned at 7,300 square miles. The Greece which plays such
a grand part in the history of mankind was but little more than
twice the size of Yorkshire. Palestine is divided into two main
portions by the remarkable valley of the Jordan, v.hich river,
rising under Mount Hermon near Paneas, or Csesarea-Philippi,
flows through Lake Merom or Huleh, thence to the Sea of
Galilee, from whence, by a course which more than trebles the
actual distance, it passes to the Dead Sea where it is lost. The
width of the valley in which the river runs varies considerably,
being in some places little more than two miles across, but

l6 JOSHUA.
towards the south, at what is called the " Plain of Jordan,"
averaging some fourteen miles. But what makes this river so
remarkable is the wonderful depression in which it lies ; while
at Lake Huleh it is nearly at sea level, at its outlet into the Dead
Sea, a distance of less than a hundred miles, it is 1,300 feet
below the level of the Mediterranean, having at its source been
1,080 feet above it. With the eastern division of the country we
have not much to do at the present time, as it had already been
partially conquered in Moses' days, and given over for a possession
to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. It was Western Palestine that
Joshua had to subdue. This is emphatically a land of moun
tains. There is, indeed, a level sandy plain on the coast, from
five to ten miles wide, and the plain of Esdraelon in the interior,
but speaking generally, we may say that the Lebanon range
runs through the whole country, sending forth spurs to east and
west, and makes it an intricate mass of hills. The central ridge,
which in its southern portion maintains its distinct character, as
it approaches the north breaks into two branches, the left and
longest culminating in the bold headland of Carmel, the right
forming the Mount of Gilboa.* Yet further north the Anti-
lebanon range spreads into a vast table-land eastwards beyond
the Jordan. To come to details : the maritime plain com*
mences in the north at the defile of the Leontes or Litany,
about five miles north of Tyre ; here it is of very narrow dimen
sions, and after some twenty miles it is intersected by the
Ladder of Tyre, a spur from Lebanon which reaches the sea.
South of this it widens to some five miles, continuing till again
interrupted at Acre by the hills of Upper Galilee. Here is the
only natural harbour of the country, the Bay of Acre, closed
on the south by the promontory of Carmel. Below this the
Plain extends considerably in breadth, merging into the Plain
of Sharon opposite Joppa, just south of which it is again
narrowed by the protrusion of the Judaean mountains. South
of this comes Philistia, an undulating country with a breadth of
from nine to sixteen miles, and reaching from Ekron to Gaza, a
length of thirty-two miles. Beyond this it sinks into the desert
southward and westward. The mountains of Israel commence
at a point in the Lebanon range called Mount Sannin, north-
1 Here and elsewhere I am much indebted to Mr. Henderson's very
useful little work on "Palestine," in Messrs. Clark's series of "Hand
books," which combines in one view the latest geographical discoveries.

JORDAN CROSSED. 17
east of Beyrout, 8,500 feet above sea level. The hills as they
trend southwards decrease in height, till by the Sea of Galilee
they average but 900 feet. They are clothed with varied vegeta
tion in strong contrast to the stern features of the more southern
country, and their rich verdure and mixture of greensward and
forest give a park-like aspect to the scenery which is abundantly
charming. The range is first interrupted by the Plain of
Esdraelon or Jezreel, which runs from the Jordan valley to the
Bay of Acre. Above this, the conical hill of Tabor stands in
grand isolation, as if broken off from the rest of the range by
some convulsion of nature. " Tabor," says Sir R. Temple,1
" is perhaps the most beautiful, though not the most striking,
mountain in Palestine. Though not very high — 2,000 feet
above the sea — it rises out of the plain in isolated majesty. Its
outline varies, of course, at very short intervals of distancei
Its prevailing shape, by which it is usually recognized, is that of
a broad dome. Its sides are steep and clothed with oak or
terebinth forests, through which the grey rock frequently peeps.
On its summit are traces of fortifications, walls, and great
bevelled stones. It clearly appears to have been occupied by a
town when Joshua's forces conquered the country." The southern
boundary of the plain is formed on the east by the mountains
of Gilboa, which extend from the hills of Samaria, and
by the long stretch of Carmel which touches the sea on
the west. South of Esdraelon the country is a mass of
hills, among which are noted the hill of Samaria, and Ebal
and Gerizim, between which is the fair vale of Shechem.
South again we come on Shiloh and Bethel, which, with many
other localities, we sha'l have occasion to notice hereafter ; and
ten miles further we arrive at Jerusalem, which stands in its
unique situation 2.500 feet above the sea. It conveys a vivid
impression of the small size of the country with which we are
concerned, when we consider that the distance between Samaria
and Jerusalem, the rival capitals of later history, is only thirty-
five miles, not half as far as that between York and Lancaster.
South of Jerusalem the land gradually rises, till at Hebron,
twenty miles off, the height is 3,500 feet. Thence it sinks by
degrees into the desert plateau. At the slope of these hills a
great valley is formed, which is watered by the drainage from
the high land. This is known as the Negeb, or South-country.
• " Palestine Illustrated," 209 f.
3

IS IOSHUA.
From the .entral backbone valleys run eastwards to the Jordan
and westwards to the Mediterranean. Some few of these hold
perennial streams, but most are watercourses only in the rainy
seasons, being at other times rocky channels with a very scanty
supply of verdure. The Judjean hills fall in gentle steppes on
the westward towards Philistia, forming what is called the
Shephelah or lowland. The above description gives a general
impression of the physical features of Western Palestine ; more
definite details will be found in the accounts of the territories
allotted to the tribes.
As regards the fauna of the country, some of the animals once
common are found no longer. The lion, bear, and wild bull are
extinct. But the ibex, or wild goat, roebuck, hart, wild boar,
leopard, hyasna, wolf, jackal, still exist. And the flora is still
the same as in these early days. The vine, olive, fig, and various
fruits — indeed, all " the trees mentioned in the Old Testament
are, without exception, still found in Palestine. The oaks that
sheltered the patriarchs and their tents are of three kinds. The
famous terebinth (pistachio) can still show individual trees of
remarkable beauty. The acacia, or shittim, which supplied
wood for the tabernacle, is common to this day. The juniper,
under which the prophet rested, is the Retem broom (genista),
and is reported as lighting up the desert with white blossoms.
The locust-tree, the pods of which are believed to have been the
husks eaten by the prodigal, is often found. The balm of Gilead
and Engedi is identified with the zakkum, from the berries of which
a healing oil is extracted ; and the camphire of the Canticle with
the Henna, wherce pink dye is obtained for personal adornment.
Other trees, as the sycamore, the ash, the plane, the elder, the
hawthorn, the arbutus, the tamarisk, may be mentioned." *
The Israelites were now encamped on the Plains of Moab at
Abel-Shittim, a place so named from the acacia trees which grew
there, and which are now found throughout the whole district,
but which probably had not been seen in such profusion since
the host had left the wilderness of Sinai. At this spot, near the
mouth of the Jordan, the mountains on both sides retire, leaving
on the east bank a plain of some five miles in width, corre
sponding to the plain of Jordan across the river. Here in a
veritable oasis extending to the shore of the Dead Sea the people
had pitched their huge camp, of black tents, which looked across
1 "Palestine Illustrated," 120, 121.

JORDAN CROSSED. 1 9
the Jordan to the luxuriant park of Jericho. The encampment
must necessarily have been of very large extent. The number
of the Israelites who originally took part in the Exodus is
reckoned at 600,000 " that were men " ; this would imply a
grand total of some two millions. In the census taken at Sinai
during the second year of the Wandering the number of able-
bodied men was 603,550, exclusive of the Levites, whose males
amounted to 22,000. The last numbering made just before the
invasion showed a diminution, there being now only 601,730
males, omitting the Levites who had increased by 700. But taking
the computation at the lowest figure, and allowing the women
and children to be four times as many as the men, the host
gathered on the Plain of Acacias (Ghor es Safieh) must have
amounted nearly to two and a half millions of souls. Of these
the very elderly, men of sixty and upwards, had been reared in
Egypt, but the bulk of the people had been born and grown up
in the wilderness, and had profited by the stern discipline of
their hard life. They had come forth from Egypt a horde of
slaves, spirit-broken by oppression and injustice, enervated in
some cases by the luxuriousness of Goshen, enfeebled in others
by labours beyond their strength. But the pilgrimage in the
desert had braced their energies and taught them many needful
lessons. They had learned obedience by the things which they
suffered ; their dependence upon God and their trust in His care
had been largely confirmed. They felt themselves agents in a
mighty undertaking wherein to be blindly submissive was to suc
ceed. A law had been given them which touched every relation
of life in minutest detail. They had become an organized com
munity, knit together by common interests and institutions and
worship. Tried by adversity, and trained by hardship, conscious
of a Divine mission, and enthusiastic in pursuit of their great
idea, the Israelites were gathered together under their leader,
full of hope, courage, zeal, and devotion.
The distant view of Jericho must have been then in its chief
features such as it is now. Though the vegetation has changed
in character, yet the thick belt of evergreen trees was there,
and behind them the brown mountain, with its sharp outline and
scarped sides, standing apart from the neighbouring range which
flanks the upland of Judaea, and rising a thousand feet above
the plain.1 1 " Palestine Illustrated," 103.

20 JOSHUA.
The usual course of invaders of Palestine was to make theii
attack from the south. The Egyptian forays had always been sc
conducted. Nearly forty years before this time the Israelites
themselves had made an unsuccessful attempt in that direction.
There were many reasons which rendered it inexpedient to repeat
this experiment. The country was well prepared for resistance
in that quarter ; there were innumerable strongly fortified towns
to bar progress ; the whole mass of enemies stood in the way,
with reinforcements to any extent at their back ; new difficulties
would have arisen at every moment, and each victory won at
severe cost would have only preluded new battles, and drained
the resources of the invaders who had no reserves whence to
draw fresh supplies. Joshua's plan, whether originating from
Divine suggestion or contrived by his own natural and acquired
skill, showed consummate generalship. He designed to turn his
enemies' flank, to take their fortresses in the rear, and by a bold
stroke to break through their centre, dividing the hostile forces,
and with his whole strength attacking them in detail. Defended
by the Dead Sea and the deep valley of the Jordan, with its rapid
and unfordable stream, the eastern frontier was regarded by the
Canaanites as tolerably secure, and they expected no invasion
from that quarter. This false security offered the opportunity
required. Here was a weak point which might be profitably
attacked. To carry out this manoeuvre the city of Jericho must first be
captured. It would have been the height of imprudence to
march into the interior, leaving this formidable fortress with its
military population unsubdued in the rear. But before Jericho
could be reached, the Jordan must be crossed. However
conscious of Divine protection and guidance, Joshua omitted
no precaution which became a careful commander. He had
himself had experience of the utility of making a reconnois-
sance of a country before attempting its invasion ; he therefore,
as a preliminary measure on the present occasion, sent forth two
young men as spies, with the utmost secrecy, directing them to
make their way to Jericho, to examine carefully the topography,
and the strength of the fortifications, and to discover the feelings
and temper of the inhabitants. This city stood about six miles
west of the Jordan, in a most fertile plain, surrounded by groves
of palm-trees, whence it derived its name of the " city of
fragrance." It had been built, or at any rate had risen to

JORDAN CROSSED. 2i
importance, since the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and was now of vast extent and of considerable wealth, lying
on the caravan road between Arabia and Damascus, engaging
in trade with the East, and having foundries of brass and
large stores of the precious metals. Situated on the very
frontiers of Palestine, it commanded the two chief passes
which led into the interior, of which one branched off to
Jerusalem, the other north-west toward Michmash and Bethel.
" It was thus the key of Palestine to any invader from this
quarter." ' The wretched little village of Riha or Eriha, which
has been supposed to stand on the ruins of this stately town, is
more than a mile south of the true site. This has been identi
fied by Conder at Ain-es-Sultan, "Elisha's fountain," which
rises from the foot of the limestone range at the back of the
city, and is the cause of the rich luxuriance of vegetation which
renders this tropical region so remarkable. Of the view of
Jericho from the mountain Quarantaria, which rises imme
diately behind, and overlooks the site, Sir Richard Temple "
thus speaks : "It is the morning time, and the sun has mounted
not very far above the Eastern horizon. The prevailing tints
of the sky are blue blended with amber. The mountain range
of Moab is in shadow, and stands up in violet-grey against the
sky. At its feet is the northern end of the Dead Sea, catching
the sunlight and glistening in a silver sheet. On this side of
the salt water is a long strip of desert land with reddish hues.
Then comes the broad belt of sylvan verdure, which girdles
Jericho as with a zone of emeralds. In front of this, and near
to the foreground, though still much below the eye, are the
fountain-rcervoirs, the chief of which is a small sheet of water
in which the sky is mirrored. From these the principal water
channels are seen wandering in bright streaks among the over
shadowing woods." In another place he speaks of the copious
spring, identifying the spot, " which during all the past ages has
bubbled up inexhaustibly from the bowels of the mountain, and
has for several thousand years endowed the plains of Jordan
with fertility. This is the water which the prophet Elisha
blessed. This is the veritable source of that prosperity which
made Jericho one of the gardens of the East, and the envy of
surrounding nations. It is now called by the natives the Sultan
1 Stanley, " Sinai and Palestine," 305.
" " Palestine Illustrated," 11.

22 JOSHUA.
Fountain. There is another spring called the Fountain of Luk,
an old Jewish name probably. These are the very fountains
which gave life and wealth to a district where important events
occurred in the history both of the Old and New Testament.
They are, after the lapse of ages, still copious, and are dis
charging the same functions for agriculture to-day as they did
4,500 years ago." x
Having received their commission, the spies set forth on the
third day of the month Nisan, which would fall in our April.
Swimming across the river, they made their way to Jericho,
arriving there towards evening before the gates were shut.
Here they were received in the house of one Rahab, a harlot,
whither they had been directed as a place where guests were
entertained, and where they could lodge without exciting sus
picion. Or they may possibly have met Rahab outside the
city, or traversing the streets,2 heard from her where her house
was situated, and agreed with her to conceal them, if necessary,
during their short sojourn, Her house was built upon the city
wall, like that at Damascus from which St. Paul was let down,
and offered facilities for effecting escape, should danger menace.
There is no reason for disputing the degraded condition of this
woman. The term here used, both in the Hebrew and the
Greek, and the references to her in the New Testament,3 leave
no doubt on the subject. That she was an innkeeper also is
very probable ; in this case the spies would naturally have
repaired to her abode, not only as a place of public entertain
ment, but a resort where they might expect best to gather the
state of general opinion. The encampment of the Israelites on
the plains of Moab was, of course, well known to the inhabi
tants of Jericho ; and the arrival of these two strangers, and
their reception in Rahab's house, were soon noised abroad.
The report reached the ears of the king, already alarmed at
the successes of Israel in the eastern district, and suspicious of
* " Palestine Illustrated," 109. 3 Prov. vii. 9L
3 Heb. xi. 31 ; James ii. 25- Josephus ("Ant." v. 1. 2) and other
writers, followed by some modern commentators, have endeavoured to
vindicate Rahab from the charge of harlotry. But the language of the
original forbids any other interpretation. That her name, with those of
other notorious women, occurs in the genealogy of Christ, is explained by
St. Jerome : " Ut qui propter peccatores venerat, de peooatoribus uascens
omnia peccata deleret."

JORDAN CROSSED. 2}
all who might come from that quarter, and he sent officeis to
Rahab, bidding her bring forth the men that were come to her,
for their object was to spy out the country. Rahab, vicious and
degraded as she may have been, was not wholly without better
impulses, and possessed a fair knowledge of the events which
had befallen the Hebrews from the Exodus unto this present
time. This information she may have gathered from the traders
and merchants who frequented the place and congregated at
her house, which stood conveniently near the great gate of the
city. The intelligence of the miracles which had attended the
progress of the Israelites had sunk into her heart and pro
duced a reverence for the Lord Jehovah, and a profound con
viction that He had destined the land of Canaan for the
possession of His chosen people. To resist the invaders
seemed to her both impious and useless. Perhaps in all the
city she alone regarded the strangers with favour; and when
the king demanded their surrender, her only thought was how
best to secure their present safety, and provide for their sub
sequent escape. She was a woman fertile in resources, and of
great presence of mind. Being engaged in the manufacture
and dyeing of linen, she had used the flat roof of her house as
a drying ground for stalks of flax, the harvest of which had
been lately gathered. Under separate heaps of this flax she
hid the spies — a matter easy to effect with such material, the
plant in that country growing more than a yard in height, with
stalks as thick as a cane. Having completely concealed her
visitors' presence, she went out to the king's messengers, and
coolly told them that it was quite true that two men had arrived
at her house, but she did not know who they were or whence
they came ; she added that they left her just before the gate
was shut in the evening, and she was quite ignorant of their
further movements. "Pursue after them quickly," she enjoined
with apparent zeal and good faith ; " for ye shall overtake
them." The lies which she uttered were no offence to her
unenlightened conscience. Such deceit in a good cause and
under pressure of circumstances, is constantly excused by
a worldly morality. The severe standard of Christianity
alone disallows to do evil that good may come, and denies
that God's cause needs man's sinful manipulation. Misled
by her mendacious intelligence, the officers hurried to the
fords of the Jordan, thinking to intercept the strangers as they

24 ' JOSHUA. > -. . ,-
returned to the camp. Meantime the gates which had been
opened to admit the departure of the king's messengers had been
immediately closed again, and were now so carefully watched
that it was impossible for the spies to escape through them. To
wait till morning would be to risk almost certain discovery.
The strangers must be sent away secretly and by night. When
all was quiet, and the whole city was locked in sleep, Rahab
stole up to the place where the two Israelites were concealed,
and urged them to depart at once and hide themselves in the
mountains till the pursuit relaxed, and then to make their way
back to their own people. But before detailing her plan for
their escape, she made a very remarkable confession of her
faith in the God of Israel, and her confident expectation that
the land would be conquered by the Hebrews. The intelligence
of God's miraculous interposition at the Red Sea and else
where, the utter defeat and annihilation of Sihon' and Og, and
now the rumours concerning the might and multitude of the
host encamped across the Jordan, had worked in her heart,
and produced faith in Jehovah. In her countrymen, she
asserts, these marvellous events had occasioned only panic
and astonishment. " Your terror is fallen upon us," she says,
" and all the inhabitants of the land faint and melt away before
you." Being perfectly assured that Jericho would fall into the
hands of the invaders, she entreats the spies to return the
kindness which she has shown to them by sparing herself and
her father's family when the city is taken. This they readily
engaged to do on condition that all those whom she wished to
save should be gathered together under her roof, and should on
no account go forth from her doors when the capture was
effected. The harlot's house, as we have said, was built
against the city wall, the top storey rising above it and over
hanging it. From a window thus placed she let the men down
by a cord, and having whispered to them her last instructions,
she was assured that they would loyally keep faith with her ;
and in order that her house might be distinguished in the sack
of the town, they desired her to fasten in the window the cord
used in their descent, which being dyed of a bright scarlet
colour could not escape notice. Turning their backs on the
doomed city, the young men fled to the mountains on the north
or west, which in their cavernous recesses offered many safe
hiding-places. Most naturally they would seek Quarantaria,

JORDAN CROSSED. 25
which " stands up right behind Jericho, and with its mass of
tawny or whitish rock forms a background to the mounds that
mark the site of the ancient city. Its scarped sides and
reddish ochre colour contrast with the foliage and verdant
gardens near its base." * This mountain became an abode of
hermits in later years, when tradition pointed it out as the scene
of our Lord's forty days' fast and temptation. The numerous
caves, most of which are of primeval origin, must have offered
a ready shelter to these anchorites in Christian days, as they
did to Joshua's spies at this time. These Israelites, after re
maining there during the next day, made their way back to
their countrymen, having effected their business within three
days. On their return they reported to Joshua what they had
seen and heard. Jericho was a rich and populous city, strongly
fortified with high and solid walls, and capable of offering an
obstinate resistance; but the inhabitants had lost all spirit, and
were sunk in hopeless despondency ; and in fact such was the
general feeling throughout the country. We know from other
sources3 that the present time was most favourable to the
invaders. The constant wars between the Hittites and the
Egyptians had brought much misery on the Canaanitish cities,
which were plundered and sacked by both parties, as occasion
offered. There could be no united opposition to the invader in
a country exhausted by these long-continued hostilities ; and
though in face of imminent danger some of the petty kings, as
we shall see, combined in an attempt at resistance, there was
no general rising of the whole country against the aggressive
strangers ; and Joshua's tactics, of crushing his enemies in
detail, was rendered practicable and successful
The first step in the invasion was the crossing of the Jordan.
As a preliminary to this undertaking, Joshua removed the en
campment from Sbittim to the bank of the river. This was
done with the utmost expedition ; and as the distance was not
great, some five miles at most, by the tenth of the month all
was ready, preparations were completed, and stores of food
provided, as the miraculous supply of manna would cease
when once the river was crossed. There was one other matter
to be arranged previously. An appeal had to be made to the
Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, who
had been allowed to settle in Gilead and Bashan, the territory
; Temple, no. * See., eg.. Prof. Sayce, " The Hittites/' pp. 24 i

26 JOSHUA.
conquered by Moses on the eastern side of Jordan. These
were now reminded by Joshua of the engagement by which
they had bound themsehes to help their brethren in their
invasion of Western Palestine, and to see them established in
their possessions before they finally entered upon their own in
heritance.1 This they cheerfully consented to do, stipulating
that their wives and children should be left safely guarded in
their new abodes, while the picked warriors among them shared
the dangers of the campaign. Their answer to the leader's
appeal was marked by loyalty and fraternal affection. " Ac
cording 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. Whosoever he be that shall rebel against thy
commandment, and shall 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." In effect, leaving some 70,000 men to
protect their homes and flocks, the two and a half tribes sent
40,000 soldiers to the war.
The requisite orders were transmitted to the host through the
appointed officers {skoterim), who exercised judicial functions,
and likewise attended to the duties of the commissariat. The
people were prepared ; at daybreak on this tenth of Nisan
(probably the first day of the week, as they rested on the
previous day, which may have been the Sabbath), they stood
expectant, looking blankly on the turbid yellow waters which
rolled between them and the Promised Land. It was now, as
we have seen, the flax and barley harvest ; the hot weather had
set in, and the snows of Lebanon and Hermon were melting
fast and sending a huge volume of water down the deep channel
of the Jordan. The river bed itself is little more than thirty
yards across in the neighbourhood of Jericho, and usually the
water is so shallow that one can wade across it with the greatest
ease ; but on each side of this bed is a wider channel called the
Zor (" depression "), which is only filled at flood time, when
Jordan overflows its usual banks. The river at such times is a
mile wide and of great depth. Such was its condition on this
momentous day. How was it to be crossed by this hetero.
geneous host ? The pillar of cloud had ceased to guide their
movements, but they were still led by God. He had warned
Joshua that he was to conduct the people over the river, and
* Numb, xxxii. 20 fl, j Dwt. iii. 18 ff.

JORDAN CROSSED. Vf
the servant of the Lord had but to obey, leaving the way to
Him who directed the march. So, brought face to face with
their promised possession, the people waited the summons to
advance. No longer now a horde of slaves, as when their
fathers fled from Egypt, full of fears, trembling at the sight of
arms, shrinking in abject terror at the journey that lay before
them, the host encamped at this time on the river's bank had
learned much in their long pilgrimage, had seen hard service,
had been tried in war, and endured hardship, and proved them
selves valiant soldiers, and now were willing and eager to go
whithersoever Joshua might lead them. So as they looked
across the torrent to the green terraces on the other side, they
despaired not ; they remembered the passage of the Red Sea,
which some among them had seen, of which all had often
heard, and they had trust in their leader and faith in God.
Would not the Lord work wonders for them as He had done
for their fathers ? Would not His hand be over Joshua as it
was over Moses ? On them thus expectant came the word :
" Sanctify yourselves ; for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders
among. you." It is not mere ceremonial purification that is
meant, but the cleansing of the conscience, and the turning of
the heart to God in faith, so as to be ready to receive duly the
subsequent manifestation of God's love and power. This was
the people's part. And to Joshua it was said : " 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." We
gather from what is subsequently said (iv. 10) that Moses
had communicated to his successor certain directions concern
ing the passage, though they are nowhere recorded in our
present narrative. By what means the swollen stream was to
be crossed, this was not expressly divulged ; only the order was
given, that as they had hitherto followed the guidance of the
pillar of cloud, so, now that that was withdrawn, they were to
follow the ark ; but it was also enjoined that they were not to
press irreverently upon this special symbol of God's presence,
nut to keep at a respectful distance from it, only watching
where it was carried, and pursuing its track without fear
whithersoever it should lead, though this was a way which they
h.id not passed heretofore. Now the ark is taken from the
tabernacle by the priests, its appointed guardians, and by them
solemnly borne to the margin of the river ; the people watch-

28 JOSHUA.
ing from their higher position, when they see the procession
approach the water some half-mile distant, arise and follow lui
symbol of Jehovah's presence ; for they have been told that
when the feet of the priests that bear the ark shall be dipped
in the waters of Jordan, a way shall be opened for the people
to pass over. Down the steep slope the strange procession
wound, the host following wondering, expectant, awestruck.
Without stay or hindrance the priests, silently, resolutely press
on ; they reach the rushing stream ; their feet are wetted by
the turbid waters ; when, lo 1 a wonder ensued ; the river bed
began to dry up ; the stream shrunk to its natural channel, and
then deserted even this ; the waters that had come hurrying
tumultuously from the north on their right were cut off, the
supply thence ceased, and those that were flowing down the
steep incline towards the Dead Sea soon passed away, leaving
the whole channel bare and dry. Some impediment had sud
denly obstructed the river's course far away, near the city
Adam in the district Zarthan, where the river Jabbok enters
the valley or where now the ford Damieh exists, eighteen miles
above the passage of Jericho. Thus a huge breadth of the
river's bed was dried ; at any point in this space the river could
be crossed. The narrator speaks of the occurrence as distinctly
miraculous. There is no natural agent mentioned, no strong
east wind to dry the passage, as in the analogous miracle at the
Red Sea. Our account reads : " The waters which came down
from above stood, and rose up in one heap ; and those that
went down towards the Sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea,
were wholly cut off." If we look for the secondary cause of
this phenomenon, we may perhaps consider it to have been
occasioned in the following way. At a point where the valley
is most contracted, and the mountains on either side approach
most closely the river bed, a fall of cliff took place, which for a
time completely blocked the course of the stream. If the
channel here was tolerably level, and the valley widened above
the obstruction so as to allow the imprisoned waters to expand
in the form of a lake, the dam need not have been of great
height ; and once established it would soon be increased and
strengthened by the accumulation of debris brought down the
stream. As long as this obstacle remained, the waters below it
would fail and be cut off; and many miles of the bed being
emptied, the great host could cross it at various points, and thus

JORDAN CROSSED. 29
in a comparatively short time effect the passage. At the same
time, it must be noted that modern research has failed to find
any token of such a catastrophe having taken place, though that
fact is not absolutely adversative, as the annual floods would
naturally have occasioned immense changes and modifications
in the river bed, and the wear and tear of three thousand addi
tional years must be considered. If this is the natural ex
planation of the event, the miraculous character of the matter
is seen in the providential ordering of the catastrophe at the
particular time and place, and in the Divine foreknowledge
which directed Joshua when to make the attempt, and antici
pated the mode in which the result should be obtained. God
uses the forces which He has ordained to produce the effects
which He has designed ; and it is not wise for us to represent
Him as interfering unnecessarily with the order of nature. He
is honoured rather by our recognition of His use of the ordi
nary laws which He has established.
Now, at the edge of the terrace which the flood had reached,
the priests stood bearing the ark ; near them was Joshua,
accompanied by twelve men chosen one from each tribe.
Into the channel thus dried the multitude rushed ; the two and
a half tribes, 40,000 strong, preceded the host ; men, women,
children, cattle, followed in hot haste ; for a mile or more the
river bed was filled with this tumultuous assemblage, while the
ark remained in its position till the last straggler had safely
crossed. The time occupied in the passage did not exceed a
few hours, as the distance was not great, and conscious of the
Divine interposition, the people made no unnecessary delay,
but parsed across with all the speed possible. When all had
crossed in safety, the ark at length was moved and borne to
the opposite bank ; and then the obstacle that had barred the
way of the upper waters was removed, and the people on the
western side beheld the river suddenly filling its usual channel,
then rising higher and higher till it overflowed its banks as
before. Their trust in God and their confidence in their leader
were greatly enhanced ; henceforward they never swerved in
their allegiance : " On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in
the sight of all Israel, and they feared him, as they feared
Moses, all the days of his life." Down the ages the memory
of the miracle was handed on and celebrated in psalm and
hymn :

30 JOSHUA.
" The sea saw it, and fled j
Jordan was driven back. . . .
What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest?
Thou, Jordan, that thou turnest back?" (Psa. cxiv.)
To mark this great event, an event as important in its bearings
and results as the passage of the Red Sea, two monuments
were erected. The twelve representatives already mentioned
were ordered to set up a cairn on the spot where the priests'
feet had rested while the people crossed, and then to take up
twelve huge stones from the bed of the river and arrange them
as a memorial in the place where the new camp was formed
after the passage. Such a mode of commemorating events is
common in all ages and lands. The obelisks of Egypt, the
cairns of northern countries, the dolmens of the Celts, are
cases in point.1
Thus on the first day of the week, the anniversary of the day
on which, forty years before, the Israelites had been directed to
take up the lambs for the first Passover in Egypt, and the day
afterwards made memorable by the resurrection of Joshua's
great antitype, Jesus, the people came up from the river, and
lodged in the Land of Promise. The encampment was fixed at
a place called, perhaps by anticipation, Gilgal, in the fertile
plain that lay between Jericho and the river, some five miles
west of the latter and two from the city. The spot has been
identified with the modern Tell Jiljulieh, where still remain
some faint traces of ancient ruins. It was already marked out
by heathen superstition as a sacred locality — the name, which
means " a circle," probably referring to the erection of stone
circles for some purpose connected with pagan worship, though
Joshua gave a new meaning to the appellation. Here, on a
rising ground, the camp was pitched and rudely fortified to fit
it to be the headquarters of the people during the progress of
further operations. No opposition had been offered to the
crossing. Paralyzed by fear, or expecting no invasion during
the annual flood, which, as they supposed, put a temporarily
impassable barrier between them and the enemy, the people of
Jericho and its neighbourhood had taken no steps to resist the
strangers' entrance into their land. Nothing would have been
1 Comp. Gen. xxviii. 18 '; xxxi. 45 ; xxxv. 14 ; Josh. xxiv. 26 ; 1 Sam
vii. 12.

JORDAN CROSSED. 3?
easier than to cut off such a rabble as they struggled out of the
deep boulder-laden channel ; a few resolute men might have
seriously impeded the passage, and inflicted immense loss, if
they were unable wholly to check the inroad. Providentially
nothing of this kind happened. Unimpeded, the Israelites
were enabled to make good their position on the upper terrace
of the western bank, and to begin the occupation of their
destined inheritance, erecting the tabernacle here, and making
Gilgal the central place of worship as well as the residence of
the multitude not actually engaged in military expeditions.
The solemn pause before the commencement of hostilities
was to be used in the service of religion. The Passover, long
suspended, must be celebrated again before the people entered
upon the new phase of their deliverance. Twice only had this
great memorial feast been held — once at the Exodus from Egypt,
once at the encampment under Sinai. Now it was time to gird
themselves for the conflict by taking the sacrament of redemp
tion. Why it had been neglected for so many years, and that
under the eye of the legislator himself, is hard to understand.
The uncircumcised, indeed, could not partake of it, and the rite
of circumcision had been altogether omitted since the departure
from the house of bondage ; but for many years the circum
cised must have constituted a large majority of the host.
Doubtless the abeyance of both circumcision and the Passover
was owing to the same cause, whatever it might be. This
could not have been from mere negligence and careless in
difference. Moses and other good men would never have
permitted a culpable supineness to interfere with the exercise
of a religious duty. There must have been a moral cause for
the omission. If the impossibility of procuring material for
the unleavened cakes might have rendered the due celebration
of the Passover impracticable, no such impediment obstructed
the performance of the rite of circumcision, for which their
frequent encampments and long delays in various localities
offered every facility. The fact seems to be that the sin at
Kadesh-Barnea (Numb. xiv. 29), where the people had stub
bornly refused to obey the Lord's leading, had laid them, as it
were, under an interdict, and placed them out of communion
with God. The covenant was for the time abrogated, and
therefore its initiatory rite and the great festival which signifi
cantly distinguished the people of God were omitted. Nov*

33 JOSHUA.
that they had taken possession of their inheritance they must
place themselves in the position of the covenant people,
pledged to serve with all their hearts the Lord who had
promised to be their God and support and guide. God had
performed His part of the covenant by accomplishing the
promise which He had made to Abraham ; it behoved them
to do their part of which circumcision was the appointed
pledge. It was not likely that Joshua would neglect this
great duty, though he had every reason to avoid delay. As
a skilful strategist he well knew the importance of striking the
first blow, and that before the enemy recovered from panic and
had time to combine in defence of their country. But military
expediency must give way to religion. Convinced that he was
imperatively called upon to re-establish the suspended relation
between God and His people, he saw no danger in carrying out
the obligation ; He whose servant he was, whose command he
was executing, would secure their safety while accomplishing
His requirements. They need have no fear who are faithfully
treading the prescribed path. Had not God engaged to guard
their homes from every enemy when they appeared before Him
at the great festivals," and was not this sufficient encouragement
to cast away all apprehension in attending to the immediate
duty before them ? Thus Joshua reasoned, and proceeded at
once to action.
It has been calculated that some 700,000 males required to
be circumcised, while there were at least 300,000 fathers of
families or other fit persons who might perform the ceremony.
The former consisted of the generation that had grown up
during the wanderings in the wilderness, the latter of those
who had been circumcised in Egypt, and were under twenty
years of age at the time of the great rebellion. There was no
backwardness in the people when this duty was brought to
their notice. They had perfect confidence in their leader ; the
late events that had taken place, especially the wonderful
passage of the Jordan, had shown that God was with them,
and was guiding their movements ; there was no time for
delay ; within three days the Passover must be celebrated, and
all must be prepared to take part in the great festival. So,
with a faith which is very remarkable when we remember that
for some days after the operation they would be incapacitated
1 See Exod. xxxiv. 24. Comp. ib. xxiii. 27.

' JORDAN CROSSED 33
for war, they all agreed to submit to the painful rite. As this
was a very special and important occasion, special instruments
were used. Certain sharp knives made of flint were employed,
which being thus, as it were, consecrated to a religious purpose
were never degraded to any other office, but, as Jewish tradition
states,1 were carefully laid aside by Joshua, and after his death
were deposited in his grave at Timnath-Serah. Thus by the
reception of circumcision " the reproach of Egypt " was rolled
away, and a new interpretation was given to the name of the
locality where the camp was pitched. Gilgal no longer meant
"a circle," recalling the idolatrous rites of heathen superstition,
but, under Hebrew manipulation, signified "rolling," and
henceforward was a standing memorial that all reproach con
nected with Egypt was removed. What is meant by this
expression is not quite clear. If it signifies "the reproach
which comes from the Egyptians," it would refer to taunts cast
upon them by their old enemies, deriding their claims to super
natural guidance and their boast of occupying the Promised
Land. But the Egyptians had good reason to recognize the
power and activity of the God of Israel, and it is not certain
that they had scoffed at the pretensions of the Israelites, or that
the latter ever heard of these insulting remarks, if they were
uttered. More probably, the reproach is that which attached
to them as having been a nation of slaves in a house of bondage.
Others think that the reproach applies to their want of circum
cision, which, in the eyes of Egyptians who generally practised
it, was a great disgrace. This, of course, suggests that while
resident in Egypt the Israelites more or less neglected the rite
— a statement incapable of proof, and indeed repugnant to the
words in Joshua v. 5 : " Now all the people that came out of
Egypt were circumcised." Josephus' explains Gilgal as mean
ing "freedom," connoting release from the servitude in Egypt
and from their long sufferings in the wilderness. They entered
now upon a new life, as freemen in their own destined inheri
tance, once more partakers of the covenant, the household of
God. As the pious Israelite was ordered to instruct his
children concerning the memorials erected on the opposite
banks of Jordan, so he would possess in the very name Gilgal

« See Sept., Josh. nd. 42, and xxiv. 30 (31).
¦ "Ant" v. 1. 11. 4

34 Joshua.
a token of the renewal of the pledge between the people and
God, to which they might always look with a confidence that
He who had begun the good work would carry it on to the
appointed end. Here was a lesson written in plain characters,
and the lesson was this : that duty was the only consideration,
that it was superior to all worldly wisdom, and was not to be
controlled by any fear of possible consequences, and that
obedience to the Lord's voice secured His protection. Such
thoughts must have animated the minds of the Israelites of
that day as they submitted to the sacramental ceremony. We,
under the brighter light of the Gospel, see a further and a deeper
significance in the transaction. It implied mortification and
purity, that no one was fit to engage in the sacred war who was
not wishing and willing to conquer the lusts of the flesh and
live a life of hardness, and that the Lord's soldier must through
much tribulation enter the kingdom of God.
Now being consecrated anew, being once more the Lord's
people, the Israelites celebrated the Passover on the appointed
day, the fourteenth of the month Nisan, the fortieth anniver
sary of that first solemnity when they ate it in haste, being
thrust out of the land of Egypt. Only once again had the
festival been held till this moment. It had been observed
during the residence at Sinai, but after the mutiny at Kadesh-
Barnea the people were not worthy of it, and its performance
was not enforced. To a large majority of the present Israelites
the feast and its accompanying ceremonies were entirely novel ;
they entered upon them with a strange and awestruck joy ; the
impression thus made was not lightly effaced. All was done
decently and in order. The lamb was eaten on the fourteenth ;
on the next day the first-fruits were presented, and on the six
teenth the people partook of the produce of the land, consisting
in part of the new corn left by the inhabitants when they fled
before the invaders, or brought by them on sale to the camp.
And now the manna ceased to fall ; the miraculous supply
which for nearly forty years had fed this immense multitude
failed, and was found no more. They had entered on a region
of plenty, rich in grass and flowers, a land flowing with milk
and honey ; henceforward their wants would be satisfied from
the natural sources around them. No longer did they eat
"bread of the mighty " ; " but that all generations might know
1 Psa. Ixxviii. 25. "Angels' food," A.V.

JORDAN CROSSED. 35
how their fathers were supported during their weary pilgrimage,
an omer of manna was placed in the ark, where it remained
uncorrupted till the destruction of the temple and the conse
quent dispersion of its contents.

CHAPTER III.
JERICHO CAPTURED.
The capture of Jericho necessary— Joshua encouraged by a revelation —
Scriptural Theophanies — Investment of Jericho by a religious
ceremony — The number seven — Miraculous fall of the city ; its
destruction — The ban — The curse on Jericho — Fate and character of
Rahab.
The claims of religion having been duly observed, and the
coming war having been thus consecrated and made a holy
war, it was expedient that an advance should be made imme
diately, ere the enemy had recovered from the panic wherewith
the recent events had affected them. The first duty that lay
before the Israelites was evidently the capture and destruction
of Jericho. It stood directly in their path ; it was the key to
the passes that led to the interior ; it contained a strong
military population, which could not be safely left in their
rear, or in proximity to the camp at Gilgal, where was de
posited all that was most precious to them, their wives and
children, their wealth, their flocks and herds, and whence
alone they could draw reserves to supply any losses that
they might sustain in their dangerous expeditions. For these
reasons Jericho must be conquered. But how were they to
accomplish this enterprise ? It was a well-fortified city, with
strong walls and massive gates ; the Israelites were wholly
inexperienced in sieges ; they had no engines, they possessed
no skill in such military engagements ; a long blockade would
have laid them open to attack from surrounding tribes. It was
evident that the place must be taken at once, or their own
safety would be most seriously endangered, and the fruits of
their sudden and unexpected inroad be irrevocably lost.

JERICHO CAPTURED. 3J
Perplexed by such thoughts, but by no means desponding (for
his confidence in Jehovah never wavered for a moment), Joshua,
when the Paschal solemnities were completed, made his way
towards Jericho, and, sheltered by the groves of palm-trees
which covered the ground around the city, proceeded to
reconnoitre the place from a nearer position than any that he
had hitherto occupied. To a modern soldier the fortress would
have presented no very formidable barrier. It stood upon a
gentle eminence, with no difficult ground immediately in its
vicinity ; the walls were lofty indeed, but not calculated to with
stand battering operations, and there was no moat or glacis to
delay an attacking party. It seemed not unlikely that a deter
mined body of troops, provided with shields and scaling ladders,
might effect a lodgment by mel.ns of a sudden assault, even
though they had no means of breaching the walls. As Joshua,
gazing earnestly on the scene before him, pondered on these
things, his doubts were resolved in a wonderful manner. The
details were taken out of his hands ; the quarrel was the
Lord's, and He was the real Leader of the enterprise. So he
was suddenly confronted by the appearance of a warrior with
his sword drawn in his hand standing between him and the
city. Undismayed by the sight, Joshua boldly goes to meet
him, and, like a watchful sentinel, asks, " Art thou for us, 01
our adversaries ? " And the man answers, " Nay, I am neither
one of thine enemies, nor one of thine own soldiers ; but as
captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." Joshua,
immediately recognizing the supernatural nature of the appari
tion, and prepared to expect miraculous interposition, fell on
his faci to the earth and worshipped, asking humbly, "What
saith my Lord unto His servant?" and was told, as Moses
under similar circumstances, to loose his shoes from off his feet,
for the place whereon he stood was hallowed by the Divine
Presence. Who and what was this mysterious Personage? Various
have been the answers to these questions. They who reject
supernaturalism affirm that the vision was subjective, presented
to Joshua's mental perception, and consequent on the exalted
state of his feelings and his conviction of being under the
special guidance of -heaven. The wording of the account does
not confirm this view. Joshua advances to meet "the man,"
addresses, worships him, obeys his injunction. Evidently in
the opinion 01 the narrator the vision is objective, a real

3S JOSHUA.
appearance of a mysterious personage. The Jews have thought
that it was the archangel Michael, " the Prince " of the people
of Israel, as he is called in Daniel (chap, x.), or Gabriel, the
guardian angel of the Jews. But " the captain of the hosts of
the Lord" is something higher than any created spirit. The
appellation itself signifies not the leader of the armies of Israel,
which are not called the hosts of the Lord. This term is
applied to the angels and to the powers which they wield, even
as God is called the Lord of hosts ; and it implies here that
this Prince, with all His forces, spiritual and material, will be
at their head and guide them to victory. That this was a true
Theophany we may well believe ; though whether it was the
appearance of the Logos, the Son of God, in a visible shape, or
an angelic form through whom Jehovah deigned to manifest
Himself, it is, perhaps, impossible to decide. Doubtless some
of the revelations mentioned in Scripture are mental visions,
impressions made upon the mind by the will of God, and
having no objective existence, as when "the word of the Lord
came unto Abram in a vision," or when "God did tempt
Abraham," ' or in the case of the visions which the prophets or
St. John " saw " ; but if we believe in the historical credibility
of Scripture, we must acknowledge that the beholder on other
occasions did look with his bodily eyes upon some supernatural
visitant. Of course, there is never any manifestation of the
Deity in His ineffable essence ; no man hath seen God at any
time ; it is not the absolute nature of God that is revealed ;
but in condescension to man's weakness the intervention of
some angelic form, invested with Divine attributes, is employed
to convey the message or disclose the will of God. And it was
the general belief of the early Church that all these Theo-
phanies were appearances of the second Person of the Holy
Trinity, who, before His Incarnation, assumed the angelic foiin
in order to communicate with His servants. The Arian con
troversy, which endeavoured to prove the Person of the revealed
Son to be lower in nature than the unseen Father, tended to
modify the earlier opinion ; and Augustine, strongly affirming
the invisibility of the Son as God, asserts that if the Son
appeared to the patriarchs, He used the intermediate agency of
a created being, who represented Him, and who, being put
temporarily in His place, exercised the authority and received
1 Gen. xv. i ; xxii. i,

JERICHO CAPTURED. 39
thi homage which especially belonged to the Divine Person
whose apostle he was. Whatever judgment we form concerning
these manifestations, we may see in them anticipations of the
Incarnation, "lessons addressed to the eye and to the ear of
andent piety," preparing the way for the reception of the great
event to which type, prophecy, history, looked forward, when
" the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." *
No doubt had Joshua of the Divine nature of the being who
suddenly appeared to him. Divine interposition was not un
expected or unprecedented. The occasion seemed to demand
such an occurrence. It was a great crisis in the history of
Israel. As Moses at the inauguration of his mission had
received the Divine revelation in the burning bush of Sinai, so
now Joshua at the commencement of his campaign was to be
encouraged and directed by a superhuman intelligence. If he
had any doubts concerning his power of completing the
conquest which he undertook, this Divine visitant assured him
of victory. He was taught that Israel was only one small
portion of the armies that were leagued with him ; that the
hosts of the Lord, the angels, the powers of nature, the
heavenly influences, were ranged on his side ; and that all these
forces, spiritual and material, heavenly and earthly, were com
manded by the great " Captain ; " the angel of the Presence,
who had guided their wanderings, and ordered them up to this
present moment. No longer need Joshua disquiet himself
about the means of capturing the city, on whose strong walls
he was apprehensively gazing ; no armed attack, no warlike
expedients would be required; by a method utterly unexampled
the pl?ce should be taken ; religious ceremony should act the
part of military onslaught, and thus all surrounding nations
should know that the Lord foujjht for Israel. The celestial
warrior then proceeded to give minute directions, unfolding a
marvellous plan which in a week's time, without danger or
bloodshed, should put the chosen people in possession of this
formidable stronghold, fenced up to heaven, supplied with
perennial springs of water, well provisioned for a siege, and
garrisoned with a numerous, though now dispirited, body of
troops. On the first day of the week Joshua began to carry out the
instructions communicated to him — the strangest assault on a
» See Liddon, " Eampt, Lect" ii. pp. 83 ff. (186^).

40 JOSHUA. ,,
fortress that ever was made, a trial of faith that must have been
of the severest character. All the fighting men, indeed, were
marshalled in battle array ; but no weapons of war were to be
used ; a simple procession was all that they were called to
make, and this for six successive days, and on the Sabbath the
victory should be accomplished. And thus it came to pass.
The order observed was this: first marched the warriors,
armed and equipped, in their usual divisions, under their tribal
leaders ; these were followed by seven priests, each bearing one
of the curved jubilee trumpets, and sounding it continually ;
then came the central object of the procession, the sacred ark,
borne on the shoulders of its appointed guardians; and the long
line was closed by the rereward, a battalion from the tribe of
Dan to which that post appertained. Solemnly round the
walls of the doomed city the wonderful procession moved ; no
voice was raised, no shout of war ; silently, save when the
regular blasts of the trumpets roused the loud echoes, the
train passed on ; in silence they made their mysterious circuit,
and having completed the perambulation, returned to the camp
at Gilgal. For six days in succession this was done. Mean
time the Canaanites remained quiet within their walls, as though
the city was beleaguered, and all egress had been prevented by
a force of besiegers. It would have been only natural that,
trusting to the strength of their fortifications and their own
skill in arms, they should have watched with derision the
purposeless march of these feeble Jews, or, taking an oppor
tunity, should have made a sudden sally, and inflicted serious
loss upon the unattacking enemy. But nothing of the kind
occurred. They were thoroughly cowed and terrified. This
awful march with no attempt at assault, the religious character
of the movement, the visible token of the presence of the great
God of Israel, impressed them with a terror the very vagueness
of which increased its numbing effect. The reputation of
Moses was well known ; his claim to Divine revelatic n and to
supernatural direction was allowed ; and now to his successor
the same powers were transmitted ; proof had aire idy been
given that heaven was on his side, and some fresh intervention
might now be expected. They watched and waited, not know
ing how or when or where the blow would fall, but dimly
conscious that a great calamity was close at hand, which they
were powertess to control or avert. And by this six days'

JERICHO CAPTURED. 41
march the Israelites were taught a lesson ; they learned that
the Lord fought their battles, that their strength was to sit still,
that their part was patience and faith, even as the Psalmist
exactly expresses it :

"They gat not the land in possession by their own sword.
Neither did their own arm save them :
But Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance.
Because Thou hadst a favour unto them. ...
For I will not trust in my bow,
Neither shall my sword save me.
But Thou hast saved us from our adversaries.
And hast put them to shame that hate us.
In God have we made our boast all the day long,
And we will give thanks unto Thy name for ever" (Psa. xliv.).

