Joshua 1:4 Komentář

The book begins with the history, not of Joshua's life (many remarkable passages of that we had before in the books of Moses) but of his reign and government. In this chapter, I. God appoints him to the government in the stead of Moses, gives him an ample commission, full instructions, and great encouragements (Jos 1:1-9). II. He accepts the government, and addresses himself immediately to the business of it, giving orders to the officers of the people in general (Jos 1:10, Jos 1:11) and particularly to the two tribes and a half (Jos 1:12-15). III. The people agree to it, and take an oath of fealty to him (Jos 1:16-18). A reign which thus began with God could not but be honourable to the prince and comfortable to the subject. The last words of Moses are still verified, "Happy art thou, O Israel! Who is like unto thee, O people?" Deu 33:29.

Moses being dead, the Lord directs and encourages Joshua to take the command of the children of Israel, and go over Jordan with them, and take possession of the land of Canaan, and divide it to them; giving him gracious promises and strong assurances of his presence, and some good advice with respect to his conduct, Jos 1:1; upon which Joshua orders the people to be ready in three days to go along with him, Jos 1:10; and particularly addresses the Reubenites and Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh, and puts them in mind of what Moses had ordered, and they had promised, to go along with their brethren, and assist them in conquering the land, Jos 1:12; which they readily agreed to do, and promised obedience to him in all things, Jos 1:16.

From the wilderness,.... The wilderness of Kadesh and Sin, on the border of Edom; in the southeast corner, as Jarchi says, see Num 34:3, and this Lebanon; which though on the other side Jordan, and at a considerable distance, being the northern border of the land towards Syria, might be seen afar off; or it is expressed, because it was a well known place, as Kimchi remarks: even unto the great river, the river Euphrates; which was the eastern border of the land, and to which it reached in the times of Solomon, whose dominion extended thither, Kg1 4:21; according to Jarchi, this was its breadth from south to north: all the land of the Hittites: who, though only one of the seven nations of Canaan, are put for the rest, and the rather mentioned, because, as their name signifies, they were very formidable and terrible; among them dwelt the Anakim, and they themselves were very warlike and populous; or they are taken notice of particularly here, because they dwelt in the western part of the land described by them, so Kimchi thinks; according to Jarchi, this was its length from east to west: and unto the great sea: the Mediterranean sea, which was the western border of the land of Canaan, called great, in comparison of the sea of Tiberias, and the salt sea, which were in it: toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast; the western coast; see Gill on Deu 11:24; this will be more fully verified in Christ, when his kingdom is from sea to sea, Psa 72:8.

What is the special excellence of Joshua? His generalship, and the distribution of the inheritance, and the taking possession of the Holy Land.

Moses being dead, God commissions Joshua to bring the people into the promised land, Jos 1:1, Jos 1:2. The extent of the land to be possessed, Jos 1:3, Jos 1:4. Joshua is assured of victory over all his enemies, and is exhorted to courage and activity, Jos 1:5, Jos 1:6; and to be careful to act, in all things, according to the law of Moses, in which he us to meditate day and night, Jos 1:7, Jos 1:8. He is again exhorted to courage, with the promise of continued support, Jos 1:9. Joshua commands the officers to prepare the people for their passage over Jordan, Jos 1:10, Jos 1:11. The Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh, are put in mind of their engagement to pass over with their brethren, Jos 1:12-15. They promise the strictest obedience, and pray for the prosperity of their leader, Jos 1:16-18.

