THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. BOOK V. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THINGS FROM THE ISRAELITES' ENTRANCE INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN, TO THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE, IN ALL 447 YEARS, ACCORDING TO DR HALES, 581 YEARS. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. THE people of Israel are at length settled in Canaan, under the guidance of Joshua. While we were contemplating the character of Moses, we beheld that astonishing dispensation, the deliverance of the whole nation of the Hebrews from the bondage of Egypt, their passage through the Red Sea, and their miraculous support and guidance in the wilderness for forty years. This indeed | was the Lord's doing; and it is marvellous in our eyes. But Moses was employed as the chief instrument of executing the wondrous plan,—for the entire regulation of every thing was committed to him. While the Israelites were yet on the other side of Jordan, and had not entered the promised land; while they were preparing to attack their strongest and most formidable enemies; in that very critical and dangerous situation, their leader and commander was taken from them, and we were ready to ask, what now will become of Israel ?—not remembering that He who had raised up Moses for their deliverance, and had fitted him for every service to which he had been called, is all-sufficient. The history of Joshua, the successor of Moses, who had been nominated to his charge by the Lord himself, is contained chiefly in the book which bears his name, written probably by himself. Here, though we read of battles and conquests, in which we may seem to have no concern, we shall perceive the divine perfections displayed and exercised in a very eminent degree. The power of God is exhibited, altering the course of nature for the defence of his people; his justice taking signal vengeance on the wicked inhabitants of Canaan, when they had filled up the measure of their iniquities; his veracity giving the Israelites the possession of Canaan in completion of his promises and his holy covenant; and his grace and mercy, encouraging and assisting them in all their difficulties, till he had granted them rest and deliverance from their enemies. The Lord did all this for his people by his servant Joshua, who was an eminent type of Christ, and who with a reference to him was distinguished by the same name, the Hebrew of Jesus being Joshua. In two | 1 passages we read Jesus, where the Israelitish general is intended, and the word should more properly have been translated Joshua. The office which this name denotes, (Saviour,) Joshua did not take to himself; but he was expressly called to it, and invested with it by the highest authority. He received his commission immediately from God, and entered upon his work with the strongest assurances of the divine direction and support. Our exalted Leader, in like manner, was constituted the Head of the church by a particular designation; and therefore he declared that "he came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of Him that sent him." Though, according to his original state, he was equal with God, and possessed the same glory as the Father, yet he submitted for our sakes to become a servant; and in his mediatorial character, as if he had been an inferior, he was set apart for his great undertaking, and furnished with full powers for its execution. It is allowed that Joshua was qualified for his office, as being possessed of all necessary abilities. And shall we not maintain that Jesus was every way fitted for his great undertaking? His power, wisdom, love, and faithfulness, have all been demonstrated with unquestionable evidence. We rejoice then that he is able to save to the uttermost, that he will finish the work in righteousness, and that he will not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth, and fully accomplished the salvation of his people. If Joshua in a triumphant manner conducted the hosts of Israel into Canaan, assigned to the various tribes their respective portions, and saw them settled in peace and prosperity around him,-Jesus,' the Captain of the Lord's hosts,' stands engaged to bring all his followers into heaven-to put them in the secure possession of the kingdom which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. For the accomplishment of his purpose, he relinquished the throne of his glory, became obedient to the law, was made a curse, died, went down into the grave, and rose again; and he is now carrying on the same work: with a particular regard to it, he will Acts vii. 45. Heb. iv. 8. A. M 2553. A. C. 1451; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3803. A. C. 1608. JOSH. i. TO THE END continue to maintain universal dominion, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Not one of his faithful followers shall fail of attaining the eternal inheritance; for it is reserved in heaven for them, and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. His grace and truth are pledged for their present security, and for their final admission into the joy of their Lord. They shall sit with him in his throne, and shall reign for ever and ever. order of men, in constant succession, whose main business it should be to foreshow Christ and his redeeming work, and as his forerunners to prepare the way for his coming. In the latter part of this period the scripture history leads us to consider God's providence towards that particular person whence Christ was to proceed, namely, David. It pleased God to select that person for whom Christ was to come, from all the thousands of Israel, and to put a most honourable mark of distinction upon him, by anointing him to be king over his people. But we The circumstances which claim the particular attention of the reader during this period are, the regular observare required to look up to him with veneration, as a ance of divine ordinances in Canaan, as these had been instituted in the wilderness;-the preservation of Israel from this time forward, when all the males went up, three times in the year, to the place which God had chosen for the celebration of the great festivals which he had commanded them to observe :—their preservation, too, although they were so often subdued, and brought under the dominion of their enemies;—and the preservation of true religion, notwithstanding their frequent apostasies. Nor should we fail to observe the frequent appearance of Christ during this period, in the form of that nature which he took upon him in his incarnation. He appeared in this form to Moses when God spake to him face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend, and he beheld the similitude of the Lord.' In this form he appeared to the seventy elders; to Joshua, when he was near the walls of Jericho; 'to Gideon; to Manoah, Christ thus appeared, time after time, in the form of that nature which he was afterwards to assume for our redemption, because he was now carrying on that mighty design, and preparing the way for its accomplishment. preacher of righteousness, a prophet