On the seventh day the proceedings were varied. Instea:' of
marching round the city once only, on this day they compassed
it seven times ; and as each circuit must have taken an hour
and a half, they began the perambulation at the earliest dawn,
so as to complete the proceeding before the evening fell. This,
indeed, was no infringement of the Sabbath, for it was a
religious work, performed in obedience to Divine command,
and therefore of the nature of worship. We may remark, in
passing, the recurrence of the number seven in this transaction,
seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days. The number seven
symbolizes perfection and rest. It may be regarded in two
relations as six plus one, or as four plus three, and on these two
relations its significance depends. In the former case its
symbolism is presented in the account of the work of creation :
" in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the
seventh day He rested." So the works of creation, to find
their rest and sanctification, must be united to One, that is, God.
" The works of the world," it has been said, " in themselves, as
external to God, have no sanctification or rest until they return
to God." In the other relation, seeing that four is the signature
of the world, and three of the Holy Trinity, four united to three
represents the world united to God, the creation reconciled
with its Creator, "thus making up the holy seven, which is of
forgiveness, of covenant and reconciliation with God, and of
rest in Him," which, as the sew nth day has no evening, knows

42 JOSHUA.
no end." We may regard the number in the present transaction
as denoting completeness and consecration ; the work was fully
accomplished, and it was the Lord's work.
The seven circuits with the necessary pauses, even if we sup
pose that they were performed by relays of priests and soldiers,
must have taken nearly twelve hours to accomplish ; so that the
sun was sinking towards the Judaean hills as the last perambula
tion was made. And then the long silence was suddenly broken ;
at Joshua's command a mighty shout was raised, as the pealing
trumpets blared ; and lo t the strong walls of the city crumbled
away and fell with a terrible crash ; the bulwarks in which the
evil inhabitants had trusted collapsed, and the Israelites
advanced over the ruins, "every man straight before him " ; and
though the Canaanites made s^me show of resistance, they were
vastly outnumbered, and, panic-stricken, were quickly over
powered, and when the Sabbath was ended and the evening
had come, the whole city was in the hands of the invaders.
If we take the history simply as it has reached us, we must
consider the capture wholly miraculous. This is no hyper
bolical expression of the fact that before Jehovah's will and His
people's courage the strongest fortifications must collapse."
There is no question of undermining the walls, or of sudden and
irresistible assault ; the narrator knows nothing of such mea
sures. In his view, and in that of the writer of the Epistle to
the Hebrews, the fall of Jericho was a signal triumph of faith.
It was plainly not by their own power, or skill, or courage, that
the Israelites effected the conquest ; they could not for a
moment assert that it succumbed to their furious attack. God
gave it into their hands : it was His marvellous work. There
was fighting enough to come hereafter before they were settled
in their land ; but their entrance into it was wholly God's doing,
their part being quiet trust and perfect obedience ; in this lay
their victory. Whether any or what natural agencies were
employed in the demolition of the walls we know not. The
historian, probably an eye-witness of the occurrence, describes
what he saw, and gives no particulars or explanation of the
phenomenon. An earthquake, which caused wide and extensive
breaches in the ramparts, would answer all the requirements of
1 From a paper on "The Use of Numbers in Holy Scripture," contri
buted by me to a loug-forgotten magazine.
a Ewald, " History of Israel," ii. 248, Eng. Trans,

JERICHO CAPTURED. 43
the narrative ; and that such disturbances were tot uncommon
in the district we have geological and historical evidence to
prove. Such an event to the unsophisticated and unphilosophical
minds of the beholders would seem a special intervention of the
Lord who fought for them ; the secondary cause of the destruc
tion was unknown to them, and their simple faith was satisfied
by seeing a token of the power of God, and looked no further
into the matter. But we recognize the Divine Providence which
controlled the forces of nature so that the convulsion happened
at the appointed moment ; we recognize the omniscience which
directed the movements of Joshua, and placed him and his
troops on the fated day in the ordered position. The miracle
loses nothing of its importance because we conceive of God as
using the natural powers which He Himself created, rather than
working new wonders.1
Thus Jericho was captured and burnt, and its utter destruc
tion was accomplished. It had been placed under the ban,
devoted to annihilation, and was thus removed beyond the pale
of mercy, so that we read, the Israelites '' utterly destroyed all
that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and
ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword," saving only
the indestructible things, silver and gold, and vessels of brass
and iron, which were brought into the treasury of the Lord.
This terrible form of excommunication was not often inflicted.
The word which is here translated in the Authorized Version
"accursed" would be better rendered "devoted," as in Lev.
xxvii. 28. It implies something cut off from common uses and
given up to Jehovah without the possibility of redemption. This
dedication might be either for preservation or destruction ; if
living the devoted thing was to be slain ; otherwise it was appro
priated to the sanctuary. This distinction was observed in the
case of Jericho : men and animals were destroyed, metallic
articles were reserved for sacred use. When other Canaanite
cities were taken, property was exempted fiom the ban ; cattle
were preserved when the inhabitants were put to the sword ; 2 but
Jericho, as the firstfruits of the conquest of the land, was wholly
devoted to Jehovah, and all that was therein was His peculiar
possession. This being the case, no ore could rightly appro
priate to his own use anything whatever ; though the city was
1 Tuck, " Handbook of Biblical Difficulties," 500 ff.
* See Deut. ii. 34, 35 ; iii. 6, 7 ; Josh. viii. 26, 27 ; x. 28.

44 JOSHUA.
sacked and the inhabitants were massacred, no soldier might de-
rive.the least benefit from the rich plunder ;'it was all the Lord's ;
to take any portion of it was sacrilege. This was not only a
religious, but a prudential measure. In the inhabitants of the
country it struck a wholesome dread which tended to facilitate
the invader's operations ; it tested the obedience of the Israelites
thus debarred from availing themselves of the spoils of a rich
city ; it also saved them from the temptations of luxury and
inaction, which would have been fatal to the execution of the
severe task that lay before them. Jericho, plundered and not
destroyed, might have proved a Capua to the occupying forces.
The ban had already been enforced in the case of the Canaanite
cities of King Arad, when under Moses the people utterly
destroyed these places with their inhabitants, and called them
Hormah, i.e., " Ban," or " Devoted to God." * But in his zeal
for purity and vital religion Joshua was not satisfied with the
demolition of the present city and the death of its inhabitants ;
he bound his countrymen by a solemn oath never to rebuild it,
but in accordance with the law of the ban, to let it be a heap for
ever." And to the end that the destiny of this evil place might
be better remembered and handed on from generation to genera
tion, he put the imprecation in a rhythmical form : " Cursed be
the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city
Jericho ; with the loss of his firstborn shall he lay the foundation
thereof, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up the
gates of it ; " i.e., the rebuilder shall lose his eldest son when
he began the work, and his youngest should die on its com
pletion ; it may be that the final restoration should leave the
builder childless, his sons from the eldest to the youngest being
cut off during the progress of the work. This curse was no
mere insensate expression of human vengeance ; it contained a
prophetic element, which gave it a distinctive character, and
elevated it above all common vindictiveness. Here was a
standing sermon, an acted parable, like the withered fig-tree in
Gospel history, teaching a necessary and awful lesson. Jericho
was the symbol of all that was degrading and foul ; its treat
ment was God's mark on the demoralizing idolatry which had
there its stronghold ; it became in the eyes of future generations
a representative of the judgment that awaits the abominable
vices to which it was given over. Nor was it till the reign of
» Numb. xxi. i ff. * Deut. xiii. 16.

JERICHO CAPTURED. 45
the idolatrous king Ahab that any one was found hardy enough
to tempt the fate invoked on the man who should rebuild the
ruined fortifications. Though an open town soon arose in the
immediate neighbourhood, and in later days a school of prophets
was established there, it was one Hiel, a Bethelite, who, de
spising the old prophecy, some five hundred years afterwards
raised again the interdicted fortifications, and incurred the
penalty of his reckless profanity.1 It is probable that the curse
of Joshua referred rather to the re-erection of the lofty walls
which made the city so formidable a stronghold, than to the
building of houses on the site ; and we find that the place never
ceased to be occupied, being included in the territory of Ben
jamin, the natural advantages of the situation outweighing the
offence of its antecedents. Of the chequered history of Jericho
we cannot now speali, but we may quote Dr. Edersheim's
description of the locality, as it showed in Herod's time, which
Josephus calls a little Paradise." " All around wave groves of
feathery palms, rising in stately beauty ; stretch gardens of
roses, and especially sweet-scented balsam-plantations, of which
the perfume is carried by the wind almost out to sea, and which
may have given to the city its name (Jericho, .' the perfumed ').
It is the Eden of Palestine, the very fairyland of the old world.
And how strangely is this gem set ! deep down in that hollowed
valley, through which tortuous Jordan winds, to lose his waters
in the slimy mass of the Sea of Judgment. The river and the
Dead Sea are nearly equidistant from the town — about six
miles. Far across the river rise the mountains of Moab, on
which lies the purple and violet covering. Towards Jerusalem
and northwards stretch those bare limestone hills, the hiding-
place of robbers along the desolate road towards the city 
Over all this strangely varied scene has been flung the many-
coloured mantle of a perpetual summer."
The treatment accorded to Jericho was such as has approved
itself to conquerors in all ages. Either to make a notable
example which might have a deterrent effect upon possible
opponents, or to inflict a lasting punishment, or to remove from
power of active wrong a dangerous enemy, victorious generals
1 i Kings xvi. 34.
» Joseph., "Bell Jud." iv. 8. 3; Edersheim, "Life and Times ol
Jesus," ii. 350.

46 JOSHUA.
have not uncommonly doomed a city and its inhabitants to entire
destruction, and uttered an anathema on any one who should
attempt to rebuild it Thus when Carthage fell before the irre
sistible arms of Rome, the Senate passed a decree that the walls
should be destroyed, and every house within them levelled to
the ground, and the ploughshare passed across the ruins ; and
Scipio, the triumphant commander, imprecated a solemn curse
on any who should raise a town on the same site ; and the
failure of C. Gracchus' attempt to establish a colony there a few
years after was attributed to the working of this curse. Thus
in mythic lore Agamemnon was said to have laid a similar inter
dict on the restoration of Troy, and Croesus on Sidene.1 And
with regard to the devotion of the contents of a captured city to
the Supreme Power, we find such statutes in force among many
nations.* The Gauls, Cajsar says,3 devote to Mars most of
what they take in war ; of what remains, they dispose in the
following way : if they are animals, they sacrifice them ; if they
are other things, they pile them into a heap which is religiously
preserved from molestation. Rarely indeed does it happen that
any one presumes to appropriate any of the spoil thus devoted ;
he who infringes the rule is most severely punished, tortured, and
put to death. Tacitus * notes that in a war between the German
tribes, the Hermunduri and Catti, the latter were almost annihi
lated, as their enemies had devoted them to Mars and Mercury,
i.e., to their gods Tyr and Wodan, a measure which involved the
utter destruction of men and horses and all animate things.
So according to the precept of the Jewish law a thing devoted to
Jehovah could not be re-appropriatecl, redeemed, or sold ; if it
was living, it was put to death ; if it was land, it passed into the
possession of the priests ; if it was anything else, it belonged to
the treasury of the sanctuary. In the treatment of the con
quered Canaanites generally we note the existence of the fiery zeal
which could brook no antagonism to its own high ideal, which
saw in its religion the only possible intercourse with the Deity,
and viewed with utter loathing and attacked with constant
vehemence all that was opposed or inimical to Divine truth.
Conceiving themselves possessed of a unique vocation, and ir>-
* Strabo, lib. xii:., " De Ilio," p. 601. Appian, " Punica," § 135 sq,
• Lange on Josh. vi. p. 73, Eng. Trans.
» " Bell. Gall." vi. 17.' * " Annal." xiii. 57.

JERICHO CAPTURED. 47
spired by the highest confidence, the Israelites regarded all
opponents of their claims as the enemies of heaven and devoted
to extermination. In the young energy of their new institutions
it seemed to be an important principle to eliminate all that was
foreign, all that was of lower stamp, all that might sully the
purity of the holy people. That this involved the wholesale
sacrifice of human lives and the destruction of valuable property
was a consequence that offended no scruples ; it was all done to
the honour of God and in the interests of true religion.
One household alone in the universal destruction of Jericho
escaped the general fate. In accordance with the agree
ment previously made, which Joshua scrupulously maintained,
the spies were ordered to identify Rahab's house, and to save
her and her family in the massacre. The house was at once
recognized by the scarlet line which hung from the window, and
it was seen that the portion of the wall adjoining the edifice had
not fallen with the rest. The spies found the woman and
her relations and family collected under the one roof, and
awaiting with anxiety the result of the capture and sack of the
city, though Rahab herself had full confidence in the cause of
the Israelites and the honour of the messengers, even as it is
said in the Epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 31) : " By faith the harlot
Rahab perished not with them that were disobedient, having
received the spies with peace." She and all her household
were safely conveyed from the ruin and slaughter, and brought
on the road to the Israelites' camp ; but they were not yet
allowed to enter its sacred precincts ; they were still heathens
and legally unclean, and as such their presence could not be
tolerated. But, whatever may have been the views of the rest
of the family, Rahab herself learned to believe in Jehovah, and
was admitted as a proselyte into the holy fold, and when the
Book of Joshua was written she was highly honoured and
"dwelling in Israel unto this day." Her name, indeed, dis
appears from the Old Testament, but it comes forward again
in the genealogy of our blessed Lord as given by St. Matthew.
Herein we read that Rahab, or, as she is there called, Rachab,
liccame the wife of Salmon, the father of Boaz, and thus an
ancestress of Christ. This Salma or Salmon was the son of
Nahshon, mentioned as the fourth in descent from Judah, and
the chief prince of the tribe. It is quite possible that he was
one of the two spies, as it is not likely that any but men of

48 JOSHUA.
eminence would have been sent on that momentous business,
and we know that on the former occasion the selected emis
saries were all of them "heads of Israel." Gratitude for his
ingenious rescue from a situation of extreme peril may have led
him to look with favour upon his rescuer and to condone past
disgrace. At any rate Rahab's subsequent conduct effaced hei
evil past, and she shares with three other women the dignity of
being handed down in the genealogy of the great Son of David,
who " came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'"
The other women mentioned are Tamar and Bathsheba, both
scandalous in their lives, and Ruth, a heathen Moabitess ; and
we learn to see in them instances of the election of grace, and
the renovation that comes with repentance and faith, and the
call of the Gentiles to be united with the people of God. From
an inhabitant of this iniquitous city, Jericho, sprung the family
of David, and the lineage of the Messiah who was to carry
salvation to the ends of the earth. Let us linger for a few
minutes on the character of Rahab. We must not look with
Christian eyes upon her evil occupation. The tone of feeling
in her own country was infinitely low, and would see nothing
worthy of reprobation in her mode of life. That she was living
in sin or incurring heavy guilt never crossed her mind ; nor
was it till she was brought face to face with the purity of the
Mosaic law that she recognized a higher standard of morals.
We see in her a woman of warm natural affection, which she
showed by unusual solicitude for the safety of her relations ;
one of ready resources and much astuteness, exhibited by her
reply to the king's officers and her concealment of the spies ;
and one possessed of a tenderer heart and more humane
feelings than were usually found in an age and a land where
man's life was little regarded, and pity for an enemy was
unknown. As to her untruthfulness, the sacred historian does
not commend it ; he simply records it, pronouncing no
opinion upon its morality. Here again we must beware how
we try her by the Christian standard. Truth was not regarded
as a duty any more then than it is now in the East ; lying did
not offend the conscience of a Canaanite ; he had no idea of
1 The arguments for the statements in the text may be found in
Lord A. Hervey's articles, "Salmon" and " Rahab," in the "Diet, ol
the Bible," and in his exhausti'/e work on the "Genealogies of oui
Lc*i-

JERICHO CAPTURED. 49
the obligation of a strict adherence to veracity, and would hail
with approbation a deceit or evasion which solved a difficulty
or saved himself 01 a friend from danger. The falsehood which
a Christian could utter only by doing violence to his sense of
right came without effort from the lips of one who had never
learned to be strictly straightforward and veracious, and who
could deceive with the utmost coolness and self-possession.
Rahab too is accused of playing a treacherous part towards her
own countrymen in saving the lives of her national enemies
and bargaining with them for the safety of herself and her family.
But we must remember that she was not a mere unenlightened
heathen. What was her language to the spies ? "I know that
the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen
upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away
before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the
water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt,
and what ye' did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that wece
beyond Jordan, unto Sihon and unto Og, whom ye utterly
destroyed. And as soon as we had heard it our hearts did
melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man
because of you : for the Lord your God," she continues, " He
is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." Thus she had
learned to distrust the religion of her countrymen, and was
ready to receive the true faith when presented to her accept
ance. She saw that Canaan would fall into the hands of the
invaders ; that these were directed by an irresistible power ; and
if self-interest led her to make terms with Israelites, she argued
that the death of two men would not deliver Jericho from
destruction, nor the immunity of herself and her family be an
act of treachery to her countrymen, on whose fate the salvation
of her household could have no effect whatever. But at the
bottom of her conduct lay a principle of faith, which had more
influence than all worldly considerations. Acting up to what she
knew, she received further measures of grace, so that she was
admitted into the chosen fold, and obtained the high position
of becoming " a mother in Israel."

CHAPTER IV.
FIRST CHECK— ITS CAUSE AND REMOVAL.
Ai-rlsraelites defeated— Rending of clothes in token of grief— Joshua's
complaint — The sin indicated ; fixed on Achan — The punishment of
the criminal in the Valley of Achor — Successful attack on Ai, and
destruction of the city — Fate of Bethel.
The fall of Jericho opened the way to the interior of the
country. Behind this city two chief passes led into central Pales
tine. The most practicable and direct was one which tended
somewhat to the north, and is known now as the Wady Kelt.
This gorge, some eight miles from its outlet in the Jordan Valley,
meets the Wady Harith, a deep ravine, which also rises from the
Arabah, north of Wady Kelt. Near the junction of these wadies
in a " wild entanglement of hill and valley," and a little to the
east of the well-known town of Bethel, stood the city of Ai or
Hai. The identification of this place is still undetermined.
The name means "heap " or "ruins," and is supposed to refer
to the fact that the aboriginal inhabitants had in early days
built a city there before the site was occupied by the later Canaan
ites. Captain Conder with much probability suggests the
modern village of Haiyan as the representative of the ancient
Ai. This place lies two miles east of Bethel on the side of the
Wady Suweinit, which is the north-west continuation of the
Wady Kelt. We hear of the Wady Suweinit in the history of
Jonathan, when he and his armour-bearer made their unex
pected and successful attack on the Philistine encampment.
Though Ai was not a place of any very great size, and, as its
whole inhabitants were twelve thousand, could not have pos
sessed more than two thousand fighting men, its position was so
strong, and its power of offence so evident, that Joshua could

FIRST CHECK.— ITS CAUSE AND REMOVAL. 5 1
not safely leave it in his rear, and its capture must be im
mediately effected. Leaving the smoking ruins of Jericho, and
marching up the valley which offered a ready, though some
what difficult, passage into the interior, he halted his army at
some distance from the mouth of the defile, and proceeded
to make a reconnoisance of this almost unknown country.
Though under Divine direction, he was not relieved from the
necessity of using all human precautions, and, like a skilful
general, thought himself bound to examine the district before
committing his troops to its intricacies. Accordingly he sent
forward spies to note the nature of the ground and the strength
of the enemy. These men on their return reported that they
had reconnoitred the city of Ai, and that it was of no great size,
and might easily be smitten by a small force. No account
seems to have been made of Bethel in its immediate neighbour
hood ; it was probably a place of small population, and less
military importance ; though, doubtless, the leader's heart
thrilled with joy and reverence, as he thought of the associa
tions which that name conveyed, recalling his great forefather
Abraham, and the patriarch Jacob. The Israelites had not
well understood the lesson which the fall of Jericho was meant
to teach ; they did not quite appreciate the kind of warfare in
which they were engaged ; they had thought the seven days'
peregrination a useless labour, and they deprecate any more
proceedings of a like character. " Let not all the people go
up," they say, " but let about two or three thousand go up and
smite Ai ; and make not all the people to toil thither, for they
are but few." Without asking counsel of the Lord, and reason
ing only on military grounds, Joshua fell in with these represen
tations, and sent a force of three thousand men against the city.
Success had produced extravagant confidence ; the protecting
hand of God seemed to be secured for their enterprise, what
ever it was, and they had no fear of any disaster. But a stern
lesson was in store. Boldly the appointed contingent marched
to the attack, thinking to carry all before them. But as they
toiled up the steep ascent at the head of which the city was
placed, the garrison of Ai suddenly sallied forth and assaulted
the Israelites with vigour. Panic-stricken, the latter turned
and fled without striking a blow ; hurrying back towards the
stone quarries which marked the sides of the hills, they were
overtaken by the enemy, where the valley leading from Ai

52 JOSHUA.
turns to the East, and some of the hindmost were cut off,
while the main body made good their retreat to the camp.
Only six-and-thirty fell in the contest, but such a defeat was an
unexpected and crushing blow. "The hearts of the people
melted and became as water." A terrible misgiving seized
them that the favour of Jehovah was withdrawn ; they felt as
the Canaanites had felt at the news of their successes ; their
late overweening confidence was broken ; downcast and dis
pirited they knew not what to think, whither to turn ; they
were thoroughly demoralized. Joshua, as a gallant soldier,
was grievously affected by the pusillanimous behaviour of the
troops ; but like the rest he had more serious cause of appre
hension than any mere instance of cowardice or imprudence in
his army. He saw the effects of this disaster ; he saw in it
also a token of Divine displeasure, and with a tendency to
despondency which was natural to a temperament rather
morally than physically courageous, he rent his clothes in utter
grief and consternation. This rending of the clothes in token
of mourning is continually mentioned in Scripture ; it is not
only a spontaneous ebullition of grief, but is sometimes en
joined by authority, as in modern days particular modes of
dress are prescribed on occasions of national mourning. Thus
David enjoined his people to exhibit this token ( f grief at the
treacherous murder of Abner.1 No great destruction of gar
ments was occasioned by the practice. The tear did not
usually extend to more than a handbreadth from the upper
border of the garment, though in the case of mourning for
parents the rent was somewhat more extensive. There were
also rules as to the interval that was to elapse before the
aperture was sewn up, the time prescribed varying from a week
to thirty days. Such outward evidences of sorrow were not
permitted to the high priest, and Joshua, as the chief official
in the congregation, would not have resorted to this symbolical
action without the gravest reason. And he showed his sense
of the situation by another typical ceremony ; he, with the
elders of Israel, cast himself down upon the ground and put
dust on his head, and lay sorrowing till eventide. Such token
of humiliation has been common in all ages and countries.
Thus man, defiling the noblest member of his body, reminds
himself of his mortality, returns, as it were, to the ground from
1 2 Sam. iii. 31.

FIRST CHECK— ITS CAUSE AND REMOVAL. ' 53
whence he was taken.1 But Joshua knew whither to betake
himself in any perplexity ; prostrate in the tabernacle, where
he had so often ministered to his departed Master, he poured
forth his complaint and made his appeal to Jehovah. " Alas 1
O Lord God," impatiently he cries, " wherefore hast Thou at
all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the
hands of the Amorites, to cause us to perish ? Would that we
had been content and dwelt beyond Jordan 1 O Lord, what
shall I say to encourage the people, after that Israel hath
turned their backs before their enemies ? For the Canaanites
and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall
compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth ; and
what will Thou do for Thy great name ?" It was a real, and
pressing danger that Joshua apprehended. The easy defeat of
this assault would revive the courage of the Canaanites; they
would see that the invaders were not invincible, and would
combine to crush them at the outset of their enterprise. He
uses the same argument that he had heard Moses urge under
analogous circumstances. Often had that great leader expos
tulated with the Lord in similar terms. " Wherefore should the
Egyptians speak, saying, For evil did He bring them forth to
slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the
face of the earth ? . . . The nations which have heard the fame
of Thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to
bring this people into the land which He sware unto them,
therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness."3 Joshua is
jealous for the honour of God, as well as torn with anxiety
concerning the prospects of the invasion. Thus he wrestled
in prayer, not yet understanding the cause of the present
calamity. But an answer, stem and sudden, came to him :
" Get thee up," said the voice of the Lord; "wherefore art thou
fallen thus upon thy face? " This was no time for weak lamen
tation ; it was a moment for prompt action. There was a
reason for the calamity ; and this reason, God showed, was a
sin committed by Israel which hid God's face from them and
removed them from His protection. This must be searched
out and punished ere they could hope to be received into
favour. The offence was a grievous one : the ban on Jericho
1 Comp. 1 Sam. iv. 12; 2 Sam. i. 2; Job ii. 12; Lam. ii. 10; Horn.
" 11." xviii. 23 ff.
" Exod. xxxii. 12 ; Numb. xiv. 13 ff. ; Deut. ix. 28.

54 JOSHUA.
had been broken, an act of sacrilege had been committed witli
many an aggravation. Israel had broken the solemn vow, had
stolen what did not belong to them, had acted deceitfully, and
had actually appropriated to their own use that which was
devoted to God. Joshua may well have doubted of whom this
was spoken ; but he knew that the sin even of one individual
in such a matter was the sin of all till they had cleared them
selves of it and punished the offender. The nation is treated
as an organic whole ; the defilement of one member rendered
the community accursed, and till the pollution was removed,
the covenant was suspended and victory was not to be expected.
The first thing to do under these circumstances was to discover
the offender. Whoever he might be, he hoped to remain un
detected ; but there were means of fixing the guilt on the
delinquent which could not be evaded.
By God's command the people were to prepare for the
investigation by ceremonial purification, and on the morrow
to present themselves before the Lord, when the guilty person
would be pointed out. The mode of detection is not specified,
but it may have been by means of the lot, which was regarded
as directed in its result by God. This method of divination was
largely used throughout antiquity among all peoples ; and in
Scripture we find it employed not only, as here, in criminal
investigations, but also in apportionments of land and spoil, in
selection of individuals for high stations or for dangerous ex
ploits. It may have been that the inquiry was conducted by
the high priest by means of the mysterious Urim and Thum-
mim. The priest stood at the door of the tabernacle, the
people passed before him in due order, and the selection was
made by the voice Divine. As the genealogies were carefully
kept, and every division and subdivision were accurately recog
nized, there was no difficulty in making the necessary examina
tion. It was perfectly successful in the present case. With
absolute impartiality the terrible ordeal was executed, and the
offender was unerringly designated by the Judge of all the
earth. First came the representatives of the tribes, and Judah
was taken ; in Judah the clan of the Zera-hites ; in this clan
the house of Zabdi was selected, and in this house the special
family of Carmi ; and on the members of this family presenting
themselves man by man, the guilt was fastened upon Achan, one
of the sons. Thus in ever narrowing circles the offender was

FIRST CHECK— ITS CAUSE AND REMOVAL. 55
gradually marked out, and in the presence of the watching,
awestruck multitude the sin was centred on the individual.
No evasion was possible ; the sinner could not deny his guilt.
When Joshua tenderly yet sternly urged him to full confession,
he at once acknowledges his transgression. " My son," says
the leader, feeling for the criminal, though he knew there could
be no alleviation of the incurred penalty — " My son, give, I pray
thee, glory to the Lord the God of Israel, to whom the secrets
of all hearts are open, and make confession unto Him ; and tell
me now what thou hast done ; hide it not from me." Now at
length, when escape was no longer feasible, the wretched culprit
owned his transgression and explained the temptation to which
he had fallen victim. In the sack of Jericho he had found a
goodly Babylonish mantle, one of those costly clokes or state-
robes worked artistically with figures of men and animals and
esteemed as an article of the utmost value, which was a produce
of the looms of the land of Shinar, and imported among other
precious articles by the merchants who traded between Syria
and the East. This he coveted and appropriated unseen by
his comrades. Besides this, he had taken two hundred shekels
of silver, probably coined money, and a wedge-shaped ornament
)T implement of gold, weighing some twenty-five ounces. These
he had hidden away in a hole dug in the ground on which his
tent stood, the precious metals being placed at the bottom and
the garment at the top, and the whole covered with earth.
Thus carefully Achan describes his theft and the pains which
he had taken to conceal it. Messengers are at once despatched
to the tent ; they find the articles in the position indicated,
and bring them to Joshua and the chiefs, who solemnly lay
them out before the ark, thus acknowledging the trespass, and
restoring the devoted things to the Lord from whom they had
been sacrilegiously purloined. One further act remained to be
done ere atonement was complete. The offender must be put
to death ; and not only he himself must suffer the penalty of
his crime, but all that belonged to him ; the sentence was that
his sons and his daughters, his oxen, asses, sheep, his tent and
all his possessions, including the devoted articles for which he
had incurred the sin, should be utterly destroyed. It was a
terrible sentence. How is it to be reconciled with the well-
known dictum : " The fathers shall not be put to death for the
children, neither shall the children be put to death for the

56 JOSHUA.
fathers ; every man shall be put to death for his own sin ? " *
On the other hand, Achan had wilfully incurred the ban, and
ne and his had become liable to the penalty imposed on com
munities thus accursed ; he had made his tent, as it were, a
part of Jericho, and bis family as the inhabitants of that devoted
city, and he must be treated in accordance therewith. Whether
his household was privy or not to his deed (and it is difficult to
believe that he could have concealed it from those with whom
he was living), they were involved in his guilt ; the solidarity
of the family necessitated this. A sin has far-reaching con
sequences ; the sins of the fathers are indeed visited upon the
children ; we see this in the law of heredity ; we see the same
principle energizing in the constitution of societies, states, and
nations ; the faults of leaders affect a wide circle of innocent
sufferers. Nothing can tend better to bring home to men's
minds the heinousness and corrupting nature of evil than the
terrible truth that the punishment is not confined to the actual
wrong-doer, but extends in a widening circle to victims guiltless
and unknown. Achan's transgression was wilful and presump
tuous ; he had robbed God ; he had thought to remain uncon-
vcited ; in the face of the recent displays of God's Almighty
power, in spite of the holy covenant just renewed, he had,
in his selfish greed and secret unbelief, brought the guilt
of sacrilege upon the whole congregation, and imperilled
the general safety. A stern example was needed. The
conquest of Canaan was a holy war ; the treatment of the
inhabitants and their property was regulated by Divine com
mands ; no base motives must mingle with the execution
of the ordered vengeance ; and he who first introduced the
elements of disobedience and self-interest into the accom
plishment of the great design must experience a signal retribu
tion. The awful sentence was duly carried out. Down trrs
Wady Kelt marched a sorrowful procession bearing with them
Achan, his family, and his possession, even all that he had,
and having arrived at a spot where the execution could be
most effectually witnessed by the awestruck congregation, the
representatives of Israel stoned the victims to death, as those
who were guilty of blasphemy, idolatry, or sabbath-breaking
were put to death. The dead bodies were consumed with fire,
and over the remains, as a lasting memorial of the sin and its
* Dtut. xxiv. 16.

FIRST CHECK— ITS CAUSE AND REMOVAL. $J
punishment, a great heap of stones was raised, and the pass
henceforward was known as the "valley of AchanJ" the" valley
of him that troubleth " ; even as Joshua says, dwelling with
sad significancy on the meaning of the name, " Why hast thou
troubled us ? The Lord shall trouble thee this day." Some
critics, looking exclusively to the merciful provisions of the Law,
and neglecting the considerations which have been urged above
which involve a sterner view, have thought that the wife and
children were taken only to witness the punishment of the
criminal, were spectators only, and not victims. There is an
ambiguity in the language which seems to favour this opinion.
After mentioning that he, his family, and his possessions were
brought down to the valley, it is said : " All Israel stoned him
with stones," and " they raised over him a great heap of stones."
But immediately afterwards we read : " They burned iliem with
fire after they had stoned them ; " and though these words have
been supposed to refer not to the wife and children, but only
to the sheep and cattle and other property, there are other
reasons which make it certain that the members of his family
perished with him. The use of the singular and plural in
Hebrew is very indefinite,1 and we cannot ground a statement
upon any such expression unsupported by other evidence. But
later on in the book we hear Joshua saying in reference to this
impressive incident, " that man perished not alone in his
iniquity " (chap. xxii. 20), where the point of the allusion consists
in the fact that the consequences of his sin extended to others.
And significantly enough in the genealogical list of I Chron.
ii. 7 the line of Carmi ends with " Achar, the troubler of Israel,"
who left no children to continue his family. The scene of this
terrible occurrence was never forgotten ; years afterwards the
prophets referred to it, though under changed conditions and
as conveying spiritual lessons. Isaiah (chap. lxv. 10) saw in it a
place for herds to lie down in ; and Hosea (chap. ii. 15) looked
upon the Valley of Trouble as the door of hope. And such
indeed it proved in the present case. The punishment put
away the sin, and restored Israel to the Divine favour, gave
them once more hope of effecting the conquest of the land.
The late events had left a feeling of despondency in Joshua's-
heart, which was fully shared by the people. All were perplexed
with the uncertainty that lay before them. What were they to
1 " Pulp. Comm." on Josh. vii. 25. Comp. Judg. xi. 17, 19 ; Psa. Ixvi. 9.

58 JOSHUA.
do? Would the Lord be with them? Might they hope for
success in their next enterprise ? This state of am.iety was
quickly relieved. The voice of God roused Joshua from his
dejection. Either by priestly message, or by some Divine
intuition, he was bidden to take courage, and once more to
attack Ai, and was assured that it should fall into his hands,
with its king, its people, and the land appertaining to it. In
this case the human beings were to be devoted to destruc
tion, but the cattle and the spoil might be appropriated to the
use of the captors. The new expedition was planned with
much skill. In it was engaged a large proportion of the
people, who were thus reassured after their late defeat by the
employment of such a force as must crush all opposition. The
attack was conducted by means of a stratagem ; but the exact
details are difficult to understand. The device employed was
an ambuscade, combined with a simulated retreat and a sudden
rally. This is plain enough ; the perplexities commence when
we endeavour to comprehend who composed the ambuscade,
and where they were posted. We are first told that 30,000 men
were sent to lie in ambush behind the city, and shortly after
wards we read that Joshua posted 5,000 troops in secret between
Ai and Bethel. Though the ravines in the neighbourhood
might easily conceal the latter number of soldiers, it is absurd
to suppose that the larger force could have escaped the notice
of the enemy ; nor is it likely that he would have thought it
necessary to lay two ambushes, one on the north-west and the
other on the south-west of the city, and there is no appearance
of the action of two such bodies in the subsequent engagement.
So it is most probable that, as is so often the case in the Old
Testament, there is a mistake in the reading of the numbers,
and that for " 30,000" we should read " 5,000," which wis the
real amount of troops employed in the ambuscade. These
were sent away by night up the Wady Suweinit as far as
Michmash ; and then turning up the great wady west of Ai,
between that place and Bethel, they posted themselves in a
ravine about a quarter of a mile from the city without having
ever come in sight of it. By the time that morning dawned
these dispositions were made. Joshua during the day despatched
the main part of his forces to occupy a position on the north
of Ai, above the deep and narrow bed of the Wady Mutyah,
and he him elf with a picked body of troops ascended the

FIRST CHECK- ITS AUSE AND REMOVAL. 59
gently sloping valley and appeared before the town on the
open plain which stretches to the east and south.1 Here they
were discovered on the following morning by the King of Ai,
who knew nothing of the ambush, nor of the largeness of the
force concealed in the hills behind him. He saw a compara
tively small detachment advancing to the attack, and supposing
that he would defeat them as easily as on the former occasion,
he boldly sallied out against them. Joshua had posted himself
with his spear in hand on a knoll where he was clearly visible
to his troops in their various dispositions, and was able to
regulate their movements. By his direction the Hebrews
offered no resistance to the assault of the Canaanites, but,
as before, fled down the valley towards the Arabah, and drew
their pursuers far away from the city. With exultant cries, as
if the victory were already won, all the men of war flocked
from the town, and followed the flying Hebrews ; the inhabi
tants of Bethel joined in the chase, so that both towns were left
destitute of defenders. This was the moment to which Joshua
had looked forward. He raised his spear with the pennon
attached to it towards heaven. It was the signal agreed upon.
The ambuscade rose from their concealment, hurried up the
ravine, seized the defenceless city and set it on fire. At the
sight of the smoke, which told them that the stratagem was
successful, the Israelites suddenly turned upon their pursuers,
the main body of troops showed themselves in the rear, and
the Canaanites, thus placed between two armies, and seeing
their city burning, were panic-stricken, could offer no effectual
resistance, and were massacred to a man. The King of Ai
himself was taken alive, and brought before the victorious
gene.al, who put him to death, and hung his dead body on
a cross or gallows till eventide, when it was taken down and
flung dishonoured at the gate of his late prosperous city, a
huge heap of stones being raised over it. The city was utterly
destroyed, so as to be a heap and a desolation for many a
long day, the inhabitants to the number of twelve thousand,
men and women, were put to the sword, and nothing was
spared but the cattle and a certain portion of the spoil, which
was the reward of the conquerors. Jericho, as the firstfruits
1 Conder, "Quarterly Statement," April, 1874. It is strange that in
spite of careful survey of the ground the site of Ai is not even yet accurate!)
determined.

60 JOSHUA.
of victory in the land, had been wholly devoted to the Lord.
It was not so with Ai ; arid the appropriation of the enemies'
possessions under certain restrictions was quite lawful. A site
so favourable, however, was not allowed to remain unoccupied
for ever. A city in the course of time arose on the ruins. The
prophet, beholding in vision the Assyrian invader marching
from the north on Jerusalem, sees him pass up the valley
between Ai (Aiath) and Michmash ; and in the Books of Ezra
and Nehemiah, among the number of those who returned from
the Captivity are one or two hundred from Bethel and Ai, who
doubtless retained a traditional knowledge of their old homes, and
found buildings still standing in the locality.1 Whether Joshua
took Bethel at this time is not stated. It is not likely that he
would have left unsubdued a fortified city in his close vicinity,
especially as the inhabitants had joined the people of Ai in
their attack upon his forces. At the same time, as its fighting
men had perished in the late encounter, he may have thought
that its destruction was of no immediate consequence. That
Bethel was captured with its king is expressly mentioned in the
catalogue of conquests (chap, xii.) ; but the mode of its capture
as detailed in the first chapter of Judges leads one to suspect
that it was taken somewhat later in the war. The story as
there told is this. Being a Hittite city it was not left long
unoccupied, and the house of Joseph, i.e., Ephraim, on the
confines cf whose territory it was situated (though actually
allotted to Benjamin), determined to make themselves masters
of the place. They came against it with a large force, and the
Bethelites not daring to meet them in the open field confined
themselves to their walls. The Hebrews refrained from a'
regular assault, having no ladders or engines prepared for such
an attempt; but they blockaded the place, carefully watching
all the approaches, having, as it seems, a suspicion that there
was an easier entrance to it than that which appeared. Their
surmise proved to be correct. They found a man stealing out
of the city without having passed the gate, and bribed him by
the promise of safety to betray this secret entrance. By his
means they surprised the city and put the inhabitants to the
sword, sparing no one but the traitor and his family. Of the
later history of Bethel and its degradation in the time of the
1 Isaiah x. 28 ; Ezra ii. 28 ; Nehem. vii. 32.

FIRST CHECK — ITS CAUSE AND REMOVAL. 6l
kings of Israel, we have not now to speak — how the House of
God became the House of idols.
" Where angels down the lucid stair
Came hovering to our sainted sires,
Now, in the twilight, glare
The heathen's wizard fires."1

¦ Keble, " Christian Year," Eighth Sunday after Trinity.

CHAPTER V.
THE LAW SET UP IN CANAAN
Injunction ot Moses ; its import — Pilgrimage to Shechem — Ebal and
Gerizim, and the Vale of Shechem — The altar of unhewn stones
erected — Inscription on stones— The blessing and the cursing.
N some of the last injunctions of Moses to the Israelites were
included directions for the setting up of the Law in the heart of
the country, as soon as circumstances permitted. The com
mand, which was an evidence of perfect faith in God's promises,
was as follows : " It shall be on the day when ye shall pass
over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,
that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with
plaister ; and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this
law. . . . Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a
curse, . . . and thou shalt set the blessing upon Mount Gerizim,
and the curse upon Mount Ebal. Are they not beyond Jordan,
behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the
Canaanites which dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal,
beside the oaks of Moreh ? . . . And there shalt thou build an
altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones, ... of unhewn
stones ; and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto the
Lord thy God ; and thou shalt sacrifice peace-offerings, and
shalt eat there ; and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy
God. And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of
this law very plainly."1 It was evident that Moses desired that
this injunction should be executed as soon as possible after
the passage of Jordan. He thought it most important. Twice
had he referred to its accomplishment, and pointed out the
spot where the transaction was to take place. What, then, was
1 Deut. xi. 26 ff. ; xxvii. 2 ff.

THE LAW SET UP IN CANAAN. 63
the significance of this unparalleled ceremony? No other
people ever thus inaugurated its occupancy of a new country ;
the whole proceeding was abnormal and peculiar. By this
religious act the Israelites took possession of Canaan in the
name of the Lord. A sudden pause in the career of conquest
is made in order to consecrate the land and the mode by which
it was obtained. Henceforward the Law of the Lord was to be
the principle by which the country was governed ; this was set
up in the most central position, solemnly proclaimed in the very
heart of the transferred territory, in order that all men, contem
poraries and posterity, might recognize the Divine intention in
the conquest of Palestine, and the responsibilities which that
possession involved — a law to obey, a curse to avoid. Here
was Israel's strength ; here was the guide which would lead
them to complete victory ; here were the conditions which
would secure their national life.
Eager as Joshua was to execute the commands of his master,
for which undertaking the way seemed to be marvellously
opened, there were many difficulties to be considered before
effecting the movement. It was not to be a mere military
expedition ; that would have been simple enough ; but this
was to be a national enterprise, the whole congregation was to
take part therein ; if the whole assembly was not actually
present, a very large representative body — men, women, chil
dren, and strangers — -was to behold the ceremony. Now from
Gilgal to the appointed scene of the transaction, Shechem, was
a distance of thirty miles, and this could not be traversed by
such a company under two or three days. The pilgrimage
would ha1 e to be accomplished in the midst of a hostile
country, and might be molested by the enemy.1 Doubtless
1 Many critics have been so greatly influenced by the supposed diffi
culties connected with the performance of the ceremony at this early stage
of the conquest, that they consider the accoui.'t in chap. viii. 30-35 as an
interpolation, introduced by a. later editor to support the theory of an
early date for Deuteronomy ; or else as transposed from its proper place at
the eud of chap, xi., where it would naturally occur as a climax to the
narrative of the complete occupation of the country, in which connection,
indeed, Josephus (" Ant." v. 1. 19) places the transaction. In some MSS. of
the Septuagint the paragraph is found after ix. ¦*. If, as the destructive
critics say, the Book of Joshua has passed through the hands of many
editors, it is strange that none of them should have noticed the difficulties
which modern readers feel, and rectified the present arrangement Is it

64 JOSHUA.
such reflections were presented to the leader's mind ; but they
were counterbalanced by other considerations. There was
little to be feared at this moment from any hostile attack.
The complete destruction of Jericho and Ai had quelled all
opposition in that immediate neighbourhood. The enemies
now to be encountered lived far away to the south and noxth ;
between them lay a district of wood and forest, thinly popu
lated, and possessing no stronghold of importance. Gerizim
was only twenty miles from Ai, and the road was now safe and
unimpeded. Far from interfering with the Hebrews in the
prosecution of their strange enterprise, the alarmed Canaanites
would be probably more awestricken by these religious cere
monies performed by a people so evidently favoured by
heavenly powers. And there was this further thought in
Joshua's mind : it was his duty thus to dedicate the new
kingdom ; and duty with him was always paramount. What
ever perils or difficulties lay in the path, his supreme faith in
Jehovah would carry him through all in safety. So with no
further misgiving he at once proceeded to execute the design
so carefully sketched out by Moses.
As the coming ceremony was not only religious, but also, so
to speak, educational, the entire community were engaged to
take part in it. Accordingly a large contingent, consisting of
members of every age and sex in the twelve tribes, civil and
ecclesiastical, native-born, and strangers who had attached
themselves to the chosen people, was conducted from the
permanent camp at Gilgal to the previously appointed spot.
This, as we have seen, was a locality in the vicinity of the
mountains Ebal and Gerizim, already designated by Moses,
in allusion to an incident in the life of Abraham, as " beside
the oaks of Moreh."1 To this sacred spot, where the city of
Shechem stood, the congregation moved by easy stages. The
city itself at this time was of small importance. It was in
habited by a tribe of Hivites, who had probably fled at the
approach of the Hebrews, being unable to offer any effectual
opposition. Here, in the loveliest scene of central Palestine,
where Abraham built his first altar to the Lord in the Promised
Land, where Jacob settled on his return from Padan-Aram and
not more simple to suppose that the occurrence took place as stated in the
text, and that the narrator saw no impossibilit) therein ?
* See "Abraham : His Life and Times," p. 31 f.

THE LAW SET UP IN CANAAN. 65
digged a well, which was and is still well known, where the
same patriarch had bought a burying-place which his descend
ants were directed to use for the resting-place of Joseph's
embalmed body, carried with them throughout their wander
ings, here the host encamped in expectation of the solemn
ceremonial. The valley where the tents were pitched runs
east and west, having Mount Ebal on the north, which rises
3,076 feet above sea-level, and Gerizim on the south, at an
elevation of 2,848 feet. The bases of these mountains are
scarcely 500 yards apart in one place, but eastwards the valley
opens into a much broader plain, beautifully watered and
abundantly fertile. The summits of the two hills are nearly
two miles distant from each other, Ebal rising stern and
barren, Gerizim fruitful and picturesque, with the town of
Shechem at its foot, the houses extending some way up the
slope. " Deep beneath the eye" [of a traveller advancing from the
south], says Sir R. Temple," "is a plain, green with the rising
crops, and surrounded by hills. It looks like a lake in the bosom
of the mountains. In these latitudes the crops are early, and
at a distance seem to cover the ground with a carpet of tender
verdure, although the winter season is not yet ended. This is
the vale of Shechem, now called El Makhna. Conspicuous
among the hills on the left, or western side, is Gerizim, a
majestic mass of limestone, with stately head and precipitous
sides. Ebal is the sister mount of Gerizim, but can hardly be
seen at all from this point. Its top, however, can, by careful
observation, be descried over the ridge of Gerizim. In our
front, and a little beyond Gerizim, is the hill of Tirzah, and at its
foot Shalem. . . . Beyond that, again, rises up a pyramid of
snow, in the distance bounding the northern horizon. This is
Hermon, which to the Jews of all generations has been the
most conspicuous object in their national landscape. . . . The
twin giants, Ebal and Gerizim, rise up majestically, the joint
monarchs of the central ridge. They are joined together
near their bases by a lower ridge of that form which geo
graphers designate a saddle. On that saddle is situated
the Turkish town of Nabalus, occupying the site of the
historic Neapolis. ... As the traveller advances closer and
closer, both mountains loom forth grander and grander, their
« " Palestine Illustrated," pp. 156, 164.
6

66 JOSHUA.
rocky outlines being strongly marked against the sunset
sky." Midway between the two mountains is found Joseph's
tomb, standing within a rude enclosure. The interior, which
is without any architectural adornment, is divided into two
sections, the tomb being in the one furthest south. Here
were buried the remains of Joseph, which had been carefully
brought from Egypt and preserved amid the wanderings in
the desert. It is not improbable that the patriarch's mummy
might be found uninjured even to this day. About a third
of a mile south of the tomb is Jacob's well, a site as
authenticated as any in the land. A vaulted chamber has
been erected over the well, which has helped to preserve its
existence ; but it is becoming gradually choked with stones
and rubbish. Sixty years ago Robinson found its depth to be
105 feet ; late travellers estimate it at only 35. Situated on the
main road from Judaea to Samaria, and just at the spot where
the requirements of the narrative place it, this well is un
doubtedly the one on whose margin the Saviour sat while He
discoursed with the woman of Samaria, and taught her whence
to seek " living water."
Such was the locality where the Israelites assembled to carry
out the great lawgiver's strange injunction.
The first act of the ceremony was the erection of an altar on
Mount Ebal, and the offering of sacrifices thereon. The altar
was to be of whole, unhewn stones, upon which no man had
lifted tool of iron. Many reasons for this limitation have been
assigned. Some of the Talmudists taught that it was intended
to prevent the superstitious preservation of particles chipped
from the stones consecrated to this use ; or for a mystic reason,
viz., that whereas the altar was used for the beatification and
preservation of man's life, iron was employed to shorten and
injure it, and was therefore excluded from holy rites and
religious accessories. Others, again, see in it only the desire on
the part of the lawgiver to differentiate Hebrew worship from
that of heathen nations, who raised elaborate altars and
adorned them with much art. The Jew was drawn to regard
the spiritual view of the ceremony in which the altar was em
ployed, and not to dwell upon the costliness or beauty of the
material vehicle. Christian interpreters consider that thus was
inculcated the lesson that in God's service all should be spon
taneous, and that as little as possible of human devising should

THE LAW SET UP IN CANAAN. 6j
be introduced therein ; ' or that herein was adumbrated the
transitoriness and imperfection of the Mosaic ritual; or else
was given an intimation that, as sacrifice is rendered necessary
by man's earthly and carnal nature, earth is the fittest material
for his altar, unhewn stone being the only substitute allowed.
Whatever may have been the real reason of the command,
Joshua strictly obeyed it, and raised an altar of unhewn stones
on the summit of Mount Ebal, already probably a patriarchal
holy place, and there offered burnt-offerings in propitiation and
peace-offerings in thanksgiving, thus dedicating the people to
the Lord and expressing their gratitude for the favour accorded
to them. This important preliminary having been completed,
the second part of the solemnity was taken in hand. This was
in effect a renewal of the covenant on the entrance into the
land of promise. The mode of this renewal was. carefully pre
scribed, because by this was promulgated the great truth that
it was by virtue of the law the people took possession of the
country, and that they acknowledged themselves bound by this
law, and were willing to show all due obedience. Hereupon
certain stone pillars were set up, which were covered with a
coating of plaster composed of lime or gypsum, and on this
cement was written " a copy of the law of Moses." It is not
necessary to suppose that the words were graven in the stones ;
writings in plaster, under a climate such as that of Palestine,
were naturally indestructible, and indeed have been found
perfect after two thousand and more years. Some of these
inscriptions are simply incised or indented in the plaster, others
are filled in with coloured substance, red or black. " In this
hot climate," says Dr. Thomson,2 " where there is no frost to
dissolve the cement, it will continue hard and unbroken for
thousands of years, which is certainly long enough. That on
Solomon's porch remains in admirable preservation, though
exposed to all the vicissitudes of the climate, and with no
protection. The cement in the tombs about Sidon is still
perfect, and the writing on them entire, though acted upon by
the moist, damp air always found in caverns, for perhaps two
thousand years. What Joshua did, therefore, when he erected
those great stones at Mount Ebal, was merely to write in the
still soft cement with a stile, or, more likely, on the polished
surface, when dry, with ink or paint, as seen in ancient tombs.
» So " Pulpit Coram." in. loc. ' " Central Palestine," 140.

