Josué 7:21 Comentário

More than once we have found the affairs of Israel, even when they were in the happiest posture and gave the most hopeful prospects, perplexed and embarrassed by sin, and a stop thereby put to the most promising proceedings. The golden calf, the murmuring at Kadesh, and the iniquity of Peor, had broken their measures and given them great disturbance; and in this chapter we have such another instance of the interruption given to the progress of their arms by sin. But it being only the sin of one person or family, and soon expiated, the consequences were not so mischievous as of those other sins; however it served to let them know that they were still upon their good behaviour. We have here, I. The sin of Achan in meddling with the accursed thing (Jos 7:1). II. The defeat of Israel before Ai thereupon (Jos 7:2-5). III. Joshua's humiliation and prayer on occasion of that sad disaster (v. 6-9). IV. The directions God gave him for the putting away of the guilt which had provoked God thus to contend with them (v. 10-15). V. The discovery, trial, conviction, condemnation, and execution, of the criminal, by which the anger of God was turned away (v. 16-26). And by this story it appears that, as the laws, so Canaan itself, "made nothing perfect," the perfection both of holiness and peace to God's Israel is to be expected in the heavenly Canaan only.

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 7 For the trespass of Achan the children of Israel were smitten and put to flight by the men of Ai, Jos 7:1; which gave him and the elders of the people great concern, both for Israel and for the name of the Lord, which was expressed by Joshua in prayer to God, Jos 7:6; when the Lord informed him of the reason of it, and gave him directions for finding out the guilty person, and for the punishment of him, Jos 7:10; which directions Joshua followed, and the person was found out, who being urged to a confession made one, Jos 7:16; upon which he and all he had, with the things he had taken, were burnt with fire, Jos 7:22.

When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment,.... One, as the Targum adds, for no more was taken; a garment made of Babylonish wool, as Jarchi; or a valuable garment made in Babylon, called "Shinar", for that is the word in the text, so Kimchi and Abarbinel; and Babylonian garments were in great esteem in other nations: Pliny says (c) Babylon was famous for garments interwoven with pictures of divers colours, and which gave name to them; and Plutarch (d) relates, that Cato in his great modesty, and being an enemy to luxury, having a Babylonish garment that came to him by inheritance, ordered it immediately to be sold: the Vulgate Latin version calls it a scarlet robe; and in some Jewish writings (e) it is interpreted, a garment of Babylonian purple, as if it only respected the colour; and purple and scarlet are sometimes promiscuously used and put for the same, see Mat 27:28; and were the colour worn by kings: and Josephus here calls it a royal garment, wholly interwoven with gold (f); and some have thought it to be the garment of the king of Jericho, which is not unlikely; however, it is much more probable than that Jericho was subject to the king of Babylon, and that he had palaces in Jericho, and when he came thither was clothed with this robe, so Jarchi; as is elsewhere said (g) by others, that he had a deputy who resided in Jericho, who sent dates to the king of Babylon, and the king sent him gifts, among which was a garment of Shinar or Babylon: and two hundred shekels of silver; which, if coined money, was near twenty five English pounds: and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight: or a "tongue of gold" (h); a plate of gold in the shape of a tongue, as Kimchi and Abarbinel; a piece of unwrought gold which weighed fifty shekels, and worth of our money about seventy five pounds, according to Brererwood (i): where he saw these, and from whence he took them, is not said; according to some Jewish writers, these belonged to one of their idols; it is said (k), he saw the Teraphim and the silver they offered before it, and the garment which was spread before it, and the tongue or wedge of gold in its mouth; and he desired them in his heart, and went and took them, and hid them in the midst of his tent: and the Samaritan Chronicle (l) makes him confess that he went into a temple in Jericho and found the above things there: and Masius conjectures that the wedge of gold was a little golden sword, with which the men of Jericho had armed their god, since an ancient poet (m) calls a little sword a little tongue: then I coveted them, and took them; he is very particular in the account, and gradually proceeds in relating the temptation he was under, and the prevalence of it; it began with his eyes, which were caught with the goodliness of the garments, and the riches he saw; these affected his heart and stirred up covetous desires, which influenced and directed his hands to take them: and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent; Josephus (n) says, he dug a deep hole or ditch in his tent, and put them there, that is, the Babylonish garment and the wedge of gold; which, as Ben Gersom gathers from Jos 7:25, was wrapped up and hid within the garment; which is not improbable, since otherwise no account is given of that: and the silver under it; the two hundred shekels of silver lay under the garment in which was the wedge of gold, and so it lay under them both. (c) Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 48. (d) In Vita Catonis. (e) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 85. fol. 75. 2. (f) Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 48.) (g) Bereshit Rabba, ib. (h) "linguam auream", Montanus, Tigurine version, Masius; "lingulam auream", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (i) De Ponder. &. Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5. (k) Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 38.) (l) Apud Hottinger, ut supra. (Smegm. Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 505.) (m) Naevius apud A. Cell. Noct. Attic. l. 10. c. 25. (n) Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 48.)

