THE HOLY BIBLE, CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. THE TEXT CAREFULLY PRINTED FROM THE MOST CORRECT COPIES OF THE PRESENT AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION, INCLUDING THE MARGINAL READINGS AND PARALLEL TEXTS: WITH A COMMENTARY AND CRITICAL NOTES; DESIGNED AS A HELP TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SACRED WRITINGS: BY ADAM CLARKE, LL.D., F.S.A., &c. A NEW EDITION, WITH THE AUTHOR'S FINAL CORRECTIONS. FOR WHATSOEVER THINGS WERE WRITTEN AFORETIME WERE WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING; THAT WE, THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT. VOLUME II-JOSHUA TO ESTHER. NEW-YORK: PUBLISHED BY T. MASON & G. LANE, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE CONFERENCE OFFICE, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. JAMES COLLORD, PRINTER. PREFACE TO THE BOOK OF JOSHUA., JOSHUA, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, was first called Oshea or Hoshea, yo, Num. xiii. 16, which signifies saved, a saviour, or salvation; but afterwards Moses, guided no doubt by a prophetic spirit, changed his name into yo Yehoshua or Joshua, which signifies he shall save, or the salvation of Jehovah; referring, no doubt, to his being God's instrument in saving the people from the hands of their enemies, and leading them from victory to victory over the different Canaanitish nations, till he put them in possession of the promised land. On the change and meaning of the name, see the note on Num. xiii. 16. By the Septuagint he is called Indous Navn, Jesus Naue, or Jesus son of Nave: and in the New Testament he is expressly called Indous, JESUS; see Acts vii. 45; Heb. iv. 8. Joshua was denominated the servant of Moses, as he seems to have acted sometimes as his secretary, sometimes as his aid-du-camp, and sometimes as the general of the army. He was early appointed to be the successor of Moses, see Exod. xvii. 14; and under the instruction of this great master he was fully qualified for the important office. He was a great and pious man, and God honoured him in a most extraordinary manner, as the sequel of the history amply proves. From the preceding books it appears that he became attached to Moses shortly after the exodus from Egypt; that he was held by him in the highest esteem; had the command of the army confided to him in the war with the Amalekites; and accompanied his master to the Mount, when he went up to receive the Law from God. These were the highest honours he could possibly receive during the life-time of Moses. Commentators and critics are divided in opinion whether the book that goes under his name was actually compiled by him. It is argued by those who deny Joshua to be the author, that there are both names and transactions in it which did not exist till considerably after Joshua's time. The account we have, chap. iv. 9, of the twelve stones set up by Joshua in the midst of Jordan remaining to the present day, seems to prove that the book, at least this verse, was not written till after Joshua's time; the same may be said of the account of Ai, that Joshua made it a heap for ever, even a desolation to the present day, chap. viii. 28, which is a proof, however, that the book was not written after the time of the kings, as Ai subsisted after the return from the captivity; see Ezra ii. 28: The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred twenty and three. It is supposed also, that the relation of the marriage of Achsah, daughter of Caleb, with Othniel the son of Kenaz, necessarily belongs to the time of the Judges; Josh. xv. 16–19: as also the account of the capture of Leshem by the Danites; chap. xix. 47, compared with Judges xviii. 7, 29. "What is related, chap. xv. 63, concerning the Jebusites dwelling with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day, must certainly have been written before the time of David; for he took the strong hold of Zion, and expelled the Jebusites; see 2 Sam, v. 7-9. Also, what is said chap. xvi. 10, They drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but they dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this day, must have been written before the time of Solomon; for in his time Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had taken Gezer, burnt it with fire, slain the Canaanites that dwelt in it, and given it a present to his daughter, the |