68 JOSHUA
Properly sheltered, and not broken off by violence, the cement
would have remained to this day." In Egypt the Israelites had
seen not merely monumental stones, but the whole walls ol
temples thus adorned ; and there were doubtless many skilful
workmen among them who could copy the words committed to
them by Joshua and the priests. It is, however, difficult to
decide what was actually inscribed on the memorial. The
words in the text are : " a copy of the law of Moses which he
wrote in the presence of the children of Israel." The first part
of the sentence is literally " the doubling of the law of Moses,"
" Deuteronomium legis Moysi," as the Latin Vulgate has it
(with which the Septuagint agrees). This is equivalent to our
term " duplicate," and implies the copy of a document. And
" which he wrote " must mean that Joshua inscribed this " law "
in the sight of the assembled Israelites. It seems impossible
to suppose that the whole of Deuteronomy was here written ;
neither time nor space could have been afforded for so lengthy
a document ; still less could the whole law have been set forth
with all its enactments, narratives, genealogies, &c. On the
other hand, if the Decalogue alone were meant, these " great
stones " (Deut. xxvii. 2) would not have been required. Nor
must the term be restricted to the blessings and cursings which
were at this time solemnly announced ; these could not have
been designated by Moses as " all the words of this law."
What is meant by the expression is the strictly legislative
portion of the Law, which, according to the Jews, amounted
to six hundred and thirteen enactments. These were impressed
on the monumental stones, perhaps at the conclusion of the
ceremony, and thus the Israelites were perpetually reminded
of the tenure by which they held the land of promise, the
conditions on which depended their national prosperity and
existence. And now the third and most impressive scene of the great
solemnity was enacted. In the centre of the valley between
Ebal and Gerizim was placed the ark with its company of
priests and Levites, surrounded by the elders, officers, and
judges. The visible token of the presence of God hallowed
the whole ceremonial, and every detail was performed as in
the sight of the Most High. Outside the circle formed by tha
ecclesiastical, and civil chiefs was gathered the multitude,
consisting of the people who had made the pilgrimage from

THE LAW SET UP IN CANAAN. 69
Gilgal in order to take part in this solemnity. These were
divided into two bodies ; the tribes that sprung from the two
wives of Jacob, viz., Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and
Benjamin, stood at the base and up the slope of Gerizim,
while on Ebal were gathered those descended from the
handmaids Zilpah and Bilhah, viz., Gad, Asher, Dan, and
Naphtali, to which were added, in order to make the number
equal, Reuben, who by his crime had forfeited the right of
primogeniture, and Zebulun, the youngest son of Leah.
" Joseph " of course connotes the tribes of Ephraim and
Manasseh, and " Levi " here takes its place with the others,
.hough generally and for secular purposes it has no part with
its brethren. At the water-parting near the eastern end of the
vale there is a natural amphitheatre formed by recesses in
the two mountains exactly facing one another, and where,
curiously enough, " the limestone strata, running up to the very
summits in a succession of ledges, present the appearance of a
series of regular benches." There is no place in all Palestine
better suited for the orderly assembly of an immense body of
men so arranged that all could see the proceedings, and,
within the limits reached by a human voice, hear what was
said. It must have reminded Joshua of that revered
locality in Sinai hallowed by the giving of the Law. When
all was arranged, Joshua and the priests standing in the centre
of the valley recited the Law of Moses, ending with twelve
curses and twelve blessings, to the former of which the people
assembled on Ebal responded "Amen,'' and to the latter those
on Gerizim. We may observe that the group on Gerizim far
exceeded ;he others in number and importance, as if to indicate
that in the end the blessing should prevail.1 That such a
proceeding was quite feasible is evident. The acoustic
properties of the valley of Shechem have been tested by
modern travellers, who, when standing on one of the mountains,
have found no difficulty in hearing words spoken on the other ;
and Canon Tristram records that, during his" travels in the
Holy Land, two of his party stationing themselves on the
opposite mountains recited the ten commandments antiphonally,
and heard each other most distinctly. The twelve curses are
given in full, and are all concerned with special breaches of
1 "Speaker's Commentary,1' DeuL xxvii. 12. "Quarterly Statement,"
1873, p. 67.

JO JOSHUA.
the commandments, except the last, which is conceived in
general terms condemning every infringement of the law
Members of the English Church are familiarized with this
formulary by the use of the Commination Service on Ash-
Wednesday, which is framed after this ordinance. Each
curse was followed by its corresponding blessing, the respon
sive " Amen " testifying the utterers' conviction of the truth,
justice, and certainty of the sentences, and their desire and
willingness to abide by them. The particular subjects dealt
with in the imprecations were idolatry, dishonouringof parents,
removal of landmarks, inhumanity, unnatural crimes, murder ;
the blessings are not specified in the account if the ceremony,
but we may gather their nature from the corresponding passage
in Deuteronomy (chap, xxviii.), where blessing? are promised
on city and field, on man and cattle, on the basket and the
kneading-trough, on going out and coming in, of -contest with
enemies, on relations with foreign peonies. Here was a sketch
of the working of the Divine law and of the moral government
of God. The Hebrews needed promises and threats to keep
them true to their allegiance ; the old law had its awards and
its punishments, and both must be plainly set forth for the
guidance of the theocratic people.

CHAPTER VI.
CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH.
Gibeon and its confederate cities, Beeroth, Kirjath-jearim, andChepbirah —
Stratagem of the Gibeonites ; its success ; their destiny — Five kings
combine to attack Gibeon — Jerusalem — Jarmuth — Joshua marches to
relieve Gibeon — Battte of Beth-horon — Hailstorm — The daylight
lengthened — The miracle considered — Defeat of the Canaanites —
Azekah ; Makkedah — Humiliation and execution of the kings — The
southern campaign -Conquest of Makkedah ; Libnah ; Lachish ;
Gezer ; Eglon ; Hebron ; Debir— The Hills— The Negeb— The
Shephelah — The Slopes — Kadesh-barnea— Goshen — The dispossession
only partial.
At the conclusion of the ceremonies narrated in the last
chapter, which took some days to accomplish, Joshua led back
his forces and the assembled host to the permanent camp at
Gilgal, intending thence to set out on a new campaign. Some
critics, expatiating on the difficulty of moving this large mass
of people backwards and forwards, have thought that at this
time the headquarters were moved from the Jordan Valley to
another place named Gilgal, situated near the oaks of Moreh,
a few miles north of Bethel, and still known by the name of
Jiljilia. This would indeed have been a central situation, and,
as far as we know, a favourable post from which to direct
future operations. Whether it was as fitted as the lower plains
for the support of the mixed congregation with its numerous
flocks and herds may reasonably be doubted. And there are
two considerations fatal to the conjecture. First, the narrator,
if he was aware of this change of position, would not have
constantly referred to " the camp at Gilgal," knowing that his
readers must necessarily believe that the original encampment
in the Arabah was meant; and secondly, in the account of

72 JOSHUA.
subsequent operations we read : "Joshua ascended from
Gilgal, . . . went up from Gilgal all night." This could not be
said of a march from Jiljilia to Gibeon, while it is exactly
suitable to a movement from the low-lying Jordan Valley to the
mountainous region wherein Gibeon was situated. While
Joshua tarried a few days at Gilgal, an event occurred which
had momentous consequences.
Six or seven miles south of Bethel, and about five north-west
of Jerusalem, stood the city of Gibeon, on a lower eminence at
the northern slope of the lofty mountain Mizpeh or Neby
Samwil. This hill, so named from an erroneous Mussulman
tradition that herein lie buried the remains of the great
prophet Samuel, is a remarkable feature in the landscape,
standing at the head of the pass of Beth-horon, and from its
high elevation, 2,647 feet above sea level, commanding a most
extensive prospect, which embraces Joppa and the western
plain and the Mediterranean Sea on one side, and on the other
Jerusalem, Olivet, and the distant Moabite hills beyond the
Jordan and the Dead Sea. Gibeon, identified with the modern
village El-Jib, is placed on an oblong ridge composed of lime
stone rock, rising, as it were, in steps out of the plain, in many
places difficult of access, and capable of being everywhere very
strongly fortified,1 Its position on the great highway from the
sea-board into the interior, and commanding the chief pass over
the mountain, has tended to maintain its existence and celebrity
unto the present day. Immediately in front stretched a tract
of fertile ground, producing not only abundant crops of grain,
but likewise olives, grapes, figs, and other fruits. At this time
it was a place of vast importance ; it is described as " a great
city, as one of the royal cities, greater than Ai, and all the men
thereof were mighty." It was, in fact, the chief of four con
federate cities occupied by Hivites, who were not governed by
a king, but formed a kind of republic under certain elected
elders, and thus enjoyed a constitution similar to that of the
free towns of Germany. The inhabitants are said in 2 Sam.
xxi. 2 to have been of Amorite extraction ; but the name
Amorite is often used loosely as a designation of any Canaanite
tribe. The other towns of the confederacy were Beeroth,
Kirath-jearim, and Chephirah, the situations of which are well
"Stanley" "Sinai and Palestine," 214 f. ; Robinson, "Researches,''
ii. 135 ff. ; Thomson, "Central Palestine," 70.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 73
known. Beeroth (" wells ") is now called Bireb. It stands on
a ridge running from west to east on the road leading north
from Jerusalem, from which it is distant about nine miles,
being two short of Bethel. As the first halting-place of cara
vans travelling towards Galilee, it has been supposed to be the
place whence Mary and Joseph turned back to Jerusalem on
discovering that Jesus was not in their company. From its
elevated position it is visible at a great distance both from the
north and south, the ridge on which it stands bounding the
prospect as seen from Jerusalem and its neighbourhood.' It
is now a village of seven hundred inhabitants, but the ruins in
its vicinity afford proof that it was once of much more exten
sive dimensions and fortified by strong walls. Kirjath-jearim
(" the city of woods ") was a place of great antiquity, and had
been taken by the Hivites from the original inhabitants, who
had named it Baalah. Its later name was derived from the
plantations of figs and olives, and the thick undergrowth that
covered every vacant spot. It stood on a hill south west of
Gibeon, and has been identified with Khurbet Erma, where are
seen extensive ruins and a scarped area which may well have
been the place where the ark rested those many years after it
was restored by the Philistines till David "found it in the
wood.'" "It is," says Dr. Geikie,3 "about four miles nearly
east of Bethshemesh, but a thousand feet higher above the sea.
Approaching it from the east, by the great gorge which, under
different names, runs from near Gibeon to Bethshemesh, and
ascending the slopes on which is the little ruined village of
Deir-esh-Sheikh, you see the white bed of a torrent far beneath,
twisting in wide bends beneath steep hills, which rise fully a
thousand feet above it. The slopes on both sides are stony and
seamed with outcrops of rock, and both, but especially the
southern, are covered with a dense brushwood of dwarfed oak,
hawthorn, carob, and other trees, no higher than well-grown
shrubs ; every vacant space adding to the pleasantness of the
view by a carpet of thyme, sage, and other aromatic plants.
On a bold spur running out from the southern slope, and
marked by a curious platform of rock which rises in the centre,
above the olive trees around, lie the ruins of Erma, built
up against scarps, natural or artificial." The fourth city,
1 Robinson, ii. 130. * See "Samuel and Saul," pp. 56 f.
» " The Holy Land and the Bible," ii. 144.

74 JOSHUA.
Chephirah, now known as Kefireh, lay some four miles from
Kirjath-jearim, and two east from the town of Ajalon, of which
we shall shortly hear again. To the same confederacy belonged
also Shechem. Situated as these cities were, commanding the
passes which led to the sea coast and the south, they formed
a most important element in the conquest, though at the time
Joshua seems to have failed to understand their position, and
might have suffered severely for his ignorance. Providentially
he was spared from this danger by a most unexpected event.
Thoroughly alarmed by the destruction of Jericho and Ai,
which in their view had been effected by stratagem and craft,
the burghers resolved to secure by wily diplomacy that safety
which they had no heart to attempt by an appeal to arms. The
petty Canaanite kings, who had been slow to realize the mar
vellous character of late events, had now become alive to the
danger that menaced them, and were combining to make
common cause against the invaders. They invited the Gibeon-
ites to join their league. But these stood aloof, and deter
mined to make terms for themselves. They knew too well the
fate that awaited them at the hands of the Hebrews ; they were
quite aware that a war of extermination had been declared
against the inhabitants of the land, that no truce could be
expected, and that to confess themselves Canaanites of the
neighbourhood was to consign their lives to destruction. So,
reckoning on the simplicity and credulity of the Israelites and
their ignorance of the natives of the country, they sent an
embassy to Joshua, at Gilgal, representing themselves as
having come from a far country, attracted by the fame of the
Jewish conquests on the eastern side of Jordan, and desirous
of making a league with a people so plainly under Divine
protection. They mention especially that they had heard of
the power displayed by the Lord their God in Egypt, and how
the Israelites had conquered Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og,
king of Bashan. All reference to more recent events, the
passage of the Jordan, the destruction of Jericho and Ai, is
cunningly omitted, the better to support the fiction of their
distant home. Disposed though they were to believe in the
profound and wide impression made by the wonders which
they had experienced, the Israelites did not at once fall into
the trap prepared for them. Something in the appearance or
language of these strangers led them to suspect that they might

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 75
be Canaanites. " Peradventure," said they, " ye dwell among
us ; and how shall we make a league with you ? " All such
alliances, indeed, had been strictly forbidden on the ground of
the polluting influence of evil practices and example, especially
ia the matter of idolatry and debasement of morals." The
Gibeonites were prepared for this difficulty, and on Joshua
asking them to say plainly who they were, and whence they
came, they made no direct answer, but asserted that they had
journeyed from a far distant country ; and in proof of their
statement they pointed to the condition of their garments and
provisions. The clothes were new when they started from
home, and now were worn threadbare ; their sandals had been
patched again and again ; the sacks in which they carried their
food were worn out ; the leathern skins which held wine were
burst with long use, and roughly mended ; the bread which
they had taken fresh from the oven was dry and mouldy. All
these tokens of hard travel they had craftily prepared befone
hand to deceive the unsuspicious Israelites. Naturally ambas
sadors would appear in bright and festive attire ; the conditior
of these envoys could be explained only on the plea of their
having come straight from a distant journey. Of mouldy
victuals and worn-outr garments the Hebrews had had no
experience during their sojourn in the wilderness ; they looked
with wonder on these foreigners, and accepted their story
without reserve. That they could be the victims of an elabo
rate fraud never crossed their mind. The elders took of the
food which the Gibeonites offered, and thus, in accordance with
Eastern custom, pledged themselves to peace and friendship.
Without asking counsel of God, trusting entirely to his own
judgment, Joshua made a league with these deceivers ; with
culpable carelessness the princes ratified the alliance by an
oath. The national pride was gratified by the arrival of this
deputation ; here was a tribute to the reputation and the power
of God's chosen people ; the evidence seemed incontestable ;
and thus the engagement was rashly made which had such
momentous consequences.
Three days passed, and then the deception was discovered.
It was found that these supposed travellers lived in cities not
twenty miles away from the camp. Determined to examine
the truth for himself, Joshua organized an expedition into the
• Exod. xxiii. 32 f. ; xxxiv. 12. Deut. vii. 1 ff.

76 JOSHUA.
hill country, and soon arrived at Gibeon and its allied cities.
They were plainly inhabited by the hated Canaanites, who bj
law were devoted to utter destruction. The soldiers were eager
to execute the vengeance of which they believed themselves to
be the appointed instruments. But the chieftains restrained
the ardour of their followers ; they had sworn with an oath to
preserve the lives of these Gibeonites, and they could not
violate the engagement. There was much to be said on both
sides. The people argued that the command regarding the
extermination of the Palestinians was simple, severe, and
admitted of no compromise ; that immunity had been obtained
by a palpable fraud, and was therefore not to be observed ; or
that the engagement, not having been made with the concurrence
of the whole congregation, was null and void. On the other
hand, the elders replied that they had voluntarily sworn by the
Lord to spare this people, and that though they were doubtless
guilty of carelessness in making the promise, they could not
take advantage of this negligence to repudiate the obligation
and bring disgrace on the sacred name which they had invoked.
What was the duty in this conflict of opinions? Were they to
observe the covenant into which they had been unwarily
entrapped, or to act as if no such engagement existed? It is
not immoral to violate a vow which it would be a sin to keep.
No casuist would have condemned Herod had he refused to
execute John the Baptist in compliance with the oath which he
had imprudently taken. But was it a sin to spare the Gibeonites ?
We must remember that the destruction of the Canaanites was
ordered lest they should seduce the Hebrews to idolatry. If in
a special case this end could be secured without wholesale
annihilation, the stern command might perhaps be allowed to
be temporarily suspended, more especially as its execution
under present circumstances would have brought upon them
selves the guilt of perjury, and given occasion to the heathen
to blaspheme and lightly regard the name of Jehovah by which
the oath had been taken. The elders were not long in de
ciding their course of action. They determined to stand by
their oath, and at the same time to place the Gibeonites in such
a position that they would be unable to in.luence others to evil,
and that the design of God in decreeing their destruction might
still virtually be carried out. Accordingly they granted these
Canaanites their li\es, but reduced them to a servile condition,

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 77
made them " hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the
congregation." These menial duties, which usually fell to the
lowest classes, they had henceforward to perform especially
in the sanctuary and for the service of the priests. Joshua
announced this decision in stern language : " Wherefore have
ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye
dwell among us ? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall
never fail to be of you bondmen, both hewers of wood and
drawers of water for the house of my God." The Israelites do
not seem to have been influenced by any idea of making con
verts of this people. They were very slow to recognize their
own missionary character, or to extend the privileges of their
religion to alien nations. Nor do the Gibeonites appear to
have been actuated by any motive but slavish fear in making
the submission. Their assertion of regard for the name and
power of Jehovah was a hollow pretence ; they had none of
the honest conviction which Rahab displayed ; and their
chicanery and deceit were justly punished. To this sentence
the Gibeonites submitted without resistance, and accepting the
position forced upon them, seem never to have acted treacher
ously or to have seduced their masters to idolatry. The
results showed that the princes had acted rightly. The com
pact led to a great and notable victory a few days later ; and the
infringement of the covenant by Saul was regarded by God as
a national crime, and punished by a general famine in the land.
We have mentioned that the Canaanite kings of the south
were uniting their forces in order to crush the invaders. They
are described as those in the hill country, in the lowland, and
the shore of the Great Sea, the three terms applying re
spectively to the mountainous region in central and southern
Palestine, the Shephelah, i.e., the plain between the hills and
the coast, and the sea coast itself extending from Tyre to
Joppa. The defection of Gibeon, with its powerful army and
commanding position, opened the approaches to their territory
and gave the strangers a hold on the very heart of the country.
The northern tribes, though equally alarmed, were not prepared
to take immediate steps, and were indeed completely iso
lated from the southern confederacy by Joshua's strategical
manoeuvre. Six of the seven nations of Canaan are named
as joining in the league, the Girgashites being omitted, probably
as being cut off by their position from effecting a junction with

78 JOSHUA.
their southern brethren. We have no criteria by which to
judge of the number of the troops actually engaged in the
conflict. The tribes located i. the mountains doubtless sent
all their available strength, while those at a distance forwarded
powerful contingents ; but there was little coherence in the army
thus collected, and its military organization was very defective.
The tribe which is mentioned as especially engaged in the
present conflict is called loosely that of the Amorites, led by
Adoni-zedec, king of Jerusalem, and supported by the kings of
Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. The appellation of the
king of Jerusalem signifies " Lord of righteousness," and re
calls the monarch of Abraham's day, Melchizedek, " king of
righteousness." Such was probably the official title of the king
of Jerusalem, though doubtless, on a change of dynasties, the
name had long ago lost its appositeness, and could not be
appropriately applied to the idolatrous heathen who bore it.
There seems no reason to doubt that the city so named is to all
intents the Jerusalem of sacred history. The word in Hebrew,
Jerushalaim, is of dual form, implying an aggregation, or, as we
may say, an upper and a lower city. There are numerous
similar plural names of cities in Scripture, and every one is
familiar with classical instances, as Thebao, Athenae, Mycenae.
This city also bore the name of Jebus, and its inhabitants were
called Jebusites, and retained possession of the place up to the
time of David. This uninterrupted occupancy was attributable
to its strong position, which Hebrew skill could not force ; nor
do we read of any attempt made by Joshua to effect its capture
when he so rapidly and easily subdued the other allied towns.
Of three of the remaining cities we shall hear again shortly,
but of one of them, Jarmuth, very little is said. It is mentioned
among the cities of Judah in chap, xv., and in Nehemiali xi.,
but occurs nowhere else in the pages of Scripture, save in con
nection with the circumstances of this league. It has been iden
tified with the village of Yarmuk, which stands on the crest of
a rugged hill about eight miles north-east of Eleutheropolis,
and, as Dr. Porter says, in the hewn stones and ruins that mark
the site gives token of past strength and greatness." These
five kings determined to make a combined effort to punish
Gibeon for its treachery, and to recover a position of such vast
strategic importance. They do not venture to attack Joshua,
* Kitto, "Cyclop." ; Robinson, ii. 344.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 79
of whose divinely-protected power they stood in great awe, but
they hope to be able to cut off the revolting city, and thus
deprive him of a formidable ally. Gathering their forces
together, they suddenly marched upon Gibeon and " made war
against it." The Gibeonites hardly realized the details of the
confederacy which was gathered for their destruction ; in their
alarm they stop not to examine accurately the quarter whence
the storm burst upon them ; their only hope of safety lies in
immediate succour at the hands of Joshua. They send an
urgent message to the camp at Gilgal, stating that all the kings
of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains were gathered
against them, though in reality the hostile forces were chiefly
inhabitants of the lowlands — fear making them blind and
inaccurate ; and with pressing importunity they add : "Slack
not thy hand from thy servants ; come up to us quickly, and
save us, and help us." The crisis was urgent. Joshua saw at
once that celerity was of the utmost importance. Not a
moment did he hesitate. Secure in the protection of heaven,
(for he had had an assurance that the Lord was with him and
would give him victory), he selected the most valiant of his
soldiers, and set out with a brave heart to encounter the largest
body of the enemy that he had yet engaged. The distance
from Gilgal to Gibeon was some fifteen miles ; marching all
night up the Wady Kelt, and through the Wady Suweinit, he
arrived in the early morning in the neighbourhood of the city
before the Amorites were aware that he had quitted his camp.
The battle that ensued has been called one of the decisive
battles of the world. Stanley * compares it with " the battle of
the Milvian Bridge, which involved the fall of Paganism ; the
battle of Poitiers, which sealed the fall of Arianism ; the battle
of Bedr, which secured the rise of Mahomelanism in Asia ; the
battle of Tours, which checked the spread of Mahometanism
in Western Europe ; the battle of Lepanto, which checked it in
Eastern Europe ; the battle of Lutzen, which determined the
balance of power between Roman Catholicism and Protes
tantism in Germany." Deploying suddenly from the defile into
the more open ground in front of Gibeon, the Israelites struck
the Amorites with dismay. Such prompt action was quite un
expected ; the remembrance of the terrible massacres of Jericho
and Ai was present to their minds ; the bearing of these
1 "Jewish Church," lect. xi.

So JOSHUA.
strangers was bold, as if assured of victory ; and as they
shouted their confident war-cry, "God is mighty in battle :
God is His name," the Amorites were stricken with panic,
and offered but slight resistance to the furious attack of the
Hebrews. They were completely discomfited, and fled in con
fusion through the defiles trending westward, on the hilly road
broken by many a steep ascent and descent that led to Beth-
horon, some five or six miles distant. The name Bcth-horon
means " house of caves." There were two places so called, an
Upper and a Lower Beth-horon, the latter lying seven hundred
feet lower than the other at two miles' distance. The sites have
been easily identified by the unalterable features of the country,
and the very names have remained unchanged in these three or
four thousand years, the Upper being now known as Beit Ur el
Foka, the Lower as Beit Ur el Tachta. While part of the
defeated forces fled to Beth-horon, another portion hurried
down the Wady Surar or Sorek to their fortified cities, which
lay to the south and west. The interest of the narrative is
concentrated on the former of the two bodies of fugitives.
These reached the head of the pass of Upper Beth-horon
before their pursuers, and, surmounting the height, set off down
the slope that led to the Lower village. This was a most
rugged and difficult descent, encumbered with loose stones
and outstanding rocks, and in some places so steep that steps
have been rudely cut to facilitate progress. As the discomfited
enemy flung themselves down this precipitous pass, another
disaster befell them. One of those furious storms of hail,
accompanied with lightning, which at times sweep over the
hills of Palestine, burst upon the flying troops. Hailstones of
enormous size fell from heaven, and caused wide destruction, so
that the narrator could say : " They were more which died with
the hailstones, than they whom the children of Israel slew with
the sword." Such an occurrence is no exaggeration. We have
seen in our own country, and only a few years ago, hailstones
of great size ; in tropical climates the fall of masses of ice of a
pound or more in weight is not uncommon, and these would
naturally disable or kill any men or animals which they might
strike. Kitto" mentions a storm at Constantinople in 1S31,
when the hail was such that roofs were beaten in, trees stripped
and broken, and many persons slain, and much cattle killed.
1 " Bible Illustrations," ii. 293.

CONQUEST OP THE SOUTH. 8 1
The fact concerned with the story of "The Thundering
Legion," however adorned by ecclesiastical tradition, remains
irrefragable, viz., that the Roman army was delivered from a
most critical position by a sudden storm, which supplied them
with the water for which they were thirsting, and discomfited
their barbarian opponents. Such a tempest completed the rout
of the Austrians at the battle of Solferino in 1859. The provi
dential occurrence of this hailstorm in the pass of Beth-horon,
while it encouraged the Israelites in their belief that the Lord
interposed in their behalf, increased the panic of the Amorites,
and confirmed their conviction of the impossibility of contend
ing successfully against a people so manifestly protected by
heavenly powers. When he arrived at the head of the pass,
Joshua paused a few minutes to examine the scene and to rest
his panting followers. Behind him rose the lofty hills which
concealed Gibeon from his view, while over them the sun shone
with all its power high in the heavens ; before him the prospect
extended over the rounded hills beneath, over the broad plain of
Ajalon at the further extremity of the defile, and to the blue
waters of the sea in the far distance, a rift in the clouds show
ing the pale disc of the moon in the western sky. But below
he looked on the discomfited enemy, rushing tumultuously down
the steep track, thrown into the wildest confusion, and suffering
all the horrors of a tropical storm of abnormal violence. Here
was victory in his grasp, if only he could seize it. Would day
light last long enough, he could annihilate the Amorites ere
they reached a refuge in the plain. The great exertions which
he had made would surely not be rendered useless by the
approach of night. Forbid it, Lord 1 The wish of his heart
found expression in words preserved in the Book of Jasher, to
which we are indebted also for David's elegy over Saul and
Jonathan." The following is the quotation, partly prose, partly
poetry : " Then spake Joshua to Jehovah in the day when
Jehovah delivered up the Amorite before the sons of Israel,'
and he said before the eyes of Israel —
" Sun, be still [silent] upon Gibeon,
And, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon !
And the sun was still, and the moon stayed,
Until the nation was avenged of its enemies.

3 Sam. i. 18 ft
7

82 JOSHUA.
Is not this written in the Book of Jasher? And the sun sOod
in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a
whole day. And there was no day like that before and after it,
that Jehovah hearkened unto the voice of a man ; for Jehovah
fought for Israel." " The rhythmical portion of the quotation
is doubtless taken from the Book of Jasher ; the prose part is
cited from another account which comments on the former, and
lias been here inserted by an editor who took the popular view
•if the transaction. The apparent meaning of this paragraph
Is that the day was miraculously prolonged in order to give the
Israelites time to complete the destruction of the Canaanites
i efore the darkness of night should put a stop to their opera-
lions. This seems to be simply the statement in the text ; and
it is met by many objections, not only on the part of sceptics
who disbelieve in the miraculous, but also on the part of
believers who find insuperable difficulties in regarding the
occurrence as strictly historical. It is considered as a great
waste of power to work so tremendous a miracle for so small a
result as the destruction of this insignificant body of men.
The Bible, speaking the language of common life, not of scien
tific accuracy, must mean by the staying of the sun that the
diurnal motion of the earth was suddenly arrested. To prevent
the appalling consequences of such an occurrence many more
miracles must have been needed. Was the occasion such as to
warrant them ? We may say at once that if the necessity for
such a miracle is granted, the details are comparatively unim
portant. If God, for wise purposes, thought fit to suspend or
control the laws of the universe in this special instance, He would
also control the consequences which would otherwise naturally
result from such interference. And it may be said that a
miracle at this crisis was demanded and was to be expected.
It was imperative that the league of the Canaanite kings
should be broken up and their power destroyed ; it was also
imperative that this destruction should be effected on this
day ; if a miracle was needed to bring about this result, He
who had already worked so many wonders for Israel, He who
had shown that all nature is subservient to the scheme of
redemption, might well miraculously prolong this day to facili
tate the accomplishment of His purpose. Persons may think
1 The concluding paragraph, ver. 15, "And Joshua returned," &c, is
part of the quotation from Jasher, the intermediate events being omitted.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 83
that this stopping of the earth's rotation (which is the virtual
explanation of the miracle) was an unnecessary display of
Almighty power, that victory might have been given by other
and simpler means, that the occasion did not warrant such an
exaggerated effort of Omnipotence ; but we are not competent
judges of the acts and determinations of God ; there are no
degrees of difficulty with Him ; one method is as easy with
Him as another. If He answered Joshua's prayer to the letter,
it was because such an intervention was best calculated to effect
the intended result, and to demonstrate to heathens and believers
alike that the battle was the Lord's, and that man's destiny was
wholly in His hands. The inspired leader of Israel might well
have expected to receive the supernatural aid in his present
undertaking which he had experienced on former occasions.
It was necessary to strike terror into the heathen nations
around, and to show that the very gods whom they wor
shipped were powerless before the Lord of the Israelites.
Thus such a miraculous interference as that supposed would
have a strong moral effect upon both belligei ents, encouraging
the one and terrifying the other. Besides this, on this conflict
hung momentous issues. It was no mere engagement of petty
tribes struggling for the possession of a remote corner of an
insignificant country ; Israel was fighting for truth, morality,
religion, progress, against error, licentiousness, idolatry, bar
barism ; the future of man was concerned in this battle of
Beth-horon. Were piety and purity to win the day, or blas
phemy and depravity ? Was the grand truth of Monotheism
to be triumphantly vindicated, or Polytheism with its un
speakable pollutions to be victorious? Here, if ever, would
God bare His arm ; here, if man's necessity needed miraculous
aid, would such intervention be vouchsafed. If in Israel ali
nations should be blessed, and its very existence was imperilled
by the present contingency, a miracle might be expected tc
occur, in order to obviate the latter danger, and to help for
ward the designed result. Thus there is no antecedent
improbability in the record of the miracle as usually under
stood ; there was reason for Divine interposition, if the natural
order of things would have failed to accomplish the purpose.
We might be content to leave the matter here, acquiescing
in the literal statement of the wonder, and waiting patiently
for its further elucidation. But scoffers and unbelievers have

84 JOSHUA.
made so much of the difficulties connected with the occuirence
that a few more words are necessary. . We may take Renan's "
version of the story as the best example of the modern gloss :
" The Israelite army marched in a body to force the five kings
to raise the siege of Gibeon. A panic seized on the Canaanite
army ; it fled towards Bethoran as far as Maggeda. Joshua
pursued it, cut it in pieces, killed, it is said, the five kings
and crucified them. A popular song (preserved in the la slier)
celebrated this victory ; in it were found these two lines :
" • Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon,
And thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.'
The poet wished to express the astonishment of nature at the
prodigious efforts of the Israelites. This rhetorical figure
afterwards gave rise to some curious mistakes. The two lines
were placed in the mouth of Joshua, and in changing the
meaning of the word, which signifies ' stood still with astonish
ment,' it was supposed that the sun really stood still at the order
of Joshua." Thus the miracle is eliminated from the narrative.
There are two questions here which may well be asked even by
believers in the supernatural : Was the supposed miracle abso
lutely necessary? And do the words of the account in Scripture
compel us to maintain the literal meaning of the passage and
no other ? Now God never varies what we have learned to call
the laws of nature without sufficient cause ; in certain cases He
interposes His will, as a man may arrest the attraction of
gravity by superior force ; but this He does only when He sees
that the ordinary course of things will not effect His purpose.
Miracles are supplied only where they are needed by the weak
ness of the recipient or the inability of the ordinary agent.
Granted that longer daylight was needed to enable the Hebrews
to make their victory complete, this result might have been
obtained by something short of the tremendous wonder
narrated by the compiler. An extraordinary refraction of the
sunlight — a parhelion, or some similar natural phenomenon
— might have produced the desired prolongation. There was
no necessity for any great extension of the day. An hour or
two more was all that was needed. After the night march, and
the morning fight, and the rapid pursuit up the difficult pass,
the Israelites must have found themselves quite exhausted at
» " History of the People of Israel," p. 204, Eng Translation.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 85
the end of an ordinary day ; human nature could not have
endured another twelve hours of such violent exertions, and it
would have required a fresh miracle to enable them to take
advantage of the added time. But are we bound to regard the
account in sober earnest as the statement of a fact in history ?
Or have we grounds for supposing that Eastern hyperbole and
poetic adornment have modified the simple truth ?
If the miracle is plainly related in the Book of Joshua, it
would surely have been referred to by succeeding writers ; it
would have entered into the strains of Psalmists and Prophets,
as the wonders of the Exodus are sung ; it would have been
enumerated by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews among
the mighty deeds of Joshua and the Judges ; it would have
appeared in Isaiah's prophecy when he spoke of the battle of
Gibeon ;* but there is no allusion whatever to it in all canonical
Scripture. The passage in Habakkuk iii. 11, which has been
supposed to bear upon it, has really nothing to do with it. The
words are translated in our version : " The sun and moon stood
still in their habitation "; but the expression means, "withdraw
into their habitation," i.e., retire in fear and horror, and is part
of a general description of the effects of the great Theophany.
The miracle is mentioned only in the Apocrypha, the writer of
Ecclesiasticus speaking of it thus : " Did not the sun go back
by his means ? And was not one day as long as two ? " (Ecclus.
xlvi. 4). The son of Sirach has altered the tradition which was
given in the Book of Jasher, and represents the sun as going
back instead of standing still. This shows that the story was
handed dcwn vaguely, and was not based on a definite state
ment in mspired Scripture. Josephus' account is the follow
ing : * " There also Joshua understood that God was present to
help him, signifying His aid by thunders and lightning, and
showers of hailstones greater than usual. Besides these things
the day was lengthened, lest the courage of the Hebrews should
be restrained by the approach of night. . . . Now that the
length of the day was increased at that time, and prolonged
beyond its customary measure, is made evident by the docu
ments laid up in the temple." The wonder here is minimized,
and the bare fact stated that on this occasion the day was
lengthened ; the means and the mode are entirely omitted ;
nor can it be proved that the Jewish writer had before him the
1 Heb. xi. 30 ft ; Isa. xxviii. at. * "Ant" v. x. 17.

86 JOSHUA.
same text which is found in our Hebrew Bible. The reference
to the documents kept in the temple is calculated to impress
the minds of those for whose edification Josephus wrote his
histories, but it was impossible for them to verify the allusion,
as it is for us in these days. A retardation of the earth's
diurnal motion would have disarranged the astronomical cal
culations of observers in every part of the world ; but no record
of any such disturbance has been found. So if one should
argue that the miracle did not take place in the manner stated
by the present text, he could not be refuted by any evidence at
present available. Curiously enough, the annals of Assurbanipal
afford a parallel miracle, which, as asserted to be caused by a
heathen god and in furtherance of the action of a bloody
despot, we must regard as fictitious. The words of the docu
ment are thus translated by Mr. George Smith :" "The dark
ness of the morning watch he caused to retard the rising sun ;
and like this also three days he caused to retard.; to the end
that the King of Elam shall be destroyed." ... If this sober
inscription is exaggeration or poetic imagery, why should not
the extract from the Book of Jasher and the comment thereon
be regarded as the poetical and rhetorical setting of some more
simple occurrence? It may be that Joshua never did utter the
apostrophe put into his mouth by the bard who sung of his
prowess ; the narrator or a later editor inserted the extract in
his account ; a glosser, rightly imbued with the truth that
miraculous intervention was to be expected in this conjuncture,
added the prose comment in the margin, which in the course of
time crept into the text. Looking to the marvellous results of
the victory, and the superhuman exertions by which it was
achieved, the Israelites may well have regarded the events of
that one day as equivalent to the work of two, and thus in
course of time it came to be believed in current tradition that
the day was prolonged to twice its usual length, though Scrip
ture itself nowhere supported the statement. The simple fact
may have been that, seeing the tempest driving up from the
sea, and fearing the premature darkness which might put a stop
to the pursuit, Joshua prayed that the daylight would last till the
destruction of the enemy was complete. The prayer may have
been answered in some natural way, by the dispersion, of the
storm, and the continuation of the light, and the pursuit thus not
¦ " Records of the Past," ix. 50.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 87
checked till the slaughter was effected. Commentators have
gathered parallel utterances from classical writings, which show
that the idea was a not uncommon one. Thus Homer makes
Athena keep the night tarrying at its western limit, and hold
back the golden-throned dawn at the eastern edge of ocean,
lest morning should find Odysseus and Penelope weeping still.
So Agamemnon prays that the day will last till he has over
thrown the house of Priam." We may add another solution of
the command which has been proposed. It has been tnought
that Joshua prayed for a prolongation not of the light, but of
the darkness. The Amorites, already disheartened by the
storm and the obscuration of the sun, whom they worshipped
as a god, would be still further dismayed by the continuation
of the darkness, which even the moon was not to illumine.
Against this view, which perhaps the language may be con
sidered to support, there is the objection that the tempest
would have interfered with the pursuit ; and we are nowhere
led to suppose that the Israelites stood still while the hailstones
did their work for them. Divine aid waits upon human exer
tion, but does not relieve from the necessity thereof.
To return from this digression, which was rendered necessary
by the controversies which have arisen respecting the miracle.
Profiting by the daylight as the tempest cleared away, Joshua
followed the flying Amorites down the pass to Lower Beth-
horon. Arms and accoutrements and apparel strewed the way,
while numerous corpses, battered and bruised, attested the
irresistible power of the hailstorm which had fallen on the
fugitives. At the lower end of the defile, where it opened on
the plain country, lay the two towns Azekah and Makkedah.
To these, as places of refuge, the defeated Amorites hurried in
headlong confusion. The former is known better by name than
by position. We hear of it in connection with the episode of
David and Goliath, when the Philistines encamped between it
and Shochoh, which is the modern Shuweikeh, situated on the
south slopes of the Wady es Sunt (the "Valley of Acacias"),
at its eastern end. It is mentioned again as fortified by
Rehoboam, and of sufficient importance to be besieged by
Nebuchadnezzar. After the captivity it was restored and
occupied ; but up to the present time its site has not been
identified. Makkedah has been fixed by the Palestine sur-
1 Horn. " Od." xxiii. 241 ff. ; " II." ii. 412 ff. ; xviii. 33jf.

88 JOSHUA.
veyors at EI Mughar, some ruins on the north side of the great
Wady Surar, which runs from the hill country of Judaea to the
sea-coast a few miles below Ekron. The ground for this
identification consists in the opinion that here alone in the
Philistine plain are any caves found. But a limestone country
is always full of caves, and it is evident that the explorers
cannot know for certain that none exist in places not visited by
them. The place is at least twenty-five miles from Gibeon.
Porter, with greater probability, identifies it with a ruined
village now called El Klediah, situated on the northern slope
of the Wady es Sunt, eight miles north-east of Eleutheropolis,
and quite twenty from Beth-horon. In either case it must
indeed have been a wonderful day's work to follow the fugitive
host to its refuge, and there to complete its destruction. The
five kings kept together in this disastrous rout, and, thoroughly
dispirited and spent with fatigue, on arriving in the neighbour
hood of Makkedah, they turned aside and concealed themselves
in the well-known cave, amid a grove of trees, near the town.
Informed of this, Joshua wasted no time upon them, but posted
a body of men to turn their asylum into a prison by rolling
great stones to its entrance and guarding the place. Here he
himself remained and pitched his camp, but ordered the
picked troops to continue the pursuit, that he might cut off the
stragglers before they made good their escape to the fortified
cities of their friends. This in a great measure he succeeded
in doing. Few of that confederate host found the safety which
they sought. The Lord had delivered them into the Israelites*
hands, and they were slain with a very great slaughter. Re
turning at length, after a day or two, from the pursuit to
Makkedah, the wearied army found the conqueror encamped in
the vicinity of the cave where the kings had concealed them
selves. The victory had cost the Israelites but few lives ; safe
and sound they reached their new quarters ; " a great awe had
fallen upon the heathen ; no one offered to attack them ; in the
proverbial language of the time it is said, "None moved bis
longue against any of the children of Israel." An act of justice
remained to be done, and it was executed with much solemnity.
The army was gathered round the mouth of the cave in a huge
circle ; the stones were rolled away, and the five kings, travel-
¦ Josh, x. 21 : " Reversus est omnis exereitus ad Josue in Maceda, ubi
tunc erant castra, sani et integro numero." Vulg.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 89
stained, downcast, stripped of their royal trappings, were
brought forth from their hiding-place. They prostrated them
selves, or were forced to the earth, before the conqueror ; then
Joshua called on the brave officers who had been engaged in
the battle to come near and place their feet on the necks of the
grovelling kings. This emblematic action was designed not
merely for the humiliation of the defeated enemy, and for an
exhibition of their complete subjection to the victors ; it was
no arrogant triumph on Joshua's part, such as we see depicted
on Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, or such as was practised
by Byzantine emperors even in late Christian times. He was
not, in the Psalmist's language, making- his enemies his foot
stool. He assumes no personal superiority, but directs his
officers to employ the symbolical act in order to encourage
them in the contest in which they were engaged, and to inspirit
the people generally to believe in the goodness of their cause
and its certain, success. He addresses them in words which, as
applied to himself, had sunk into his own heart : " Fear not, nor
be dismayed, be strong and of good courage ; for thus shall the
Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight." Repug
nant as it would be to our views and habits thus to exult over a
fallen foe, we must not disregard the motives of Joshua in this
public humiliation, or make more of it than it deserves.
Gentleness and consideration in the treatment of enemies
were unknown and never expected ; if humanity was shown, it
was an instance of graciousness far iu advance of the age, and
was abnormal both in its cause and operation. In the present
case ther'i was no studied cruelty in the exhibition. The usual
mark of subjection was enforced in such a mode as to give to it
a new and significant meaning, and impress a necessary lesson
on the army and the people. After this symbolical ceremony
had been witnessed by the assembled congregation, Joshua with
his own hands put the five kings to death, and then had their
dead bodies hung on trees or crosses as an aggravation of their
punishment, for one thus suspended was considered accursed.
Thus he had treated the king of Ai. The corpses hung all that
day in the sight of Israel, reminding them of the great victory
lately won, and inspiring them with confidence in the future;
and at eventide, as the law in Deuteronomy * enjoined, in order
' Deut. xxi. 23. The special command occurs nowhere else in the Penta
teuch— hence a presumption that Deuteronomy was well known to Joshua.

90 JOSHUA.
that the land should not be defiled by the longer presence of
that which was accursed, they were taken down and flung into
the cave which had been their refuge and now became their
sepulchre. At its mouth the stones which had imprisoned
them while alive were again heaped up, and served for many
a long day as a memorial of the memorable battle of Beth-
horon. A long and vigorous campaign ensued, which resulted in the
conquest of the whole of Southern Palestine. As was natural,
the first place which felt the Israelites' power was the one
nearest to their present encampment, the town of Makkedah,
which had sided with the Amorites. This offered little resist
ance ; it was soon captured, and with its king and people
suffered the fate of Jericho, of all the human beings within its
walls not one being left alive. Sternly and uncompromisingly
Joshua executed the charge committed to him ; as the instru
ment of Divine vengeance he had but to do his duty, and neither
the custom of the time nor his own private feeling encouraged
repugnance to what might abstractedly be deemed a most
odious and demoralizing business. The Palestinians them
selves expected no gentler treatment. They would have dealt
the same measure to the Hebrews, had they won the oppor
tunity. The Israelites were imbued with the sentiments and
views of their age and position ; and their conscience was not
revolted by actions which a purer code would have repudiated.
Thus throughout the sanguinary campaign they regarded them
selves as executing righteous judgment under competent com
mand, and were not made barbarous and cruel by this obedience
to a superior will. City after city fell into their hands. The
details of the assault in each case are not recorded, nor is the
capture of all the towns mentioned. Certain instances are given,
and we are left to infer from future circumstances the extent of
the present operations.
From Makkedah the invaders turned westward to the Shephe-
lah, and invested the city of Libnah. The name of this city
means "whiteness," and suggests some natural feature which
made it conspicuous. Hence Stanley ' has identified it with the
white-faced hill opposite to Ascalon, on the plain of Philistia,
to which the Crusaders gave the name of Blanche-Garde, and
which is now called Tell es-Safieh. But this is probably a
* " Sinai and Palestine," pp. 207, 257.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 97
mistake, as the hill in question is with much certainty now
considered to be the site of the ancient Philistine city of Gath.
Libnah is with greater likelihood thought to have stood on the
remarkable isolated hill covered to this day with ruins, called
Arak el-Menshiyeh, about five miles west of Eleutheropolis ;
while Conder deems it to be Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) itself.
In a limestone district the appellation would be appropriate to
many a place ; hence arises the difficulty in the identification.
In the later history of Israel Libnah occurs more than once. It
was one of the Levitical cities, and from some unexplained reason
revolted from Judah in the days of Jehoram, but returned to its
allegiance, or was re-conquered shortly afterwards, and suffered
a siege at the hands of the Assyrians. This city Joshua took,
and with its king and population utterly destroyed. The next
town captured is one also celebrated in connection with
Assyrian invasion. This was Lachish. One of the most in
teresting of the Assyrian sculptures brought to light by modern
researches, and now in the British Museum, is one representing
the capture of this city by Sennacherib. Here may be seen the
great king seated on his throne in front of the town, while citizens
and captives prostrate themselves at his feet, and offer to him
precious things. The inscription in the bas-relief reads thus :
" Sennacherib, the king of multitudes, the king of Assyria, sat
on an upright throne, and the spoil of the city of Lachish
passed before him."* It has been identified by many high
authorities with Um Lakis, a low round hill, covered now with
heaps of stones and rubbish, on the road to Gaza, about eleven
miles west from Eleutheropolis. But as Lachish was a place of
great strength, and more than once baffled the attacks of the
Eastern monarchs, Um Lakis, though its geographical situation
answers historical requirements, seems scarcely to offer the
strategical position which is demanded. Hence Conder sug
gests another great mound in the same direction, Tell el Hesy,
which Robinson describes as " a truncated-cone, rising some
two hundred feet, with a fine plain on the top, somewhat
resembling the Frank mountain, though by no means so high.
... A finer position for a fortress or a fortified city could
hardly be imagined." And although no remains of walls or
buildings now remain, travellers, who visited the place four
hundred years before Robinson, found there many ancient ruins ;
1 Sayce, " Fresh Light from the Monuments," pp. 123, 124.

92 JOSHUA.
and the well-known propensities of the Arabs for using the old
materials to repair their own houses would account for the dis
appearance of the antique stones which marked the site of
Lachish." A third site has also been proposed, Zukkarijeh, a
height on the same road, a little nearer to Eleutheropolis. The
town made a stubborn defence against Joshua's attack, and was
not taken till the second day of the siege, while all the other
places seem to have succumbed at once on the appearance of
the invaders. It has been well noted as one of the undesigned
coincidences in the Bible, that of all the cities captured at this
time, Lachish alone is said to have withstood the invaders for
two days, which is to be accounted for by its abnormally strong
position, and is in full agreement with what we read of its
history in succeeding times."
In its resistance of the Israelites Lachish was aided by the
forces of Horam, king of Gezer. This town, which later was
called Gazara, and by Josephus Gadara,3 has been most suc
cessfully identified with Tell el Jezer, where a bilingual inscrip
tion on a rock, apparently of Maccabean date, but recording
a more ancient Levitical measurement, marks the " limit of
Gezer." The place is about six miles east of Ekron, lying
between the valley of Ajalon and the sea, from which it is four
teen miles distant. The Tell itself, which rises in prominent
isolation about 750 feet above sea level, " is long and irregular
in shape, with terraces at its sides, supported by a great wall
of large unhewn blocks of stone. Near the eastern end is
a raised square platform of earth, about 200 feet each way,
containing similar blocks. This is all that is now left of the
once populous city. A fine spring on the east must havt
supplied it abundantly with water, while the plain below
stretches out in rich corn-fields to the sand-hills near the sea
If it was hard for the citizens to climb to their lofty home, the
view from it well repaid them when it was reached, for the
plain of Sharon to the north, with Lydda, and doubtless in
those days many other towns or villages, and the great Philis
tine plain to the south, with its varying surface and its busy
life, lay at their feet ; the purple mountains of Judaea rising
1 Conder, "Quarterly Paper," Jan., 1878 ; Robinson, ii. 390.
3 Blunt, " Undesigned Coincidences," pp. 107 f. See 2 Kings xiv. 19 ;
xix. 8 ; 2 Chron. xi. 9.
3 3 Mace x. 32 ; Josephus, " Ant." v. 1. 22.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 93
behind them to the east, while the view to the west was only
closed by the blue horizon of the great sea." ' Lying far north
ward of his present operations, Joshua did not think fit to invest
it at this time, but contented himself with inflicting a severe
defeat on Horam, who perished with his army under the walls
of Lachish. Gezer became a Levitical city, but the Canaanite
inhabitants were not exterminated, and it seems to have fallen
. under the powei of the Egyptians in after time, as Pharaoh
gave it as a dower to his daughter when she espoused
Solomon.3 It was a short march from Lachish to Eglon (about three
miles distant), which was the next place that felt the irresistible
might of Israel. There is happily no difficulty about the identi
fication of this town. It is the modern Ajlan, which is
described as a low round white hillock, covered with scattered
heaps of unhewn stones, on the direct road from Jerusalem to
Gaza, nine miles from Eleutheropolis, and twelve or more from
Gaza. The absence of more regularly defined ruins in this and
many other cases is accounted for by the fact noted by
travellers in the East, that the houses were usually built of
sun-dried bricks, and walls and fortifications of a soft calcareous
stone, which under climatic variations is wont to crumble away
and leave little trace behind.3 The town was allotted to
Judah when the tribes were settled, but it is not mentioned
again in Scripture.
Leaving the plain and marching eastward, Joshua "went
up" to the hill country, and attacked the ancient city of
Hebron,' which lay some twenty-five miles distant. Unlike
most of the Palestinian towns Hebron is placed in a hollow
with hills on all sides, and its capture was a task of little
difficulty. The inhabitants had chosen another king to fill the
place of the one who had perished at Makkedah, and with the
aid of the sons of Anak, a distinguished clan of the Amorites,
who dwelt there, might have thought of offering efficient resist
ance ; but the new monarch could save neither himself nor his
people from destruction. He and his subjects, and the villages
' Geikie, i. 96 ff. " 1 Kings ix. 16.
s Robinson, § xi. vol. ii. 392 ; Porter, ap. " Kitto's Cyclop."
* Not to repeat what has been said in another place, I may be allowed
to refer, for a d»scription of Hebron, to " David : His Life and Times "
pp. 81, 82.

