Joshua 23:11

The Latin text of the 23rd verse, (Joshua 11:23), beginning thus, "Accepit itaque Josue totam terram prorsus ut dixerat Jehova Mosi;" "Joshua, therefore received the whole land entirely, as the Lord had said to Moses," removes the apparent inaccuracy, but it is only by a sacrifice of the literal meaning, which is perfectly rendered by the English version. "So (And) Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses." This is certainly superior to the Latin, which endeavors to obtain by a gloss that which the English equally well obtains by a literal rendering. In the commentary, the words of the 23^rd verse, (Joshua 11:23), as quoted, are, Et cepit Josue. This makes it not improbable that the Accepit of the text is only a misprint of Et cepit — Ed. French, "Or en la division nous verrons puis apres, que les regions qui furent assujetties a l'empire de peuple apres la mort de Josue, voire plusieurs siecles depuis, furent mises en sort pour voir a qui elles escherroyent;" "Now, in the division, we shall afterwards see that the countries which are subjected to the dominion of the people after the death of Joshua, nay, several ages after, were put into the lot, in order to see to whom they should fall."

. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge,.... It may be a question who gave this charge, the Lord or Moses; according to the connection of the words with the preceding, it seems to be the latter; for the immediate antecedent to the relative he is Moses, and so the Septuagint interpreters understand it; but then they are obliged to read some following clauses different from the original, as, instead of "I swear", they read "the Lord sware"; and the last clause they read, "and he shall be with thee"; but Aben Ezra gives the same sense without departing from the common and genuine reading, supposing that Moses gave the charge in the name and by the authority of the Lord; his words are, "he gave charge by the commandment of the Lord, therefore he saith, "which I sware unto them";'' but it seems best to understand this of the Lord himself, since he ordered Moses and Joshua to present themselves before him, that he might give the latter a charge, Deuteronomy 31:14; and the language of the following clauses best agrees with him: and said, be strong and of a good courage; See Gill on "Deuteronomy 31:6"; See Gill on "Deuteronomy 31:7"; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them; See Gill on "Deuteronomy 31:7"; and I will be with thee; See Gill on "Deuteronomy 31:8"; the Targum of Jonathan is, "my Word shall be thy help.'' Deuteronomy 31:24 Ver. 24. And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book,...

23:11-16 Would we cleave to the Lord, we must always stand upon our guard, for many a soul is lost through carelessness. Love the Lord your God, and you will not leave him. Has God been thus true to you? Be not you false to him. He is faithful that has promised, Heb 10:23. The experience of every Christian witnesses the same truth. Conflicts may have been severe and long, trials great and many; but at the last he will acknowledge that goodness and mercy followed him all the days of his life. Joshua states the fatal consequences of going back; know for a certainty it will be your ruin. The first step would be, friendship with idolaters; the next would be, marrying with them; the end of that would be, serving their gods. Thus the way of sin is down-hill, and those who have fellowship with sinners, cannot avoid having fellowship with sin. He describes the destruction he warns them of. The goodness of the heavenly Canaan, and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will add to the misery of those who shall for ever be shut out from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are, so much, as to see how happy they might have been. Let us watch and pray against temptation. Let us trust in God's faithfulness, love, and power; let us plead his promises, and cleave to his commandments, then we shall be happy in life, in death, and for ever.

Take good heed therefore unto yourselves,.... To be upon their guard, and to be watchful, were very necessary to them, that they might not be ensnared by the Canaanites, and drawn aside by them into idolatry, and so apostatize from the Lord and his worship, since their temptations would be many: that ye love the Lord your God; which would the most strongly influence and engage them to serve and worship the Lord, and obey his commands, and be the best preservative against idolatry and false worship.

Joshua 23:11 . Take good heed — Now it requires more watchfulness and diligence than it did in the wilderness, because your temptations are now stronger, from the examples and insinuations of your bad neighbours, the remainders of this wicked people; and from your own peace and prosperity; and the pride, security, forgetfulness of God, and luxury, which usually attend that condition.

Now it requires more watchfulness and diligence than it did in the wilderness, because your temptations are now more and stronger; partly from the examples and insinuations of your bad neighbours, the remainders of this wicked people; and partly from your own peace and prosperity, and the pride, security, forgetfulness of God, and luxury which usually attend upon that condition, as God had warned them, Deu 6:10-12 .

Verse 11. - Take good heed to yourselves. This is quoted from Deuteronomy 4:15 , word for word. The Hebrew is, take heed exceedingly to your souls ; but the meaning is either "as you value your lives" (Gesenius), or "with all your soul" (Keil). The former appears preferable. A third interpretation, however, "guard your souls diligently," is suggested by a comparison of Deuteronomy 4:9, 15 . Joshua 23:11

For this reason the Lord had driven out great and strong nations before the Israelites, so that no one was able to stand before them. The first hemistich points to the fulfilment of Deuteronomy 4:38 ; Deuteronomy 7:1 ; Deuteronomy 9:1 ; Deuteronomy 11:23 ; the second to that of Deuteronomy 7:24 ; Deuteronomy 11:25 . ואתּם is placed at the beginning absolutely. - In Joshua 23:10 , the blessing of fidelity to the law which Israel had hitherto experienced, is described, as in Deuteronomy 32:30 , upon the basis of the promise in Leviticus 26:7-8 , and Deuteronomy 28:7 , and in Joshua 23:10 the thought of Joshua 23:3 is repeated. To this there is attached, in Joshua 23:11-13 , the admonition to take heed for the sake of their souls (cf. Deuteronomy 4:15 ), to love the Lord their God (on the love of God as the sum of the fulfilment of the law, see Deuteronomy 6:5 ; Deuteronomy 10:12 ; Deuteronomy 11:13 ). For if they turned, i.e., gave up the faithfulness they had hitherto displayed towards Jehovah, and attached themselves to the remnant of these nations, made marriages with them, and entered into fellowship with them, which the Lord had expressly forbidden ( Exodus 34:12-15 ; Deuteronomy 7:3 ), let them know that the Lord their God would not cut off these nations before them any more, but that they would be a snare and destruction to them. This threat is founded upon such passages of the law as Exodus 23:33 ; Deuteronomy 7:16 , and more especially Numbers 33:55 .

The figure of a trap, which is employed here (see Exodus 10:7 ), is still further strengthened by פּח, a snare (cf. Isaiah 8:14-15 ). Shotet, a whip or scourge, an emphatic form of the word derived from the poel of שׁוּט, only occurs here. "Scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes" (see Numbers 33:55 ). Joshua crowds his figures together to depict the misery and oppression which would be sure to result from fellowship with the Canaanites, because, from his knowledge of the fickleness of the people, and the wickedness of the human heart in its natural state, he could foresee that the apostasy of the nation from the Lord, which Moses had foretold, would take place but too quickly; as it actually did, according to Judges 2:3 ., in the very next generation. The words "until ye perish," etc., resume the threat held out by Moses in Deuteronomy 11:17 (cf. Josh Deu 28:21.).