But human habits have so long applied themselves to this admiration of money that no one is thought worthy of honor unless he is rich. This is no new habit. No, this vice (and that makes the matter worse) grew long years ago in human hearts. When the city of Jericho fell at the sound of the priests’ trumpets and Joshua the son of Nun gained the victory, he knew that the valor of the people was weakened through love of money and desire for gold. For when Achan had taken a garment of gold and two hundred shekels of silver and a golden ingot from the spoils of the ruined city, he was brought before the Lord and could not deny the theft but admitted it.

The trespass of the Israelites, Jos 7:1. Joshua sends men to view the state of Ai, Jos 7:2. They return with a favorable report, Jos 7:3. Three thousand men are sent against it, who are defeated, and thirty-six killed, Jos 7:4, Jos 7:5. Joshua is greatly distressed, prostrates himself, and inquires of the Lord the reason why he has abandoned Israel to their enemies, Jos 7:6-9. The Lord raises him, and informs him that, contrary to the command, some of the people had secreted some of the spoils of Jericho, Jos 7:10-12. He is directed how to discover the delinquent, Jos 7:13-15. Joshua inquires in what Tribe the guilt is found, and finds it to be in the tribe of Judah; in what Family, and finds it to be among the Zarhites; in what Household, and finds it to be in that of Zabdi; in what Individual, and finds it to be Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, Jos 7:16-18. Joshua exhorts him to confess his sin, Jos 7:19. He does so, and gives a circumstantial account, Jos 7:20, Jos 7:21. Joshua sends for the stolen articles, Jos 7:22, Jos 7:23. And Achan and all that belonged to him are brought to the valley of Achor, stoned and burnt, Jos 7:22-26.

A goodly Babylonish garment - אדרת שנער addereth shinar, a splendid or costly robe of Shinar; but as Babylon or Babel was built in the plain of Shinar, the word has in general been translated Babylon in this place. It is very probable that this was the robe of the king of Jericho, for the same word is used, Jon 3:6, to express the royal robe, of the king of Nineveh which he laid aside in order to humble himself before God. Bochart and Calmet have shown at large that Babylonish robes were very splendid, and in high reputation. "They are," says Calmet, "generally allowed to have been of various colors, though some suppose they were woven thus; others, that they were embroidered with the needle; and others, that they were painted. Silius Italicus appears to think they were woven thus: - Vestis spirantes referens subtemine vultus, Quos radio caelat Babylon. Punic. lib. xiv., ver. 667. Martial seems to say they were embroidered with the needle: - Non ego praetulerim Babylonia Picta superbe Textra, Semiramia quae variantur Acu. Lib. viii., E. 28, ver. 17. Pliny (lib. viii., c. 48) and Apuleius (Florid. lib. i). speak of them as if painted: "Colores diversos picturae intexere Babylon maxime celebravit, et nomen imposuit." Thus far Calmet: but it may be observed that the clothes woven of divers colors at Babylon, which were so greatly celebrated, and hence called Babylonish garments, appear rather to have had the pictures woven or embroidered in them than painted on them, as Calmet supposes, though it is most likely the figures referred to were the work of the needle after the cloth came from the loom. Aquila translates the original, אדרת שנער addereth shinar, by στολην βαβυλονικην, a Babylonish robe; Symmachus, ενδυμα συναρ, a robe of Synar; the Septuagint, ψιλην ποικιλην, a fine garment of different colors; and the Vulgate, pallium coccineum, a scarlet cloak. There is no doubt it was both beautiful and costly, and on these grounds it was coveted by Achan. Two hundred shekels of silver - At three shillings per shekel, amount to about 30l. sterling. A wedge of gold - A tongue of gold, לשון זהב leshon zahab what we commonly call an ingot of gold, a corruption of the word lingot, signifying a little tongue, of fifty shekels weight. These fifty shekels, in weight 29 oz. 15 15/31 gr., at 2l. 5s. 2 1/2 42/93d. per shekel, would be worth about 113l. 0s. 10 3/4d. This verse gives us a notable instance of the progress of sin. It 1. enters by the eye; 2. sinks into the heart; 3. actuates the hand; and, 4. leads to secrecy and dissimulation. I saw, etc, I coveted, etc. I took and hid them in the earth. Thus says St. James: "When lust (evil desire) is conceived it bringeth forth sin; and when sin is finished it bringeth forth death," Jos 1:15.

ACHAN'S TRESPASS. (Jos 7:1) the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing--There was one transgressor against the cherem, or ban, on Jericho, and his transgression brought the guilt and disgrace of sin upon the whole nation. Achan--called afterwards "Achar" ("trouble") (Ch1 2:7). Zabdi--or Zimri (Ch1 2:6). Zerah--or Zarah, son of Judah and Tamar (Gen 38:30). His genealogy is given probably to show that from a parentage so infamous the descendants would not be carefully trained in the fear of God.

a goodly Babylonish garment--literally, "a mantle of Shinar." The plain of Shinar was in early times celebrated for its gorgeous robes, which were of brilliant and various colors, generally arranged in figured patterns, probably resembling those of modern Turkish carpets, and the colors were either interwoven in the loom or embroidered with the needle. two hundred shekels of silver--equivalent to £22 10s. sterling, according to the old Mosaic shekel, or the half of that sum, reckoning by the common shekel. a wedge of gold--literally, an ingot or bar in the shape of a tongue.