94 JOSHUA.
which were dependent upon this mother-city, suffered the usual
fate. The interest attaching to this place must have been
intense to the minds of Joshua and his pious followers. With
what a flood of memories must they have been overwhelmed as
they beheld with their eyes the spot of which they had heard so
much, with which from their ancestors' stories they were
already familiar ! Here five hundred years ago the great
Abraham had pitched his tent ; if the famous terebinth tree
which had sheltered him was not living, the spot where it stood
could be easily identified. The whole locality was rife with
memorials of the patriarch ; here his wife Sarah had died, and
was buried in Machpelah, the double cave, which he bought for
a family sepulchre of Ephron the Hittite. Here he himself and
Isaac and Jacob lay entombed. With what veneration must
Joshua have regarded the twin vault with its low-browed
entrance, not as now blocked with massive masonry, but
allowing ingress to the reverent pilgrim ! How vividly must
he have realized the vitality and continuity of God's promises,
which were even now working out their accomplishment, the
truth of which was confirmed by the presence of the Israelites
at their forefathers' grave !
Hebron and its subject towns subdued, the Israelites turned
to the south-west, and passing through the Wady el-Dilbeh,
with its beautiful springs, an unusual and welcome sight in that
arid region, and mounting a steep track girded with dwarf-
oaks, arbutus, and other scrub, they arrived in view of Debir,
which is identified with the modern village of Dhaheriyeh,
situated at a distance of twelve miles from Hebron. Debir,
from the names which it has borne at various epochs, must
have had a curious and eventful history. At one time it was
known as Kirjath-sanna, which is explained as "city of law" ;
at another time it was called Kirjath-sepher, "city of books " ;
both names implying that it was a seat of learning, a home of
Canaanite culture, and perhaps an ancient oracle. The name
Debir is interpreted by Jerome as " Oracle," and it is the term
applied to the sanctuary in Solomon's temple. The geogra
phical position of this place must have always given it im
portance. One of the south frontier strongholds, it commanded
the roads from Egypt and the desert, from Gaza and Beersheba,
and had certain towns dependent upon it, which made it
a centre of vast consequence in the defence of the country.

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 95
The excavations which have been effected on the spot in later
years have shown that the town was populous and strongly
fortified ; but it offered no successful resistance to the attack of
the Israelites flushed with preceding victories, and confident in
the special support of Jehovah ; itself and its daughter cities
were utterly destroyed."
With the mention of the conquest of Debir the details of the
operations in the south are brought to a close, and we are told
generally that Joshua smote all the land, the hills, the Negeb, the
lowland, and the slopes — a comprehensive description which
summarizes the results of the campaign, and implies that the
whole district from the centre to the desert frontier in the ex
treme south was subdued. " The hills " denote the mountainous
region extending southwards from Jerusalem. It consists of
calcareous rock, and forms the watershed between the Mediter
ranean and the Dead Sea. Rocky and rugged as it is, it offers
many spots of great fertility in the valleys, and afforded good
pasturage to the flocks of its numerous inhabitants. The
" Negeb," or south, is an arid district of limestone, with but
few perennial springs, and therefore bereft of trees, and green
only in the rainy season. At that time the ground is decked
with flowers — the daisy, the red anemone, the yellow tulip, and
crops of corn are grown in every available spot. It is by no
means a desolate wilderness, and though tame and uninteresting
to the eye of the seeker after the picturesque and the beautiful
in nature, it offered facilities for cultivation to the diligent hus
bandman who not only ploughed up every level spot, but Dy a
system of terraces utilized the very rocks and made them sup
port his cops and vines. The lowland, or Shephelah, was the
strip of plain along the sea-coast, extending from Carmel to
Gaza. It was sandy, but productive and populous, and con
tained many places of importance. The term translated "the
springs" in the Authorized Version, and "the slopes" in the
Revised, denotes the undulating land at the foot of the Judaean
hills, between them and the Shephelah, a region intersected by
brooks and ravines, and consequently fertile and prosperous.
The narrator concludes his summary with the words : "Joshua
smote them from Kaclesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the
country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon." The limits of the con-
« Geikie, i. 360 ff . ; " Quarterly Paper," Jan., 1875 ; "Pulpit Commen
tary " on Josh. x. 38.

96 JOSHUA.
quest are not difficult to define. Kadesh-barnea lies far south
on the very edge of the great desert ; it had sad memories for
Joshua as the place whence he had gone as one of the twelve
spies, and which had witnessed the murmuring of the people
and the sentence passed upon them. Being the chief or only
city in that quarter, it is probably introduced here to denote the
most easterly direction of the conquest, while Gaza, which lay
within a mile of the sea, indicates its extreme westerly extent.
The limit to the north at this time is marked by Gibeon, the
submission of which formed the prelude to this triumphant
campaign. What is meant by the country of Goshen is not
exactly known, but it lay on the south-east of Judaea, and may
have been so named by the Israelites in memory of their
sojourn in the frontier land of Egypt, whence also the city
so called (chap. xi. 16 ; xv. 51) may have derived its appella
tion. Having accomplished in the course of some weeks thus much
of his mighty enterprise, Joshua led his army back to the camp
at Gilgai, there to recruit themselves after their labours and
to prepare for fresh exploits. The campaign had been most
rapid and successful, "because the Lord God of Israel fought
for Israel ; " but it was' scarcely as complete as at first sight it
appears to be. Later events prove that, although the places
actually captured were then destroyed with their inhabitants,
a large portion of the population escaped the general slaughter,
and having withdrawn in safety for a time, on the removal
of the attacking force they returned and occupied their old
quarters in the vicinity. It must needs have been so. The
Israelites were not directed to exterminate the Canaanites at
once ; such an undertaking was physically impossible under the
circumstances, and would have been inexpedient if feasible.
The displacement was to be gradual. The invaders were not
prepared to colonize every district which they seized ; and to
massacre all the human beings, leaving the land untenanted by-
man, was to consign it to deterioration and desolation. No
country was more dependent upon manual labour for its well-
being. The destruction of wild beasts alone needed constant
vigilance and courage. Besides this, where water was but
scantily supplied by natural resources, the skill of man was
imperatively needed for its storage and distribution, and any
failure in these respects involved dc.irth and famine. What

CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH. 97
neglect produces in once fertile districts may be seen any day
in Palestine,. where ruined watercourses, dilapidated terraces,
broken inclosures, attest the prevalence of a cultivation which
has vanished long ago. Either from inability or from policy
a large number of places, as we shall see, was left unconquered.
Gaza itself, a very important Philistine town in a commanding
situation, was not acquired. Indeed, the Philistines seem to
have been not disturbed in their possessions by Joshua, who
never took, for instance, Gath or Ashdod, Ekron or Ashkelon,
though most of them are mentioned in the distribution as falling
to the lot of Judah. If any of these cities were captured by the
Hebrews, they were not retained, and were speedily re-occupied
by the native inhabitants." Certainly in the times immediately
succeeding those of which we treat, the five Philistine cities
were in the possession of the original owners and actively
hostile to Israel. In fact the chosen people never did carry out
the programme specified. As in all human undertakings, im
perfection intervened, and in part frustrated and delayed the
designs of Providence. ¦ Comp. Judg. i. 18; HI. 3.

CHAPTER VII.
CONQUEST OF THE NORTH.
Confederacy formed in tne north— Jabin — Waters of Merom — Hazor—
The confederate cities and tribes; Madon; Shimron; Achshaph;
Dor — Canaanite cavalry and chariots — Kadesh— Joshua makes a forced
inarch; defeats the Canaanites at Merom — Sidon — Misrephoth-Maim
— Treatment of horses — Hazor destroyed — Conquest gradually com
pleted — Anakim — Hardening of the heart — General survey of the
conquest — Eastern Palestine — Extent of West territory — Baal-Gad —
Mount Halak — List of conquered kings — Geder ; Hormah ; Arad ;
Adullam ; Taanach ; Megiddo ; Jokneam ; Carmel ; Gilgal ; Tirzah —
Unconquered territory — The Philistines; Geshurites; River of Egypt ;
Phoenicia ; Mearah ; Aphek ; Hamath.
NOT long had Joshua rested in the camp at Gilgal when he
heard that a formidable confederacy had been formed in the
north in order to resist his further progress, if not to deprive
him of the fruit of previous conquests. At the head of this
league stood Jabin, king of Hazor. The name Jabin is inter
preted " he understands," and seems to have been the hereditary
and official title of the monarchs of that city, as Pharaoh in
Egypt, Abimelech among the Philistines, Caesar and Augustus
at Rome. Hazor, which signifies "a fort" or " inclosure," is
naturally a name which appears in many localities, " as fort
in French and German, caer in Welsh, and the termination
cester in English." ' The city over which Jabin reigned was
situated, according to Josephus,' above the Lake Semechonitis,
which is known as the Waters of Merom, and now as El Huleh.
This lake, which is about twelve miles north of Gennesaret, is
one of the most beautiful spots in Palestine "The rich plains,"
» " Pulp. Comm." on Josh. xi. j. ¦ "Ant." v. 5. 1.

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. 99
says Dr. Geikie," "here brown with tilth, there bright with
crops, yonder stretching out in succulent pastures dotted with
flocks ; the blue lake sleeping beneath the hills, long reed-beds
bending their feathery tops in the soft air, silver streams netting
the landscape ; the waters full of water-fowl, the trees vocal
with birds, the flowers humming with bees ; the native hamlet,
the Arab camp, the herdsman afield, the ploughs drawn by ox,
or ass, or camel, slowly moving over the lea ; the flat-headed
black buffalo delighting himself in the pools and the soft
marshy coolness ; the whole canopied by a sky of crystal clear
ness and infinite height — make up a landscape of exceeding
beauty." " From Safed," a town between the Sea of Galilee
and Merom, somewhat to the west, "to Lake Huleh is a
gradual descent of nearly 3,000 feet, over hill and dale, the
valleys running mainly east and west. Some time before
reaching the lake the country opens, and the lake itself lies
in one of the pleasantest valleys of Palestine. The sheet of
water is about two miles broad at its widest part, and four miles
long ; but a great marsh of papyrus reed stretches for nearly
six miles north of the clear surface, covering from one to three
miles in breadth. Through this flows the Jordan, as yet only
a small stream, several tributaries joining it from different
wadies on its course, which, as it passes through the miniature
forest, widens into small lakes, the haunt of innumerable water
fowl, as the outer beds of reeds are the lairs of swine and of
other wild beasts. . . . On the west, the Safed hills open out
into long sweeping plains and valleys of pleasant green ; but
on the eastern side there is no such broad border of open land,
the hills rising close to the pear-shaped basin of the lake. The
water is from twenty to thirty feet deep, its surface lying almost
exactly on the same level as the sea, but nearly 900 feet above
the Lake of Galilee."
Though the possible site of Hazor is confined within narrow
limits, it has not been identified with absolute certainty, more
than one locality exhibiting the features which are required.
Sir Charles Wilson finds the ancient city in the ruins of Harrah,
consisting of huge blocks of stone, rudely hewn, and put to
gether without cement, which crown a hill about a mile west cf
the lake. Robinson fixes on Tel Khuraibeh, a hill occupied by
ancient remains, nearly opposite the northern extremity of the
• " The Holy Land and the Bible," ii. 380, 370.

IOO JOSHUA.
lake at about three miles to the west, and evidently once a place
of importance and of great strategical strength. Here the
modern name does not recall the ancient. . But Conder sees
the Arabic equivalent in Hadireh, a locality about one and a
half miles from Robinson's site, and four south of Kadesh, where
Jebel Hadireh and Merj Hadireh, the mountain and meadow
of Hadireh, may well be regarded as representing the " in-
closure" of Hazor. On the plains below this fortress where the
chariots, here first mentioned in warfare, could be successfully
used, Jabin was gathering a numerous host. The Canaanites
had missed the most favourable opportunity for attacking the
invaders. Split up into a number of petty states, divided by the
rivalries incidental to such a condition, with no central authority
to inaugurate a combined movement, the northerners had not
joined the confederacy of which nominally Adonizedek was the
head, when their active operations might have put Joshua
between two enemies and crushed him at a blow Too late,
when the southern district had fallen a prey to the strangers,
they discovered their mistake, and by a concerted effort en
deavoured to repair the error. Involuntarily they played into
Joshua's hands, enabling him to deal in detail with enemies
whom he could not have confronted in their full strength.
What was the position of Jabin at this crisis is not accurately
determined. He seems to have been the head of the move
ment, being perhaps the representative of the Hittite authority
at Carchemish. He it was who, feeling the importance of the
conjuncture and the necessity of immediate and combined
action, summoned his fellow-countrymen to meet on the shores
of Merom, and there to make a strenuous effort to repel the
audacious invaders. The summons to join the confederacy
was not confined to the tribes in this district alone ; while they
were naturally the first to be invited, others far remote received
the same call. The narrator is careful to specify all, that the
power of God might be better acknowledged, when He gave
victory to Israel against such overwhelming odds. It was a
supreme effort, an imperative mandate, like that of the fiery
cross or the orifiamme in mediaeval times. First in the cata
logue of allies comes Jobab, king of Madon, a town (now
Madin) situated some twenty miles south, near the so-called
Horns of Hattin, two grassy knolls on the west of Gennesareth,
where tradition says our Lord preached His Sermon on the

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH.
Mount, and where, in 1 1S7, after a hotly contested battle of two
days' duration, Saladin utterly defeate<l/the Christians and
secured the kingdom of Jerusalem for the Me-hamme'da^ power.
From Madon the message sped to Shimron^tvhich, uncle/ its
Tahnudic name Simunieh, is found on a hitKoii* the northern
edge of the plain of Esdraelon, five miles due west^of. Nazareth ;
thence it was forwarded to Achshaph, the modernsKe/r-Yasif,
twenty miles north-west of Shimron and six north-east of Accho
(Acre).' Thus the chiefs of the Province of Galilee, as we know
it, were foremost in joining the confederacy. But this limited
circle by no means met the views of Jabin ; he desired to
engage in the enterprise representatives of all the tribes of
Canaan. Northwards to the kings of the mountains under
^Lebanon, southward to those that dwelt in the plains below
Gennesareth and in the fair valley of Esdraelon, the summons
came. The Arabah, the Jordan valley on the east, the Shephe
lah, the lowland district on the west, sent forth their warriors.
The ancient city Dor, celebrated alike for its harbour and the
mussel which furnished the far-famed Tyrian dye, responded
to the call. Situated on a rugged promontory twelve miles
south of Carmel, and nine north of Caesarea, the modem village
of Tanturah represents this Canaanite town 5 but the chief
remains are of Roman date, slabs of marble, sculptured capitals
and hewn stones strewing the shore, and attesting former
opulence and prosperity.3 From the sea-coast still farther
south, from tribes as yet unsubdued, from the remnants of the
southern confederacy, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites,
from the land of Mizpah under Hermon, and where Ccele-Syria
extends i'.svast plains, contingents assembled in large numbers.
Well armed, animated by a fierce patriotism, and containing in
their ranks many hardy mountaineers, skilled in the use of
weapons and practised in war, the Canaanite host was formid
able in appearance and, as it seemed, invincible in power.
They could boast of superiority in arms and in military train
ing, they could point with confidence to their strong fortifica
tions, they could vaunt their high civilization so far above
the capacities of the nomadic horde which had presumed to
invade the land. One element in this army inspired the utmost
1 These identifications are not certain. I have adopted them from
Captain G nder and Mr. Archibald Henderson's Handbook, " Palestine,"
as they give definiteness to our picture. * Geikie, i. 70.

102 JOSHUA.
terror, and this was the cavalry and the ohariots. The Israel
ites were foot soldiers ; they had never employed horses in their
wars, and were indeed utterly unused to the sight of them.
The enemies whom hitherto they had met, like themselves
fought on foot ; they were highlanders and used highland modes
of warfare. But these northern plains offered facilities for the
operations of cavalry, and the iron chariots were one of the
most effective and formidable parts of the Canaanite army. The
term " iron " applied to these vehicles refers only to the material
of which the tires of the wheels were made, in contradistinction
to the rude wooden discs of the agricultural carts. The chariots
were not armed with the scythe as those used by Britons and
Gauls in primitive days ; they were simply carriages on two low
wheels, closed in front and entered from behind, drawn by two
horses, and occupied usually by two persons, of whom one man
aged the steeds and the other plied his weapons, arrows, javelins,
and spear. It was the appearance and rush of these vehicles
drawn by strange animals that made them so much dreaded ;
the lances of infantry resolutely opposed to them, never failed
to stop the most vehement onslaught, but it required unusual
nerve to face this attack unmoved, and it needed experience in
the safety secured by steadiness and obedience to enable raw
troops to stand the charge. The Israelites, who were forbidden
to multiply horses, lest they should wish to return to Egypt or
enter on foreign wars, or learn luxurious habits, viewed these
chariots with the same dismay with which the Romans beheld
elephants for the first time in an enemy's lines, and a word of
Divine encouragement alone gave them spirit to contend with
a foe possessed of this unfamiliar arm. On the wide plain be
low the Lake Huleh the vast host of the Canaanites assembled.
That it was of formidable numbers is evident from the hyper
bolical description of the narrator : '' They went out, they and
all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that
is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots
very many." Josephus," gathering his facts we know not
whence, reckons their forces at three hundred thousand foot,
ten thousand horse, and twenty thousand chariots — an amount
that seems incredible ; he also makes them encamp " near the
city Berotha in Upper Galilee, not far from Kedesa." The city
Beroth is unknown, but Kadesh is celebrated as the birthplace
' "Ant." v. 1. 18,

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. I03
of Barak, the intrepid vanquisher of Sisera, the commander
under another (if he was another) Jabin." The ruins of the
latter place are found four miles north-west of Lake Merom,
situated on the spur of a hill overlooking a rich plain. It is one
of the towns mentioned in the Karnak inscription as taken by
Thotmes III. in his expedition into Palestine.
News of this great gathering at the waters of Merom soon
reached Joshua at Gilgal. Whether the Canaanites intended
to assume the offensive and march to attack the Hebrews, is
not ascertained, though as their force consisted so largely of
chariots and horses it is unlikely that they would attempt to
move from the plains where alone this arm could be of service.
Most likely they expected to attack the Israelites on their
appearance from the south ; but they were by no means pre
pared for Joshua's tactics. That skilful commander determined
to take the enemy by surprise as he had done at Gibeon. The
distance from Gilgal to Merom is about seventy miles. Josephus
says that the march took five days, which may well have been
consumed in moving a large body of men through that difficult
country. When within a few miles of Gennesareth, Joshua
learned from his spies the numbers and equipment of the
enemy. Then, lest the vastness of the host and the unusual
spectacle of chariots and horses should dismay the Israelites,
the word of the Lord came to him, saying : " Be not afraid
because of them ; for to-morrow at this time will I [emphatic]
deliver them up all slain before Israel ; thou shalt hough their
horses, and burn their chariots with fire." After such an assur
ance there could be no doubt or fear ; the result was certain ;
however great the odds and unusual the danger, victory should
be with God's people. Suddenly, while the Canaanites deemed
him far away, Joshua from one of the mountain passes swooped
down upon the enemy, fell upon them like a thunderbolt, as the
original has it. Before they realized the attack he was among
them. Thrown into confusion, with no time to rally, unable to
use the chariots on which they so greatly rel'ed, their very
numbers only impeding their movements, the Canaanites were
put to the sword. Then ensued a panic and a headlong flight.
1 The episode of Deborah and Barak is thought by some critics to belong
to the time of Joshua, as they consider it unlikely that Hazor could have
recovered from its utter overthrow during the time of the Judges ; but the
allusions in Deborah's song hardly apply to the days of Joshua.

104 JOSHUA.
Some fled to the north-west, some to the south and south-west
others to the east. The former body of fugitives made for the
friendly city of Sidon ("great Zidon," as the historian calls it, as
being the metropolis of Phoenicia), which was some forty miles
distant. They would reach that place by taking to the northern
mountains, crossing the Leontes, and passing along the plain
to the sea-coast ; and this stronghold, famed in Homeric song,"
rising majestically on its rocky site, girt on three sides by the
sea, and on its land side defended by a high wall with flanking
towers, offered a secure refuge which the Israelites were power
less to capture. Another band of fugitives made for Misrephoth-
Maim, " burnings of waters," a peculiar appellation which is
supposed to refer either to hot springs, or salt pits, or, with little
probability, to glass houses for which in later time the locality
was famous. The situation is undetermined, but as it was
without question in the neighbourhood of Sidon, and there is a
certain affinity in the names, it has been identified with Zare-
phath or Sarepta {hod. Surafend) on the coast some six miles
south of Sidon. The place has always retained its fame from
its connection with the great prophet Elijah, and to this day the
remains of a church are exhibited which are said to mark the
site of the widow's house. Yet another party of the defeated
Canaanites retreated to the valley of Mizpeh, under the snow
capped Hermon, whence in all the pride of power and military
arrogance they had lately set forth. Of the fugitives, those that
were overtaken were slain without mercy, their chariots were
burned, and the horses were houghed or hamstrung so as to be
rendered useless. This was done in obedience to the command
of the Lord, Joshua in this, as in all other respects, giving an
example of complete obedience. Thus the Israelites were
taught not to put their trust in chariots and horses, but in the
Lord alone ; the Canaanites learned the futility of their best
efforts and most formidable appliances when employed against
the chosen people. Besides this, there was sound policy in the
measure. Horses to the Hebrews who were entirely unpractised
in their use, would have been a burden as well as a snare. They
would have had to maintain them, and take them with them in
their campaigns, lest the enemy should gain possession of them
and use them to their hurt. To render them of no avail for
military purposes was like the practice in modern warfare of
* Horn. " II." vi. 289 ff. ; xxiii. 741 ff. ; " Od." xv. 423.

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. Joj
spiking an enemy's guns which cannot be carried off. Moun
taineers like the Israelites had no more use for horses than the
Highlanders in Scotland or the hardy Swiss ; and as these
animals were not employed in agricultural operations, the
maiming of them was simply depriving an opponent of an
effective arm. So a general has sometimes to destroy ammu
nition and provisions which he cannot secure for his own
purposes. Having pursued the defeated Canaanites till they were dis-
parsed or had taken refuge in inaccessible positions, Joshua
returned towards the scene of the late battle, and invested
Hazor. It is not unlikely that on their utter defeat Jabin and
his allies submitted to certain terms, and agreed to become
vassals of their conquerors, but that while Joshua was pursuing
his victories in distant quarters, they had revolted and resumed
their independence, trusting to the strength of Hazor as the
centre of the insurrection. Such proceedings must be checked
by prompt and severe measures, and Hazor must be made an
example of the fate that awaited rebellion. This place accord
ingly, as the metropolis of these northern tribes, and a strong
hold of vast importance, he took and burned to the ground,
putting to the sword the king and all the inhabitants, with the
design of preventing any future occupation while his attention
was occupied in other quarters. In much the same manner he
treated the cities which had actually taken part in the war, and
had sent their contingents to the gathering at Merom ; their
kings and their people he utterly destroyed, as Moses had
commarded, only taking the spoil and the cattle for a prey, the
places not being devoted, like Jericho, though the human beings
were. None of these towns, however, he thought it necessary
to consume with fire ; he left them each standing on its own
hill," contenting himself with depriving them of their populace,
and seizing their property. Thus in his entire conscientiousness
did Joshua execute the orders of bis great predecessor, his one
aim being to do his duty and to obey.
Of the desultory wars that followed the great battle of Merom
we have no detailed account, nor do we know exactly how long
they lasted. It is certain, however, that the conquest of the
• The Authorized Version has, " cities that stood still in their strength,"
but the Hebrew is literally, " that stood on their mound," and this means
merely, each on its lull, such being the usual position of cities in Canaan.

Io6 JOSHUA.
land took from five to seven years, and the grand. results which
are enumerated in chapter xii. were effected after long-con
tinued efforts, comprising expeditions, battles, and sieges, of
which no record is preserved. In many cases territory once
conquered was re-occupied by the original inhabitants on the
withdrawal of the victorious Israelites, and had to be recovered
by further contests. This was the case with Hebron and the
towns in its vicinity, with Debir and Anab. This latter city,
the name of which still survives, lay amid the Judsean hills,
some ten miles south of Hebron, and one mile from Debir.
These places had been seized by the Anakims, who had to be
dispossessed before the families to whom they were allotted
could colonize them. WTe shall hear of these proceedings in
another chapter. The Anakims were a race of huge stature,
either aboriginals or very early immigrants from the region of
Babylon, who had settled at first on the eastern side of Jordan,
in the territories afterwards known as Edom and Moab, and
subsequently had occupied the hill country of Judaea, and taken
refuge in the cities of the Philistines. It was the sight of these
giants which had so alarmed the spies when they penetrated to
the vale of Hebron on their visit of reconnoissance, and led
them basely to shrink from an enterprise which involved a
contest with such terrible foes. The greater portion of these
people was exterminated at this time, but a minority was amal
gamated with the Philistines of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod, and a
family of them existed in Saul's time, when the shepherd lad
with his sling and stone overcame the blustering champion
Goliath, and even later, when David's chosen warriors en
countered and slew the giant's brethren. Deteriorating in
size and strength as they changed their free mountain air and
habits for the atmosphere and enervating life of lowland cities,
they gradually died out, and are never mentioned in subsequent
histories. We may now take a general survey of the extent to which
these conquests extended. Not that the subjugation of all the
districts named was complete at this time, or that the former
inhabitants were annihilated. Such a result was not intended,
and, as we have already seen, would have been highly inex
pedient, throwing much land out of cultivation, and introducing
all the evils of depopulation. But for the moment all opposi
tion was overcome ; armed resistance was at an end ; there

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. IOJ
was no longer any confederacy to be dreaded ; the possession
of the land was a gradual process indeed, but one that might
now advance unchecked and with certainty. After the terrible
examples which they had witnessed, the Canaanites were con
tent to live at peace in such places as were left to them, and
acquiesced in sullen submission while the invaders portioned out
the land. None of them,indeed,made overtures to the conquerors
save the wily Gibeonites, for, as the historian notes, with respect
to the rest, " it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to come
against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy (devote)
them, that they might have no favour ; but that he might
destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses." This harden
ing of the heart is the effect of the operation of well-known laws.
It was seen, though wrongly understood, by the heathen. We
are all familiar with the proverb: "Quern Deus vultperdereprius
dementat," implying the moral perverseness of those who.in spite
of knowledge and warning, rush to perdition. The phrase is
used frequently of Pharaoh ; it is used of the Egyptians when
they recklessly pursued the Israelites to their own destruction.
But we are not hence to infer that there was any interference
with men's moral freedom in these cases. If they resist the
intimations of God's trill conveyed to them by the inward
monitions of conscience, or by competent messengers, or by
external circumstances, their moral sense is weakened, they are
blinded even to prudential considerations ; and this is said to
be God's doing because He foreknows the result ; it is in obedi
ence to a universal law, and is often a punishment inflicted by
God. The hardening does not precede, but follows on sin.
Men first harden their own hearts before God hardens them.
And when He does this He acts judicially, punishing sinners
by their sin. The Canaanites who had persisted in their idolatry
and degrading vice, and had not profited by the plain evidence
of God's interposition in the case of the Israelites, were blinded
to their own interests and recklessly hurried to destruction.
The country on the east of Jordan had been conquered towards
the close of the life of Moses, the legislator being led to effect
the seizure by the irresistible force of circumstances, rather than
by any deliberate desire of colonizing this comparatively exposed
and defenceless district. It was a large and fertile region,
affording to the colonists much greater scope for expansion
than fell to their brethren in the comparatively confined quarters

IOS JOSHUA.
on the western side of Jordan. Its limits, were the Arnon on the
south, and Hermon or Antilibanus on the north. The Arnon
loses itself in the Dead Sea about the middle of the eastern
side, so that we may reckon the extent of this territory at about
120 miles long, with an average breadth of 50. The whole
eastern edge of the Arabah from the upper lakes to the lower
lay within its confines ; it comprised the rich pastures of the
land of Gilead, the forests and corn lands of Bashan, as well as
the stony tract of Argob with its multitude of strong cities and
impregnable fortresses. There were, indeed, some portions
which were left unsubdued. The Ammonites, in the centre of
the country, with their formidable capital city, Rabbah, were
not disturbed at this time ; nor were the Moabites, south of the
Arnon and the Dead Sea, dispossessed ; and even some of the
Midianite settlements were allowed to stand. But with all
these exceptions the trans-Jordanic tribes were blessed with
ample possessions and a soil of abundant fertility. Concerning
the centre of this district, the country lying between the Lake
of Tiberias and the Dead Sea, Mr. Selah Merrill * writes as fol
lows : " For the first four hours one could hardly see in any
country a more delightful region in which to travel. It is
utterly unlike, in every respect, the country which travellers
usually see in Western Palestine. Here are old forests. The
oaks are covered with moss, birds abound among the trees, the
road is broad and free from stone. The views to the west of
the Jordan valley and the mountains beyond, of Jebel esh Sheikh
directly before us in the north, gleaming in the sun, and to the
east of the ancient Bashan plain, are wide and magnificent, and
the wheat-fields and other marks of fertility everywhere make
me forget that I am in poverty-stricken Palestine. . . . This
portion of the Gilead mountains is particularly diversified and
beautiful. Uplands and gentle slopes, large forests with paths
winding through them, green fields of grass and wheat, sheltered
and sunny valleys, and still other romantic features exist here,
which are not found in other portions of the country. . . . From
certain summits the view towards the west is magnificent, com
manding the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the entire Jordan
valley, and much of Western Palestine besides ; while from
other points the sweep to the north, the south, and the east is
almost unlimited. The eye runs from Damascus and its fertile
* ' East of the Jordan," pp. 292, 356, 372 f.

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. I09
plain far down into the remote regions of Moab, and although
far to the east the Hauran mountains cut off the view in that
direction, yet the prospect to the north-east and south-east is
unobstructed. One sees all Bashan lying like a garden or a
prairie at one's feet. The view embraces also a large part of
Moab. and Gilead. Trachonitis, Auranitis, Batanea, Gaulanitis,
and Ituiaea can from some points be brought under the eye at
once Bozrah is there, a city five miles in circumference,
appearing like a small black spot on the plain. There is the
battle-field where King Og was defeated. Yonder are his two
capitals, Ashtaroth and Edrei. There are the sites of the sixty
cities which had walls and brazen bars. Yonder is the route of
the great army of the Israelites under Moses and Joshua."
" Another striking peculiarity of the land beyond Jordan is
its fine water supply, as contrasted with Western Palestine,
especially with the upper lands of Judaea. The rain, falling on
the plateau and on the Syrian desert further east, sinks through
the chalk to the impervious limestone beneath, and running
westward along this bed, issues in fine springs about five
hundred feet below the level of the plateau. From thesesprings
considerable brooks run down each gorge, even in the dry
autumn, and form affluents to the Jordan, or deliver their
waters into the Dead Sea itself. Nothing was more remarkable
in Moab when crossing from the Hebron mountains and the
Mar Saba desert than thus to find ourselves suddenly entering
a ' land of streams ; ' but, as at Damascus, it is only the imme
diate course of the stream which remains green, with rushes,
reecls, ar.d brambles, while the mountains above are as bare and
colourless as though there were no water in the land." "
The extent of the conquered territory on the west of Jordan
is stated with much precision as reaching " from Baal-Gad, in
the valley of Lebanon, even unto the Mount Halak, that goeth
up to Seir." The name of the northern limit is a reminder of
the idolatry which was prevalent, and which the conquerors had
to extirpate. It is the place of the " Lord of Fortune," a place
where Baal was worshipped under the aspect of God of Luck-
Standing on an isolated hill at the base of the snow-capped
Hermon, the city has been easily identified undervarious names,
and has had an interesting history. It is now called Banias ; in
pre-Christian times it was known as Panium or Paneas, when
' Conder, " Heth and Moab," 123.

I IO JOSHUA.
the worship of Pan superseded that of Baal, many memorials
of both of these cults being still found in the neighbourhood.
Coining into the possession of Philip, Tetrarch of Trachonitis,
that prince added greatly to the town, and adorned it with
splendid buildings, and, combining a memorial of his own name
with a subtle flattery of the emperor, called it Csesarea Philippi.
Herod Agrippa II. re-named it Neronias. Its situation is one
of quite remarkable beauty. It stands at the end of a gorge of
the Hermon range, " with tall limestone cliffs to the north and
east, a rugged torrent of basalt to the south, and a gentle wooded
slope for its western front." Here are seen hills clothed with
trees and verdant crops mingled with masses of naked rock,
rich valleys, cascades, rivers, every variety of vegetation,
Dean Stanley compares the Huleh plain that spreads in front
of Banias to the Campagna, as seen from the mouth of the
gorge at Tivoli. Behind the present village there is a great
natural cavern in a cliff some hundred feet high, in front of
which a stream of water bursts forth, which is one of the upper
sources of the Jordan." It was on one of the hills in this neigh
bourhood that our Lord's Transfiguration took place. This,
then, was the northern boundary to which Joshua's conquests ex
tended. What is meant by the southern limit, the Mount Halak,
is not quite clear. There is no hill so named to be found ;
hence critics have fallen back on the signification of the word
which may be explained as "the smooth," or " bald mountain."
This description would apply to the character of the hills in the
south of Palestine, towards the district of Seir or Edom, and
especially to a range of naked white cliffs which cross the
Arabah obliquely about ten miles south of the Dead Sea, con
necting the mountain chain on the west with the mountains of
Seir on the east.2 This would be a natural landmark, and
might appropriately be regarded as the southern boundary of
the conquered territory, which would have been 1S0 miles in
length, with a breadth, if we include the eastern settlements, of
from 50 to 100 miles.
The chronicler proceeds (chap, xii.) to give a list of the kings
conquered during these wars in the western district, enumerating
them apparently in the order in which they actually encountered
" " Pulpit Commentary " on Josh. xi. 17; Tristram, "Land of Israel,"
581 ff. ; Geikie, " Holy Land," ii. 393 ff.
3 Porter, ap. Kitto, "Cyclop.," and Keil in loc.

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. Ill
the Israelites. They are thirty- one in number — a significant
fact which points to the conclusion that, in order to hold their
own against their powerful neighbours, they must have had
some kind of organized confederacy among themselves, headed
by the monarchs of Jerusalem and Hazor, and probably in
subjection to the great Hittite chieftain at Carchemish. A large
proportion of these kings are among those whose fall has been
previously mentioned, but there are many others not hitherto
enumerated. The most important of the new names belonging
to the southern league are those of Geder, Hormah, Arad, and
Adullam. Geder is probably the same place as Gedor (i Chron.
iv. 39), now Jedar, seven miles north of Hebron. Of Hormah
and Arad we read in Moses' time. The latter place is mentioned
as destroyed by Moses in punishment of an unprovoked attack
made upon the Israelites when they approached that neighbour
hood ; " it may be that the offence was not fully avenged till
Joshua included it in his conquests, or that he had to repeat
the chastisement inflicted by his predecessor. The spot is
easily identified. On a plateau seventeen miles south of
Hebron, and twenty east of Beersheba, is an eminence, with
remains of a reservoir and ancient pottery upon it, still bearing
the name of Tell-Arad, and doubtless representing the site of
the city then destroyed. Hormah is noted as the place to
which the Israelites were chased by the Amalekites and
Canaanites, when, after their rebellion on the report of the spies,
they obstinately persisted in attacking the inhabitants in spite
of Moses' emphatic warning. The name means " the ban," or
" devoted to destruction," and was given to it after it had
incurred this fate, its earlier name having been Zephath.' That
it was situated in the Negeb, the arid district south of Judjea,
is certain, but its actual site is much disputed. Some place it
near the pass Es-Sufah (which serves to recall the ancient
name) in the naked chalk hills that run in a south-westerly
direction from the foot of the Dead Sea, rising above the level
of the Desert et-Tih ;3 others identify it with Sebaita, the ruins
of which lie in a mountain valley thirty miles south of Beer
sheba, and twenty north of Ain Kadeis (which is possibly
Kadesh-barnea). It will probably be found more to the east,
and nearer the south end of the Dead Sea. Adullam used to be
• Numb. xxi. 1 ff., and xiv. 45. » Judg. i. 17.
> Robinson, ii. 591, 616 note.

1 12 JOSHUA.
better known by name than identified in situation. When Joshua
captured it, he must have remembered that Hirah, the friend
of his forefather Judah, came from this place ;* we recognize it
as the refuge of the persecuted David ; and late surveyors have
fixed its site at Aid-el-Mah, a strong position with a good supply
of water and practicable roads trending in different directions,
in the famous valley of Elah. This place is ten miles north
west of Hebron, and lies half-way between Sochoh and Keilah ;
and the hill of Adullam is pierced with many natural caverns,
in any of which David might have found a secure hiding-place.
There are five other towns, whose capture is not previously
mentioned. Bethel was doubtless taken during this campaign,
though the details of the conquest are not given in this place.
They are narrated in a previous chapter. Tappuah, Hepher,
Lasheron, and Aphek are cities in what was afterwards known
as Judasa, but none of them have been distinctly identified.
This completes the list of the towns conquered in the southern
confederacy. There are also some connected with the northern
league which have not been previously mentioned. Among
them are two towns frequently named together, Taanach and
Megiddo. The former is the modern Tannuk, a village in the
plain of Esdraelon, seven etiiles a little south-west of Jezreel,
and five miles south of Legio or Lejjun, which is usually taken
as the representative of Megiddo. It stood on a Tell in a
commanding situation, which gave it sufficient importance to be
commemorated as a strong fortress in the Egyptian records of
Thothmes III. Conder strives to identify Megiddo with
Mujedda, four miles south-west of Bethshean, on the eastern
slope of Mount Gilboa, but the traditionary site suits best the
requirements of historical notice. Standing in the high road
by which Eastern armies marched on their expeditions, com
manding' also one of the few practicable passes that led from
the north into the hilt country, the place has been the scene of
great events. In the famous Karnak inscription Megiddo,
under the name of Magedi, is mentioned as one of the cities
taken by Thothmes III., after a great battle, and it has often
witnessed stirring episodes in Jewish history. From its fame as
a battle-field, St. John in the Apocalypse (xvi. 16) regards Har-
Mageddon, the mountain of Megiddo, or the mountain of
slaughter, as the gathering-place of the hostile forces against
" Gen. xxxviii. i, 20.

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. 113
Christ, and the scene of the great final conflict that ushers in
the consummation. Another newly-named town is " Jokneam
of Carmel," or, on Carmel, " the fruitful place," the park, most
appropriately named, as it is covered with forest and fruit trees,
and bright with flowers. The contrast between the rich perennial
luxuriance of this hilly range, and the bleak limestone mountains,
with their rough scrub and scanty pasture, of the rest of
Palestine, has always served to make Carmel the type of
beauty and fertility. It is a range about fifteen miles long,
stretching from the mountains of Ephraim in a north-westerly
direction to the sea, where it terminates in a bold promontory
of five hundred feet in height. About twelve miles from this
promontory on the southern slope of the hill, commanding the
main pass across the ridge, stood Jokneam, now Tell Kaimum,
a corruption of the old name." Among the conquered potentates
is one called "king of the nations (Goiim) in Gilgal." The
expression reminds one of the king who with three others made
war against the Canaanites on the plain of Sodom in the days
of Abraham. He was termed Tidal king of nations, though it
is probable that in his case Goiim is a misreading for Gutium.
The Gilgal here mentioned is not the camp in the Jordan valley,
but a place now known as Jiljulieh in the plain of Sharon,
fourteen miles north-east of Joppa ; this seems to have been
the head-quarters of certain mixed and nomadic tribes, here
called " nations," which (to compare little things to great) were
formed into a kingdom in the same way as the Austrian empire
is composed of a conglomeration of divers nationalities. The
last place, mentioned in this list is Tirzah, a city which was
highly celebrated in later Jewish history as the capital of
Jeroboam and his successors, and from the beauty of its situa
tion was taken by poets as the type of all that is lovely. So
the lover in Canticles (vi. 4) cries : " Thou art beautiful, O my
love, as Tirzah." Conder identifies it with the modern Teiasir,
a place containing many rock-hewn sepulchres, situated in a
fertile valley, eleven miles north-east of Shechem ; Robinson
and others fix on Tulluza, a place in the same direction, but
nearer Shechem ; Dr. Geikie speaking of it as " shining out on
a very steep hill a little way beyond the plain." *
Now when Joshua is said (chap. xi. 23) to have taken " the
« Robinson, " Later Bib. Res." 113.
' Ibid., 30a f. ; Geikie, ii. 221.
9

114 JOSHUA.
whole land, according to all that the Lord spake unto Moses,"
the statement must be modified by comparing it with the
enumeration (chap. xiii. 1-6) of the districts neither totally
nor finally subdued. He had marched from one end of the
country to the other, and for a time checked all open resistance ;
but there was still much land left to be possessed, and from
which the inhabitants, if so it might be, must be driven by future
operations, as opportunity should offer. The complete trans
ference of possession was now rendered possible ; it only
remained for Israel to follow up the advantage gained, and all
should be theirs. But much remained to be done. In the first
place, the powerful league of the Philistines, in the south-west,
in the Shephelah and the maritime plain, with their five cities,
Ekron, Gaza, Ashdod, Ascalon, and Gath, remained unsubdued,
as we have mentioned above. They, indeed, are not named
among the nations whose extirpation was enjoined, but in the
division of the land their cities were assigned to Judah, though
this tribe did not succeed in holding possession of them.
Another people in this locality which were unmolested were
the Geshurites, an ancient tribe, probably aboriginals, who
dwelt in the desert between Philistia and Arabia, connected
with whom were the Avites. The district thus left undisturbed
extended southward from Ekron to " Sihor which is before
Egypt," by which is not meant the Nile (though the name,
" the black river," is often so used), but to a small stream, the
Rhinokorura, which is called "the river of Egypt," and now the
Wady el Arish, and which flows into the sea at the extreme
southern border of Palestine, after draining the whole central
basin of the Jebel et-Tih, the desert of the Wanderings. It is,
therefore, a natural boundary of the Negeb, where it turns to
the sea shore, at about thirty or forty miles from its mouth. In
the north there were also many unconquered districts. Among
these was the maritime Phoenicia, defined as " Mearah that
belongeth to the Zidonians unto Aphek," and thence " to the
border of the Amorites," that is, the northern boundary of
Bashan, the former kingdom of Og. The place called Mearah
is not mentioned elsewhere; but as the word means "cave,"
geographers have identified it with a remarkable cavern in the
neighbourhood of Sidon to the north, where to this day a village
exists named Mogheiriyeh, and which in after times was fortified
by the crusaders, by whom it was called the cave of Tyre,

CONQUEST OF THE NORTH. 1 1 5
The Aphek mentioned in this connection is a town on the
western slope of Lebanon at the source of the classical river
Adonis, now the Nahr Ibrahim, which enters the sea below
Gebal (Byblus), about fifteen miles north of Beyrout. Aphek,
or Apheca, is still known by the name of Afka. Here was the
great seat of the worship of Adonis, called in the EastTammuz ;
and the ruins of the temple raised in honour of the Syrian
Astarte mourning for her slain lover may still be seen. The
old legend told how, on the banks of the river, Adonis was killed
by a wild boar, how the crimson anemone sprang from his
blood, and how its waters ever afte. wards showed the stain of
gore. It is a fact that at certain seasons the river is considerably
coloured by the admixture of a red earth brought down by
violent storms of rain.1 Milton has alluded to the story in his
" Paradise Lost " (Book i.) :
"Thammuzcarue next behind,
Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured
The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
In amorous ditties, all a summer's day ;
While smooth Adonis from his native rock
Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood
Of Thammuz yearly wounded."
This place and " the land of the Giblites," the modern Jebail,
on the coast, twenty-three miles north of Beyrout, were never
occupied by the Israelites, and the idolatry enshrined there
spread over all the country, infected the holy people, and was
practised even in the temple at Jerusalem.2 Other unoccupied
territory is defined as "all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from
Baal-Gad r.nder Mount Hermon unto the entering in of
Hamath." This latter place was situated in the upper part of
the plain of Ccele-Syria, on the western bank of the river
Orontes (Nahr el Asy), and is now called Hamah. The Greeks
knew it by the name Epiphaneia, so designated in honour of
the great king of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes. The " entering
in " is to be understood of the approach to this district between
Libanus and Antilibanus from the south, or, as others say, from
the west. It was an important position commanding the whole
of the Orontes valley towards Antioch. To this point the spies
had penetrated ; David was in alliance with King Toi, and
" Robinson, ' ' Later Bib. Res. " 606 ff. ; Conder, " Heth and Moab," 76 B,
* Ezek. viii. 13 ft

Il6 JOSHUA.
Solomon actually subdued the territory, and extended the
kingdom of Israel thither. But at the present time not only
this region was not conquered, but also the district reaching
from Lebanon to Sarepta, and the greal city Sidon, retained
their independence. Two other little kingdoms in the north
east were not conquered, and in spite of Israel's valiant warfare
continued autonomous even to the time of David. These were
Geshur, a city of the aborigines, situated north of Bashan, and
Maachah, an Aramaean town near the sources of the Jordan,
whose territory extended eastward. As two and a half tribes
had already received an inheritance much larger than they
could occupy, the rest of the community may have thought that
they could find room without further molesting these inhabitants
of the north.
The area of Western Palestine is reckoned at 7,500 square
miles ; but from this must be deducted at least 500 for Philistia
and other unconquered districts, which leaves 7,000 for the
occupation of the Israelites. Much of this was only available
after serious effort. There was a large extent of territory still
to be subdued, on which indeed no attack had been made ; and
of the subjugated country the tenure by the invaders was very
partial and insecure, only to be maintained by careful watch
and a ready seizure of every opportunity that might arise. The
way was paved for the complete occupation, and circumstances
were sure to give occasion for the furtherance of Israel's
dominion. Wanton attacks on the chosen people were to be
punished by the ban ; idolatry must be put down at any cost ;
no treaty, or covenant, or intermarriage was to be made with
the Canaanites ; the strife engendered by the observance of
such strict and offensive rules would lead to the necessity of
hostile measures, which would result in the gradual conquest
of the whole country. The work of the combined forces of all
Israel was over ; ic remained for each tribe to make good its
footing in the land allotted to it.

CHAPTER VIII.
ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST.
Age of Joshua — Principles of the division of the land — Stttlement of
Reuben— The Belka— Fertility of the region— Zerka or Callirrhoe —
Heshbon — Medeba — Dibon ; the Moabite Stone— Nebo — Aroer ; the
Arnon — Kirjathaim — Sibniah — Beth-peor— Zareth-shahar— Character
istics and fate of the Reubenites — Settlement of Gad ; its extent and
character — The Jarniuk — The Jabbok — Jebel-Osha — Mahanaim —
Penuel— Succoth— Ramoth-Mizpeh— Debir— Jabesh-Gilead— Rabbath-
Ammon — Beth-aram — Beth-nimrah — Zaphon — Characteristics and fate
of the Gadites— Settlement of the half-tribe of Manasseh — The territory
described — Bashan — The Hauran — Argob — Edrei — Ashtarofh-Kar-
naim — Nobah — Salcah — Golan — Havoth-Jair — Characteristics of
Manasseh.
The conquest of Palestine even in its incomplete state had
occupied some five or seven years, and Joshua was now nearly
ninety years old ; it was time, therefore, that he should carry
out the greit design which he was appointed to execute, and
divide the land among the tribes. We judge of Joshua's age
by that of his comrade Caleb. The latter tells us (chap. xiv.
7, 10) that he was forty years old when he was sent with the
other spies to reconnoitre the country, and was eighty-five
when he obtained his inheritance in Hebron. The penal wan
derings in the desert lasted thirty-eight years, so that Caleb
was seventy-eight when the Israelites crossed the Jordan, and
the campaigns that succeeded consumed, according to his
account, seven years. Josephus," indeed, allows only five years
for the duration of the wars, but his numbers are seldom
altogether trustworthy ; on the other hand, granting that the
Jewish historian had the use of documents unknown to us,
• "Ant." v. ,.. 19.