From the wilderness and this Lebanon - Joshua appears to be standing with his face towards the promised land, and pointing out the different places, or their situation, with his hand, This Lebanon, etc. The utmost of their limits should be from the desert of Arabia Petraea on the South to Lebanon on the North: and from the Euphrates on the East to the Mediterranean Sea on the West. The Israelites did not possess the full extent of this grant till the days of David. See Sa2 8:3, etc., and Ch2 9:26. Land of the Hittites - These are generally reputed to have been the most hardy and warlike of all the Canaanitish nations; and as they occupied the mountainous countries on the south of the land of Canaan, it is natural to suppose that they would be the most difficult to subdue, and on this account, it is supposed, God particularly specifies these: "Ye shall subdue and possess even all the land of the Hittites," but it is probable that under this one term all the other nations are included, as it is certain they are in other places under the term Amorites. Great sea: The Mediterranean, called great in respect of the lakes in the land of Judea, such as the sea of Gennesareth, or the sea of Tiberias, and the Dead Sea, which were comparatively small lakes; but the Hebrews gave the name of sea, ים yam, to every large collection of waters.

THE LORD APPOINTS JOSHUA TO SUCCEED MOSES. (Jos. 1:1-18) Now after the death of Moses--Joshua, having been already appointed and designated leader of Israel (Num 27:18-23), in all probability assumed the reins of government immediately "after the death of Moses." the servant of the Lord--This was the official title of Moses as invested with a special mission to make known the will of God; and it conferred great honor and authority. the Lord spake unto Joshua--probably during the period of public mourning, and either by a direct revelation to the mind of Joshua, or by means of Urim and Thummim (Num 27:21). This first communication gave a pledge that the divine instructions which, according to the provisions of the theocracy, had been imparted to Moses, would be continued to the new leader, though God might not perhaps speak to him "mouth to mouth" (Num 12:8). Joshua--The original name, Oshea, (Num 13:8), which had been, according to Eastern usage, changed like those of Abram and Sarai (Gen 17:5-15) into Jehoshua or Joshua (that is, "God's salvation") was significant of the services he was to render, and typified those of a greater Saviour (Heb 4:8). Moses' minister--that is, his official attendant, who, from being constantly employed in important services and early initiated into the principles of the government, would be well trained for undertaking the leadership of Israel.

all the land of the Hittites--These occupied the southern extremities and were the dominant tribe of Canaan. Their superior power and the extent of their dominions are attested by the mention of them under the name of Khita, on the Assyrian inscriptions, and still more frequently on the Egyptian inscriptions of the eighteenth and nineteenth Dynasties. What life and encouragement must have been imparted to Joshua by the assurance that his people, who had been overwhelmed with fear of that gigantic race, were to possess "all the land of the Hittites"!

The Preamble - Jos 1:1-9 After the death of Moses the Lord summoned Joshua, the servant of Moses, whom He had appointed as the leader of Israel into Canaan, to go with all the people across the Jordan, and take the land which had been promised to the fathers on oath, assuring him at the same time of His powerful aid, on condition that he observed the law of Moses faithfully. This summons and promise of God form the preamble to the whole book, which is linked on to the conclusion of the Pentateuch by the introductory words, "And it came to pass after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord," though it is not so closely connected as to warrant the conclusion that the two works have been written by the same author.

The boundaries of the land are given as in Deu 11:24, with the simple difference in form, that the boundary line from the desert (of Arabia) and Lebanon, i.e., from the southern and northern extremity, is drawn first of all towards the east to the great river, the Euphrates, and then towards the west to "the great sea, toward the going down of the sun," i.e., the Mediterranean; and then between these two termini ad quem the more precise definition is inserted, "all the land of the Hittites;" whereas in Deuteronomy the southern, northern, and eastern boundaries are placed in antithesis to the western boundary, and the more precise definition of the country to be taken is given by an enumeration of the different tribes that were to be destroyed by the Israelites (Deu 11:23). On the oratorical character of these descriptions, see at Gen 15:18. The demonstrative pronoun "this," in connection with Lebanon, may be explained from the fact that Lebanon, or at all events Anti-libanus, was visible from the Israelitish camp. The expression "the Hittites" (see at Gen 10:15) is used here in a broader sense for Canaanites in general, as in Kg1 10:29; Kg2 7:6; Eze 16:3. The promise in Jos 1:5 is adopted from Deu 11:25, where it was made to the whole nation, and specially transferred to Joshua; and Jos 1:5 is repeated from Deu 31:8, as compared with Jos 1:6.