Il8 JOSHUA.
Caleb may have used round numbers which are not to be
closely pressed. Joshua was one hundred and ten when he
died, but how long his rule lasted we are nowhere told.
Josephus' asserts that he was for foity years associated with
Moses, learning his high duties, and after his master's death
governed Israel for twenty-five years. This would make him
forty-five at the time of the Exodus. Others' allow thirty
years for his government. One of these periods is doubtless
correct, and he must have lived in retirement after the allot
ment of the tribes some twenty or twenty-five years.
The division of the land had long ago been arranged by
Moses, who had also carefully defined the limits of the territory
to be acquired, which he knew partly from his own observation,
and partly from the reports of others. In the last days of his
life he had nominated princes from the ten tribes (omitting
Reuben and Gad, who had already received their possessions)
who should preside over the allotment.3 None of them save
Caleb is otherwise known to fame. The particular duty of these
chieftains was to determine the limits and dimensions of the
portion which fell to each tribe. The situation of these portions
they settled by lot, thus leaving the disposal to Divine Provi
dence, and avoiding all occasions for heart-burning, envy, or
misunderstanding. And certainly this result seems to have been
obtained, as no murmuring or discontent ever arose, and no
attempt was ever made to disturb existing arrangements, though
particular tribes may at times have endeavoured to increase
their territory at the expense of heathen enemies. The popu
lation which had to be distributed amounted to two millions ;
and, if we consider the area at disposal to be 7,000 square
miles, they would be placed at the rate of 285 to the mile. In
Belgium the proportion is 330, and in Holland 460 to the square
mile, The space was ample. The wants of ^Eastern peoples
are few, their habits simple, their houses small and furnished
only with the barest necessaries. Then the system of terrace
cultivation practised universally more than doubled the area of
productive soil, and each man's inheritance was sufficient to
provide its owner with food and clothing. There is a connection,
sometimes remote, sometimes palpable, between the blessings
• "Ant." v. 1. 29.
¦ Euseb. " Praep. Ev." x. 14, quoted in "Speaker's Commentary,"
"Joshua," p. 7. 3 Numb, xxxiv.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 119
bestowed on the tribes or their representatives by Jacob and
Moses, and the positions which they occupied in the Land of
Promise." The fortunes of his descendants adumbrated by
the dying patriarch, and the glory and greatness of the ideal
Israel celebrated by the last words of the lawgiver, are modified
and characterized by their material environments. This aspect
of the two utterances in question is not affected by the doubts
concerning their dates excited by critics. Even if they, or
either of them, can be attributed to the time of David, or even
to a later period (which we by no means admit), they may still
be used as intimating the idiosyncrasies, characteristics, and
destinies of the tribes in relation to the districts which they
inherited. Further, it is to be noted that the order and the
relative dignity of the tribes, which were maintained in their
marches through the desert, and in their military expeditions,
controlled also the extent, and in some degree the position, of
their possessions.
Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh had already, as
we have seen, received their inheritance on the east of Jordan
in a general way ; it remained now for Joshua to assign exact
limits to the three portions. Preferring the care of flocks and
herds to the tillage of the soil, and being the only clans which
possessed a large stock of cattle, these two and a half tribes
found in the land of Gilead, as it was vaguely called, with its
rich pasturage and its many streams, a district admirably
suited to their occupation. The first to have its inheritance
accurately defined was the tribe of Reuben. Representing the
firstborn son of Jacob this tribe had once been very powerful,
but of late years it had steadily declined in numbers, and at
the time of the allotment was one of the weakest. But it had
never lost its love for pastoral pursuits which had engaged it in
Egypt, when "its trade was about cattle." The portion now
assigned to it was the most southern district of the Eastern
region, bounded on the north by Heshbon and its wady, a city
and territory a little above the upper end of the Dead Sea, and
just touching the ford of the Jordan, on the south by the Arnon,
south of which the Israelites did not enlarge their conquests,
and on the west by the Dead Sea ; on the east the inheritance
extended vaguely towards those illimitable wastes which reach
to the Euphrates. These wastes are bounded on the west
• Gen. xlix. ; Deut. xxxiii.

120 JOSHUA.
by the mountains of Moab, which bore the name of Abarim
("regions beyond "), and are plainly seen from Jerusalem
over the south shoulder of Olivet. The district thus assigned
was called the Mishor," the Plain country, in contrast to the
wooded heights and valleys of Gilead, and the rocky soil of
the west ; it is now known as Belka, a region of wonderful
fertility, of which Tristram writes,3 speaking of the view from a
hill which he supposes to be Pisgah • " To the eastward, as we
turned round, the ridge seemed gently to slope for two or
three miles, when a few small ruin-clad ' tells,' or hillocks, broke
the monotony of the outline ; and then, sweeping forth, rolled
in one vast unbroken expanse the goodly Belka — one boundless
plain, stretching far into Arabia, till lost in the horizon— one
waving ocean of corn and grass. Well may the Arabs boast,
' Thou canst not find a country like the Belka.' Well may such
illimitable wealth of soil pour forth its teeming myriads of flocks
and herds, the riches of that mighty sheep-master, the king
of Moab of old,3 as to-day of the Anezi and the Beni Sakk'r."
"For pastoral and agricultural purposes the tribe of Reuben
occupied the most favoured region in Palestine. The whole
of their territory was a vast alluvial deposit of the richest
character, out of which rise the knolls and ridges on which the
old cities stood, and which are to this day abundantly supplied
with the reservoirs and cisterns which had been hewn in them
in old time." " Had the country been without these excres
cences of rock, affording unlimited facilities for cistern excava
tion and for the storing of water supplies, it is utterly impossible
that it could ever have sustained as it has done a vast resident
and agricultural population."4
One notable feature in this region is the ravine of the Zerka
M'Ain or Callirrhoe, which separates it into two not very un
equal divisions. This has been identified with Nahaliel, "the
valley, or, torrent of God," which is mentioned (Numb. xxi. 19)
as a station of the Israelites, and whose name may recall some
Providential occurrence that here occurred to the wanderers, or
may have reference to the Baal-worship of the district, or may
be only the usual hyperbolical mode of expressing "a great,
remarkable valley." And it deserves the appellation. The
' Deut. iii. 10 ; Josh. xiii. 9 ; Jer. xlviii. 21.
¦ " Land of Israel," 537. 3 2 Kings iii. 4.
* Oliphant, " Land of Gilead," 289 ; Tristram, " Land of Moab," 197,

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 121
gorge itself towards its eastern extremity is some 1,700 feet
deep, thence descending another 1,600 feet to the Dead Sea.
From its sides issue numerous hot springs running in channels
encrusted with sulphur, falling in miniature cascades amid luxu
riant foliage, to join at length in the main stream which fills the
centre of the wady. "Tawny cliffs of limestone capped with
chalk," says Captain Conder," "rise on the north, and are seamed
with gullies, where the marl has been washed down like snow
streaks left in summer, beneath the cliffs. On the south is a
steep brown precipice with an undercliff of marl, and a plateau
stretching thence to another and yet another ridge ; beyond and
above this plateau (on which are the stone heaps of Machzerus)
appeared the shining waters of the lake and its western cliffs,
fading away into a blue mist on the south. But the central
feature of this ghastly scene of utterly barren wilderness was
the great black bastion projecting from its southern cliff, and
almost blocking the gorge — an outbreak of basalt which shows
like a dark river in the valley of Callirrhoe, as seen from the
west side of the Dead Sea. It resembles the high spoil-heaps
of an English coal mine, and bears witness to the volcanic
action which has made the springs in this gorge of boiling heat,
and which no doubt accompanied the sudden depreision of the
enormous fault now known as the Jordan valley. It took a full
hour to reach the bottom of the gorge, and the scene beneath
was wonderful beyond description. On the south, black basalt,
brown limestone, gleaming marl. On the north, sandstone cliffs
of all colours, from pale yellow to pinkish purple. In the valley
itself the brilliant green of palm clumps, rejoicing in the heat
and in the sandy soil. ... Of all scenes in Syria, there is none
which so dwells on my memory as does this awful gorge, . .
the fair flowing stream which Herod sought below the gloomy
prison of John the Baptist at Machserus — the dread chasm where
the Bedawin still offer sacrifices to the desert spirits, and still
bathe with full faith in the healing powers of the spring."
The fixed habitations of Reuben and the other Eastern tribes
were of two kinds. The new settlers restored and fortified the
conquered cities, and therein housed their families. Besides
these fortresses, they had cattle-villages and farm premises, not
enclosed with walls, and not connected with any large towns.
These were scattered over the country in favourable situations,
« " Hefh and Moab," 145 ff.

C22 JOSHUA.
but could be occupied only in peaceful districts or at times
when the raids of marauders were not expected.
Of the cities in this territory some are noteworthy. Heshbon,
which afterwards appertained to Gad, and became a Levitical
city, has had a varied history, which can be traced to-day in
the confused ruins which occupy its site. * Cyclopean stones
which mark the era of the gigantic Emim who once inhabited
it, Phoenician and Jewish masonry, Roman, Grecian, Saracenic
architecture, testify to the different peoples who have at times
possessed the spot. At an early period it had belonged to the
Moabites, but when Moses seized it, it was held by Amorites
under their king, Sihon, who was defeated by the Israelites at
Jahaza, a place to the north-east of Heshbon, between that city
and Elealeh, now El AI, noted like Heshbon for its great
central mound. To the south of these towns, and lying on the
great road through Moab, stands Medeba (Madiyabah) towards
the centre of the Mishor, on a low hill about a mile and a half
in circumference. It was strongly fortified and well supplied
with water, as is evident from the remains of a great reservoir
one hundred and twenty yards square. Though the Reubenites
occupied the surrounding plain, it is very doubtful whether they
ever got possession of the city itself. No mention is made of
it in the list of their towns. Closely connected with Medeba
is Dibon, or, as it was afterwards called from its occupation
by Gadites, Dibon-Gad. This place has been identified with
Dhiban, the extensive ruins of which cover two rounded hills
three or four miles north of the Arnon. It has become cele
brated lately by the discovery there of the so-called Moabite
stone in the year 1869. This relic, says Professor Sayce," was
a stone of black basalt, four feet high and two broad, containing
an inscription in Phoenician characters. It has been broken to
pieces, and the fragments were distributed as charms among
the Arab tribe into whose possession it came, but most of these
have been recovered, and the monument may be seen in a
tolerably complete state in the Museum of the Louvre at Paris.
The block was found near the gateway within the old city walls,
having been probably removed from its original position and
used in some more recent work, whence it was dislodged not
many years before its discovery. The inscription when de-
" "Fresh Light from the Monuments,'' 76 ff. ; Tristram, "Land of
Moab," 134.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 1 23
ciphered proved to be of the greatest interest The letters are
written in the earliest form of the Hebrew alphabet, of which
only one or two examples have elsewhere been found. The
document is a record of Mesha, king of Moab about B.C. 897,
telling how he revolted successfully against Israel, and avenged
himself on the former oppressors of his country. We herein
learn that the language of Moab differed from that of the
Israelites no more than is the case with the local dialects of a
country; that Chemosh the national god had come to be re
garded as the supreme, if not the only, object of worship ; that
Yahveh, the covenant name of the God of Israel, was familiar
to surrounding nations, the superstition which prevented the
Jews from pronouncing it having not yet prevailed ; and that
the worship of the high places, contrary as it was to the law,
was yet practised and performed in His name.
Mesha mentions the capture of two other Reubenite towns,
Nebo and Baal-Meon, the names of which, owing to their
idolatrous character, the Hebrew settlers had endeavoured, but
unsuccessfully, to change. Nebo is the name assigned to the
flat summit and cairn of Mount Pisgah, and possibly of a town
in its immediate vicinity. Though there are four or five emi
nences which contest the honour of being the one from which
Moses bent his longing glance over the desired land which he
was not permitted to enter, they are all placed within a short
distance of one another, just south of the Wady Hesban.
They are in fact the northern termination of the range Abarim,
the rocky wall that descends in steps to the plain in which
sleeps the Dead Sea. The late discovery of dolmens and stone
circles on these eminences shows that they were centres of
worship in prehistoric times, and that Balak's altars were
erected on spots consecrated by immemorial usage. The most
westerly of these summits, and the one which commands the
widest prospect, bears the name of Siaghah, which is supposed
to be a corruption of the word Seath, the Talmudic representative
of Nebo." Another of the Reubenite towns was Aroer, now
Arair, situated in a commanding position on the northern edge
of the gorge of the Arnon, where the Roman road crosses the
river some fifteen miles from its mouth. The Arnon defile is
now known as the Wady el Mojeb ; it is about three miles
* Merrill, "East of the Jordan," 243 ff. ; Conder, "Heth and Moab,'
129.

124 JOSHUA.
wide at the spot where the ruins of Arair are found, and 2,150
feet deep. Mesha is proud to mention that he made a road
here over the Arnon, and doubtless the Roman viaduct, of
which remains are still to be seen, was constructed on the l'nes
of the old Moabite work From the upper plateau the rift
does not show till one comes suddenly upon the precipitous
descent, the southern edge, which is of basaltic formation, being
200 feet higher than the northern, which is wholly limestone.
Down this precipice a chariot road had been made in zig-zag,
crossing the river by a bridge at the bottom, and rising in a
similar fashion up the opposite side of the ravine. Above the
bridge are some remains which may possibly be "the city in the
midst of the river" (Josh. xiii. 16), by which cannot be meant
Ar of Moab, as the Reubenites had no possession south of the
Arnon." Of the other cities appertaining to Reuben we do not
hear much. There was Kirjathaim (now Kureiyat), on the
southern slope of Attarus below Callirrhoe, whose dual-formed
name recalls the curious feature, so common in this district, of a
city built on twin hills surrounded by one common wall. There
was Sibmah, now Sumieh, close to Heshbon, over whose wasted
vineyards Isaiah and Jeremiah2 lament in their denunciations
of Moab, and whose rock-cut winepresses attest to this clay the
former fertility. There was Bethpeor, situated on the hills near
the awful gorge of the Callirrhoe, in whose neighbourhood the
body of the great lawgiver found its secret grave. And there
was Zareth-shahar, a place utterly unknown to fame, but re
covered in the ruins of Zara, which are noteworthy as containing
probably the only surviving relic of the early buildings of the
Reubenites.3 These stand in a little recess which forms an
oasis on the shore of the Dead Sea about three miles below the
outlet of Callirrhoe. The Hebrew name means "splendour of
the dawn," and Mr. Tristram's description of the locality serves
to explain the appellation. "The surrounding mountain cres
cent," he says, " is beautiful both in form and colour. The
sandstone, gilded by. the sun, presents the most gorgeous
colouring, red predominating, but white, yellow, and brown
patches and streaks abound." Concealed, as it were, in this
remote nook, the remains of the ancient edifices have been
but little molested by the hand of man or employed in the
• Tristram, "Land of Moab," 123 ff. * Isa. xvi. 8, 9 ; Jer. xlviii. 3a
3 Tristram, " Land of Moab," 281 ff.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 12?
construction of later works on the spot itself; so that k requires
but a feeble effort of imagination to people this quiet corner
with members of the semi-nomad tribe, which raised these
walls and houses for the shelter of their wives and families,
while the men tended the cattle or pursued their warlike
expeditions. Settled in this rich district, and becoming engrossed in
pastoral pursuits, the tribe of Reuben gradually isolated itself
from its western brethren, and sank into comparative insigni
ficance. Jacob had predicted : " Unstable as water, thou shalt
not have the excellency " ; the birthright naturally appertaining
to the first-born had long been forfeited, and it is noted that
no leader, judge, or prophet ever arose from this tribe. The
sentence of Moses " is expressed in ambiguous terms, yet seems
to be best rendered :
*' Let Reuben live and not die.
Yet let his men be few."
Losing their patriotic spirit, thinking only of their own selfish
interests, the Reubenites could not be aroused to take part in
national movements ; they could hear unmoved of the oppres
sion of their brethren ; they cared more for the welfare of their
flocks and herds than of their fellow-countrymen. Requiring
continually wider range for their subsistence, not confined to
one spot by agricultural considerations, and in their unabated
love of a nomadic life pushing further and further eastwards
where they might find fresh pastures, they gradually lost
possession of much of their original inheritance, cared less and
less for a settled home, degenerated into a mere desert horde,
or became intermixed with the Moabites, and faded out of
Jewish history.
Immediately to the north of Reuben came the inheritance of
Gad. These two tribes, together with Simeon, during the
march in the desert, had been posted on the south of the
tabernacle ; and now the two in the allotment of land had to
guard the eastern frontier. The territory of Gad, starting from
Heshbon, extended northwards towards the Sea of Galilee unto
the river Jarmuk, which falls into the Jordan four miles below
the lake ; on the west, of course, it was bounded by the Jordan
valley ; how far it spread to the east is exactly determined, as
1 Deut. xxxiii. 6.

126 JOSHUA.
"unto Aroer that faces Rabbah," i.e., near the southern source
of the Jabbok, a line being drawn from some unascertained
spot on the north-east border to meet that river. We can say
generally that it occupied the centre of Israel's eastern posses
sions, comprising a great portion of the Land of Gilead properly
so called, and that half of the Ammonite territory which had
been taken from that people by Sihon, since the Israelites were
debarred from attacking the Ammonites by the claims of
kindred." The area is reckoned at 1,300 square miles ; but the
extent varied at times according to the power and activity of
the Gadites. It was one of the fairest parts of this beautiful
region. Looking upon it across the Jordan from the west, one
receives a very erroneous impression of its character and capa
bilities. Far from being, as it seems,' a continuous wall of
mountains rising abruptly from the Ghor and presenting no
softer features, the horizontal outline is broken in all directions
by valleys and ravines, clothed with oaks, oleanders, and ever
green shrubs in richest luxuriance. And when the summit of
these hills is reached a very different prospect meets the eye.
Here is a high table land, extending for miles towards the
Arabian Desert, and in many places less than a hundred feet
above the plain ; here are undulating downs and picturesque
glens, clothed with the richest grass ; here are grand forests
abounding in magnificent trees, sycamore, beech, ilex, terebinth,
and fig, with dark pines on the heights. The healthiness of
this district is proverbial ; it was called by the Romans
Patestina Salutaris ; and to this day the inhabitants of
Damascus and other Syrian towns flock hither to escape local
epidemics." These downs are divided by three deep defiles
which drain them into the Jordan. The most northerly is the
Jarmuk, now called Menadireh and formerly Hieromax, a
stream of some size, being larger than the Jordan above Gen-
nesareth, and draining the Hauran region. Mr. Merrill 3
speaks of this wady thus : " As we began to wind up the gorge
of the river, new scenes of grandeur burst upon us at every
turn. One great bend in the stream was a mile in extent, and
we could see the entire distance at a single glance — the water
dashing at the bottom of the perpendicular cliff which rose
three hundred feet above it, and still above that could be tracer?
" Dei'* ii. 19. * Oliphant, " Land of Gilead," 10a.
3 "East of the Jordan, 141

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 1 27
tie narrow path along which we were to go. A singular effect,
by contrast, was presented by the rock formation, as exposed
on the face of the cliff just referred to, where a stratum, of fifty
or one hundred feet in thickness, of pure white limestone was
overlaid by one of black basalt, for a hundred feet more. . . .
The valley is formed of a succession of wild gorges, high
mountains on either side, perpendicular cliffs, bold, rugged
headlands projecting into the valley, and small, quiet plains, far
down out of the reach of mountain storms, fertile, sheltered, and
peaceful." Further up the wady are the celebrated hot springs
known to the Romans, called now El Hamma. The centre
defile of the district is formed by the river Jabbok, or Zerka,
which exhibits a curious course, making three-fourths of a circle.
Rising in the south-east of Gilead, it sweeps far away towards
the sunrising and the desert, makes a bold bend to the north,
then doubles back upon itself, forcing its way through the
mountains, and after a course of some seventy miles enters the
Jordan something less than half way between the Dead Sea and
Gennesareth. Part of the district embraced by this river is now
called El Beja, and is famed for its encircling forests of oak
and other trees, which, attracting the rainfall, make this side of
the country such a wonderful contrast to the bare hills of the
west. The fields and woods are never parched and withered ;
the streams which meander through every valley are perennial,
though, as in all limestone countries, wont sometimes to dis
appear underground for a time ; and the whole vegetation has
a look of health and vigour which proves the strength of the
soil and .he favourable nature of the climate. The average
level of the province of Gad is about 2,000 feet above the sea ;
but there is one point which attains 3,600. This is Jebel Osha,
a ridge in the north-western side of the Beja, just below the
Jabbok, and so called in memory of Joshua, or, as the
Samaritans say, of the prophet Hosea, who is supposed to be
buried here, though we know nothing in his history which
would connect him with this locality. The hill commands one
of the finest prospects in all the eastern territory. From
Hermon and Tabor on the north, all along the Jordan valley,
even unto the lower end of the Dead Sea, the sated eye can
range. On the west appear Olivet, Neby Samwii, the Samaritan
mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, the Gilboa chain, the hills about
Nazareth, Tabor, Betbshean. "Seen in the shifting lights of

128 JOSHUA.
an April day," says Captain Conder," "this wide view of
mountain and valley which opens as the traveller reaches the
edge of the cliff is wonderfully picturesque and suggestive. The
distant ranges, faint and blue in the afternoon shade, the strange
peaks of the marl at Sartaba [on the opposite side of the river]
and near Jericho, the dark line of the Jordan, the green corn in
its valley, the warm hues of the sandstone, the wild-broom and
cytizus, the thyme and rock-roses, the thorny bell'an [a kind of
furze], and bushes of arbutus and laurestinus, which form the
foreground on this breezy height, combine to produce a piclure
not unlike one in the highlands of Scotland, and remarkably
unsuggestive of the burning east." Passing from the Jordan
valley to this height, one changes a tropical climate with its
rank vegetation for an Alpine region of pines and comparative
winter. The picture of the scenery of Gilead would not be complete
without a glance at its flowers and birds. Captain Conder *
tells us that he found many old English favourites in this
distant region as well as many proper to the clime. He
mentions clover, ragged-robin, clematis, lupin, anemone, corn
flower, borage, tulip, buttercup, vetch, cyclamen, marigold, also
orchids, cistus, phlox, star of Bethlehem, broom, antirrhinum,
honeysuckle, as familiar plants. Among the trees and shrubs,
there is the styrax, the mock orange with its mass of white
flowers and sweet perfume, the lentisk akin to the Balm of
Gilead, the arbutus, and laurestinus. The glades are vocal with
the note of the nightingale and blackbird, the twitter of the
tomtit, and many another little favourite. Here are seen the
jay, the hoopoe, the gorgeous roller with its azure wings, the
bee-eater, besides vultures, eagles, cuckoos, and the other birds
common to Syria.
Certain noteworthy cities fell to the lot of Gad, some of
previous importance, and others whose fame is of later origin.
One of these places is Mahanaim, "Two Camps," where the
patriarch Jacob saw the vision of the host of God, and near to
which he was met by his brother Esau. It seems to have lain
" " Heth and Moab," 1S1 ; Merrill, 194, 279. Captain Conder denies
that Hermon and the Dead Sea can be seen from Jebel Osha. Mr. Merrill
seems to have been more fortunate, and deems that this hill may well havo
been the spot whence Moses took his view of the Promised Land.
» "Ileth and Muab," 188.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 1 29
north of the Jabbok towards the east, but has not hitherto been
satisfactorily identified." Closely connected with this site is
Penuel, " Face of God," where Jacob wrestled with the angel.
Reasoning from the analogy of a similar designation being
applied by the Phoenicians to a magnificent promontory on the
Mountain of light, fourteen miles south of Tripoli, and the fict
that the name Funeh (a possible corruption of Phanuel) is
affixed to a valley descending from the mountain to the Jabbok,
Captain Conder is inclined to see in Jebel Osha the ridge of the
patriarchal Penuel. Succoth, whither Jacob journeyed after his
interview with his brother, was situated in the Jordan valley a
little north of the mouth of the Jabbok. In the Talmud this
place is called Tarala or Darala, a name which is recognized in
the designation Deir Alia affixed to a conspicuous mound in the
plain.3 As the Gadites were doubtless well read in the history
of their forefathers, what a host of memories must these old-
world places have aroused ! With what interest must they
have beheld scenes endeared by their connection with the lives
of those from whom they boasted their descent ! The northern
most city of their territory, Ramoth-Mizpeh, was also hallowed
by early associations. If it was not the same as the celebrated
Ramoth-Gilead, it is with much probability identified with the
Galeed, and Jegar-Sahadutha, where Jacob and Laban erected
their cairn of stones, " the heap of witness," at a village now
called Suf, a little way north-west of Gerasa (Jerash), in which
a group of antique stone monuments attests that the spot was
once a sacred centre.3 If Ramoth-Gilead be not Ramoth-
Mizpeh, the former must be fixed at Remun, five miles west of
Jerash, on the slopes of the Jebel Ajlun. It was a strong and
important fortress, the key of Gilead, and played a conspicuous
part in later Jewish history. That it was neither Gerasa itself,
the noblest ruin in all the country, but of much later date,
nor the modern town of Es Salt, the position of which is
inappropriate to the demands of h'story, may be regarded as
tolerably certain. Between Mahanaim and the Sea of Galilee
1 Its position is discussed by Conder, "Heth and Moab,'' 177 ff., and
Merrill, "East of the Jordan," 433 ff." The latter places it at Khurbet
Suleikhat, a ruin in the Jordan valley, a little north of the Jabbok.
3 This identification, to which Captain Conder assents, is the discovery
of Mr. Selah Merrill, " East of the Jordan," 3S5 fi.
3 Conder, " Heth and Moab," 176. IO

130 JOSHUA.
on the north-western frontier lay Debir, which is probably
identical with Lodebar, the home of Machir, who helped to
provide David with necessaries when he fled from Absalom
(2 Sam. xvii. 27). Another city in the north of Gad, though not
mentioned in the catalogue of the towns, is Jabesh, or Jabesh-
Gilead, celebrated some years later as supplying wives to the
moribund tribe of Benjamin, and likewise for its connection
with Saul in life and death." The name is preserved in the
Wady Yabis which winds down the hills of Gilead, debouching
on the Jordan somewhat south of Bethshan or Scythopolis. A
ruin on the south side of this valley, called inappropriately
Ed-Deir, "the convent," about six miles below Pella, is sup
posed by Robinson* to mark the site. The mountain road from
Beisan (Bethshan) to Gerasa passes the spot, and the remains
of columns show it to have been of importance at some time.
The formidable fortress of Rabbath Ammon which stands at
one of the sources of the Jabbok has been described by many
travellers.3 The following is Tristram's * account of the locality :
" When the narrow valley had suddenly turned the corner of a
knoll, it expanded into a smooth turfed plain for half a mile,
completely shut in by low hills on each side. The front was
blocked by a round and steep, but flat-topped mamelon pushed
forward, on which was the fortress, and the stream flowed
rapidly past it on the east, through a valley contracted at once
to a width of 500 paces. The citadel was faced by another little
valley running at a right angle into the main one, and was con
nected by a narrow neck with the heights on the left. On the
other side of this neck another gully started, which deepened at
once into a steep ravine, and joined the main stream half a mile
beyond, thus almost isolating the citadel." This was the capital
city of the Ammonites from whom Sihon had taken it, and was
held for a time only by the Gadites, its original inhabitants
recovering possession of the place in the course of a few years,
so that its recapture occupied Joab and David with the whole
force of Judah for many months. Few places surpass in
interest this most ancient of all sites. The ruins are not only
very extensive, but date from the remotest antiquity, the later
¦ Judg. xxi. 8 ff. ; 1 Sam. xi. ; 2 Sam. ii.
* " Later Researches," 319 ; "Samuel and Saul," 100.
3 See "David: His Life and Times," 126 f . ; Oliphant, "Land of
Gilead," 255 ff. * " Land of Israel," 545.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 131
structures being reared upon the rough unhewn stones which
were erected in prehistoric times. According to Ewald and
others, Ammon was originally called Ham, and was one of the
earliest cities built after the Flood, being so named by Canaan,
the son of Ham, who possessed all this region. In the Jordan
valley lay the city of Beth-aram,or Beth-haran (Numb, xxxii. 36),
six miles east of the river, at the mouth of the Wady Heshbon.
It is now called Tell er Rama, and was at one time the favourite
resort of Herod Antipas, who rebuilt it and named it Livias or
Julias. It is not improbable that it was at this place, and not at
Tiberias, that the tyrant was celebrating the birthday rendered
infamous by the murder of John the Baptist. Machsrus, where
John was imprisoned, was near enough to Livias to enable the
executioner to perform his cruel office and to present the ghastly
token during the continuance of the feast. This could not have
been accomplished from Tiberias under two or three days." In
the immediate neighbourhood of Beth-haran, and nearly opposite
Jericho, was Beth-nimrah, now Nimrin, a town of considerable
size, situated on a copious stream, which is mentioned by the
prophets more than once under the title of " the waters of Nim-
rim." ¦ The only other town worthy of mention occupied by
the Gadites was Zaphon. This has been identified by Merrill
with Amathus, now Amateh, an important ruin and mound
about three miles north of the mouth of the Wady Rajib, which
enters the Jordan valley between the wadies Zerka and Ajlun.
If Succoth be Deir Alia, the four towns, Beth-aram, Beth-
nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, are mentioned (Josh. xiii. 27) in
regular order from south to north. Modern research invariably
proves the accuracy of the geographical details in this book,
which are doubtless founded on careful survey and contemporary
documents. The sentence of Jacob concerning Gad was this, the import
depending on the paronomasia, of wb.£b Hebrew bards are so
enamoured :
" Gad, a troop (gedud) shall press [gud) on him.
But he shall press upon their heel." (Gen. xlix. 19.)
The saying of Moses was more lengthy, but to much tha
same purpose : « Merrill, " East of the Jordan," 383
¦ Isa. xv. 6 ; Jer. xlviii. 34.

I33 JOSHUA.
" Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad ;
He dwelleth as a lioness,
And teareth the arm, yea, the crowto of the head.
And he looked out the first part for himself,
Because there was the leader's portion reserved ;
And he came with the heads of the people.
He executed the justice of the Lord,
And His judgments with Israel." (Deut. xxxiii. 20 f.)
The former announcement refers plainly to Gad's position on
the eastern frontier, where he was attacked by marauding
Ammonites and other desert tribes, and manfully resisted, and
in his turn harassed their retreat. Moses speaks of the spacious
territory allotted to Gad, the warlike character of the clan, how
it received a share in the very firstfruits of Israel's conquests,
how it took a leading part in the war, and loyally joined its
brethren in fulfilling God's commands concerning the subjection
of Canaan. Fierce and rude as the Gadites were, they rose far
superior to their wild neighbours in civilization, and long
retained their close connection with Western Palestine.
From their ranks sprung some men of remarkable eminence.
The heroic leader and judge Jephthah, the grand prophet
Elijah, the generous Barzillai, were reared in Gilead. To the
houses of Saul and David the Gadites showed devoted attach
ment. At Mahanaim Ishbosheth safely established his mimic
throne ; here David found an asylum when he retreated before
his son Absalom ; hence he obtained some of his most valiant
warriors, who, in order to join this admired prince, swam the
Jordan in the time of flood, men who could handle spear and
shield, who had the faces of lions, who were as swift as the
gazelles on their own mountains." The constant hostility to
which they were exposed from the tribes whom they dis
possessed, or from those who feared their neighbourhood
developed their hardy, warlike spirit ; they pushed their limits
beyond the territory allotted to them ; we hear of them over
coming the nomad hordes on their eastern frontier, and cap
turing enormous herds of camels, asses, and sheep.3 We leave
them at this time happily situated, able to hold their own, and
still retaining a close connection with their brethren in the
west. The largest portion of theTrans-Jordanic territory, estimated
« 1 Chron. xii. 8. ° Ibid. v. 19 ff.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. I33
roughly at 2.500 square miles, was occupied by the half-tribe of
Manasseh. It has been supposed that, finding themselves
cramped in their western quarters, and overbalanced by their
brethren Ephraimites, they migrated across the river and won
for themselves new possessions there." This, indeed, may be
partly true, but it is not a correct account of the settlement.
Moses had contemplated establishing a part certainly of the
tribe on the east before the conquest of the rest of the country,
confirming them apparently in their conquests, and deeming
them best fitted to defend the passes of Anti-Libanus and
Hauran. The tribe had greatly increased in numbers and
reputation during the last period of the wandering. At the
first census in Sinai its numbers were 32,200 ; at the end of
the forty years it had grown to 52,7,x>. The foremost part taken
by Manasseh in the subjection of Gilead, and the prowess
displayed in that campaign, designated the tribe as the fittest
tenant of the difficult region which it was chiefly instrumental
in subduing.2 These Manassites were now no longer mere
shepherds, cattle-breeders, or agriculturists ; and it was from
no love of a pastoral life that they elected to fix their habitation
on the eastern territory. They had developed into hardy
warriors, who enjoyed the turmoil of battle and the excitement
of military expeditions, and were fain to hold with the sword
that which they had won with the sword. That they were
executing a righteous vengeance on foul idolaters was a fact
that sanctified their efforts, and encouraged them in their
arduous enterprise. There was evidently a division in the
habits and occupations of the tribe. The smaller section,
which had a taste for agricultural pursuits, and a quiet, in
dustrious life, separated itself from its warlike brother, and
cast in its lot with the western tribes, adhering especially to
its kindred Ephraim. The Trans-Jordanic Manassites are
described as being children of Machir, and effecting their
conquests under the conduct of Jair and Nobah ; and it seems
probable that they added greatly to their possessions after the
days of Joshua, and that the limits assigned to their territory
are rather those which they afterwards obtained than those of
the original conquest. The inheritance of Manasseh is de
scribed generally as the kingdom of Og, that is, the northern
• Ewald, " Hist, of Israel," ii. 281, 299.
* Numb, xxxii. 39 ff. ; Deut. iii. 13 ff.

134 JOSHUA;
part of Gilead and all Bashan. Its southern border was
Mahanaim ; but as the site of this place, is still undetermined
we may consider the Hieromax or Jarmuk as forming the
boundary in the direction of Gad. Its northern limit was
Mount Hermon, Damascus being at that time too powerful to
be attacked with any hope of success ; the Sea of Galilee and
the Upper Jordan bounded it on the west, while on the east it
stretched far into the desert of Arabia. It included what was
known in Greek and Roman times as Trachonitis, Ituraa,
Batanaea, Gaulanitis, Auranitis, and in later days as Jedur, El-
Lejah, Jaulan, Hauran. The best general view of the territory
of Og, says Mr. Oliphant," is obtained from Tel el Faris, the
most southerly peak of the Jebel Hesh range, which runs to
the east of Lakes Merom and Gennesareth. Hence the eye
can range over a vast extent of plain and pasture-land, well
watered, partially strewed with basaltic rocks, but capable of
supporting countless flocks and herds. To the south the steppe
stretches away unbroken till cleft by the gorge of the Jarmuk,
beyond which the country becomes more undulated and woody,
terminating in the lofty range of the mountains of Gilead.
Looking more to the east we see the vast corn-lands of Hauran
bounded by the hills of Bashan and the Jebel Druse ; to the
north-east we look over the pasture of Iturasa, with the solitary
cone of Tel el Hara rising about half-way between Merom and
El Lejah, and forming a conspicuous landmark. In this direc
tion the view is closed by the Jebel el Mania, beyond which lies
the city of Damascus. South-west the plain for nearly twenty
miles is more or less interrupted with rocks, and terminates
abruptly in the precipitous shores of the Sea of Tiberias,
behind which looms the irregular outline of the mountains of
Western Palestine. The physical characters of the region are
almost as various as its names. The extreme north was formed
by the lower slopes of Hermon, an inaccessible mountainous
region, which, however, helped to fertilize the rich country at
its foot by sending into it numerous streams from its pre
cipitous defiles. Below this, lying on the east next to the
waters of Merom and Gennesareth, and rising to a plateau 3,000
feet above the latter, came the province now called Golan or
Jaulan, from its ancient capital, Golan. Seen from the opposite
side of the lake the district looks like a rugged mountain range,
* "Land of Gilead," 62 f.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 135
but the hills visible thence are merely the supporting wall of a
fertile upland, clothed with the richest grass, and once teeming
with, as it was capable of supporting, a large population.
Towards Merom this wall forms a series of terraces, on which
a rich soil has been conveyed or has accumulated, exhibiting
most luxuriant herbage and flowers of surpassing beauty.
Along the outskirts of this region are seen magnificent forests
of oak and terebinth. The oasis of the territory is the country
to the east of Golan, the Batanasa of the Romans, the name of
which recalls the ancient Bashan, though its extent is much
less. It is a picturesque mountainous region, abounding in
pasturage and forests. Here grew the oaks, here fed the bulls
and cattle that made Bashan so celebrated. South-east of this
district, now termed Ard-el-Bathanyeh, comes the Hauran
(Auranitis), " the Cave-land," so called from the extensive use
of caves as dwellings by the inhabitants, who everywhere also
stored their water and their grain in such artificial receptacles.
It is generally a flat land, which Mr. Merrill compares to the
richest prairie of his own America." The fertile humus lies
on the old lava beds ; and in a great part of the country, with
the exception of a few volcanic tells, not a hill or stone is to be
seen above the surface. Yet the buildings that remain, some
of remote antiquity, were constructed entirely of the hardest
basalt. Wood being very scarce, everything, even doors and
joists, was made of stone, the principle of the arch being
largely used to supply the carpenter's art. On the more hilly
portion of the Hauran a large part of the population, says Mr.
Oliphant," still live in caves, most probably the same subter
ranean dwellings in which the Rephaim dwelt. These consist
usually of one or two rooms excavated from the side of the hill,
closed in front with blocks of stone fitted together without
cement, and entered by a door of stone turning on a stone
hinge. Where the dwelling protrudes beyond the subterranean
portion, it is covered with a flat roof of stone and clay, which
forms the usual lounge of the idler and the gossip. At Dra'a
there is a veritable underground city excavated in the rock, on
the surface of which another and later city has been built.
Here are regular streets with dwellings on either side and
openings for ventilation reaching to the ground above ; here
• " East of the Jordan," 333.
• " Land of Gilead," 103 ff. ; Merrill, 349 ff.

I36 JOSHUA.
are shops very similar to those found in other Syrian cities ;
here is a great hall, the roof of which, composed of jasper, is
supported by four pillars. There seems to have been no means
of admitting the light of day to these dismal abodes. It has
been suggested that, seeing the Troglodytes of this region
issuing from their tomb-like dwellings, the Israelites called them
Rephaim, "the dead," and that this term was afterwards applied
to them in the sense of "giants," which it sometimes bears.
North-east of the Hauran, and stretching towards the territory
of Damascus, lay the most remarkable district of the whole
country, the names of which reflect its physical character.
Argob (" the stony "), the Roman Trachonitis (" the rugged "),
the modern Lejah (" asylum "), is a grim and forbidding region
of black basalt, lying to the east of the plain of Jaulan, about
twenty miles long by fifteen broad. Elevated above the plain,
and consisting of a labyrinth of rock and cleft, and crevasse, it
forms a natural fortress which has made it a refuge for the
oppressed and disaffected, whence the Government authorities
have often in vain endeavoured to dislodge them. Here in
1835 a small body of 800 Druses resisted the whole army of
Ibrahim Pasha, who after a siege of eleven months, in the
course of which he lost 25,000 men, was forced to withdraw his
troops, leaving the enemy unsubdued." In strict accordance
with the peculiar nature of the boundary of Argob, the region is
usually designated by a Hebrew word that means " rope " ; thus
in Deut. iii. 4ff., "the region of Argob " is literally "the rope of
Axgob," the term accurately expressing the abrupt definiteness
of the line of division between this and the surrounding
country. " The lava bed proper," says Mr. Merrill,3 " embraces
350 square miles, and its average height above the surround
ing plain is perhaps twenty feet. The bed in its outline or
edge is far from being regular, but sends out at a multitude
of points black promontories of rock into the surrounding
plain. Through this rugged shore there are a few openings
into the interior, but for the most part it is impassable, and
roads had to be excavated to the towns situated within it.
. . . The surface is black, and has the appearance of the sea
when it is in motion beneath a dark, cloudy sky, and when
the waves are of a good size, but without any white crests
" Oliphant, " Land of Gilead," 56 f. ; Grove, ap. " Diet of the Bible."
1. 103, 29S. ¦ " East of the Jordan," 11 ff.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 137
of foam. But this sea of lava is motionless, and its great
waves are petrified. In the process of cooling, the lava
cracked, and in some places the layers of great basalt blocks
look as if they had been prepared and placed where they are
by artificial means. In other cases the hillocks have split
lengthwise, or sometimes into several portions, and thus seams
have been opened, forming great fissures and chasms which
cannot be crossed." This uninviting tract was thickly studded
with cities and villages, the ruins of which are still extant.
The number of cities that came into the possession of
Manasseh is stated to have been threescore ; but this seems
to refer only to those existing in one portion of the whole ter
ritory, and takes no account of the other places of note included
therein. These we may briefly mention. On the south-west of
Argob stood the formidable city of Edrei, the scene of Og's
final stand and slaughter. It was built on a rocky promontory
one and a half miles wide and two and a half long, in an almost
inaccessible position, with no natural supply of water, the want
being met by immense subterranean reservoirs which still are
the astonishment of the traveller. There is not a tree or a
shrub in the neighbourhood ; there is no access except over
rocks or through defiles almost impassable, every convenience
being sacrificed to strength and security. The city is now
known as Edra ; the Greeks called it Adraa ; it was occupied
later by the Romans, and the remains of their tenure are seen
in an enormous mass of ruins ; but many traces of the earlier
inhabitants survive, while the works of their successors have
crumbled to the dust * That the Israelites captured this im
pregnable fortress speaks well for their intrepidity and military
skill, but was probably chiefly owing to the depression occa
sioned by the utter defeat and death of the king, and the want
of any organized resistance to the invaders. Argob and its
capital offered no inducements to a pastoral people ; they were
the proper home of a lawless and marauding horde ; and the
more civilized Manassites seem to have not cared to retain
hold of this uninviting district when once the thirst of conquest
was satisfied. Next in importance to Edrei came a place cele
brated as a centre of the worship of Ashtoreth, the principal
female divinity of the Phoenicians, and in many attributes
equivalent to the Astarte of the Greeks and Romans. The
' Porter, " Giant Cities," 93 ; Merrill, 20 ff.

138 JOSHUA.
cify itself was called Ashtaroth, and Ashtatofh-Karnaim ("the
two-horned"), the latter name indicating the worship of the
moon, like Horace's "two-horned Queen of stars."' It has
been identified with Tel Ashtara, a remarkable mound above
a gorge in which is the principal source of the Jarmuk, about
twenty-five miles east of the Sea of Galilee, and fifteen from
Og's other capital, Edrei. With the defile of the Jarmuk on
one side and a deep chasm cleft by a waterfall on the other,
and with three tiers of walls to guard the more accessible parts,
Ashtaroth must have been practically impregnable." In taking
this place, the Manassites were treading in the steps of the
conqueror Chedorlaomer in their forefather Abraham's time,
when this monarch in conjunction with his vassal kings smote
the Rephaim in Bashan at Ashtaroth- Karnaim. Of the towns
situated in Argob itself we have but few accounts. One of
them, captured by an heroic Manassite named Nobah, and
called after himself Nobah, soon recovered its old name
Kenath, and is now known as Kunawat. It lies at the southern
point of the district, in a line with the lower end of Gennesareth
at the distance of sixty miles. On the edge of the Wady Kuna
wat, a deep ravine with perpendicular sides, stood the ancient
city, with a large number of dependent towns in its immediate
vicinity. Beyond this stony region, still farther to the east,
was Salcah, a large town built round an imposing hill, on
which in later, if not early, days stood a strong castle visible
from all the plain of Bashan. It is now called Salkhad, and
though it appears but little in later Jewish history, being the
frontier fortress on the east and a place of considerable strength,
it must have always been of vast importance to the possessors
of Bashan. There seem to be no tokens of Manassite occupa
tion ; and probably, like other of these towns, it was won by
individual enterprise, and abandoned after a brief tenure. To
the modern traveller the most noticeable feature is the site
of the old castle, which is built in the mouth of an extinct
crater, on a conical eminence in the centre, the bowl-shaped
crater forming a natural moat round it. The hill itself is some
three hundred feet high, and makes a conspicuous landmark,
defining the limit of the territory eastward.3 The city Golan,
which gave its name to the province Gaulonitis, now Jaulan,
1 " Carm S;ueul," 35.
3 Oliphant, " Land of Gilead," 84 ff. ; Merrill, "East of the Jordan,*
328 ff, 3 Merrill, 50 f.

ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST. 1 39
has not yet been certainly identified. There is a tributary of the
Jarmuk coming from the north-east which bears the name of
Nahr Allan, which word, in Mr. Merrill's opinion, may repre
sent the ancient Golan. In this wady the place of greatest
importance is Nawa, which contains remains of vast antiquity,
and may very possibly be the unknown Golan, as there is no
other suitable ruin between this and the Sea of Galilee, and
it stands exactly in the direction where this town may be
expected to lie." The only other places mentioned as taken
at this time by the Manassites are "the towns of Jair," Havoth-
Jair. This Jair by maternal descent was connected with
Machir ; by his father's family he was a member of the tribe
of Judah, and seems to have been a most brave and successful
warrior, and to have given his name to a group of towns which
he conquered and colonized. The Chronicler (i Chron. iii. 22)
reckons these as twenty-three in number ; in the time of the
Judge Jair, the descendant of the original possessor, they are
called thirty ; * but the multitude of cities in this district was
enormous ; the wildest regions are full of ruins to this day ;
and the population at one time must have been remarkably
numerous. Hauran alone is said to have contained a thousand
towns, and in the other divisions which composed the province
of Manasseh at least an equal number was to be found.
The blessing invoked both by Jacob and Moses on the
descendants of Joseph cannot be readily assigned to the
separate fortunes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The two tribes
are blended in one view, and there is little that can be appro
priated to the circumstances of the half-tribe with which we are
at present concerned. The expression, "Joseph is a fruitful
bough whose branches run over the wall," may point to the
two tribes that sprang from Joseph, or to the luxuriance of
Manasseh which led to his spreading himself in two quarters.
Both of the benedictions refer to the exuberant fertility of the
possessions assigned to the tribes, and are fully justified by the
physical features of their inheritances. From Manasseh sprang
the greatest of all the Judges, Gideon, in whose family here
ditary monarchy was almost established ; and in their frank
loyalty and soldierly devotion to authority it was long before the
Manassites succumbed to the degrading influences of surround
ing heathenism, and quitted their simple faith and settled life for
the foul fictions of idolatry and the lawlessness of nomadism.
» Merrill, 324 ff. ; Oliphant, 71. * Jlidg. x. 4.

CHAPTER IX.
ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH.
Arrangements for the further distribution of territory — The lot — Caleb't
inheritance at Hebron — Othniel and Achsah — Settlement of Judah—
Boundaries of the territory — The Negeb ; Kerioth ; Beersheba — The
Shephelah ; Zoreah ; Socoh ; Keilah — The Hill Country and its
cities ; Places connected with David's outlaw life ; Bethlehem ; Jeshi-
mon ; Engedi — Characteristics and fortunes of Judah — Settlement of
the tribe of Joseph — Boundaries of the territory ; its physical character
— Complaint and pride of Ephraim — Inheritance of Ephraim : Shiloh ;
Timnath-serah — Inheritance of Manasseh — Daughters of Zelophehad —
Esdraelon ; Bethshan ; Ibleam ; Endor ; Megiddo ; Ophrah — Taber
nacle removed to Shiloh.
Hitherto Joshua had been supreme in command. His con
duct of the military expeditions undertaken for the subjugation
of Canaan had been shared by no one. The second great task,
the allotment of the land to the nine and a half tribes, was
entrusted, as we have seen, to a commission often chiefs under
the joint superintendence of Joshua and Eleazar the high priest.
The latter, as the representative of the religious aspect of the
business, assumed the paramount authority ; the other ele
ments gave to it the sanction of the military and civil depart
ments. The distribution of the several portions was to be
made by lot, in order that it might be recognized as entirely
in the hand of a superintending Providence. The lot, however,
determined merely the relative position of each portion and the
tribe to which it fell ; the extent and limits of each inheritance
were settled by the commissioners on due consideration of the
requirements of each case. We are not told in what way the
lot was taken. Probably there were two urns, one of which
contained the names of the tribes written on slips of parchment

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. 141
or wood, the other the names or numbers of the portions into
which the whole territory had been roughly divided. Each
tribal representative drew one of the tickets from each vessel,
and his situation in the Promised Land was thus fixed. That
the arrangement thus finally effected bore a remarkable analogy
to the position of the tribes round the central sanctuary during
the march through the wilderness, shows the presence of a
controlling will throughout all the proceedings, which directs
minds, foresees events, and does all things well.
The solemn casting of lots took place in the camp at Gilgal,
and the tribe of Judah, as it excelled the others in population
and military capacity, and as, carrying out the order of march
maintained in the desert, it had led the vanguard in battle,
was the first to receive its apportionment. But before the
commencement of the proceedings a claim, supported by the
elders of the tribe, was made by Caleb to have a certain
inheritance assigned to him without the intervention of the lot.
Caleb, as we have seen, was the only one of the twelve spies
who joined Joshua in giving an encouraging report of the Pro
mised Land, and was with him rewarded by being preserved
to see the conquest an accomplished fact. From his being
called " the Kenizzite " (Josh. xiv. 6) he has been thought to
have been of foreign extraction, descended from the Edomite clan
of Kenizzites,1 and adopted by circumcision into the tribe of
Judah. A further presumption in support of this opinion is
found in two expressions used concerning him, when it is said
that he had "a part among the children of Judah " (xv. 13),
and that "he wholly followed Jehovah, God of Israel" (xiv. 14).
But these arguments are of small force, and it is most probable
that his immediate ancestor in the tribe was one Kenaz, and
that his family was known by this name. He himself had a
son or grandson so called.3 Now this good old man comes
before his comrade Joshua, the sole survivor with him of the
Exodus, and demands from him the fulfilment of a promise
made on their return from the exploration nearly fifty years
ago. He recalls how "Moses sware on that day to him, saying,
Surely the land whereon thy foot hath trodden shall be an
inheritance to thee and to thy children for ever, because thou
hast wholly followed the Lord thy God." This declaration,
though not expressly mentioned in our present record, was
1 Gen. xv. 19. * 1 Chron. iv. 15.

I42 JOSHUA.
doubtless well known to Joshua, and had often been present
to his mind as he retraced the familiar track of the spies in the
course of his military expeditions. Caleb is fain to note that
he is now fourscore and five years old, yet is not infirm or
unfit for active enterprise. A virtuous youth had resulted in
a vigorous old age, so that the senior could say simply, without
boasting : " As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day
that Moses sent me ; as my strength was then, even so is my
strength now, for war, and to go out and to come in." Then
he prefers his request and asks for the district of Hebron on
which his heart had been set ever since he had reconnoitred
it in his earlier years. It was a possession which would need
some severe fighting to win ; for the former inhabitants, and
especially the Anakim, had re-established themselves there
while the Israelites had been occupied elsewhere ; but the old
warrior had no fears on this score, and felt himself fully able
to make good his claim. If, as he trusted, the Lord was with
him, he would find no insuperable difficulty in expelling the
interlopers, however numerous or gigantic. Gladly did Joshua
grant the request of his old companion, solemnly blessing him
in his new inheritance ; and thus Hebron passed into Caleb's
possession, the city itself being made over by him to the
Levites, while he retained the land for his own use. What
an important part this place played in the life of David is told
in the history of that monarch. One episode in the conquest
of the district is considered worthy of special mention."
Among the cities in the territory which had to be re-conquered
was Kirjath-sepher, or Debir. Like Saul under the challenge
of Goliath, like David at the assault of Sion, Caleb offered
a reward to the brave soldier who should take and smite this
town. The guerdon in this case was to be the hand of his
daughter Achsah. Othniel, Caleb's younger brother, won the
prize, there being at that time no positive law, and indeed no
general sentiment against the marriage of uncle and niece.
The wedding was duly inaugurated, and Othniel, according
to immemorial custom, went with a cavalcade of friends to the
father's house at Hebron to bring his bride to his own home
at Debir. Caleb as dowry had given his daughter a possession
which, like most parts of that district, was destitute of water.
Achsah, who seems to have been a young woman of great
¦ Josh. xv. 13-19 ; Judg. i. 10, 11.

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. 143
prudence, urged her husband to ask her father for a field which
was better fitted for cultivation. Othniel demurring to make
the request, she determined to do so herself. Riding by the
side of her father, she suddenly flung herself from the ass which
carried her, and falling on her knees, held up her hands in an
attitude of entreaty. Astonished at his daughter's behaviour,
Caleb asked her what she wanted. " Give me a blessing," she
replied. " Make me a worthy present on this my marriage day.
For that thou hast set me in the land of the south, give me
also springs of water." The fond old father could not resist
the bride's entreaty, and bestowed upon her " the upper and
the nether springs " — a great boon indeed in the Negeb, but
one which the unusual abundance in the vicinity enabled him
to give. In a secluded valley near Debir there is quite a
phenomenal supply of water, fourteen springs in all, some in
the upper part of the valley, some in the lower, which never
fail in the dryest summer ; the land thus fertilized became
Achsah's portion."
Caleb's inheritance being settled, Eleazar and Joshua pro
ceeded to allot the possession of the tribe of Judah. In
defining the boundaries of all the tribal portions, the commis
sioners appear to have followed the natural features of the
country, and these, which are unchanged in the lapse of
centuries, can still be traced where the identification of frontier
cities is at fault. Judah, he whom his brethren should praise,
whose hand should be upon the neck of his enemies, to whom,
when Reuben, Simeon, and Levi lost their rights of primo
geniture, the father's sons bowed down,3 received the largest
inheritance, west of Jordan, the area of his possession, as
originally designated, including 2,300 square miles, being nearly
one-third of the whole country. Starting from the lower end
of the Dead Sea, with its treeless waste of salt-marsh, only
relieved by the little oasis of Es-Safieh on the east, the southern
boundaty passed westward along the south side of Ma'aleh-
Acrabbim, " the ascent of scorpions," the present Wady Zouara,
where to this day those reptiles lurk under every stone ; then
following the great mountain wall above the wilderness of Zin,
it trended south to Kadesh-Barnea, whence it turned abruptly
to the westward till it struck the " torrent of Egypt," the Wady
¦ " Pal. Survey Reports," 1874, p. 55 ; Geikie, i. 360 f.
• Gen. xlix. 8 ff.

144 JOSHUA.
el Arish, which continued to be its border unto the Mediter
ranean. This sea formed the western boundary ; the eastern
was made by the Dead Sea in its whole' extent from north to
south. The northern boundary is not so easy to determine.
Commencing at the embouchure of the Jordan, it traversed the
town of Beth-hogla, two miles from the river, now Ain Hajlah,
with a lovely spring of fresh water in a verdant grove ; then
passing south of Jericho, it turned up the valley of Achor, the
Wady Kelt, by a famous stone erected to commemorate some
achievement of a Reubenite named Bohan in the late wars,
and then followed the usual route from the Jordan valley to
Jerusalem, which bore the ominous name Adummim, " the
red," in allusion, says Jerome, to the blood shed by the robbers
who infested the spot. This is the scene of our Lord's Parable
of the Good Samaritan, and it is not at all improbable that this
fact has suggested Jerome's explanation of the name. But it is
more likely to have arisen from some physical feature in the
locality, and travellers have observed purplish rock and red
chalk on the sides of the valley, which may well have given
rise to the appellation. About two miles from Jerusalem the
line reached the waters of Enshemesh, Ain el Haudr, the
Apostles' Spring, just below Bethany ; then skirting the hill
Ophel south of the Temple Mount by Enrogel, "the Fountain
of the Virgin," so called because, as the legend tells, the
mother of our Lord there washed His swaddling clothes, the
boundary followed the valley of Hinnom, on the south and
south-west of the city, mounting from the ravine to the ridge
above the plain of Rephaim, the shallow basin, now called El
Bukeia, which extends its stony slope to Mar Elias, half-way
between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Thus Jerusalem itself lay
just beyond the original territory of Judah, unless, as some
suppose, the valley of Hinnom be identical w ith the Tyropceon,
in which case the city would have been divided between Judah
and Benjamin. Skirting the ridge on the north-west of Jeru
salem, the border was drawn to the " water of Nephtoah," the
'spring Ain Lifta rising above a village of the same name two
and a half miles north-west of Jerusalem ; thence following
the range of hills, it passed to Kirjath-Jearim with its thickly-
wooded forest, whence turning south it took in Bethshemesh,
Ain Shems, " the well of the sun," and Timnah (Tibneh), three
miles to the west, so famous in after time for the exploits of

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. I45
Samson ; thence bending toward the Philistine city of Ekron,
and along the little line of hills running parallel with the coast,
it continued some way down the Wady es Surah, past Jamnia,
to the sea about eleven miles south of Jaffa. The territory thus
defined, being about forty-five miles long and fifty broad, was
of varied character and of great natural strength. It comprised
four distinct regions. First there was the Negeb, the south,
the dry land, which lay between the central hills and the
desert. This is a series of rolling hills clothed with scanty
herbage, but bare of trees and shrubs, with a look of barren
ness about them which hardly gives promise of the fine
pasturage that we know they afforded. Here the patriarchs
had folded their flocks ; but the district was never thickly
inhabited, the general scarcity of perennial springs rendering it
unsuited for permanent settlements. There are, however, some
thirty * cities mentioned as appertaining to the region, but most
of them are of little importance and quite unknown to history,
and their identification is more curious than useful. The writer
in Josh. xv. has methodically arranged the towns in four groups,
running from east to west. The first, consisting of nine towns
situated on the border of Edom towards the south-west of the
Dead Sea, contained none that are known save, probably,
Kadesh-Barnea, and Kabzeel, the birthplace of David's loyal
hero Benaiah, who may well have gained his reputation as a
slayer of lions in this locality. The next group of five or six
cities contains New Hazor and Kerioth-Hezron, the latter of
which places has been identified with the ruins of El-Kuryetein,
some fifteen miles south of Hebron, and is supposed to be the
home of tha traitor Judas, whence he derived the appellation
Iscariot (— ish Kerioth, "man of Kerioth "). Among the nine
cities of the next group, which lies more to the north, occurs
the time-honoured Beersheba, than which no spot in all the
land is more fraught with patriarchal interest. Still retaining
the name Bir-es-Seba, still famous for its wells of living water,
whose mouths are surrounded with antique curb-stones scored
deeply with the action of ropes employed for untold centuries
' The number in the Hebrew text of Josh. xv. 32 is said to be twenty-
nine, v/hile there seem to be at least thirty-six cities enumerated. There
are clerical errors in many of these lists, the sum total not agreeing with
the details. This is owing partly to some of the towns having two names,
but chiefly to the use of letters for numerals. II

146 JOSHUA.
to raise their prized treasures to the surface in that thirsty land,
Beersheba has never failed in its utility, or faded from remem
brance, in all the lapse of time since Abraham digged the
wells four thousand years ago. Though the province of Judah
extended originally some distance further to the south, yet as
the last important place between the desert and the uplands,
Beersheba is generally taken as the boundary, so that the whole
country from north to south is expressed in the phrase " from
Dan to Beersheba." The fourth group, of thirteen towns, lay
to the west and south-west, and contained Ziklag, a town cele
brated for its connection with David. Such were the cities
of the Negeb, or South land.
The next division of the territory of Judah was the valley,
the Lowland, the Shephelah, the strip of country between the
central hills and the sandy shore of the Mediterranean. This
was rich in corn lands and orchards, and has been called the
garden and granary of Judah, — a region of soft white limestone
hills undulating in low waves towards the hill country on the
east, and rising in fertile slopes to some 500 feet above sea
level. "The wide straths leading up to the mountains are
especially fertile ; the valleys waving with corn and the hill-sides
covered with olive trees, which flourish better in this district
than in any other." * It contained a large number of towns
arranged by the narrator in four groups. First comes the north
east portion, among whose fifteen cities we find two places
connected with the history of Samson, Eshtaol (Eshua), and
Zoreah (Surah), the residence of Manoah, on the top of a hill
above the Wady Surar, about thirteen miles west of Jerusalem;
the Canaanite capital, Jarmuth ; David's refuge, Adullam (Aid-
el-Ma), on the Roman road down the Wady Sir, which leads to
the Wady Sunt, the valley of Elah where Goliath fell beneath
the shepherd's stone ; Socoh, now Shuweikeh, in the same
valley, two miles south of Jarmuth ; and Azekah, mentioned in
the pursuit after the battle of Beth-horon. The second group
comprises sixteen cities situated wholly in the plain, among
which we note the Canaanite cities, Lachish, Eglon, and
Makkedah, already spoken of during the conquest of the
south ; and a Mizpeh, which is not the Mizpeh of Benjamin.
The third group, of nine cities, includes the southern portion
bordering on the hill region. Here was Libnah, a fruit of
1 Geikie, i. 30.

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. 1 47
Joshua's prowess ; Keilah (Kila), on a hill three miles south
east of Adullam, the town which David rescued from the
Philistines ; and Mareshah, once fortified by Rehoboam, and
famous in the time of King Asa and in the Maccabaean wars ; '
it is doubtless the modern Merash, half a mile south of Beit-
Jibrim (Eleutheropolis), which was built from its ruins. The
last group includes the towns on the Philistine sea-coast, Ekron
with its dependent villages, Ashdod with similar appendages,
and Gaza, even to the " river of Egypt." The above are the
places of note in the Shephelah.
The third and most important division of the territory of
Judah was " the hill country." Beginning in the Negeb below
Hebron, it extends on the north to Jerusalem, being bounded
on the east by the wilderness of the Dead Sea, and on the west
by the Shephelah. The highest point is in the neighbourhood
of Hebron, and reaches nearly 3,500 feet above sea level. The
rock is limestone, and when disintegrated and mixed with
vegetable matter is capable of high cultivation, which indeed
the abundant traces of terraces and water-channels show that it
once received. The appearance of the district is now desolate
and forbidding, though there are still valleys here and there
teeming with luxuriance, and the ruins on every hill attest that
it once owned and supported a very numerous population. The
cities enumerated in this section are arranged in five groups.
The first comprises eleven cities situated in the south-western
portion, among which we may note Jattir, which is found in
the modern Attir, a ruin thirteen miles below Hebron ; another
Socoh, close by, and, like the town in the lowland, now called
Shuweikeh ; Debir, of which we have already spoken ; Esh-
temoh, now Es Semua, one of David's places of refuge ; and
Giloh, probably Jala, six miles north of Hebron, the native city
of Absalom's counsellor, Ahitophel, and the scene of his suicide.
North of these places comes the second group, containing nine
cities, among which is reckoned Hebron. None of the others
are of any importance, though it is noteworthy that Beth-
Tappuab, " House of Apples," has been identified with Teffuh, a
village still conspicuous for its fruit-trees and vineyards. In the
next group, consisting of ten cities lying nearer the southern
desert, occur some which are connected with the outlaw life of
David, Here is Maon, now Main, on a conical hill, four miles
1 3 Chron. xi. 8 ; xiv. 9 d. ; 1 Mace. v. 65 ff. ; Robinson, ii. 423.

I48 JOSHUA.
east of Eshtemoh, and eight south of Hebron, where dwelt the
churlish Nabal ; Carmel, a mile to the north, where Saul set
up the trophy of his victory over the Amalekites, and Nabal
held his fatal sheep-shearing feast ; Ziph, on an eminence rising
above a maze of hills and glens, five miles south of Hebron, and
offering a secure hiding-place unless revealed by treachery ;
Jezreel, whence came David's wife, Ahinoam. Here, too, is
Timnah, not the Timnah of Samson's story, but the place (now
Tibna) whither the patriarch Judah "went up" to his sheep-
shearers, and which lay nine miles west of Bethlehem and four
north-east of Adullam." It is remarkable that Bethlehem
itself does not occur in the list of these Judaic towns. It is
inserted with some others in the Septuagint catalogue,3 but there
are reasons for doubting the genuineness of the passage. We
are so accustomed to regard Bethlehem with intense reverence
and honour, as the home of David and the birthplace of our
Blessed Lord, that we expect to find tokens of its eminent posi
tion in the records of old time. But the truth is far otherwise.
It never played any part in history ; though strong by nature,
and commanding one of the main roads of the country, it
remained in almost total obscurity, and in Joshua's time had
not become worthy of mention. The fourth group consists of
six cities on the north of Hebron ; among them Halhul, now
Hulhul, in a luxuriant spot on the road between Hebron and
Jerusalem ; Beth-zur, now Beit Sur, fortified by Rehoboam,
and often mentioned in the Maccabasan period as a frontier
fortress of great strength ; and Gedor (Jedur), the home of two of
David's heroes (i Chron. xii. 7), crowning the brow of a moun
tain above the Jerusalem road. The fifth group contains only
two cities on the west of Jerusalem, Kirjath-Jearim, known in
early idolatrous times as Baalah or Kirjath-Baal, and Rabbah,
probably the ruined Rubba in the hills eight miles south. The
last group relates to the places in the wilderness, Jeshimon,
that is, the desolate district between the mountains, here ending
abruptly, and the Dead Sea. The region is not absolutely
* Gen. xxxviii. 12 ff.
' In Josh, xv., between verses 59 and 60, the Greek Version inserts a list
of eleven cities, among which, placed between Theko and Phagor, is found
"Ephratah which is Bethlehem." Another of the eleven is Tekoah, the
home of the prophet Amos. The nine other cities are quite unknown to
history, but they occupy a portion of the district which wo'Ud otherwise ba
entirely omitted.

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. I49
desert, but is destitute of trees,and produces only scanty herbage
where watercourses afford moisture to the parched ground. It
was but thinly inhabited, and contained at this time only six
cities of any note ; and of these none are known for certain
but Engedi, " the Fountain of the Kid," now Ain Jidy, cele
brated in the history of David, and described by every Eastern
traveller. It is situated on the hill about half-way up the
western shore of the Dead Sea, opposite to the embouchure of
the Arnon on the other coast Here several hundred feet up
the slope gushes forth a warm spring, fertilizing the soil around
as it makes its way to the sea through the plain whereon lie
the ruins of Hazazon-Tamar, "the Felling of the Palm " ("which
is Engedi," 2 Chron. xx. 2). Living palm-trees, indeed, are
scarce nowadays, but the trunks, preserved by the salt waters,
lie everywhere on the sea-shore, and testify to what has been.
On this plain, about a mile and a half long and half a mile
broad, stood one of the oldest cities in Syria ; here Chedor-
laomer with his fierce Assyrian troops overcame the five
Canaanite kings ; here David hid himself from' the pursuit of
the relentless Saul in one of the caves of the neighbouring
precipice. The " City of Salt " is named as situated in this
district, but it has not as yet been identified. At the bottom of
the Dead Sea there was a locality called the Valley of Salt,
where the Edomites suffered several defeats on various occa
sions ; " here doubtless this city lay.
Such was the possession of Judah as originally defined. Its
dimensions were afterwards, as we shall see, considerably
diminished •, but its position was by this curtailing materially
strengthened ; and as a hardy tribe of mountaineers Judah
held its own, and was not easily seduced by the evil associations
which led its brethren astray. Its success in war and future
pre-eminence had been foretold by Jacob, who in his prophetic
foresight had said :
"Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise ;
Thy hand shall be upon the neck of thine enemies :
Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.
Judah is a lion's whelp :
From the prey, my son, thou art gone up ;
He stooped down, he couched as a Hon,
And as a lioness : who shall rouse him up ? "
• 2 Sam. viii. 13 ; 2 Kings xiv. 7 ; Chron. xviil. 12.

1 50 JOSHUA.
Then follows the passage which a consensus of authorities
has determined to be a Messianic prediction of a very remark
able character, taking Shiloh as a personal name of the Mes
siah. The matter cannot be here discussed ; but it may be
observed that the patriarch is designating generally the future
fate of the tribe, and not specifying any individual member
thereof, and that the name Shiloh is nowhere else applied to
the Messiah. Of course such inspired utterances have a reach
and a meaning far beyond their apparent scope ; but putting
oneself in Jacob's place one sees that he is announcing only
Judah's future headship, how that he shall lead the nation in
the conquest of the Promised Land, obtain the submission of
the peoples, and dwell securely in a very fertile portion.1 Thus
the blessing runs :
*• The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
Until that which is his shall come,
And the obedience of the peoples shall be unto him."
Then the patriarch speaks of the tribe's temporal prosperity,
of its herds, its vineyards, its pastures :
" Binding his ass unto the vine,
And his ass's colt unto the choice vine,
He washeth his very garments in wine.
And his vesture in the blood of grapes ;
His eyes are red with wine.
His teeth are white with milk."
Moses' blessing is briefer, but grand and mysterious :
" Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him in unto his people ;
Let his hands be sufficient for him.
And be thou a help to him against his enemies.*'
This may be a prediction in the form of a prayer that Judah
may always return in safety from warlike exploits, being upheld
by the power of God ; but it may also refer to the efficacy of
the prayer of faith, how when the hands are raised in earnest
supplication other aid is not requisite,
" See Briggs, " Messianic Prophecy," 94 ff. ; and Dillmann on Gen. xlix.
to ff. in " Kurzgef. Exeg. Handb."

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. 151
The fortunes of Judah are told in the whole history of the
chosen people, blending at length in that of the Christian
Church. Having thus arranged the inheritance of the royal tribe of
Judah, Joshua and the commissioners proceeded to allot its
possession to the great house of Joseph. Though this family
formed two tribes, viz., Ephraim and Manasseh, a single lot
was all that fell to them, the half-tribe of Manasseh being
closely allied to Ephraim to prevent the undue weakening of
the former, if, in its divided state, it were far separated from its
brother tribe. The boundaries of this portion are not stated
with the precision observed in the case of Judah, and it is
difficult to fix them with any certainty, but the following brief
account will be found to be best authenticated by the text of
Scripture and recent explorations. The northern boundary is
not distinctly given ; the other limits are more easily deter
mined. Starting from the Jordan immediately opposite to
Jericho, the southern boundary ran to " the water of Jericho,"
the Sultan's Spring, the scene of Elisha's miracle, and then
by one of the ravines, the Wady Harith, or the Wady Suweinit,
up into the hills round Bethel, thence to the Lov/er Beth-horon,
past Ataroth-Adar (Khurbet Dariah), a mile to the south-west,
unto the Canaanite city Gezer, and from thence to the Medi
terranean Sea at Jaffa. Such was the southern border ; the
Jordan valley, up to a spot opposite Bethshan, formed the
eastern limit, the sea-coast to Carmel the western. Along the
watershed between Bethshan and Carmel, the northern line
lay, but it is impossible to define it accurately, as it seems to
have be&n constantly altered, the cities at one time assigned to
Manasseh being at another attributed to some adjacent tribe.
It is calculated that the whole territory extended about fifty-five
miles from east to west, and seventy from north to south, a dis
trict equal to the area of our two English counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk. It was emphatically a good land, in a secure and
central position, rugged indeed, but "broken up into wide plains
in the heart of the mountains, and diversified both in hill and
valley by streams of running water and by continuous tracts
of verdure and vegetation." The ancestral blessing was indeed
fulfilled in Joseph's allotment :
• Stanley, " Sinai and Palestine," 229,

153 ~" JOSHUA.
" Blessed of the Lord be his land ;
For the precious things of heaven, for the de#.
And for the deep that coucheth beneath,
And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun,
And for the precious things of the growth of the moons.
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains,
And for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof,
And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush (Exod. iii. a) ;
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the crown of the head of him that was separated from his
brethren."
This goodly inheritance was divided between Ephraim and
the half-tribe of Manasseh, the former receiving the southern
and smaller portion. With the arrogance and pride which this
clan always exhibited, they were not satisfied with the portion
assigned to them. Relying, perhaps, on Joshua's supposed
partiality for his own tribe of Ephraim, they come to him with
a complaint "Why hast thou given me," they ask, " but one
lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people,
forasmuch as hitherto the Lord hath blessed me?" There
is a delicate irony in Joshua's reply which the objectors dv, not
fully appreciate : " If thou be a great people, get thee up to
the forest, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the
Perizzites and of the Rephaim ; since the hill country of
Ephraim is too narrow for thee." If you are as numerous and
as powerful as you boast to be, take care of yourselves ; seize
the vast central forests, make clearings and settle there. This
answer did not content the remonstrants ; they murmur that
there was not room for them in the mountains, and yet that
they could not settle in the plains because of the war-chariots
of the Canaanites, against which they could not hope to contend
successfully. But such a plea found no favour with the brave
and devout Joshua. If they were the people they supposed
themselves to be, they must win further ground by their own
exertions, trusting in the Lord, and undismayed by the chariots
of iron which seemed so formidable, but had proved no
hindrance to complete victory in former wars. The boast of
the descendants of Joseph was indeed not ill-founded. At the
first census they outnumbered every tribe but Judah ; at the
second numbering in the plains of Moab, while Judah's warriors
amounted to 76,500, the Manassites and Ephraimites together

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. 1 53
were 85,200. But in those forty years Ephraim had decreased
from 40,500 to 3275°°, and Manasseh had risen from 32,200
to 52,700, so that the latter had.a motive for effecting a settle
ment of part of its superabundant population in the east, but
was thoroughly unreasonable in demanding more territory from
Joshua in the present distribution, as its inheritance was quite
in proportion to its numbers. But the jealousy of this clan, its
keen remembrance of Jacob's blessing, re-echoed by Moses,
its acknowledged pre-eminence since the Exodus, disposed it
to be exacting and proud, and led to that disastrous rivalry
which had such fatal consequences in after years.
The southern boundary of Ephraim has been already noticed.
For the northern limit, Shechem (though itself in Manasseh),
is taken as the centre, and a line drawn from that westward
to the Mediterranean, following the brook Kanah which flows
from the south of Mount Gerizim, and joining the Aujeh river
enters the sea between Joppa and Csesarea ; eastward from
Shechem the boundary, making for the Jordan, passed Yassuf
with its springs of water, eight miles off, Ain Tana, and Yanun,
and reached the Jordan valley at the prominent height of Kurn
Sartabeh, which thrusts itself into the Arabah five miles above
Jericho. It was a small territory, with an area only of three
hundred square miles, but better watered than all other districts
in Western Palestine, and therefore very productive. Very few
cities are mentioned as situated in this portion. Shechem, on its
border, has already been described. But there are two other
places of surpassing interest. One of these is Shiloh, so famous
in after time as the abode of Eli and Samuel, and now to
become for many years the shrine and central place of worship
for all Israel. It lay on the road between Bethel and Shechem,
ten miles from the former, twelve from the latter, in an un
attractive neighbourhood, on a tell which rises at the base of
the hills where two valleys meet. A late traveller " describes
it thus : "The ruins of Shiloh (the modern Seilun) stand on a
low hill covered all over with a deep bed of loose stones. Belts
of the chalky rock girdled the surrounding hills to the top,
the strata lying horizontally, and boulders strewing the rounded
summits. The natural terraces formed by the rock-beds were
here and there planted with fruit-trees, but often left to thorn
• Dr. Geikie, "Holy Land and the Bible," ii. 19B ff. See "Samuel
and Saul," p. 4.

154 JOSHUA.
and scrub. . . . Riding back to the ruins themselves, we found
them on the breast of a low swell, beside the poor modern
village. . . . The crown of the low hill was specially interesting,
for it is covered with very old low walls, divided as though into
the basements of many chambers of different sizes. Some of
the stones were hewn, others unhewn, and some of these latter
were very large. The outline of the whole was an irregular
square of, say, about eight feet, with projections on two sides ;
the walls being everywhere very thick. Could it be that these
were the stone foundations on which, as we know, the ancient
tabernacle was raised ? ... No spot in Central Palestine could
be more secluded than this early sanctuary." "Moreover,"
says Dr. Tristram," " it was a central point for all Israel, equi
distant from north and south, easily accessible to the trans-
Jordanic tribes, and in the heart of that hill country which
Joshua first subdued, and which remained, to the end of Israel's
history, the district least exposed to the attacks of Canaanitish
or foreign invaders." Sir R. Temple on his route from Bethel
to Nablus speaks thus of Shiloh * : " After riding a few miles
we ascend a slight ridge and behold an irregular plain sur
rounded by low hills. This is the Shiloh of Scripture. Most
travellers will probably be disappointed at their first sight of
a place the name of which has been familiar to them from
their earliest childhood. The surrounding hills are featureless,
and monotony pervades the scene. Some of the hill-sides
must once have been dotted with well-built houses, perhaps
the dwellings of the priests and their office-bearers. The
peasants have now made use of the ruins in constructing the
terraces for their cultivation ; otherwise, the long-stretching
slopes are bare of trees, shrubs, or herbage. The plain has
some patches of cultivation, where the young wheat is just
beginning to spring up. Riding over this little plain from its
southern end, we reach at the north end a rocky platform,
slightly elevated. . . . Here, on the plateau, stood the taber
nacle containing the Ark of the Covenant. There, on the plain
below, were assembled the twelve tribes under Joshua, while
the land was being apportioned among them. There also, in
succeeding years, the annual festival was held around the ark.
... Its situation, in the bosom of the mountains, protected
it from the hostile races on the east and on the west." The
» " Land of Israel," 162. " " Palestine Illustrated," 149!.

">r;-«tv.

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. I55
Other interesting site in Ephraim is Timnath-Serah, or Timnafh-
heres, as it is called in Judg. ii. 7, which became the inheritance
of Joshua and his family. If, as Conder supposes, this is the
modern Kefr Haris, situated in a rugged and desolate region
ten miles south-west of Shechem, it is quite in accordance
with Joshua's humble and self-sacrificing nature that he should
have been satisfied with so unpromising a lot, the very name
of which (" the portion that remains ") implied that it had not
been thought worthy to be included in the previous distribution.
Others, however^ find the great leader's home and tomb at
Tibneh, nine miles further south, where there exists a most
remarkable sepulchre, to which we shall have to refer later.
It is noteworthy that at Kefr Haris there are still shown three
holy places, two of which are associated with Joshua, viz., Neby
Nun, where we see the name of Joshua's father, and Neby
Lusha, which is plainly a corruption of Joshua." There is also
in this territory a Gilgal, five miles south-west of Shiloh and
seven north of Bethel, which is connected with Elijah's last
days (2 Kings ii. 1), and which must not be confounded with
the first encampment of the Israelites in the Jordan valley, nor
with the Gilgal of Josh. xii. 23, which lay in the plain of Sharo?
on the brook Kanah.
North of Ephraim lay the inheritance of Manasseh. Its
boundaries, which have been already mentioned, inclosed
an area of 1,300 square miles, containing many spots of
abnormal fertility. The land was divided into ten portions,
in order to be allotted to the six families of this part of the
great tribe of Manasseh. The male descendants were five in
number and received five shares ; the sixth family, that of
Hepher, had no male heirs, but the last representative, Zelo-
phehad, had left five daughters ; how was the inheritance to be
allotted ? Were they to be passed over in the distribution, and
was their father's name thus to perish ? These women come
before Eleazar and Joshua, and plead their cause. They
remind the commissioners how their case had already been
provided for by Moses, who had enacted that if a man die and
leave no son, his inheritance should pass to his daughter (Numb
xxvii. 8). The plea is immediately allowed, and the petitioners,
each of them, received their share of the land, and the husbands
whom they married from the same tribe became the repre-
" " Memoirs," ii. 374.

156 JOSHUA.
sentatives of the family. We see here one of the many points
in which the Jewish law contrasts fayourably with Eastern
institutions. Justice to all, whatever their sex or condition,
was a marked characteristic of Hebrew legislation ; and im
partiality in treating the claims of women naturally followed.
One of the most valuable of Manasseh's possessions was
Carmel, with its forests, olive-yards, and vineyards. The great
plain of Esdraelon, which runs from the valley of the Jordan
in a north-westerly direction to the Bay of Acre, is bounded on
the south for the last three parts of its course by the range
of Carmel, which culminates in the well-known promontory
which formed the scene of Elijah's sacrifice. We have already
(chap, vii.) spoken of the "excellency of Carmel" which made
it a type of exuberant fertility, resisting, as it does, the drought
of summer, and maintaining its clothing of richest green, in happy
contrast to the parched and withered aspect of other localities.
To this day the remains of rock-hewn presses and vats attest
the former abundance of grapes and olives ; while the presence
on the range of every flower that blooms in Palestine shows
that the old beauty and fertility have not deserted it in modern
times. In Manasseh's lot there fell some important cities. Of
Shechem we have already spoken ; others, which became cele
brated in later days, had either not yet been built or were still
insignificant. Such were Samaria, and Tirzah, the beautiful,
both destined to be capital cities. Their description and fate
will be found in the later history of Israel. Other cities which
appertained to Manasseh, though not all of them actually
within his borders, were these. At the north-east extremity,
twelve miles south of the Sea of Galilee, and four from the
Jordan, lay Bethshan, in after years known as Scythopolis,
and now as Beisan, It stood in a commanding situation on
the crest of a slope about three hundred feet above the Jordan
valley. On the west there is a stretch of verdant plain of some
miles in length, watered by the stream of Ain Jalud, which
descends from Jezreel. The old city was some two miles or
more in circumference, and was surrounded by walls of black
basalt. It had been in existence many years before Joshua's
time, as it is one of the places visited by the Mohar in the
reign of Rameses II., king of Egypt, the royal officer who was
sent on some public business into Palestine, and has left in a
papyrus still extant a curious account of his expedition. The

ALLOTMENT OF JUDAH AND JOSEPH. 1 57
Ignominious exposure of the corpses of Saul and his sons on the
walls of this town, and their brave recovery by the inhabi
tants of Jabesh-Gilead, belong to subsequent history. Another
of Manasseh's towns, though really in the territory of Asher,
was Ibleam or Bileam, a place not certainly identified, but
probably to be found in Jelameh, midway between Jenin
(Engannim) and Jezreel. A third city is Endor, the scene
of Saul's necromantic episode. It was built at the spring
(ain) of Dor, some three miles north of Shunem, at the foot of
the northern face of Little Hermon, and two miles east of Nain,
where the only son of the widow was recalled from the grave
by the voice of Jesus. Of Taanach and Megiddo we have
already spoken ; we hear of them again in the times of the
Judges and the Kings. The former, still called Tannuk, lies in
the rich plain of Esdraelon, seven miles south-west of Jezreel.
Megiddo, which commanded one of the passes from the north
into the hill country, has been usually identified with the Legio
of Eusebius and Jerome, the modern El-Lejjun, situated a few
miles from Taanach, where the plain begins to rise gently
towards the low range of wooded hills which connect Carmel
and what we should call the mountains of Samaria." Conder,
as we have mentioned above, prefers to place it at Mujeddah,
four miles south-west of Bethshan, at the foot of Mount Gilboa,
a place holding the eastern entrance to the plain, where exten
sive ruins and a copious supply of water mark the site of a
large and ancient town. The above five cities, together with
Dor, were assigned to the Manassites, but were never held by
them ; and Joshua's ironical advice, that they should use their
power in increasing their possessions, seems to have met with
no response from these people, who wished to reap the rewards
of conquest without the fatigue and danger of battle. Another
site in Manasseh worthy of mention is Ophrah of the Abiez-
rites, celebrated some years later in the history of Gideon,2 and
now represented by the village Ferrata, six miles south-west of
Shechem. The subsequent history of the tribe of Joseph is
the tale of the great apostasy which culminated in the Baby
lonish captivity.
Hitherto, from the time that the Jordan was crossed, during
all the progress of the conquest, up to the present moment, the
tabernacle and ark had remained in the permanent camp at
' Robinson, '* Bib. Res." iii. 177 ff. ¦ Judges vi. 11.

158 JOSHUA.
Gilgal, and the public exercise of religion had not been main
tained in due form and order. It was time that this state of
things was altered. The settlement of the two leading tribes,
and the peaceable possession of the very heart of the country,
pointed to the feasibility of establishing a central place of
Divine worship which might also be a centre of tribal union.
Already there had appeared tokens of jealousy and disintegra
tion, murmuring and division of interests ; these evils could be
averted only by a revival of national religion, a public acknow
ledgment of the sovereignty of God, and a general recognition
of the outward symbol of His presence. Moses had looked
forward to this time; he had enjoined the people to use the
first opportunity of rest from war in establishing a sanctuary,
" a place which the Lord should choose to cause His name to
dwell there," and to use that spot alone for all their sacrifices
and offerings." Always a pattern of strict obedience, Joshua
now assembles the whole congregation, and with solemn
ceremonial brings up the holy tabernacle, together with the
ark and all that appertained thereto, and erects it at Shiloh.
The reason why the primeval sanctuary of Bethel was not
chosen can only be conjectured. Probably it was not per
manently occupied at this time, and its late associations that
connected it with violence and bloodshed rendered it unfit to
be the national shrine, the symbol of rest and worship. What
was the edifice which received this venerable memorial we are
not told. Probably the level space, scarped on the rock at
Seilun, and still plainly traceable, was surrounded with a low
wall, over which area the folds of the tabernacle were thrown.
Thus the tent of meeting, the monument of the weary pilgrim
age in the wilderness, had found a fixed home, even as Israel
itself had passed from a nomadic to a settled life. Hence
forward the regular sacrifices and ceremonies were resumed,
and to this easily accessible shrine all the people gathered at
the stated times for worship and purification and sacred rites.
This was the desire and intention of Joshua in establishing the
religious centre here. How miserably this design was frustrated
in after years the history of Shiloh shows.
¦ Deut. xii. 10, 11.

CHAPTER X.
ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES.
Renewed arrangements for completing the partition— The Lot of Benjamin
— Characteristics of Benjamin — Boundaries of the territory— Physical
peculiarities— Its cities ; Ekron ; Gaba ; Ramah— Fortunes of Ben
jamin — The Lot of Simeon — Characteristics — Cities assigned ; Moladah ;
Ziklag ; Beth-Marcaboth— Fate of the tribe— The Lot of Zebulun—
Limits of the territory— Places on the border-lines — Character of the
tribe and its territory— The Lot of Issachar— Plain of Esdraelon—
Cities of Issachar ; Jezreel ; Shunem ; Engannim — Characteristics and
fortunes of the tribe — The Lot of Asher — Limits of the territory — The
Crocodile River — Towns of Asher ; Hammon ; Tyre— Characteristics
and fortunes of the tribe — The Lot of Naphtali ; its limits — Cities of
Naphtali ; Tiberias ; Chinnereth ; Kedesh ; Magdala — Nature of the
country — Fortunes of the tribe — The Lot of Dan — Limits of the terri
tory—Its towns: Ajalon ; Mahaneh-Dan — Expedition to the north —
Seizure of Laish — Characteristics and history of the tribe—Joshua's
inheritance.
Five of the twelve tribes had now received their inheritance.
The Levites were not destined to be settled in this manner ; •
the Lord God was their inheritance. The remaining seven
had to be provided for. These seemed to be in no hurry to
secure settled homes. Either the nomad life had still superior
charms for them, or they shrunk from the labour and danger
which were involved in the occupation of their possessions and
the extermination of the old inhabitants. The houses of Judah
and Joseph were selfishly satisfied with the inheritance which
had fallen to them, and made no movement to effect the
settlement of the weaker tribes, or else were so thoroughly
occupied with their own concerns that they had no time to
bestow on the affairs of their brethren. It was expedient that
' See Josh. xiii. 14, 33 ; xviii. 7.

l6« JOSHUA.
these should be roused from their apathy, and take their share
in the country. Joshua could not rest till the work of allot
ment was completed. To his active mind, which saw in every
duty an immediate and imperative claim, backwardness in the
execution of a heavenly design was a grievous sin. He chides
these indolent tribes : " How long are ye slack," he asks, indig
nantly, " to go in to possess the land which the Lord God of
your fathers hath given you?" The longer they delayed, the
more loath would they be to alter their mode of life, and the
more serious would be the difficulties in the way of occupation.
But before this land could be equitably divided a survey must
be made, and a report prepared as a guide in the distribution.
To obviate all jealousy, and to insure perfect impartiality,
Joshua directed these seven tribes to choose twenty-one com
missioners, three from each tribe, who should examine the
country still unassigned, note the physical characteristics of
each district and the number and size of the various cities
situated therein, and present their report when completed to
him at Shiloh. Then the lot should determine the position
of each tribe, while the information obtained by the survey
would enable Joshua and the elders to apportion the territory
in accordance with their population and habits. The proposed
arrangement was duly carried into effect, and on the return
of the commissioners, who completed their work without
hindrance from the old inhabitants, the lot was cast with the
utmost formality before the Lord in the tabernacle, and the
seven portions into which the country was divided were
severally distributed. On further investigation it was found
that the allotments of Judah and Joseph needed some changes
and modifications, which were accordingly made without dis
pute or difficulty.
From the shaken urn the first lot that came forth was that of
Benjamin, and his place was between Judah and Ephraim, thus
forming the link between the two great rival houses of Joseph
and Judah, even as in old ancestral times the long-estranged
brothers were united by their mutual affection for their father's
youngest and best beloved son. In the encampment in the
wilderness Benjamin had always been associated with Ephraim
and Manasseh, these three clans guarding the west, as Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun defended the east ; and up to the time
of David, Benjamin attached itself closely to Eph-aim, and

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. l6l
formed the real fighting portion of the confederacy of Joseph.
" Benjamin is a wolf that ravineth," said Jacob ;
'• In the morning he shall devour the prey.
And at even he shall divide the spoiL"
Thus did the patriarch adumbrate the warlike character of
this tribe, and the remarkable skill in military exercises which
it displayed. The men who were so expert in the use of sling
and bow, who could make the left hand do the work of the
right, who were daunted by no peril, and rejoiced in the fierce
onslaught, and were familiar with all the. usages of war, such
men, though comparatively few in number, were of great value
and importance, and their adhesion to any cause afforded the
best promise of success. The blessing of Moses referred to
something higher and nobler than military prowess, pointing
to Benjamin's connection with Judah and participation in the
Divine Presence through the temple at Jerusalem. Moses
speaks of him as a beloved son carried by his father :
" The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him ;
He covereth him all the day long.
And he dwelleth between bis shoulders."
And it has been noted that the lot of Benjamin fell in Jerusa
lem "between the shoulders," i.e., the rocky sides of the
ravines which encompass the city on the west, south, and east.
Starting from the Jordan on the east, the northern boundary
of Benjamin coincided with the southern of Ephraim, as its
southern followed the line of the north of Judah. Of the
Arabah itself Benjamin held a stretch of five miles from the
plain of Jericho to the point where the Aujah falls in. The
territory extended westward past Beth-horon and as far as the
Canaanite city of Gezer, where, turning south, it met the
southern boundary at Kirjath-Jearim Jerusalem itself, as we
have seen, lay on the boundary line. It was but a small
territory, a parallelogram containing some four hundred square
miles, not nearly as large as Bedfordshire, but of importance
by no means in proportion to its size. This importance arose
from its physical peculiarities and from the notable cities which
were situated within its confines. The general level of the
district is very high, ranging from 2,000 feet above sea level to
12

162 JOSHUA.
3,000 above the Arabah ; and it is remarkable for the numbei
of more or less isolated eminences upon which strong cities
were built, or which played a distinguished part in the tribe's
history. Hence we find many names of places which indicate
this peculiarity, as Gibeah ("hill"), Mizpeh ("watch-tower"),
Kamah (" height "), all of which were of strategic importance.
The chief passes, both from the plains of Philistia and from
the Jordan valley into the interior, are found in the lot of
Benjamin, the former of gradual and gentle ascent, the latter
rocky and precipitous. Held by warlike mountaineers, these
secured the independence of the inhabitants. It was up the
pass behind Jericho, as we have seen, that Joshua and his host
marched to Ai and Bethel ; it was down the pass of Beth-horon
to the valley of Ajalon that the Canaanites were driven in dis
astrous panic on the memorable day that was commemorated
in the Book of Jasher. Many of the twenty-six cities in this
inheritance are familiar to us all, and have already been
noticed ; such as Jericho, Bethel, " Jebus which is Jerusalem,"
Gibeon, Ai. Others are of less certain identification. Beth-
arabah, as its name implies, lay in the Jordan valley, and was
somewhere in the immediate vicinity of Jericho. Ophrah is
not the town of Gideon (Judg. vi.), but is probably the same
place as Ephron, or Ephraim,' and is identified with Tayibeh,
a village on a high tell four miles north-east of Bethel. Gaba
(" height "), or Geba, is not the Geba or Gibeah of Saul, which
is to be found in the lofty and isolated Tuleil-el-Ful, about five
miles north of Jerusalem, but is probably the modern Jeba,
which is situated on an eminence of a broad ridge opposite and
above Michmash (Mukhmas), two miles east of Ramah (er-
Ram). This Ramah, which must not be confounded with
Samuel's home, Ramathaim-Zophim, stood on an isolated hill
commanding the road to the pass of Michmash, the key cf
Central Palestine. " It was here," says Dr. Geikie,* " at the
frontier town of Benjamin, that the Chaldaians collected their
prisoners before marching them off through the pass of Mich
mash to Babylon — a circumstance used by Jeremiah with the
finest effect, when he supposes the spirit of Rachel, the mother
of the tribe, to have left her tomb by the wayside, near Bethel,5
' 2 Ch-on. xii, 19 ; John xi. 54. See also 1 Sam. xiii. 17.
¦ " Holy Land and the Bible," ii. 171.
3 So in the text, but ought not this to be Bethlehem ? Gen. xxxv. 16, 19.

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. 163
to grieve in mid-air over the unreturning throng" (Jer.xxxi. 15).
Beeroth, one of the cities in alliance with Gibeon, is the modern
el-Bireh ; it was the residence of the murderers of Ishboshetb.
Mizpeh is probably the conspicuous hill, Neby Samwil;
Chephirah (Kefireh) is another of the cities of the Gibeonite
'eague ; Irpeel is supposed to be Rafat, a village one mile and a
half north of Gibeon ; and Zelah, the burial-place of Saul and
Jonathan, is recognized in Beit Jala, which lies south of the
plain of Rephaim. In the catalogue of conquered cities in the
inscriptions at Karnak occurs Tsalla, which may well represent
Tzela. The fortunes of Benjamin are closely connected with its
geographical position. In spite of the small extent of the
territory and its mountainous character there were numerous
spots of great fertility, and it was quite able to support its in
habitants without being indebted to external assistance. This
self-sufficiency and the natural strength of their district fostered
a spirit of independence which was often put to the test
Secured by the possession of its passes and heights, and relying
on the courage and dexterity of its warriors, the tribe of Benja
min for a certain time successfully resisted the whole power of
Israel arrayed against them." Ehud, the judge who delivered
the land from the oppression of the Moabites, was a man of
this tribe ; so was Saul the first king ; the great holy places,
Bethel, Mizpeh, Kirjath-jearim, were in Benjamin ; hence the
nation learned to associate this tribe with notions of power and
sanctity. The connection with Ephraim was only gradually
weakened ; but the mutual possession of Jerusalem and the
common property in the temple, from the time of David and
Solomon, cemented the alliance with Judah, and henceforward
the history of Benjamin is merged in that of its powerful and
dominant sister tribe.
In the orderly march in the wilderness the south side was
taken by Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, and now the sacred lot
appropriately fixed the position of Simeon in an analogous
direction. This tribe had greatly declined from its early pre
eminence, for whereas in the first census its warriors numbered
59,300, in the second battle-roll at the end of the forty years'
wandering, they amounted only to 22,200. The judgment on
Simeon and Levi for their cruelty and treachery in ihe
1 Judg. xx.; xxi.

164 JOSHUA.
slaughter of the Shechemites, and on other occasions not
recorded, was the same ; but while it turned into a blessing in
the case of the latter, it was fulfilled by the entire eflfacement of
the former. Jacob had said ;
" Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce.
And their wrath, for it was cruel ;
I will divide them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel."
And when Moses gives his prophetical blessing to the tribes,
he entirely omits Simeon from his view, either because this
tribe had been chiefly implicated in the idolatrous and licen
tious proceedings at Shittim, and had suffered fatally in the
mortality with which those crimes were punished (Numb, xxv.),
or (if the blessing in its present form be considered a later pro
duction) because it had wholly disappeared as a separate clan.
Now, in the assignment of an inheritance, Simeon received not
so much a definite portion of the country as rather certain cities
with their surrounding lands, and these within the limits
originally allotted to Judah ; and thus the chronicler does not
attempt to specify the boundaries, as in the case of the other
territories, but merely enumerates the cities which were made
over to the tribe. Judah doubtless had by this time discovered
that its portion was larger than it required, and that it could not
colonize and hold the whole region which had been assigned.
When, therefore, the lot defined Simeon's position in the south,
Judah gladly made over some of its towns to this fierce tribe,
which would thus guard the southern frontier of the country,
and be a barrier against the incursions of the wild desert hordes,
then, as now, a constant danger. The cities assigned to Simeon
were thirteen or fourteen in number, situated chiefly in the
Negeb, many of them being occupied conjointly with Judah,
and hence ascribed sometimes to one tribe, sometimes to the
other. It seems that Israel's possessions extended much
further to the south towards the Sinaitic Peninsula than is
usually supposed, and that far from being a barren, parched
upland, without life or vegetation, the region was filled with
cities whose inhabitants found labour rewarded with all that
was necessary for support and comfort. In the Simeonite
territory lay Beersheba, and the town of Sheba, which was
spread over the low hills bordering the wady on its northern

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. li$
edge ; and twelve miles to the east Moladah (el-Milh), with its
two fine wells, at the foot of the hill on which the town was
built." Hormah was jointly conquered by the two tribes, and
its name changed from Zephath, the new appellation [=the
devoted) denoting the utter destruction which it experienced
when first seized. Ziklag, David's temporary home, one of
the Simeonite cities, is placed by some at Zuheilika, on one of
three low hills on the upper side of the Wady es Sheria, eleven
miles east-south-east from Gaza, and nineteen south-west from
Beit Jibrin;a others find it at Ashij, some way south-west
of Moladah. Two other places, Beth-marcaboth, "House
of Chariots," and Hazar-susah, "Village of Horses," are
noteworthy as indicating, according to Stanley, depots and
stations for horses and chariots, such as went to and
from Egypt in Solomon's time. These towns are named,
in chap. xv. 31, Madmannah and Sansannah, the former
of which is recognized in el-Minyay, a village on the old
pilgrim road, a few miles south of Gaza. The other towns
which, with the appendant villages and the surrounding
country, were assigned to Simeon, are of little importance
and of doubtful identification. One is called Ramath of
the South, and is probably the same place as Baalath-Beer
(" Lady of the Well "), a title which has a curious mediaeval
sound, and is thought to be the modern Kurnub, a ruin on a
range of low hills some twenty miles south-east of Beersheba.
On the others we need not linger. Nor is there much to be said
concerning the fortunes of Simeon. The tribe struggled for a
time to preserve its individuality, and even after David's days
asserted its independence, and made conquests in the south ; 3
but it exerted no influence in the history of the nation, relapsed
more and more into barbarism, and, overborne by the ever-
increasing power of Judah, retreated further and further into
the wilderness, and in the end resumed nomadic habits. A
portion of the clan seems to have migrated to Petra, or the
mountains of Edom, and travellers note that to this day there
are so-called "sons of Israel" in these hills who hold them
selves aloof from the Arabs of the desert, and are plainly a
» Geikie, i. 263.
• So Conder and Kitchener, and Geikie in his text (i. 352), but in his map
he places it some twelve miles south of Beersheba.
3 1 Chron iv 38 ff.

166 JOSHUA.
distinct race, which may be the lineal descendants of these
emigrant Simeonites."
We come now to the settlement of the four tribes in the
northern part of the country. The first of these to obtain an
inheritance was Zebulun, which had been associated with
Judah and Issachar in the wilderness. Josephus" makes their
possession extend from the Lake of Gennesareth to Carmel
and the sea. This is in due accordance with the prediction
of Jacob : "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea ;
And he shall be for an haven of ships ;
And his border shall be upon Zidon."
To the same effect is the blessing of Moses, who bids Zebulun
rejoice in its commercial enterprise, " its going out," and says
that it and Issachar " Shall suck the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand ;"
the final clause possibly referring to the manufacture of glass
which was carried on in very early times along the Phoenician
coast. Though this tribe was numerous, surpassed only by
Simeon, Dan, and Judah at the first census, when it amounted
to 57,000, and at the last reaching 60,500, the territory allotted
to it was one of the smallest, being about equal to that of
Ephraim. The southern border started from a central point
named Sarid, which Conder supposes to be Tell Shadud, an
extensive ruin on the northern side of the plain of Esdraelon,
four miles and a half south-west of Nazareth. Westward
from Sarid the border, touching the torrent Kishon, reached
Jokneam, which is identified with Tell Kaimon, a large mound
at the foot of the eastern end of Mount Carmel ; whether it
actually extended to the sea is doubtful ; if it did, it must have
passed the base of Carmel on the northern side. The proba
bility is that Asher interposed between Zebulun and the
Mediterranean. Eastward from Sarid the first point named is
Chisloth-Tabor, " the flanks of Tabor," the classical Chasalus,
and now Iksal, a rocky height on the north-west side of the
1 Obad. 19 ; and Pusey's " Comment.'
* "Ant." vi. 1. 22,

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. 167
base of Tabor ; thence the boundary ascended to Japhia (Yafa),
two miles south of Nazareth (a town never named in the Old
Testament), in a maze of lovely glens filled with hawthorn, dwarf-
oak, and wild pear-trees. The next place reached was Gittah-
hepher or Gath-hepher, now el-Meshhad, four miles north-
north-east of Nazareth, on the road to Tiberias, the birthplace
of the prophet Jonah, and, as old tradition tells, the site of
his sepulchre ; a little further on it took in Rimmon, now
Rummaneh, situated on the plain el-Buttauf, turning northward
along the Lake of Gennesaret as far as Hannathon, which
some would identify with Kanal-el-Jelil, the Cana of Galilee,
the scene of the Saviour's first miracle, while others see it in
Deir Hanna, a village six miles north of Rimmon. Hence the
northern boundary turned westwards, descending by the valley
of Iphtah-el, the Jotapata of Josephus," the name of which
survives in the modern Jephat, a village about six miles down
the valley here called Wady Abellin. It is impossible to follow
the border further till it joined Asher somewhere parallel to
Accho, as we do not know the places by which its course is
traced. Something, too, has evidently fallen out of the text, as
Zebulun is said (xix. 15) to have possessed twelve cities with their
dependent villages, while only five are named. Among these
is one that bears the time-honoured name of Bethlehem,
" House of Bread," as natural an appellation for a place in this
fertile district as it was for its celebrated namesake in Judah.
The town is now represented by the squalid village of Beit
Lahm, situated seven miles west of Nazareth.
Fair and fruitful as was the inheritance of Zebulun, with the
rich valleys of the mountains, the plain and fisheries of Gen
nesareth, and the treasures of the sea at Accho, the tribe seems
to have been of small importance, and to have held a very
subordinate position in the commonwealth. We hear in
cidentally of the varied productions of these northern terri
tories, and of the warriors whom they were able to supply, in
the account of what befell David at Hebron (1 Chron. xii.).
Thus there came to him of Zebulun, "such as were able to go
out in the host, that could set the battle in array, with all
manner of instruments of war, 50,000, . . . and were not of
double heart." And at the same time Issachar, Zebulun, and
Naphtali "brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules,
« " Bell. Jud." iii. 6 f.

l68 , JOSHUA.
and on oxen, victual of meal, cakes of figs, and clusters of
raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep in abundance."
Yet with all this material prosperity the tribe never asserted
itself ; it has left no mark in the page of history. The very
abundance of its resources induced sloth in the course of time ;
and like the other northern tribes it maintained its peculiar
nationality very partially, and assimilated its manners and
partly its religion to the Gentile neighbours whom it failed to
expel. In the earlier days of the settlement the Zebulunites
took a prominent part in the struggle against Jabin, so that
Deborah could say of them and Naphtali that they "jeoparded
their lives unto the death upon the high places of the field."
And if the translation in Judges v. 14 be correct :
" Out of Zebulun they that handle the staff of the scribe,"
we must suppose that commercial enterprise and intercourse
with other nations had led them to study arts and sciences, and
to the acquirement of some literary skill. But no proof of such
acquirements has reached us, and the glory of Zebulun consists
not in any action or monument or written production, but in the
fact that this territory contains many of the places endeared to
us by their connection with the life and words of our Blessed
Saviour. Immediately south of Zebulun, between that tribe and
Manasseh, came the inheritance of Issachar, which was the
next lot. Josephus" says that it extended in length from
Carmel to the Jordan, and in breadth to Mount Tabor. Thus
it included the greater part of the plain of Jezreel (" God
soweth ") or Esdraelon, which contains the richest soil in all the
country. This celebrated plain is triangular in shape, running
from the Jordan valley in a north-westerly direction to the Bay
of Acre. The base abuts on the Arabah, and is about fifteen
miles in length, measured from Jenin (Engannim) on the south
to Tabor on the north ; the northern side is formed by the
mountains of Nazareth, which rise precipitously from the level ;
the southern is formed by the hills of Samaria and the long
stretch of Carmel ; the apex is a narrow pass through which
the Kishon makes its way to the Bay of Acre. From the base
of the triangle three branches descend eastward to the Jordan
» " Ant." v. 1. 22.

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. 169
valley, separated by nearly isolated ranges rising out of the
plain, the southern being Mount Gilboa, the centre the Little
Hermon, called Moreh in Judges vii. 1, and now Jebel Duhy,
and the northern the rounded mamelon of Tabor. The middle
branch of these three, which falls rapidly to the Jordan, is
known by the name of the Vale of Jezreel, and has the towns
Jezreel and Shunem on either side at the western extremity, and
Bethshan at the eastern. "Esdraelon," says Dr. Thomson," " is
by no means the level plain it appears to be, as seen from
Tabor or the top of Jebel ed Duhy. The western part has a
decided dip towards the Mediterranean, while portions of it at
different places roll up in long, undulating swells, like great
waves of the sea. The soil is surpassingly fertile. Checkered
patches of wheat, barley, maize or Indian corn, millet, sesame,
and even cotton, with broad, dark-brown strips of fallow land
intervening, cover the surface ; and along the hill-sides here
and there are groves of fig and olive-trees descending into the
plain. The few palms at Jenin, the fruit-trees, and the prickly-
pear hedges surrounding most of the villages on the heights,
add variety to the scene." The plain may be reckoned as
some twenty miles in length, and fourteen in its broadest
part. Such a level expanse, free from forest and rock, is rare
in Palestine, and hence has always formed the great battle
field of the country, and the pages of history are filled with
reminiscences of great events which have occurred in this
locality. Many towns named in Bible story are found in the
inheritance of Issachar. Sixteen cities are enumerated as
appertaining thereto, but many of these are utterly unknown.
Some, however, are happily identified, and we can still trace the
spots where important battles were fcught, or once famous cities
stood. Jezreel, for instance, from which the valley took its
name, is well authenticated, being now called Zerin, which is
simply a corruption of the ancient name.1 It stands, as we
have said above, at the western opening of the central offshoot
of the great plain. The knoll on which it is placed rises to the
height of a hundred feet, very gradually on the south, but
steeply and ruggedly on the north and east. The view from
this eminence is extensive, ranging from the Jordan valley on
the one side unto Carmel on the other, and comprehending the
1 " Central Palestine," 209.
* See Robinson, " Bib. Res." iii. 163 ff.

I70 JOSHUA.
whole extent of the plain. Three miles north-east of Jezreel
stands Shunem, now Solam, also upon an eminence of some
two hundred feet in height, surrounded with an unequalled
wealth of corn-fields, and celebrated as the central position of
the Philistines before the fatal battle of Gilboa, and as the scene
of the story of the Shunammite woman, and her son whom Elisha
restored to life. Still further south, and indeed at the bottom
of the plain, is situated Jenin, the ancient Engannim, "Fountain
of Gardens," which still justifies its name by the fertility of its
inclosures watered by a beautiful stream which runs through
the town, and by the abundance of the fruit-trees which enrich
the neighbourhood. This is "the garden house" to which
Jehu pursued the flying Ahaziah." " East of the town rises the
stony range of Gilboa, encircling a considerable plain ; to the
north stretches out, as far as the eye can reach, the brown
rolling plain of Esdraelon, brightened with spots of green ; and
three miles beyond it are the hills from which the white houses
of Nazareth look down. Nearer at hand is the cone of the
extinct volcano of Jebel Duhy, while to the west the view is
closed by the broad shoulder of Carmel." The other towns
noted as existing in Joshua's time have not been identified with
any certainty. One of them, Beth-shemesh (" House of the
Sun "), has the same name as the more famous city in Judah
and another in Naphtali, and witnesses to the wide prevalence
of sun-worship among the previous inhabitants of the land.
Many cities within the limits of Issachar, such as Bethshan,
Megiddo, Taanach, Endor, came into the possession of
Manasseh, and have been already mentioned. The old patri
archal blessing rightly intimated the position and habits of
Issachar. " Issachar is a strong male ass
Couching down between the sheepfolds ;
And he saw a resting-place that it was good,
And the land that it was pleasant ;
And he bowed his shoulder to bear,
And became a servant under taskwork."
It was an indolent agricultural people, with no high aspi
rations, content to endure oppression, and pay black-mail to
the various marauding tribes which were attracted by the
" a Kings ix. 27 ; Geikie, " The Holy Land and Bible," ii. 246.

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. 171
richness of the land. The sentence of Moses would imply that
Issachar lived a semi-nomadic life ; for he bids him " rejoice
in his tents." Yet the tribe was powerful. The adult males at
Sinai amounted to 54,400 ; on the plains of Shittim they had
increased to 64,300, being exceeded only by Judah and Dan.
Their numerical superiority, however, did not lead to any corre
sponding eminence in war or politics. Though the great struggle
with Sisera (Judg. v.) took place in their territory, "by Taanach
at the waters of Megiddo," we should not gather from Deborah's
song that they played any prominent part in the action.
Probably the appropriation by Manasseh of certains towns
assigned to Issachar indicates that the latter left to their
brother tribe the task of wresting them from the Canaanites.
They showed political sagacity in assisting to make David king
over all Israel, and it was this wisdom which led the Chronicler
to speak of them as " men that had understanding of the times,
to know what Israel ought to do." ' Further evidence of this
prudence is wanting ; and the tribe, though prosperous in
numbers, continued in inglorious obscurity till carried away
captive with the rest of the people.
The tribe of Asher, whose lot was next assigned, obtained
a rich strip of maritime and mountain territory to the west and
north of Zebulun. In the march its post had been between
Dan and Naphtali on the north of the ark, and it was now
associated with the latter in its possession, part of which lay
between Naphtali and the sea. As originally assigned the
inheritance of Asher reached from Zidonon the north toShihor-
libnath, the Black-white, or Muddy-white river, a name derived
from the appearance caused by the chalk brought down from
the neighbouring limestone hills. The river thus designated
is the Nahr Zerka, or Crocodile Brook, which rises in the
Carmel range, drains the marshy ground at the foot of the hills,
and, fed by the copious fountains called Mamas, after a tortuous
course, falls into the sea between Cassarea and Dor. Recent
travellers have not found that it justifies its name of Crocodile
River, as that animal certainly does not now infest the district ;
but one was killed there a few years ago, and Mr. Macgregor
in his famous canoe voyage met with one in the Kishon only
a few miles from this locality.' The territory extended along
¦ 1 Chron. xii. 32.
» " Rob Roy on the Jordan," 3S7 ' 'Seikie, i. 66 f.

172 JOSHUA.
the coast from this point northwards to Zidon ; not that Asher
ever obtained possession of this Phoenician region, or even of
much of the southern portion which contained cities apper
taining to other tribes, but such was the inheritance allotted,
which it might have colonized had it pursued its claims with
energy and perseverance. How far inland the territory ex
tended it is impossible to settle, as the identity of most of the
towns named has not been accurately determined. Tyre and
Acre, which lay within the boundaries, were never conquered,
probably not even assaulted. From a point near Acre as a
centre, the boundary line is described by an enumeration of
cities, nominally twenty-two in number, north and south.
First it touched Helkuth, the modern Yerka, a Druse village,
eight miles north-east of Acre, on the slope of the mountain
above a wady of the same name ; then it included Achsaph.
whose king had been one of the first to join in Jabin's con
federacy, and had doubtless suffered the fate of his contem
poraries ; keeping to the south it embraced Misheal (Misalli)
at the northern extremity of the Plain of Sharon, and continued
past Carmel to the Crocodile River. This eastern border was
continuous with that of Zebulun up to the ravine of Jiphthahel
at its northern extremity, though the places that mark it are
not yet identified. One of these, Beth-dagon, synonymous with
a town in the Shephelah, points to the wide prevalence of the
worship of the fish-god. Another monument of heathen idolatry
is found in one of Asher's towns, Hammon, now Umm el
Amud, seven miles north of Achzib, which is the modern es
Zib, the classical Eidippa, on the sea-coast some six miles
above Acre. Hammon is probably the most southern of purely
Phoenician towns, and in it has been found "a Phoenician
votive tablet to Moloch Astarte, and a long text in eight lines
invoking a blessing from Baal, Lord of heaven. In Greek
times this site was known as Laodicea, and the old temple
seems to have been consecrated to Hammon. Possibly this
may be the town of Asher, called Hammon in Joshua xix. 28.
The ruins here visible stand on a hill above the shore, and are
half hidden by the copse. . . . The most interesting remains
on the site are those of two altars, which almost exactly
resemble the so-called ' libation tables ' of the Egyptians pre
served in the Bulak Museum. One of these had an eagle
carved on the side, the other was plain. The first was a block

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. . I73
of limestone three and a half feet high, and five feet by three
feet at the top ; it had two flat basins, a foot square and a few
inches deep, sunk in the upper surface. The second was three
feet high and two feet eight inches square, with a single basin
of the same size as in the former. No doubt on these ancient
altars, now tumbled over on the hill-side, libations to Ashtoreth
were often poured before Alexander came to break the power ot
Tyre.'" In Cabul we probably have the modern Kabul, a
village eight miles north-east of Acre, in the neighbourhood
of which was the district containing the twenty cities presented
by Solomon to Hiram, king of Tyre.' The boundary going
northward passed Kanah, Ain-Kana, eight miles south-east of
Zidon, and reached the most northern place mentioned, Aphek,
which has been already described as situated on the Adonis.
It is noteworthy, and indicative of the antiquity of the Book
of Joshua, that while Zidon is termed "great Zidon," and is
evidently the most important city of the region, Tyre is of less
consideration, and, being called " the fortified city," which is
equivalent to " the land fortress," had evidently at this time not
extended to the islands afterwards so celebrated. These islands,
two in number, and connected by a mound, were by Alexander
the Great united to the mainland. That conqueror, being unable
otherwise to overthrow the island fortress, raised a huge mole
or causeway in the strait, which by the accumulation of sand
is now a broad isthmus half a mile across. To our modern
ideas, and in view of our ocean-going ships, Tyre and its
harbours are of very moderate dimensions. The area of the
islands is only 200 acres, and that of the largest of the two
harbours aoout twelve, while the whole length of the site from
north to south does not amount to 1,200 yards, and from east
to west is barely 800. " The docks of London cover twice as
much space as the whole of the ancient Phoenician capital. . . .
Tarshish ships may have been in some cases large and splendid,
but these must have been comparatively few in number, for
there was no room at Tyre or Sidon even for the shipping
of towns like Dundee or Aberdeen, while a single dock on the
Thames would hold a greater number of vessels, of immensely
greater tonnage, than could have found moorage in Tyre and
Sidon together." 3 But though of considerably less important
» Conder, " Heth and Moab," 87 f. * 1 Kings ix. 11 ff.
3 Geikie, ii. 495 ff.

174 JOSHUA.
than it subsequently became, Tyre was unmolested by the
Asherites, who were disposed rather to cultivate friendly rela
tions with the Phoenician inhabitants than to attempt to dis
possess them by forcible operations. They may possibly have
at first made some hostile demonstrations against their heathen
neighbours, but they were so thoroughly checked by the superior
power and skill of their opponents that they soon settled down
side by side with them, and prosecuted no further attempt at
conquest. To their supineness Deborah contemptuously refers
when she says (Judg. v. 17) :
" Asher sat still at the haven of the sea.
And abode by bis creeks.""
The natural advantages of the territory assigned to Asher were
great ; the soil was rich and productive, and well fulfilled the
promise of his name, which means "favourable," and the
patriarchal blessing :
" Out of Asher his bread shall be fat.
And he shall yield royal dainties."
The rich plain of Phoenicia and the fertile upland valleys gave
him corn, fruit, milk, and bread to the full, and not only sup
plied his own necessities, but enabled him to dispense his
superfluities to his neighbours by sale or barter.1 The blessing
of Moses was still more emphatic :
" Blessed be Asher above the sons [of Jacob],
Let him be the favoured one of his brethren,
Let him dip his foot in oil.
Thy shoes shall be in iron and brass,
And as thy days, so shall thy strength be."
Asher was indeed largely favoured by climate and soil. Olives,
which he planted not, were abundant throughout the district,
so that he could dip his foot in the oil which overflowed from
the presses, the very type of prosperity promised to a faithful
people.* Nor were mineral treasures wanting. It was a land
whose stones were iron, and out of whose hills copper might
be dug, as Moses had promised.3 At any rate, though we have
..no proof that the Israelites employed any mining operations
•Comp. Ezek. xScvii. 17; Acts xii. 20; Josephus, "Ant." xiv. io. 6.
• Deut. xxviii. 40 ; Joel ii. 24. 3 Deut. viii. 9.

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. 175
at this time, it is certain that iron ore was obtained from the
slopes of Lebanon at a very early period, and copper in parts
of the Phoenician territory. The Asherites were by no means
a small tribe. At Sinai they had exceeded in numbers Ephraim,
Manasseh, and Benjamin, amounting to 41,500, and before
entering Canaan had increased to 53,400, which raised them
to the fifth place in point of population. But they made small
use of their advantages ; they dwelt on sufferance among the
Canaanites, preferring ignoble ease and pastoral or commercial
employments to the dangers of the soldier's life and the con
stant activity of a war of conquest.1 No judge or leader ever
rose from their ranks, and through all the ages there is no per
sonage that comes forth from the obscurity in which they are
involved save Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, the aged widow
who welcomed the advent of the Saviour when He was pre
sented in the temple.*
The sixth lot was that of Naphtali, whose territory lay
between Asher and the Upper Jordan, was bounded on the
south by Zebulun, and on the north extended far into Ccele-
Syria, forming the frontier of the country.
Jacob spoke of Naphtali as "a slender terebinth, which
spreadeth forth goodly boughs,"3 faithfully adumbrating the
tribe with its strip of territory running far north along the
Jordan stream, and implying that it would produce brave
leaders of the people.4 Inclosed as this inheritance was on
south and west by other tribes, and bounded on the east by
the lakes of Gennesareth and Merom and the Jordan, its limits
are easily defined, especially if, as is most probable, the ravine
of the Litany, where it turns to the west below Belfort, formed
its northern boundary. The area thus inclosed was much
larger than that of Issachar, amounting to 800 square miles,
which is about the size of Leicestershire. According to
Josephus' the north-eastern side extended to Damascus, but
there is no evidence of this now extant. Of the towns which
are mentioned as defining the boundaries, some are identified
with tolerable certainty. The south-eastern point is Adami
'Judg. i.32. «Lukeii.36n\
3 This rendering, which is obtained by some alteration of the vowel
points, seems to be more correct than the A. V. : " Naphtab is a hind let
loose ;' he giveth goodly words." See DiUmann on Gen. xlix. 21.
* Ewald. " Hist. Isr." ii. 291. 5 " Ant." v. 1. sa.

I76 JOSHUA.
(Damieh), a little south of the Sea of Galilee ; another point
is the oak forest of Zaanannim, above - the Lake Merom,
a place about to become famous by the'murder of Sisera at the
hands of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite (JU£lg> iv.). The
name of this place is explained to mean "the unloading of
tents," and is referred to the unusual spectacle (still, however,
to be seen occasionally) of nomads setting up their tents amid the
settled villages of the mountains. There is here a fertile little
plain, and the hills are still thickly clothed with oak and other
trees, though the thriftless habits of the inhabitants, who are always
cutting down and never plant, will ere long make this district
as bare as many others are. The furthermost eastern point
is called, curiously enough, " Judah at Jordan," of which two
explanations are given. Many suppose that the cities called
Havoth-Jair in Eastern Manasseh on the opposite side of the
Jordan are meant. Jair was a descendant of Judah on the
father's side, and was probably assisted by his kinsmen of that
tribe in his conquest of Bashan ; hence the towns to which he
gave his name, especially those nearest the river, were called
" Judah of the Jordan." The other suggestion is that the place
referred to is an ancient site, two and a half miles below Banias,
which bears the name of Seiyid Huda Ibn Yakub, " Lord Judah,
son of Jacob." *
To guard its inheritance Naphtali possessed a large number
of fenced cities, of many of which traces and monuments still
remain. Nineteen are named — none too many to protect the
northern frontier of the whole country, as the fortresses of
Judah secured the southern. Hazor has been already men
tioned in Joshua's northern campaign. Ziddim is the Talmudic
Caphar Hittai, "the village of the Hittites," now Hattin, on
the plain five and a half miles north-west of Tiberias. Tiberias
itself was then called Rakhath (" shore "), of which the name
exactly suits the site. Speaking of this town and the first view
of the Sea of Galilee, Tristram says : * " For nearly three
hours we had ridden on, with Hermon in front, sparkling
through its light cloud mantle, but still no sight of the Sea of
Galilee. One ridge after another had been surmounted, when
on a sudden the calm, blue basin, slumbering in placid sweet-
" Thomson, " The Land and the Book." Another suggestion is that tin
right reading is Hurah, i.e., the Ghor or Valley of Jordan.
• "Land of Israel," 422 f.

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. IJ7
ness beneath its surrounding wall of hills, burst upon us, and
we were looking down on the hallowed scenes of our Lord's
ministry. We were on the brow of a very steep hill. Below
us was a narrow plain, sloping to the sea, whose beach we
could trace to its northern extremity. At our feet lay the city
of Tiberias, the only remaining town on its shores, enclosed by
crumbling fortifications with shattered but once massive round
bastions." Hammath ("warm") is recognized in the well-
known Hammaus or Emmaus, a place celebrated for its hoi
springs, within a mile of Tiberias. The water, which is very
salt and bitter, issues in four springs at a high temperature, and
is still largely used by the natives, who bathe in it for the relief
of all kinds of ailments. Here we have, as one of Naphtali's
strongholds, Chinnereth, which gave its name to the lake, the
original form passing through Genezar to end finally in Gen
nesaret. The site of this city is wholly unknown. We are more
certain when we speak of Kedesh, Kedesh-Naphtali, " The Holy
Place of Naphtali," the home of Barak, whence he marched
to victory over the hosts of Canaanites. Known sometimes as
Kishon or Kishion, and in later days as Cydoessa or Cydissus,
it is now called Kedes, the ruins of the place lying on a hill
overlooking a rich alluvial plain four miles north-west of Merom.1
The remains of the old Canaanite fortress have long crumbled
into dust ; Thothmes III. of Egypt had reckoned it among his
conquests two hundred years before Joshua overcame its king ;
but of those early events no trace is found, and the traveller
nowadays gazes with wonder on monuments of Roman splen
dour, temples, tombs, carved stones, which proclaim the power
and wealth jf the imperial people, and the once dense popula
tion of this desolate region." Another of Naphtali's fenced
cities is Migdal-el, which is identified with the modern village
el-Mejdel, the ancient Magdala, whence the Mary of the Gospel
obtained her appellation. It stands close to the Lake of Gen
nesaret, at the south-east corner of the plain, an indescribably
miserable and filthy place, which could never have possessed
any attractions, save as a convenient fishing station.
Moses had blessed Naphtali in these terms :
" O Naphtali, satisfied with favour,
And full with the blessing of the Lord ;
Possess thou the sea and the south."
¦ Josh. xxi. 28 ; Josephus. "Bell. Jud." iv. 2. 3.
• Geikie, ii. 373 f. ; Robinson, " Lat. Res." 366 f.
13

178 JOSHUA.
The district enjoyed great capabilities, grand scenery, fertile
land, rich forests. The mountainous portion, Mount Naphtali.
as the historian calls it, has retained so glowing a reputation,
that it is named at this day Belad-Besharah, " land of good
tidings," and it would deserve its title if it were in different
hands and under a different government. The plains are
commended by Josephus' in glowing terms; want and scarcity,
he says, are never known there ; the soil is productive, fit for
pasturage, and adapted for the growth of all kinds of trees ;
so fertile, indeed, as to invite cultivation at the hands of the
most supine. The southern portion of the territory has been
called the garden of Palestine ; and the fields by the shore of
the lake, and the little vales which run thence into the
mountains, are of unrivalled fecundity.' Naphtali by its
position was somewhat isolated from the southern provinces ;
but when an enemy invaded Palestine on the side of Ccele
Syria, it had to bear the first brunt of the attack. Yet we
read of no patriotic struggles, no heroic enterprises, in connec
tion with the tribe, save the solitary occasion when they rallied
round Barak, and with Zebulun "jeoparded their lives unto
the death upon the high places of the field." This one
supreme effort seems to have exhausted their nationalism ;
henceforward they were mingled among the heathen and
learned their works ; and in course of time their country
became Galilee of the Gentiles. This " name Galilee, pro
nounced locally Jalil, has been understood to come from a
Hebrew word meaning 'circuit,' or circle, but the better
derivation appears to be from the root meaning * to roll.' The
area was not a contracted one, but must have been exten
sive. . . . Thus ancient Galilee must have had one of its
flanks resting on the land of the Phoenicians, and the other on
the land of the Syrians of Damascus. It comprised Zebulun's
inheritance, and part of Naphtali's, all in the hills. It also
embraced the inheritance of Issachar on the Esdraelon Plain.
The Jewish inhabitants, exposed to Gentile inroads, were
wilder and rougher than their brethren in the south." 3
The seventh and last lot fell to the tribe of Dan. In the
march through the wilderness Dan had held a position on
• •• Bell. Jud." iii. 3. 2, and 10. 8.
» Porter, ap. Kitto, " Cyclop." Art. "Naphtali."
* Temple, " Palestine Illustrated," 231.

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. 179
the north in company of Asher and his own brother Naphtali,
and in population had been second only to Judah, numbering
62,700 adult males. In the second census it had increased to
64,400, and yet the territory assigned to it was the smallest of
all. By its topographical enumeration among the northern
tribes it would seem that an intimation was given of the future
position which it conquered for itself. Its original settlement,
however, was in quite a different direction, to the west of
Ephraim and Benjamin up to the sea coast. Girt by those two
tribes on the north and east, and by Judah on the south, the
boundaries of Dan are not given ; only its cities are enume
rated. But we can say generally that the inheritance extended
from the slopes by which the highlands of Benjamin and Judah
descend to the Shephelah, unto the Mediterranean, embracing
the coast from Joppa on the north to Jabneel and Ekron on
the south, a distance of fourteen miles. Thus it included the
lower part of the valley of Sorek (Wady Surar) and the plain
of Sharon. Its area was about four hundred square miles,
somewhat less than that of Benjamin ; and it comprised the
richest corn-lands and vineyards of the south. The nineteen
cities in the district have for the most part been identified by
the Palestine explorers ; but many of them are of no im
portance, and play no part in history. Some, however, are
worthy of mention ; and of these not a few have been already
noticed in connection with other tribes, especially Judah, who
seems either to have made over some of his towns to Dan, or
to have inhabited them conjointly. Thus Zorah and Eshtaol
are on the confines of Judah, and reckoned to that tribe ; this
is the case also with Irshemesh, or Bethshemesh, now Ain
Shems, " the fountain of the sun." Ajalon, so celebrated in
the song that told of Joshua's great feat, was now one of Dan's
cities, and is represented by the modern village of Yalo, which
stands on the side of the hill which forms the southern
boundary of the broad and beautiful Merj Ibn Omeir, the
ancient valley of Ajalon. The name signifies "place of gazelles,"
and, with many other like appellations, gives a glimpse of the
natural history of the country. Thus we have in its immediate
neighbourhood Shaalabbim, "jackals," and Zeboim, "hysenas."
The adventures of Samson indicate the abundance of the
former of these animals." Of Ekron and Joppa we need not
• Judg. xv. 4.

l8o JOSHUA.
speak. Gibbethon is probably the village of Kibbiah, six m lies
and a half north-east of Lydda, then called Lod, but not
mentioned among Dan's towns ; Jehud is el-Yehudijeh, a little
to the east ; and Mejarkon, the most northern locality named,
is a town on the river Aujeh, which has the same meaning,
" the yellow river." This is the largest stream in the plain of
Sharon, and is of sufficient volume to withstand the drought of
summer, and to force its way through the opposing sandbanks
in a permanent channel to the sea five miles north of Joppa.
The territory of Dan, as we have seen, was very small ; but
though the energies of the Danites were thus concentrated in
a narrow sphere, they were unable to dispossess the ancient
inhabitants. The tract along the coast was held by a horde of
Amorites which maintained its position in spite of all efforts to
dislodge it.* The Philistines also were unsubdued. That Dan
did not yield without a struggle, but long maintained the contest
with the courage and skill for which it was famed, may be
inferred from the term Mahaneh-Dan, "camp of Dan," applied
to a place near Kirjath-jearim, showing that the tribe was still
on the war-path, even when nominally settled in their in
heritance.3 Forced by their heathen opponents from the rich
plain to the more barren hills, and confined in limits too narrow
for their population, the Danites determined to enlarge their
borders in some other direction. Accordingly, some few years
after the allotment, they sent forth five spies from two of their
towns with instructions to seek for some favourable spot, as yet
unoccupied by their countrymen, which they might seize and
colonize.3 These messengers went on their way northwards,
through Ephraim and the other tribes, till they had tracked the
Jordan to its source ; and here they found what they sought.
At the edge of the wide plain which slopes from the south-west
angle of the base of Mount Hermon rises "an artificial-looking
mound of limestone rock, flat-topped, eighty feet high, and half
a mile in diameter."4 On this stood a town, named Leshem or
Laish,inhabitedby a colony from Sidon, separated by the Lebanon
and its offshoots from the mother city, dwelling "quiet and secure,"
inoffensive in their own habits, and without fear of injury from
* Ju"Jg- '• 34 f. ; * Sam. vii. 14
¦ Judg. xiii. 25 ; xviii. 12 ; Ewald, ii. 289.
3 Josh. xix. 47 ; Judg. xviii.
* Tristram, " Land of Israel," 580,

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. l8l
any powerful neighbour. It was a lavishly fertile and fovely
spot ; from the base of the hill one of the sources of the Jordan
wells forth, and by its perennial waters maintains the bright
verdure of the scene. Well might the spies report : "We have
seen the land, and, behold, it is very good, . . . and the land is
large, ... a place where there is no want of anything Lhat is
in the earth." Travelling towards Banias, Mr. Oliphant'
speaks thus of the locality : " At this point a new and most
enchanting view burst upon us. At our feet lay the plain of the
Huleh [Merom], looking far more fertile and productive than it
really is ; as much of it is marsh and waste land, that might,
however, easily be reclaimed. But surrounded as it is with a
girdle of noble mountains, with the blue and tranquil waters
of Merom gleaming in the midst of a setting of richest green
and the Jordan winding away in the distance, as seen from the
hills to the north, it is without doubt one of the most attractive
views in Palestine. One can hardly wonder at the men of Dan,
when they came upon it, being fascinated by the luxuriance of
the landscape and its charm of position, and then and there
deciding to oust the existing peasantry, and occupy as much of
it themselves as had not been already appropriated by the tribe
of Naphtali."
The report brought by the messengers was considered so
satisfactory that an expedition was immediately organized, and
six hundred chosen warriors, marching to the north, surprised
the unguarded Laish, massacred the inhabitants, burned the
city in a reckless spirit of destruction, and established them
selves on the ruined site, calling the name of their new settle
ment Dan, which henceforward became the most northern
landmark of Canaan, as Beersheba was considered the
southernmost. Of their occupation a memorial exists to this
day in the name of the place, which is called Tell-el-Kadi, " the
mound of the judge," Kadi, like Dan, signifying "judge."
According to one view of the blessing of Moses, Dan was
destined to guard the northern frontier, and by this expedition
executed a foreseen movement. His words are :
" Dan is a lion's whelp.
That leapeth forth from Bashan."
This sentence may imply that the tribe was to watch the north,
¦ " Land of Gilead," 18 f.

182 JOSHUA.
and specially the slopes of Hermon ; or it may be a mere
general statement that it should lurk couching for prey, like a
lion in the coverts of Bashan. The sentence of Jacob is more
definite. First, with a paronomasia on the name, he foretells
that the tribe shall make as good a leader of forces and as
valiant an opponent of enemies as any of the families in the
land. " Dan shall judge his people.
As one of the tribes of Israel."
And certainly Samson, the champion and judge, emphatically
confirmed this announcement. He proceeds :
" Dan shall be a serpent in the way.
An adder in the path.
That biteth the horse's heels,
So that his rider falleth backward."
His position was to be at the outskirts of Israel, where he was
to watch stealthily for the enemy, and fall on him suddenly, as
the chosen band surprised Laish. The serpent here referred
to is the cerastes, or horned snake (so called, from the appear
ance of two protuberances over the eyes), a creature some four
teen inches long, which lurks in the sand and darts out suddenly
at any passing beast, inflicting a bite which is most poisonous
and deadly. It is found in the desert south of Judxa and in
Egypt. Horses have a remarkable dread of this reptile, and
where they detect its presence cannot be induced to proceed.
It would seem from this comparison that Dan was to effect its
purposes rather by stratagem than by open assault. The con
cluding sentence of the blessing may be a tribal war cry in
which this vigilant, expectant attitude is intimated :
" I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord."
The subsequent history of the tribe is obscure. Samson is
the only hero that arose from its lineage. The emigrants, on
their way to the north, had carried off from Mount Ephraim
the images and the priest found in the house of one Micah, and
set up an anomalous worship in their new home." The line of
' Judg. xviii. The name " Manasseh," in verse 30, is without doubt an
unauthorized alteration from " Moses," which is the genuine reading. The
change was introduced to avoid the scandal of the foundation of an idola
trous worship being traced to the grandson of the great lawgiver.

ALLOTMENTS OF THE REMAINING TRIBES. 183
priests there established was of the tribe of Levi, and indeed
of the family of Moses, but it was not Aaronic, and was there
fore schismatical. The distance from Shiloh, and their isolated
position, led the Danites into schism and idolatry; the southern
section was soon amalgamated with Judah and Benjamin, the
northern intermingled with their Phoenician neighbours ; and the
individuality of the tribe was so lost, or their gross idolatry was
so flagrant, that their genealogies are omitted by the Chronicler,
and they do not appear in the Apocalypse among the " sealed "
Israelites." When all the tribes had received their inheritance, the modest
wants of Joshua were provided for. His own interest was the
very last thing that he thought of, showing himself now as ever
moderate and unselfish. It seems (though the injunction is not
found in the Pentateuch) that, like Caleb, Joshua had been dis
tinctly promised a special portion in the land ;' and accordingly
he asked for a city in his own tribe, Timnath-Serah, or,'as it is
called in Judges ii. 9, Timnath-heres, " Portion of the sun," the
latter part of the word being either a mere transposition of
the original Serah, or, according to Jewish tradition, a reference
to the miracle at Beth-horon.3 Of its probable position we
have already spoken when describing the cities of Ephraim.
Its wild and secluded character may have had peculiar attrac
tion for the old warrior, who needed a calm resting-place for
his declining years.
« Rev. vii.
' Josh. xix. 50 : "According to the word of the Lord they gave him the
city which he asked."
3 Like Kir-heres, Beth-shemesh, and similar names, the appellation may
Imply the worship of the sun in these localities.

CHAPTER XI.
RELIGIOUS ARRANGEMENTS.
The custom of blood-revenge — Homicide and murder — Cities of refuge-
Right of asylum ; how guarded — The death of the high priest — In
heritance of Levi— Cities with pasturage assigned — The three families
of Levites — Towns allotted to each — Anathoth — Distribution of
Levites — Trans-Jordanic tribes dismissed— They erect an altar; its
situation — Action of Western Israelites under a misapprehension — The
matter explained and settled satisfactorily.
There was still some work to be done before the representa
tives of the tribes could be dismissed from Shiloh. Joshua,
always scrupulously obedient to the injunctions of Moses, now
proceeded to carry out the law respecting the cities of refuge
which had been already given during the last days of his pre
decessor." This law was directed to the restriction of the rude
idea of justice which prevailed at that time, and still prevails,
in Eastern countries and in other places. In accordance with
this idea, it was the duty of kinsmen to avenge the death of
a relation by the slaughter of the offender and his children.
Thus one murder rendered another necessary, and the feud of
blood might be perpetuated for many generations. This ini
quitous custom made no distinction between murder and man
slaughter and accidental homicide; it comprised innocent and
guilty in one common lot, and gave them over to death with
out trial or hope of reprieve. Jewish legislation endeavoured,
without altogether abolishing the system, to mitigate its harsh
ness and to remedy its defects. For the wilful murderer there
* Numb. xxxv. Comp. Exod. xxi. 13 ; Deut xix. a ff.

RELIGIOUS ARRANGEMENTS. 185
was no compassion. He was accursed ; his action was a direct
outrage against God, and defiled the land till it was purged
by his destruction. No money payment could atone for such
crime ; the altar itself was no asylum in such a case. But
unintentional and accidental homicide was differently treated.
The cities of refuge were provided for such cases. From the
number of the towns to be immediately assigned to the
Levites, and therefore inhabited by the most intelligent and
religious part of the community, three on each side of Jordan
were selected in convenient situations. On the west were
Kedesh-Naphtali in the extreme north, Shechem in the centre,
and Hebron on the south ; on the east, Golan on the north,
Ramoth in Gilead in the middle, and Bezer or Bosor, in
Reuben, now Kasur el Besheir, two miles south of Dibon.
These places were already hallowed by ancient usage, ~and very
probably possessed certain rights of asylum. The very name
of some {e.g., Kadesh, " holy ") implies sanctity, and others,
as Hebron and Shechem, were consecrated by the abode of
patriarchs. The roads to these sanctuaries were to be kept
open and in good repair, that no unnecessary hindrance might
delay the flight of the offender. The enactments respecting
asylum were minute and peculiar. None of the common
mediaeval abuses were possible in the Jewish system. They
were, as we have seen, not criminals of every kind who could
here find protection ; the right of asylum was restricted to one
class of transgressors ; and that was surrounded by safeguards
and limitations which rendered deceit and evasion impractic
able. Supposing the manslayer escaped immediate death at
the hand; of the God, the avenger of blood, and made his way
safely to one of the sanctified cities, he was secure for the
moment from summary vengeance. Standing in the place of
public assembly at the gate, the refugee declared his cause
before the elders, showing where the homicide was committed,
and that he was guiltless of malice and premeditation. If the
explanation was considered satisfactory, he was received pro
visionally, till the avenger tracked him to his refuge and
demanded his surrender. Upon this a more formal investiga
tion was held, and he was put upon his trial before the congre
gation in the local court. Cleared of the charge of murder by
this assembly, the fugitive had a residence assigned to him in
the city whither he had fled, in which he was bound to reside

1 86 JOSHUA.
till the death of the ruling high priest. It was specially enacted
that he must remain scrupulously within these precincts ; if
found outside, his protection was voided ; he might be put to
death with impunity. Thus even the involuntary homicide was
punished by a kind of exile from his home, and deprivation of
the emoluments arising from his usual pursuits. The sanctity
of human life was thus confirmed, and bloodshed, though un
premeditated, was shown to be a grave and serious matter,
which justly brought upon the offender many inconveniences.
At the death of the high priest a general amnesty ensued, and
the manslayer was at liberty, to return to his home and resume
his occupations in perfect security. Various reasons have been
assigned for this particular regulation. Some see in it only a
mode of interposing a salutary delay, and giving time for justice
to be heard and passions to cool. But the high priest's death
might occur directly after the transaction, and the homicide
would in that case be released immediately. Nor was it simply
that the decease of the spiritual ruler was an event of such vast
national importance, that all other deaths were forgotten and
condoned in the universal sorrow. Nor, again, was this banish
ment merely a punishment for the carelessness and inadvert
ence which had occasioned the fatal act. The import of the
law was something much deeper. The manslayer, who had even
involuntarily incurred the guilt of -bloodshed, must remain under
the protection of the priests and Levites who were appointed
to bear the iniquity of the children of Israel. The high priest
was the head of the theocracy and the representative of the
whole people ; on him, year by year, were laid the transgressions
of all ; and while he lived, he was, as it were, legally infected
with this load of sin. At his death this load passed from him,
and he being thus justified, the sinners whom he represented
were justified also, and the manslayer was released.' We
Christians see here an adumbration of the sacrifice of Christ,
our great High Priest, whose death delivers from sin and
sets the captive free. This beneficent system of asylum was
ordained to hold good not only for actual Israelites, but for
dependents, captives, and naturalized foreigners who formed a
tenth or more of the population.
The Levites had now to be provided for in pursuance of the
commands of God given to Moses.a It hau been impossible to do
' Bp. Ellicott on Josh. xx. 6. » Numb. xxxv. 1-8.

RELIGIOUS ARRANGEMENTS. I87
this till the other tribes were settled, as the cities assigned to
the Levites were to be within the limits of the several territories
allotted to their brethren. They were not to have a separate
division of the land ; the Lord God of Israel was to be their
inheritance. Jacob had said sadly of them and the Simeonites :
" I will divide them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel."
We have seen how this sentence was fulfilled in the miserable
decadence of Simeon. In the case of Levi the sentence was
modified by subsequent events. The faithfulness of Moses,
and the holy zeal of the tribe on the occasion of the terrible
apostasy at Horeb," converted it into a blessing. They were
indeed " divided," but this distribution was made to conduce
to great spiritual and social benefits. So when the elders
presented themselves before Eleazar, and Joshua, and the
other commissioners, and claimed from them the formal
assignment of the provision destined for them, the demand
was at once complied with. The sacerdotal and military and
civil authorities were in full concert on this as on all other
occasions, and exactly carried out the precepts enunciated in
the Book of the Law. Every tribe was to make an offering
out of its abundance by assigning some of its cities to the
Levites ; towns to the number of forty-eight were thus appro
priated, being at the rate of four from each tribe, though this
was practically modified in some cases by local circumstances.
These cities were not made over absolutely and entirely.
They remained in the tenure of their original possessors, while
the Levites had the right to domiciles in them, and to a certain
extent of pasture-land in the suburbs. The extent of this
allotment of meadow was accurately defined, so as to preclude
all chicanery or niggardliness. It was to reach to a thousand
cubits from the walls, north, south, east, and west, and to pre
sent a front of not less than two thousand cubits, thus securing
about three hundred acres in area, which, as the Levites did
not cultivate the land, would be sufficient for the pasturage of
their flocks. The four " suburbs " thus delineated were not
necessarily continuous ; as long as they conformed to the
enjoined requirements, they might be modified by the situation
* Exod. xxxii. 25 ff.

1 88 JOSHUA.
of the city and the natural features of the locality." For their
further support (as their duties forbade them to engage in
temporal pursuits) the Levites received tithes from all the
people, at the same time themselves offering a tithe of their
revenues to the priests as a recognition of their higher conse
cration. The catalogue of the Levitical cities is given in
Josh, xxi., and, with some variations and omissions, in I Chron.
vi. 54-S1. These deviations may be accounted for by the
compilers having relied upon different documentary sources,
or by lapse of time, or exchanges or additions. Certainly the
list in our Book is not a final one. For instance, Nob, which
we know was a priestly city in Saul's time, is not mentioned at
all. In the distribution recourse was again had to the lot, that
all might be in the hands of Providence, and all jealousy and
dispute be obviated. The cities which each tribe was to give
having been determined by local considerations, the lot decided
to which of the families each should be assigned. The tribe
was divided into three families, the Gershonites, the Kohathites,
and the Merarites, of which the Kohathites held the first rank,
as being the branch to which belonged Aaron and the priest
hood. Among these families the forty-eight cities were dis
tributed in the following proportions, viz-., thirteen to the
Aaronites or priests, ten to the rest of the Kohathites, thirteen
to the Gershonites, and twelve to the Merarites. The sons of
Aaron were first provided for, and it was considered providen
tial that the homes assigned to them fell within the borders of
Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon, in the immediate neighbour
hood of Jerusalem, the future centre of the national religion, the
spot where God would place His name. It was, too, in view
of future requirements, rather than from present demands, that
so large a number of towns were given to the priests, though
doubtless by this time the family had multiplied considerably
and numbered some thousands. The cities also were of small
size, and some of them probably still in the possession of the
original inhabitants, and are enumerated here before they were
actually occupied by the sacerdotal immigrants. Among them
are Hebron, Libnah, Eshtemoa, Gibeon, Bethshemesh. We
need not delay long over these Levitical towns. Most of them
' The above seems the simplest solution of the difficult question of these
suburbs and pasturages. The subject is treated at some length by Dr.
Ginsburg in Kitto's "Cyclop." s.v. Levites; but I cannot agree to his
opinion.

RELIGIOUS ARRANGEMENTS. 189
have already come to our notice in the previous history ; but
some few hitherto unmentioned may be named Of the nine
appropriated from the territory of Judah and Simeon, all have
been noticed before ; of the four received in the country of
benjamin, one became celebrated only at a later period. This
.'as Anathoth, whither the priest Abiathar was banished by
Solomon in punishment of his treasonable conspiracy in favour
.f Adonijah ; here was born the great prophet Jeremiah."
' She town, now called Anata, stands on a broad ridge about
t iree miles north-east of Jerusalem on the road that crosses the
northmost summit of the range of Olivet. It was a place of
some strength, surrounded with walls, and with fertile
" suburbs " which still show signs of cultivation. Another
place not hitherto enumerated among the possessions of
Benjamin is Almon, or, as it is called in 1 Chron. vi. 60,
Alemeth. It has been identified with the ruins of Almit,
about a mile north-east of Anata. The rest of the Kohathites,
that is, those who were not of the sacerdotal order, had been
greatly diminished by the destruction incurred in the punish
ment of Korah's rebellion,' and their wants were supplied by
the appropriation of ten cities. These were taken from the
neighbouring territories, four in Ephraim, four in Dan, and
two in Western Manasseh. Among these are the well-known
Shechem, Gezer, and Beth-horon ; one called Kibzaim is pro
bably Jokmeam under another name. Others are Gibbethon,
Aijalon, Tanach, and Ibleam. The next lot fell to the
Gershonites, who received thirteen cities, viz., two in Eastern
Manasseh, Golan in Bashan, and Og's city Ashtaroth-
Kamain, four miles north of Edrei ; four in Issachar of no
importance ; four in Asher, among which are Abdon on the
north of the plain of Acre, and Rehob not yet identified ; and
three in Naphtali, of which only Kedesh in Galilee is known
to fame. To the Merarites were assigned twelve cities, viz.,
four in Zebulun, such as Jokneam at the eastern end of Carmel,
and others whose names greatly vary in manuscripts and
versions ; four in Reuben, as Bezer. just below Dibon, and
Kedemoth still further south ; and the same number in Gad,
of which three are highly celebrated, Ramoth-Gilead,
Mahanaim, and Heshbon.
Thus the Levites were dispersed throughout Israel, carrying
" 1 Kings ii. 26 ; Jer. i. 1. * Numb. x«L ; xxvi. 9 f.

19° JOSHUA.
culture and religion into every corner of the land. Free from the
petty cares and anxieties of this life, their temporal wants amply
provided for, they were able to turn their attention to higher duties
and attend to matters of national importance. In theory at least
they were to be standing witnesses for God among the people.
When not engaged in performing the religious duties which
were apportioned among them, they were the teachers of the
young, the readers, transcribers, and expounders of the Law, the
annalists and chroniclers who preserved the memory of great
events and distinguished personages. They brought religion
into everyday life, mutually helping each other and their
neighbours to realize the unseen, and to attain to the standard
of the peculiar people of God. That this ideal was never
reached, and that the benefits designed were never fully recog
nized and enjoyed, is unhappily very true. But this shows
merely the imperfection that cleaves to all human perform
ances, and how man's self-will and neglect mar the fairest
projects. The wisdom and prudence of the design remain
unimpaired by the deficiencies of the agents ; and we may
trace the subsequent rise of the schools of the prophets, which
did so much for religion and produced such grand characters,
to this distribution of the Levites throughout the length and
breadth of Israel.
The distribution of the land being now complete, and the
promises made by God to Abraham and Moses being now ful
filled, no further national enterprise was needed ; the work
that remained to be accomplished must be undertaken by each
tribe for itself. It was time now to dismiss the trans-Jordanic
tribes, who had loyally kept their word, and served with their
brethren during this protracted warfare. Joshua therefore
summons these warriors before him at Shiloh, warmly com
mends their self-sacrificing conduct, warns them that their
prosperity depends upon their continued obedience to "the
commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the
Lord charged" them, and with a fervent blessing dismisses
them, saying, " Return with much riches unto your tents, and
with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with
brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment, and divide
the spoil of your enemies with the brethren whom ye left
behind." It argues much for the personal influence of Joshua
and the confidence with which he was regarded, that he had

RELIGIOUS ARRANGEMENTS. IQI
succeeded in retaining these soldiers with him without a
murmur for so many years. That they had not long ago
insisted on returning to their homes and occupying the cities
allotted to them, is a remarkable instance of disinterested and
ready obedience of which history affords few parallel examples.
Thus solemnly dismissed, the two tribes and a half set out on
their return. While still on the west of Jordan, it occurred to
them that it would be expedient to erect some memorial in a
conspicuous position, near the margin of the river, which might
be a witness of their unity of faith with their western brethren,
of their participation in the ordinances of worship, and of their
claim to be regarded as one people in spite of their apparent
isolation. Accordingly, ere they crossed the Jordan, they built
a huge monument, " a great altar to see to," one that was con
spicuous from a long distance, to be, as they said, Ed, a witness.
That such memorials, erected not for sacrificial purposes, but for
other considerations, were not uncommon, we see from previous
histories. Thus Moses, after the defeat of the Amalekites,
"built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi," and
Jacob, on his return from Padan-aram, set up a pillar at Bethel
in remembrance of the vision there vouchsafed to him." The
position of this altar erected by the returning warriors has been
much disputed. Josephus1 states distinctly that it was on
the east side of the Jordan, and at one time Captain Conder 3
thought that the group of menhirs opposite es Salt in Mount
Gilead was connected with the memorial ; but there is no
doubt that the Jewish historian was mistaken in his asser
tion. Both the language used and the nature of the transaction
fix the site to the western bank. The altar is said (xxii. u)
to be built "in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the
region (circles) round about Jordan, on the side that pertaineth
to the children of Israel." If this translation of the Hebrew
holds' good, as competent scholars admit, we can have no hesi
tation in placing the altar upon the western side of Jordan.
Besides, it was necessary for their assertion of unity with their
brethren, and to keep alive their claim to fellowship, that their
" witness " should stand in their brethren's territory. It would ba
no denegation of the isolating barrier interposed by the Jordan
to raise such a monument in their own country; the essence of
" Exod. xvii. is ; Gen. xxxv. 14. * "Ant." v. 1. 26
3 " Heth and Moab," 177.

192 JOSHUA.
the transaction was that their hands should set up the memorial
in the district with which they desired to hold the most intimate
relations. The Palestine "explorers " ' consider that they have
discovered the site of this altar on the summit of Kurn Surtabeh,
a bold headland that juts out in the Jordan valley, four miles
west of the Damieh ford, some twenty miles above Jericho, on
the direct route from Shiloh. The ascent to this peak, which
like a white bastion dominates the valley at a height of 2,300
feet, is now called Tar at abn Ayd, which curiously revives the
Hebrew name Ed. Here are huge remains of antique masonry,
and the spot is visible from an immense distance, from Mount
Ebal, from the hills round Gennesaret, from the Dead Sea ; and
in later times, owing to its conspicuous position, it was used as
a beacon station in connection with a similar telegraph on the
Mount of Olives. Remarkably enough, there are certain
localities in the immediate neighbourhood which recall this use
of the height. Thus there is one place named Daluk, "burning,"
another Wady en Nar, "valley of fire," and yet a third, which
intimates the purpose of these signals, Umm Hallel, " mother
of new moon." News of the novel proceeding of the dismissed
tribes soon reached the Western Israelites, and excited a wild
commotion amongst them. They were already dispersing to
their several homes, when the intelligence of their brethren's
apparently schismatical action recalled them to Shiloh. With
out any command of Joshua, simply in their zeal for the Law,
whose provisions had been infringed, they gathered themselves
together. What said the Law given by Him whose marvellous
aid had enabled them to win these late triumphs, and in grati
tude to whom they were bound to enforce its enactments?
"Whosoever there be that offereth a burnt-offering or sacrifice,
and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congre
gation, to offer it unto the Lord ; even that man shall be cut off
from among the people." " Unto the place which the Lord
your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put His name
there, even unto His habitation shall ye seek, and thither shalt
thou come. . . . Take heed that thou offer not thy burnt-offering
in every place that thou seest." And the doom of any who set
up strange worship was solemnly determined: "Thou shalt
surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the
sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, . . . and it
' " Quarterly Paper," Oct., 1874 ; " Memoirs " ii. 308 ff.

RELIGIOUS ARRANGEMENTS. 193
shall be a heap for ever ; it shall not be built again." * By
erecting an alien altar the trans-Jordanic tribes, even if they
did not degenerate into idolatry, were aiming a blow at that
national unity the preservation of which was so essential to the
well-being of the people. The one centre of worship, and the
obligation to resort thither three times a year, kept always
before their minds their common origin and common obliga
tions, however far apart their homes were fixed. It was obvious
that with a new sanctuary and another religious establishment
close at hand, the eastern tribes would ere long cease to attend
the regular worship in Canaan, and come to regard themselves
as a separate and independent people. In vindication of the
outraged Law the Israelites prepared to make war on their
misguided brethren, either compelling them to renounce their
schismatical action, or ready to punish them with the utmost
severity if they obstinately persisted in their error. What part
Joshua took in these proceedings does not appear. Possibly it
was owing to his advice that nothing was done rashly. Jealou*
as he was for the honour of God, he would not sanction a civil
war without the gravest and most irrefragable reason. Before
taking fatal measures a strict examination should be held in
accordance with the provisions of the code which the leader
always scrupulously observed, and all due opportunity should
be afforded to the offenders for explanation. Accordingly,
there was dispatched a deputation, consisting of ten chieftains
representing the western tribes, headed by the priest Phinehas
himself, once more appearing as the zealous defender of the
faith, as he had boldly punished the sinners at Shittim, when
the destroying angel was making havoc of the congregation.*
The envoys found the people already in the land of Gilead and
preparing to disperse their several ways. The remonstrance
which they made was forcible and dignified. " What trespass,"
they say by the mouth of their spokesman, " is this that ye have
committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from
following the Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar to rebel
this day against the Lord ? " Then Phinehas reminds them of
the terrible retribution which befell the worshippers of Baal-Peor,
¦ Lev. xvii. 8, 9 ; Deut. xii. 5, 13 ; xiii. 12 ff. The incident in the text is
one of those many (and they are very numerous) intimations which show
that the history presupposes the enactment of the Mosaic law and a general
knowledge of its requirements. ' Numb. xxv. 7 ff.
14

194 JOSHUA.
and intimates that there were still among them some who
hankered after the licentious orgies of idolatry. He warns them
that the sin of individuals is visited on the whole community, as
they had lately seen in the case of Achan, and that the pros
perity of the nation depended on the general obedience and
piety of its members. And he bids them, if they consider that
their inheritance is polluted by idol worship, and not hallowed
by the presence of the Lord, to quit it altogether, and to find a
home with their brethren in Canaan, where the sanctuary was
securely established, and where God visited His people. Any
sacrifice would be better than to offend their gracious God by
an act of flagrant schism, which must meet with condign punish
ment, and would be fraught with fatal consequences to the whole
nation. The inculpated tribes at once proceeded to vindicate
their action and calmly to defend themselves from the charge
brought against them. Invoking God Himself to witness their
innocence and to judge the integrity of their intentions, they
assert in the most solemn manner that the altar which they had
raised was not designed for any kind of sacrifice whatever ; far
be it from them to interfere with the unity of the established wor
ship ; rather, it was for the very purpose of preserving this unity
that they had thus acted. The altar was a monument of their con
nection with their western brethren in faith and polity. Separated
as they were geographically from the rest of Canaan, they feared
that they might be treated as aliens in time to come, and so they
erected this model of the altar of Jehovah as a witness that
they had the same right to approach the Lord as the other
tribes, but, as they repeat in emphatic asseveration, with no
intention of using it for sacrificial purposes. The explanation
so frankly and temperately offered was regarded as entirely
satisfactory. "This day," said Phinehas, "we know that the
Lord is in the midst of us, because ye have not committed this
trespass against the Lord ; now have ye delivered the children
of Israel out of the hand of the Lord, so that they will not be
chastised for your delinquency." The deputies returned with
joy to Shiloh, reporting to Joshua the favourable result of their
interference. All thought of war was laid aside, and the bond
between the various members of the community was only
strengthened by the temporary misunderstanding so completely
and happily settled. In this transaction we see the effects of
Joshua's continual influence, and of the efforts which he never

RELIGIOUS ARRANGEMENTS. 195
ceased to make towards national unity. A short time sufficed
to change all this for the worse ; but during the period with
which we are concerned, the people were combined in one
desire to maintain unimpaired their dependence upon Jehovah,
to observe the laws which had come down to them, and at any
cost to punish rebellion against the foundation of their national
life.

CHAPTER X!L
LAST DAYS.
The commonwealth of Israel — First address of Joshua— Final charge at
Shechem— The people's response — Ratincation of the Covenant — Death
of Joshua — His tomb — Tomb of Eleazar.
The transactions narrated above were followed by a period of
peace. Joshua retired to his house at Timnath-serah, and for
gome eighteen years we lose sight of him altogether, though we
must believe that many resorted to him for counsel and hung on
the old warrior's words as he recounted the stirring incidents
of his long career, and told how God fought for Israel. During
all this period the people were wholly engaged in setding them
selves in their possessions and attending to their private concerns.
They were not intended to be a nation of warriors, ever restlessly
pressing forward to renewed conquests, and organizing distant
expeditions for territorial aggrandisement. They had their own
inheritance given them directly by the Lord, who was the
absolute owner of the land; and this they had to take and retain
with watchful guardianship. Possessing only a life interest in
the soil, they could not dispose of their property altogether ; if
sold, it reverted to its original owner in the year of jubilee.
Thus there was no accumulation of territory in the hands of a
few ; great wealth and great poverty were alike unknown. The
national life was based on agriculture ; each little community
supplied its own necessaries, lived on the produce of its fields,
its flocks and herds, paid little attention to manufactures,
and felt no need of commercial relations with aliens beyond
its own borders. Each tribe was governed by its own elders
and chiefs, subject to a committee of the whole gathered at the
religious centre under the presidency of the high priest. Such

LAST DAYS. I97
was the system certainly in the time of Joshua and his im
mediate successors — a republic under theocratic guidance
Now Joshua, the most religious of men, the dutiful soldier,
the simple servant of Jehovah, was profoundly impressed with
the inviolable connection between national prosperity and
national piety, and being now far advanced in years, and
knowing the temptations which would beset his countrymen
when he and his contemporaries were removed by death, having
perhaps seen some symptoms of an evil heart of unbelief,
though no overt rebellion had yet marred the obedience of the
chosen people, he uttered two farewell addresses in order to
warn them against declension, and to encourage them to
continue in the only safe way. We might put into his mouth
the words which St. Peter uses in his Second Epistle : " I will
not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these
things, though ye know them and are established in the truth
which is with you. And I think it right, as long as I am in this
tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance ;
knowing that the putting off my tabernacle cometh swiftly.
Yea, I will give diligence that at every time ye may be able
after my decease to call these things to remembrance.'*' The
old chieftain first summons the elders to his home at Timnath-
serah," where for many years he had been leading a quiet and
retired life, and addresses them as persons of culture and
authority, who understand their duty and are in a position to
execute it.' Relying largely on his memory of the utterances of
his master Moses, using the same arguments, and very often
employing the same words, he reminds them of all that God
has done for them, attributing their marvellous success to its
true source ; of his own great part in these events he modestly
says little ; but he tells them that even the places as yet un
subdued were included in their lot and had to be gradually
absorbed; and that in reliance on Jehovah's promise they
should go forth conquering. But the achievement of this result
depends on their strict obedience. " Therefore," he says in the
very terms used to himself (i. 7), " be ye very courageous to keep
and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses,
» The place of assembly is not expressly mentioned (ch. xxiii.), but as the
last formal meeting was held at Shechem, this, which was of a less solemn
character and more restricted in numbers, probably took place in his own
house.

I98 JOSHUA.
that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand, or to the
left." They must beware of associating with the heathen peoples
in their neighbourhood or participating in their idolatries. God
had hitherto helped them because they had been true to Him,
and He would do even greater things, if they showed their love
to Him by unswerving obedience. Then the venerable leader
utters a note of warning. If they turn away from their
dependence upon Jehovah, indulge in familiar intercourse
with pagans, and intermarry with them, God will aid them no
longer in their enterprises ; He will leave these Canaanites to
be a snare and a trap, scourges in their sides, and thorns in
their eyes, till they perish from off the good land given for their
inheritance. With a touching allusion to his own approaching
end Joshua concludes his address by recalling the awful denun
ciations of Moses, and assuring them that as the Lord had
proved Himself faithful in conferring all the blessings which He
had promised, so He would be no less true in punishing
dereliction of duty by the infliction of the tremendous penalties
threatened in the Law.1
Such was the first address of the old servant of God to the
companions of his labours, his comrades in arms, those who
had the direction of affairs and would have to carry out the
Divine programme when death removed him from die scene.
But his care for his beloved countrymen was not even yet
satisfied ; he wished to leave them still another legacy, and to
take a farewell of them in a more solemn and public manner.
There was danger in the very prosperity which they enjoyed ;
luxury, indolence, worldliness might naturally be fostered by
peace and plenty ; there was the temptation of the seductive
rites of the licentious Canaanites which made laxity and vice a
religious service ; and there was the human repugnance at law
and restrictive duty, which might rise to open rebellion when
the hand that had so long pointed the way was chilled in death.
So the gray-headed warrior came forth from his retirement,
summoned all Israel to meet him by their representatives at
Shechem, and here, where Abraham had received the promise of
the holy land, where Jacob had sanctified his house to the service
of God,a where the bones of Joseph were deposited, where,
years before, the blessings and curses of the Law had been
• See Lev. xxvi. 14 ff. ; Deut. xxviiL-xxx,
* Gen, xii. j ; xxxiii. 1S-20 ; xxxv, 3.

LAST DAYS. I99
solemnly pronounced, he gave his last charge and bound the
people to be faithful to the covenant. He spake as one who
had the authority of God for what he said, prefacing his address
with the words : " Thus saith the Lord God of Israel." He
recounts five great events which displayed the gratuitous
mercies of God to His chosen people. There was the call of
Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates, where his father
had served false gods, and whence God took him to the land of
Canaan, and gave him posterity which in the course of time
sojourned in Egypt ; there was the great deliverance from this
land of bondage under the guidance of Moses and Aaron,
attended with signs and wonders manifold ; there was the total
defeat of the Amorites on the east of Jordan, and the strange
frustration of the machinations of Balaam, so that he who came
to curse was constrained to bless ; there was the miraculous
passage across the Jordan, succeeded by the fall of the strong
city Jericho ; and lastly there was the conquest of all the nations
of Canaan, achieved not by mere force of mortal arms, but by
the Lord's intervention, who arrayed the powers of nature
against these iniquitous peoples," and who put them in posses
sion of a cultivated land in which they had not laboured,
vineyards and oliveyards which they had not planted, and
commodious cities ready built to their hand. Having due
regard to all these mercies, so vast, so unmerited, their plain
duty was to fear the Lord and to serve Him in sincerity and
truth. If, as he feared, there were still among them some who
in secret clung to idolatrous practices, he adjured them to put
away their strange gods, and from this time to worship only
Jehovah who had done such wonders for them. No alternative
existed ; either they must turn to the degraded idolatry of the
Amorites and of their early ancestors who knew not the true
God, or they must reverence the one Lord of heaven and earth.
He concludes his appeal by announcing his own inalienable
« " I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you,"
Josh. xxiv. 12. So Exod. xxiii. 28 ; Deut. vii. 20 ; Wisd. xii. 8. Districts
have ere now been depopulated by an invasion of hornets and poisonous
flies ; and though the history makes no detailed mention of such infliction,
it is not impossible that something of the kind may have tended to lay some
regions open to the Israelites without contest. Many critics, however,
consider that "the hornet" is a metaphor for the agony of panic with
which the Canaanites received tidings of the advance of the invading
Hebrews.

2CO joshua:
choice, the choice of one now on the verge of the grave, who
had never swerved from his loyal devotion : " As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord Jehovah."
Moved by the earnest appeal of their venerated leader, the
people with one accord profess their unshaken devotion to
Jehovah, whose mercies just recounted they were forward to
acknowledge : " We too, as thou thyself dost," they say to him,
" will serve the Lord ; for He is our God." But Joshua is not
satisfied with this impulsive assertion of faith ; these loud and
confident professors had not counted the cost of the service
which they assumed; in the excitement of the moment they had
welcomed responsibilities which they might not be prepared to
meet. In the first place the Lord is a jealous God, who will not
consent to a divided allegiance, to be worshipped as one God
among many, but will have the entire devotion of His people
and reign absolute and supreme. In the second place, He is a
holy God, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and the law
which He enjoins is rigorous and severe, and of no easy fulfil
ment. Let them remember this, and make no hasty vows.
Did the good old man, with the prescient sagacity of approach
ing death, forebode coming failure, a want of consistency in this
loudly expressed sincerity ? No such forebodings affected the
people ; with one voice they exclaimed : " Nay, but we will
serve the Lord."
Then they made their choice, and by their public protestation
bare witness against themselves if they ever broke their engage
ment. As a practical proof of sincerity, Joshua demanded that
they should give up all secret idolatry, and put away the
teraphim and images, which, if not actually worshipped, might
at any rate lead to superstitious practices and temptation."
And a third time the people utter their solemn promise : " The
Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey."
Whether any general purging of idolatrous customs, exhibited
by the burning or burying of unlawful images, followed this
repeated asseveration, we know not. Joshua did all that lay in
his power to hold the people to their engagement. With solemn
ceremonial he renewed and ratified the covenant between God
and Israel, which had been first made at Sinai, and again in the
plains of Moab, on both which occasions he had been present
' The episode of Micah in Judg. xvii. is a proof of this. See also Gen.
xxxi. 19 ; xxxv. 2 ; 1 Sam. xix. 13.

LAST DAYS. 201
and taken part in the august inauguration ; he gave certain
definite directions concerning religious observances, and he
wrote an account of these transactions on a papyrus roll and
placed it as an appendix to the Book of the Law of Moses
which he possessed. Still further to preserve the memory of
this signal occurrence, he erected a huge stone under the
venerable oak which grew in that holy spot, consecrated by so
many religious associations, and where not improbably the altar
of Abraham and Jacob was yet to be seen. In explaining the
significance of this stone Joshua speaks the last words which
are recorded of him : " Behold, this stone shall be a witness
against us ; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which He
spake unto us ; it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest
ye deny your God." With this impressive warning he dismissed
the assembly, and returned to his peaceful home, never again
to leave it for more stirring scenes. Nothing, indeed, happened
to call him from his retirement. There was no enemy to arouse
his old martial spirit ; there was no backsliding or rebellion that
demanded his interference ; and the influence of his example
and instructions extended so deeply and so long, that the
historian brings his book to a close with the happy words :
" Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days
of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work
of the Lord, that He had wrought for Israel." " Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord, . . . that they may rest from
their labours, and their works do follow them."
And now the end came for this servant of the Lord ; his
mission accomplished, his work of war and peace alike success
fully completed, he sank to rest. At the ripe age of one hundred
and ten years, not so old as his master Moses, but having
reached precisely the age of Joseph, Joshua died. He appointed
no successor ; none of his family took his place ; indeed his
posterity is never mentioned in history, and it is doubtful if he
left any children to carry on his name. But a higher fame is
his, a more enduring memorial than any earthly family could
convey. On the sublime subject of the typical character of him
whose life we have been tracing we shall say a few words before
we conclude. Meantime we have to follow him to his tomb.
The record runs : " They buried him in the border of his
inheritance in Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill country of
Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash." The spot

?03 JOSHUA.
was well known when the account was written ; its Identification
in later times has always been a difficulty. We do not know
what is meant by the hill Gaash (" shaking"), the name, which
suggests " earthquake," being applicable to many places.
Jerome seems to have recognized Timnath-Serah in Tibneh, the
modern Thimnathah, about five miles north-east of Lydda and
about double that distance from Bethel, where are the ruins of
a great city situated on two hills. On the slope of one, now
called Deir ed Dham, are seen numerous excavations very like
what are termed the Tombs of the Kings at Jerusalem, and in
these M. Guerin in the year 1863 discovered a large number of
flint knives, such as, according to the tradition mentioned in the
Septuagint, were buried in Joshua's sepulchre." But the Jewish
and Samaritan traditions, confirmed lately by the Palestine
Exploration committee, agree in fixing the site of the tomb at
Kefr Haris (the latter portion of the name representing Heres),
a village five miles south-west of Shechem and seven north of
Shiloh. The tomb which used to be considered that of Joshua
is thus described :" " Nine tombs were here observed, of which
five were closed with rubbish. The first tomb furthest west
(sometimes called Joshua's tomb) has a porch in front of it
eleven feet high, twenty-four feet long, ten feet ten inches broad.
In front of this were two pilasters and two piers of rock about
two feet square. The piers and pilasters are rudely cut, and not
square ; they have capitals with a very simple moulding. The
facade inside the tomb is remarkable for the number of niches
for lamps, arranged in rows, but not symmetrically. There are
over two hundred of these niches, and they are all blackened
with smoke. The inner chamber is entered by a small square
doorway about two feet two inches broad. The chamber within
is thirteen feet nine inches to the back, and thirteen feet six
inches broad. A bench or mastabah runs round the side and
back walls. The height from the bench to the roof is six feet.
There are fifteen kokim [tunnels, recesses], five on each wall,
about six feet nine inches long, and about two feet broad.
They are not parallel, but pointed outwards like a fan. They
are rudely cut, but have arched roofs, and are recessed to hold
a square slab in front. The koka is two feet nine inches high,
¦ Guerin, " Samarie," ii. 90. f. ; " Biblioth. Sacra," 1843.
» " Memoirs," ii. 375. The account is interesting as giving a good
description of Jewish sepulchres.

LAST DAYS. 203
th»«lab recess three feet The middle hoka at the back is con
verted into a passage leading to an inner and thus probably
more recent chamber, in which was found a sort of candela
brum, with three branches in yellow metal and very heavy. It
is a magnificent tomb, evidently designed for some prince in
Israel The presence of the niches, not only in the chambers,
but also in the vestibule open to the daylight, proves that it was
held in the highest reverence. The tomb is of the greatest
antiquity : the pilasters have no other ornamentation than a
simple moulding." It was in this sepulchre, as already men
tioned, that a large number of flint knives was found. Close by,
too, is a great oak-tree some forty feet high, called to this day
Sheikh et Teim (" The chief servant of God "), and about three
miles to the east is a village named Kefr Ishua (Joshua's
village). Of the rival site we have the following account : "
" Kefr Haris is an ordinary village on a hill among olive groves.
It has on the east of it two sacred places resembling the other
Mukams of the country, inclusive of Joseph's tomb. One of
these has the curious name Neby Kifl ('Prophet of the
division by lot'), who is called now 'Companion of the"
Prophet.' The other is now named Neby Kulda or Kunda,
possibly a corruption of Caleb. May we not under the title
Kifl recognize Joshua, who divided the inheritance among the
children of Israel ? It seems by far the most probable that
the place to which Jew and Samaritan both point would be
the true site, for it is most striking to find Jews visiting and
venerating a place in the country of Samaria ; yet in Samaria
the tombs of Joseph, Eleazar, Phinehas, Ithamar, and Abishua
are stiil shown ; and if we follow the indigenous rather than the
foreign tradition, it is here that we should place the tomb of
Joshua also."
The record, which has guided us to the final scene of all,
closes with the statement that Eleazar, the high priest, died and
was buried in a hill that pertained to his son Phinehas in the
territory of Ephraim. Tradition, which in this case seems well
grounded, places the tomb of Eleazar at Awertah, a village on
the slopes east of the Plain of Shechem. The monument is
described as a rude erection of masonry and plaster, eighteen
feet long by fifteen broad, standing in a paved court, in which
grows a magnificent terebinth.*
« "Memoirs," ii. 378. * Ibid. ii. 219, 288 ; "Spec. Pap." 228.

CHAPTER XIII.
CHARACTER AND WORK.
Character of Joshua ; his faith, generalship, unselfishness — The Book of
Joshua ; its age, origin, place in Canon — Miracles — Typical character
of Joshua and his work.
Our task is almost ended. It remains only to add a few
remarks concerning the character of Joshua, the work which
he accomplished, the Book which is called after him, and the
typical nature, which universal consent has assigned to his
name, his attributes, and his acts. The sketch required is
almost ready made to our hand. A man without affectation or
unreality, simple, steadfast, religious, is easily understood, needs
no recondite analysis.
From the preceding history we gain a very complete picture
of Joshua's own character and of the work which he accom
plished. Throughout he is the fearless soldier, the straight
forward leader, the simple, unquestioning executor of the Divine
will ; and his work is the settling of Israel in the Promised
Land, and the assigning to the tribes their separate possessions
in such a way as to preclude jealousy and dispute. That this
could not be effected without much suffering and bloodshed is
obvious ; and Joshua, as the agent of this wholesale extermi
nation, has been called cruel and pitilesSj and the command
which he obeyed has been deemed immoral and utterly contra
dictory to the attributes of God. To such objections sufficient
answer has already been given, and no more need here be said.
But as bearing on the character of Joshua, we may remark that
the execution of this Divine vengeance on the sinful Canaanites
did not brutalize him or his soldiers. He and they felt that
they were simply instruments in inflicting a righteous punish-

CHARACTER AND WORK. 205
ment ; and they carried out the sanguinary sentence, not as
relishing the terrible performance, but simply as acting in
obedience to an acknowledged duty. But before this result
could be obtained, what stupendous difficulties had been met
and overcome ! What consummate abilities Joshua had dis
played ! He had all the qualities of a great general, rapid
decision, unshrinking firmness, thorough knowledge of the
materials at his command, masterly estimate of every varying
situation, and the power of winning the love and confidence of
his soldiers.
It was no light task to convert a mob of broken-spirited,
down-trodden slaves into an orderly army. In Egypt the
Israelites had seen nothing of war, had had no chance of
military experience ; they had to be inspired, animated, and
encouraged, as well as disciplined and organized. Hence the
constant injunction laid on Joshua was to be bold and of a good
courage, that his example might lead the people to display
confidence and fortitude in the face of difficulty and peril. It
was not owing to any natural timidity in his disposition that
this exhortation was so often repeated ; never did his animal
or moral courage fail ; throughout his career no trace of pusil
lanimity is ever found. The bravest of men might well have
had some misgiving as to the success of the enterprise which
he had to undertake, might well have shrunk from attempting
so great a labour with such inefficient instruments. And the
encouraging exhortation, combined with the assurance of Divine
leading and support, kept him true to his single aim, and
enabled him to inspire others with the confidence which was
his very life. In nothing is Joshua's character more conspicuous
than in his simple trust in the supernatural guidance of his
mission. God had ordained that certain operations should be
undertaken, and that certain things should be effected; the
leader, using the means at his command, and asking the counsel
of the priest, felt no hesitation as to the result, knew that
success would be sure to follow. This childlike faith is a very
beautiful trait, and led to great results. It enhanced his natural
courage and sanctified it to noble issues ; it enabled him to
endure under most adverse circumstances, and to stand un
moved in most perilous ventures.
Joshua is the very Bayard of Scripture heroes, the man
without fear and without reproach, one of whom no disparaging

2o6 JOSHUA.
remark is ever made, one whose meat it was to do the will 01
God. Modest and retiring, he never put himself forward, but
from early years his merits had been known to Moses, and he
was immediately selected to lead the army at the first approach
of an enemy. At the awful interview on Sinai his courage,
faith, and purity pointed him out as suitable attendant to him
with whom God talked face to face. Who more fit than he to
reconnoitre the Land of Promise to which his longings turned,
when he alone, with one other, brought back a report such
as a warrior and a statesman and a faithful Israelite should
give, and when undaunted he opposed the angered congrega
tion with calm consistency? Chosen especially to succeed the
great Lawgiver whose one lapse debarred him from the country
of his heart's desire, Joshua, " full of the spirit of wisdom,"
carried out the Divine purpose with an energy and skill which
marked the saint, the patriot, and the strategist. The invasion
of Canaan was conducted with prudence and science, in a very
different fashion from the rash and ill-advised attempt made
on the south frontier some forty years previously. By Joshua's
skilful tactics the strong positions of the lower part of Canaan
were taken in reverse and rendered practically useless ; with a
basis of operations secured, he effectually separated the two
divisions of Canaan, and acting with all his forces on isolated
districts, speedily subjected one half of the country already de
moralized by Egyptian raids, and unable to combine in any
effectual opposition. The reduction of the north was effected
by the celerity of movements which neutralized the effects of
numerical superiority and better arms. In these operations
we recognize the prompt and keen-sighted leader, the consum
mate general, the valiant soldier ; but we cannot fail also to ac
knowledge the faith in the unseen, the abiding consciousness of
a high controlling hand, which inspired every enterprise and
secured its success.
Joshua was a soldier, an ideal soldier, but he was something
more ; he has other claims on our love and veneration. When
his martial labours were accomplished, he sought no pre-emi
nence, he set up no military despotism, he shrunk from un
necessary responsibility, he was content to share his authority
with others. In the distribution of the conquered land he acted
in subordination to the high priest and in concert with the
elders of the tribes. He sought not to found a family ; he was

CHARACTER AND WORK. 207
the last to receive an inheritance ; with a rare unselfishness he
took for his own possession a spot, little regarded, rugged,
unfruitful. There was no self-assertion, no pride, no presump
tion ; his victories were referred to God as the giver ; for them
he claimed no reward and no thanks at the hands of his
countrymen. When he is jealous it is for the honour of God
or his master Moses, never for himself. Inflexibly just, he
exacts the full penalty from the miserable Achan, yet, tendei
even in his severity, he calls him "son." He is faithful to the
crafty Gibeonites ; he is never partial never imperious ; gentle
and strong, firm and loving, conscious of power, yet, clothed
with humility, he is the most perfect representative of the
religious leader, the theocratic general, the guileless Israelite.
Of his literary abilities we have no certain criteria on which to
form an opinion. We know that Moses entrusted to his care the
record of certain important transactions, and that he himself pre
served the memorials of some proceedings in which he bore the
chief part. But the book which bears the name of Joshua is
not so called because he was its author, but because it is wholly
occupied with the record of his acts and sayings. It is true
that in the last chapter we find the sentence : "Joshua wrote
these words in the book of the law of God," and some have
thought that it applies to the whole of the preceding work,
comparing it with some other statements of a similar nature,
e.g. : " Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests,
the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the
Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel " (Deut. xxxi. 9). " The
Lord said v.nto Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book,
and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua" (Exod. xvii. 14). "Samuel
told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in the
book, and laid it up before the Lord"(i Sam. x. 25). But these
expressions seem to indicate that these histories are a continua
tion of that of Moses, and that the words apply simply to the
passages to which they are appended. This is certainly true of
the verse quoted above from Joshua, which states merely that
Joshua committed to writing the account of the renewal of the
covenant, and inserted it in the Book of the Law which he had
received from Moses. Primitive and Jewish tradition alike claim
the authorship of this book for Joshua, except, of course, the
few verses which record his death and burial. Modern criticism
is generally opposed to this view, or holds it only partially, bul

2«8 JOSHUA.
certainly cannot agree as to the possible author, the suggested
writers ranging from Eleazar and Phinehas or one of the elders
that outlived Joshua unto one of the returned Babylonish
captives. Neologian critics find evidence of the work of many
different writers in the book, and with much ingenuity apportion
paragraphs, verses, and expressions to some four or five authors.
On investigation it appears that no two of these scholars
agree in their distribution of the parts, otherwise old-fashioned
orthodox opinion might be overwhelmed with an accumulation
of evidence which it could ill resist. As it is, we may .allow
that our book is a compilation, edited by one who lived very
near the time of the events narrated, and was fully acquainted
with the geography of the country which he describes. Nothing
in the language of the work militates against this idea. The
best Hebraists allow that the style stamps it as of a high anti
quity quite according with its supposed date. Then the ex
actitude of the details, the careful report of speeches, the
revelations made to Joshua, the enumeration of kings and cities,
the precise account of the distribution of territory, point to an
eye-witness and contemporary. And although there are passages
and allusions which denote a writer subsequent to Joshua (as,
for instance, the notice of his death, and the remark that " the
Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto
this day," chap. xv. 63), yet for the above considerations it
seems natural to conclude that the bulk of the work was com
posed under the direction of Joshua, and from records supplied
by him, supplemented after his decease by some details added
by one of his successors. That it was compiled before the age
of David is confirmed by much internal evidence. There is an
entire absence of allusion to the condition of Israel in later
days. There is no token of the reign of kings, or of the division
of the country into rival kingdoms, throughout the book. The
oppression under the Canaanites is unknown to the writer,
otherwise he could not have spoken of the tributary position
of the inhabitants of Gezer (chap. xvi. 10). The statement
already mentioned that the Jebusites dwelt with the Judahites
at Jerusalem could only have been made before David took the
citadel ; the league with the Gibeonites had not been broken
by Saul when our book was written ; nor was the temple
erected." In David's days the Sidonians would not have beers
• Josh, be 27.

CHARACTER AND WORK. 209
spoken of as doomed to extermination ; nor would Sidon have
been called " great," had Tyre, as later it was, then been the
capital of Phoenicia." The dependence of Joshua upon the
Pentateuch and the legislation of Moses is obvious. Unless,
then, we accede to the unproved hypothesis of a post-exilian
date for the Pentateuch, we are constrained to admit the cor
rectness of the position assigned to our book in the Jewish
canon. In this arrangement, as every one knows, the Testa
ment was divided into three sections, called respectively the
Law, the Prophets, and the other writings or Hagiographa.
Joshua was placed at the beginning of the second section,
and was ranked with the "earlier prophets," which included
the Books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Had it been com
posed in the time of Ezra, as some critics conjecture, it would
surely have been placed with the Chronicles in the third section
of the Scriptures. Its present situation is most appropriate,
linking, as it does, what precedes and what follows, showing
how Jehovah fulfilled His promises to the patriarchs, and dis
played His grace, power, and mercy to His chosen people. It
is not a melange composed of incongruous elements, but a
systematic work with a definite object from which the author
never swerves. Following closely the course of events, he
seems at times to have sacrificed the logical to the chronological
sequence, and to have left unexplained some matters which
needed further elucidation ; but this is simply an evidence of
a contemporary writer, who recognized no necessity for adding
illustrative matter, and who purposed to assume the part of a
simple anna'.ist, not that of a philosophical historian. The
claims of the book to a place in the canon of Scripture have
never been seriously disputed ; allusions in other parts of the
Bible confirm its general acceptance. In the Psalms reference is
made not only to the Exodus, but also to the events which
succeeded, when Jordan was driven back, and the heathen were
expelled by the hand of the Lord, and the tribes received their
inheritance.3 The prophets adumbrate the victory at Gibeon,
and the indignation poured forth on the heathen.3 And in the
New Testament St. Stephen speaks of the uprooting of the
Canaanites and the introduction of the ark, St James applauds
the deed of Rahab the harlot, and the writer of the Epistle
" Josh. xii. 8 ; xiii. 4-6. " Pss- xliv. ; Ixviii. ; lxxviii.
3 Isa. xxviii. 21 ; Hab. iii. 12.

2IO JOSHUA.
to the Hebrews, together with the mention of this woman, speaks
of the fall of Jericho and of " the rest, " which Joshua gave to
the people.1
The miraculous element in the book has no difficulty for the
Christian believer. He who believes in the stupendous miracle
of the Incarnation, God assuming man's nature, is satisfied that
God interferes in man's concerns, and is not staggered by any
display of omnipotence in the furtherance of immeasurable
designs. Once admit the antecedent probability of miracles
and the credibility of the history in which they are recounted,
the details and extent of the wonder are comparatively unim
portant. At the same time, it is sometimes possible to deter
mine the secondary causes of miracles detailed, and it is always
advisable carefully to scrutinize the reports of them, that the
faith of weaker brethren may not have laid upon them a
burden greater than they are able to bear. One is led naturally
to expect Divine interpositions at this crisis of the world's
history ; they do not stand alone ; they are the sequel of the
providential events which happened in Egypt and the wilder
ness ; they all tended to further the plan for the preservation of
the pure worship of God, and to prepare the way for the
Gospel. If Israel, the chosen depository of God's law and
will, was to conquer and retain Canaan, it could only do so by
the special assistance of heavenly powers ; and it would be
a matter of surprise if some record of these interferences had
not existed. The antecedent expectation of miraculous occur
rences is fulfilled by the simple statements in our book. It was
necessary to demonstrate to the heathen that Jehovah was the
one Lord of heaven and earth, and that the Israelites were His
special care ; it was necessary that the latter should recognize
these great truths ; for both these purposes miracles were
requisite ; attestation was to be obtained by certain occurrences
transcending the customary operations of nature, which must
be acknowledged to be providential. The revelations of God
in these early times introduced marvellous changes in the
moral and spiritual world ; is it altogether strange and incon
ceivable that such novelties should be accompanied and
confirmed by signs and portents in the world of matter ? A
primitive age takes delight in the marvellous, and is largely
influenced by an appeal to the senses ; faith in the Unseen is of
' Acts vii. 45 ; James ii. 25 ; Hob. iv. 8 ; xi. 30 ff.

CHARACTER AND WORK. 211
slow growth, and needs external support. And God con
descends to man's infirmity and dulness of apprehension by
affording palpable evidence of His intervention, and giving
extraordinary aids to feeble belief. If we put any trust in the
statements of Scripture, miraculous interferences have marked
all God's dealings with His chosen people under the Law and
under the Gospel alike. However they are to be explained, or
whether for their explanation we must be content to wait, they
are bound up indissolubly with the history. The same evidence
attests both. We may say that the observers were mistaken
in their estimation of the wonder, but there can be no reason
able doubt that the circumstances which led to, and which
followed the occurrence, and the contemporary opinion which
saw therein a miraculous intervention, are truthfully recorded.
If we reject the miracle, we must do so on other grounds than
that of insufficient testimony, or we must consider the whole
history fabulous.
This sketch would not be complete without some brief notice
of the typical character of Joshua and his work. Holy Scripture
itself suggests such treatment," and the subject has exercised
many pens, notably that of Bishop Pearson in his Exposition
of the Creed, an epitome of whose argument may be found in
many English commentaries. Many commentators see also in
the history contained in the Book of Joshua an allegory of the
life of individual Christians, and the struggles and fortunes of
the Christian Church. We must be content to indicate without
developing this view. On Joshua as a type thus much may be
here said. The mystery begins with the very name of Joshua,
first called Hoshea, " Salvation," and then Jehoshua, or Joshua,
" God's Salvation," or "Jehovah the Saviour." In' the Septua-
gint he is called Jesus, and this name is reproduced in the Acts
(vii. 45) and in the Epistle to the Hebrews (iii. 8). The
appellation was confirmed by his acts ; as the Son of Sirach
says:" "According to his name he was made great for the
saving of the elect of God." He by the help of the Lord led his
people into the promised land, preserved them from innumer
able dangers, gave them victory over their enemies, put them in
possession of their inheritance. Jesus was He who was to save
His people from their sins, and to bring them into the heavenly
Canaan, preparing eternal mansions for them; He was to
* Acts vii. 45 ; Heb. iv. 8. ¦ Ecclus. xlvi r.

212 JOSHUA.
destroy the works of the devil, to overcome the world, and t«
reward those who have faithfully warred under his banner.
What Moses could not do, Joshua effected. Moses and Aaron
brought the people out of Egypt, but left them in the wilder
ness, could not settle them in Canaan. This was reserved
for Joshua. Thus was prefigured the imperfection of the Law
which could not make its followers perfect, even as it is said :
" The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by
Jesus Christ." " Mosaic legislation separated the Israelites
from the nations ; but Jesus brings the true Israel into close
and peculiar relation with God. It was in obedience to the
Law Joshua conquered Canaan ; so Christ came not to
destroy the Law, but to fulfil it. Joshua smote the Amalekites
and subdued the Canaanites, thus opening the passage to the
land and giving possession of it ; so Jesus goes before us as
Prince and Saviour, subduing our spiritual enemies, and giving
us possession of eternal life. The long wanderings of the
desert were terminated by the rest in the land of promise ; so
the only rest which the Christian knows is found under the
leading of Jesus, under whom "there remaineth a rest for the
people of God." Regarding this life as a pilgrimage, with its
sojourn in Egypt, and the desert, and Canaan, we may look on
the passage of the Jordan as the valley of death which opens
the way to a better world. And if in these general matters the
typical character of Joshua's work is plainly seen, it is no less
wonderfully clear in its varied details. As he began his life in
hardship and bondage in Egypt, sharing the lot of his brethren,
so Jesus took upon Hhn the form of a servant, and suffered the
privations of the poorest. Moses took Joshua with him up into
the mount, for without Jesus, in whom " are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge," it is impossible to approach the
presence of God or to look into the secrets of heaven. On the
banks of the Jordan God began to " magnify Joshua," and to
point him out to Israel as their ordained leader; at the same
river Jesus began His office, and was anointed with the Holy
Spirit, when the voice of the Father proclaimed, " This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." As Joshua directed
that from the bed of Jordan twelve stones should be taken and
set up as a memorial of deliverance, so after His baptism Jesus
chose twelve apostles as the foundation-stones of His Church.
1 John i. 17.

CHARACTER AND WORK. 213
The command of circumcision was given not to Moses, but to
his successor— an intimation that Jesus is the true circumciser,
the author of the circumcision of the heart, in putting off the
body of the sins of the flesh. The circumcision following im
mediately upon the passage of the Jordan may signify the life
of justification dependent on the resurrection of Christ. The
saving of Rahab the harlot adumbrates the great saying of
Jesus : " Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and harlots
go into the kingdom of God before you." Joshua assigns the
people their inheritance in the promised land, but warns them
that they must maintain their possessions by watchfulness and
valour ; Jesus brings His followers into the spiritual Canaan,
the Church, but tells them that foes are left to try them, and
bids them fight manfully against sin, the world, and the devil.
Under Moses there are murmurings, disputes, controversies,
for " the law made nothing perfect ; " under Joshua all is
harmony, confidence, triumph, for " by one offering Jesus hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified." ' Lastly, before he
died, Joshua gathered the heads of the nation around him, por
trayed the nature of the work before them, and their high
destiny if they remained faithful to Jehovah ; Jesus, before He
left the earth, assembled the representatives of the true Israel,
gave them their work, showed them the source of their strength,
saying : " Go ye and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you ; and lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world."
» Heb. vii. 19 ; x. 14 ; " Pulp, Comment."

GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX

Abel-Shittim. p. 18
Achor, Valley of, 57, 144
Achsaph, 101, 173
Achzib, 172
Acre, 16
Adam, 28
Adami, 176
Adullam, 111 f., 146
Ai, 50, 60
Ajalon, 179
Almon, 189
Ammonites, 108
Amorites, 9
Anab, 106
Anakim, 106
Anathoth, 189
Aphek, 115, 173
Arad, in
Argob, 136 f.
Arnon, 108, 123 f.
Aroer, 123
Ashdod, 147
Asher, Territory of, 171 f.
Ashkelon, 97
Ashtarjth, 138, 189
Aujeh, 180
Azekah, 87
Baal-gad, 109 f.
Banias, 109 f.
Bashan, 135
Beeroth, 73
Beersheba, 145 f.
Belka, 120
Benjamin, Territory of, 160 f.
Beth-arabah, 162
Beth-aram, 131
Beth-dagon, 172
Bethel, 50, 51, 60
Beth-hogla, 144
Beth-horon, 80
Bethlehem. 148, 167
Bcth-marcaboth, 165

Beth-nimrah, 131
Beth-peor, 8, 124
Beth-shan, 156
Beth-shemesh, 144, 170, 179
Beth-tappuah, 147
Beth-zur, 148
Bezer, 185
Bozrah, 109
Cabox, 173
Callirrhoe, 8, 120 f.
Canaan, Canannites, 8, 9, 13 ff,
Carchemish, 8
Carmel, the hill, 17, 95, 113, 156
Carmel, the town, 148
Chephirah, 74
Chinnereth, 177
Chisloth-Tabor, 166
Crocodile River, 171
Dan, City, i3o f.
Dan, Territory of, 178 f.
Debir, 94 f., 106, 130, 142
Dibon, 122
Dor, 101
Eastern Palestine, 108 f.
Ebal, 65 f.
Ed, 191 f.
Edrei, 137
Eglon, 93
Egypt, Torrent of, 143 f.
Ekron, 88
Eiealeh, 122
Endor, 157
Engannim, 170
Engedi, 149
Enrogel, 144
Enshemesh, 144
Ephraim, Territory of, 151 ff.
Ephraim, or Ephron, 162
Esdraelon, Plain cf, 17, 156, i63 f.
Eshtemoh, 147

2l6

GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX.

GAASH, 201 f.
Gad, Territory of, 125 ff., 13a
Galilee, 178
Gath-hepher, 167
Gaalanitis, 13S
Gaza, 93, 95, 96
Geba, 162
Gebal, 115
Geder, in, 148
Gennesareth, 176 f.
Gergesa, 9
Gerizim, 65 f.
Geshur, 116
Geshurites, H4
Gezer, 93
Gibbethon, 180
Gibeon, 72
Giblites, 115
Gilboa, 17
Gilead, 108, 126
Gilgal, 30, 33, 71, 113, 155
Giloh, 147
Girgashites, 9, 77
Golan, 134 f., 139
Goshen, 96
Halak, no
Halhul, 148
Hamath, 115
Hammath, or Hammon, 172
Hammath, or Emmaus, 177
Hannathon, 167
Hauran, The, 135
Haltin, Horns of, 100
Havoth-Jair, 139
Hazar-suzah, 165
Hazor, 98 ff.
Hebron, 93 f.
Helkuth, 172
Hermon, 65
Heshbon, 122
Hittites, 8
Hivites, 9
Hormah, in, 165
Ibleam, 157
Iphtah-el, 167
Irpeel, 163
Issachar, Territory of, 168 f.
Jabbok, 127
Jabesh-Gilead, 130
Jacob's Tomb and Well, 66
Jahaza, 122
Japhia, 167
Japho, or Joppa, 145
Jarmuk, 125 f.
Jarmuth, 73, 146

Jattir, 147
Jebel Osha, 127
Jebusites, 9
[ehud, 180
f ericho, 19 ff. , 37, 45
Jerusalem, 78, 144
[eshimon, 148
jezreel, 148, 169
[okneam, 113, 166, 189
Jordan, 15, 26
judah. Territory of, 143 f.
[udah at Jordan, 176
Kabzeel, 145
Kadesh-barnea, 96, in, 145
Kanah, 153, 173
Kedesh, 8, 102 f. , 177
Keilah, 147
Kerioth-Hezron, 145
Kirjathaim, 124
Kirjath-Baal, 148
Kirjath-Jearim, 73, 148
Kirjath-sepher, 142
Kishon, 171
Lachish, 91
Laish, 180 f.
Libnah, 90 f., 146
Lydda, 180
Maachah, 116
Maaleh-Acrabbim, 143
Machpelah, 94
Madon, 100
Mahanaim, 128 f.
Makkedah, 87 f.
Manasseh, Eastern Territory of,
133 ff.
Manasseh, Western Territory of,
151 ff-
Maon, 147
Maresha, 147
Mearah, 114
Medeba, 122
Megiddo, 112, 157
Mejarkon, 180
Merom, oil
Migdal-el, 177
Minyeh, 8
Misheal, 173
Mishor, 120
Mizpeh, 72, 104, 146, 163
Misrephoth-Maim, 104
Moab, Moabites, 108, 120
Moladah, 165
Nabalus, Neapolis, 65

GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX.

217

Main, 157
Naphtali, Territory of, 175 f.
Nebo, 123
Negeb, 17, 95, 143
Nephtoah, 144
Nobah, 138
Ophrah, 157, 162
Palestine, 15 ff., 116
Penuel, 129
Perizzites, 9
Phoenicia, Phoenicians, 8
Philistia, Philistines, 16, 18
Pisgah, 123
Quarantania, 24 f.
Rabbath Ammon, 130
Ramah, 163
Ramath, 165
Ramoth-Mizpeh, 129
Ramoth-Gilead, 129
Rephaim, Plain of, 144
Reuben, Territory of, ngff.
Rhinokorura, River of Egypt,
143
Rimmon, 167
Safed, 99
Salcah, 138
Salt, Valley of, 149
Samaria, 17
Sarepta, 104
Sarid, 166
Sharon, 16
Sheba, 164
Shechem, 17, 63 S.

Shephelah, 18, 95, 146
Shiloh, 153 f.
Shimron, 101
Shittim, 18, 19
Shochoh, 87, 146
Shunem, 170
Sibmah, 124
Sihor, or Shihor-Libnath, 171
Simeon, Inheritance of, 163 f.
Succoth, 129
Surtabeh, 153, 193
Taanach, na, 157
Tabor, 17
Tappuah, 147
Tiberias, 176
Timnah, 144, 148
Timnath-serah, 155, aoi t.
Tirzah, 113
Tyre, 173
Tzela, 163
Wady Kelt, 50
Wady Suweinit, 50
Zaanannim, 176
Zaphon, 131
Zaretan, Zarthan, 28
Zareth-shahar, 124
Zebulun, Territory of, 166 1,
Zelah. 163
Zephath, i.q., Hormah
Ziddim, 176
Zidon, 104, 173
Ziklag, 146, 165
Ziph, 148
Zoreah, 146

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