of the Lord, and one of the inspired penmen of the holy scriptures. His poetical compositions evince the sublimity of his genius: but they are to be regarded as superior to the productions of mere human abilities; for they are the word of God: it was the Holy Ghost who spoke by the mouth of David. These divine hymns were intended, not for instruction only, but as models of prayer and praise for the church in all ages, to assist us in our private and public devotions. They describe more clearly than any other portion of the Old Testament, him who was to come, the consolation of Israel.' They teach us with great fulness, the high dignity and mysterious person of Christ, who is David's son, and David's Lord; what office he sustains for his people, as their prophet, priest, and king; their shepherd, leader, and intercessor; that we are to view him in the different stages of his humiliation, assuming our nature, making his abode on earth in circumstances of poverty, contempt, and persecution, and at last closing a suffering life by a painful and ignominious death. The very manner in It was in this period that the school of the prophets which he was to be betrayed, mocked, scourged, and was first instituted. In Samuel there was begun a suc- crucified, is pointed out with astonishing exactness. We cession of prophets, that was maintained continually from hear the derision of his enemies, and his own heavy that era till the spirit of prophecy ceased about the time complaints in his sufferings. We are led with him to the of Malachi; and therefore Samuel is spoken of in the grave; but we also observe him rising from the dead, New Testament as the beginning of this succession of before he saw corruption. We are also told that he prophets. And all the prophets from Samuel, and those ascended up on high, leading captivity captive, that he that follow after, as many as have spoken have fore- has received gifts for men, even for the rebellious, also, told of these days.' The young men that belonged that God the Lord might dwell among them. to these schools were called the sons of the prophets. At first they were under the tuition of Samuel; afterwards of Elijah, Elisha, and others. They were often favoured with a degree of inspiration, while they continued under tuition in the schools of the prophets; and God commonly, when he called any one to the constant exercise of the prophetical office, or to any extraordinary service, took them out of these schools, though not always. For the prophet Amos informs us that he had not been educated in the schools of the prophets, and that he was not one of the sons of the prophets. The main design of this institution was to foreshow the great Redeemer, and the glorious redemption that he was to accomplish by his obedience unto death. To him gave all the prophets witness, those things which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ shoud suffer, he hath so fulfilled.' There had before been occasional prophecies of Christ: but now as the time was drawing nearer when the Redeemer should come, it pleased God to appoint a certain 86 It is certain that David was an eminent type of Christ; and that he frequently spake as concerning himself, what was applicable only to the great Antitype. In the Old Testament the Messiah is pointed out by the name of David, not merely because it was designed that in his human nature he should descend from the same family, but because there should be a designed resemblance in him to that illustrious progenitor. The blessings of redemption are on this account, called the sure mercies of David.' For the same reason also, long after that prince was laid in the dust, it was declared that the nation should be recovered from their captivity, and serve the Lord their God, and David their king.'' ⚫ And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David.' In the New Testament Christ is called the root and offspring of David.* The covenant of grace was solemnly renewed with David, that covenant which was all his salvation, and all his desire. This was the fifth establishment of the covenant of grace after the fall; the first was with Adam, the second was with Noah, the third was with the patriarcla, 7 Jer. xxx. 9; Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. A. M. 2553. A. C. 1451; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3803. A. C. 1608. JOSH. i. TO THE END. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fourth was in the wil- | protect and assist him in it, in the same manner as he derness by Moses, and now the fifth is made with had done his predecessor Moses, and provided he took David. It is to this that a large portion of the eighty-care to obey his laws, as Moses had done, make the ninth psalm refers. whole land of Canaan a cheap and easy conquest to him: and therefore without perplexing his mind any further, he ordered him immediately to set about the work. now. 1 Finally, the reader should take notice that, towards the close of the period on the narrative of which he is now entering, God chose a particular city out of all the tribes of Israel, to place his name there. There is mention made in the law of Moses, of the children of Israel's bringing their oblations to the place which God should choose, but God had never proceeded to do it till The city of Jerusalem having been entirely taken from the Jebusites by David, the ark was brought thither, and the very spot was pointed out by divine direction on which the temple of God, should be built. This city, as the city of God, the holy place of his rest for ever became a type of the church of Christ, the habitation of God. This was the city in which the scattered followers of Christ were gathered together after his resurrection; in which the apostles and primitive Christians were favoured with that remarkable outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost; and in which was formed the first Christian church, which is the mother of all other churches throughout the world. 2' Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. The Lord hath chosen Zion: he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.' SECT. I. CHAP. I.-From their Entrance to the Death of Joshua. THE HISTORY. UPON the death of Moses, Joshua, who had a long while been his prime minister, by the command of God, undertook the conduct of the children of Israel: and as it was a very momentous charge, he was not a little anxious how he should be enabled to execute it. He saw himself indeed at the head of six hundred thousand fighting men; but then the nations which he was to subdue, were a warlike and gigantic people, that had already taken the alarm, and therefore made early preparations for a defence; had fortified their cities, and confederated their forces against him. And while he was musing on these things, to give him encouragement in his undertaking, a God was pleased to assure him, that he would not fail to Deut. xii. 5-7. * Is. ii. 1-3; Ps. cx. 2; cxxxii. 13, 14. a It is the opinion of most interpreters, that whenever God is Baid to speak to Moses, to Joshua, or any other pious man in the Old Testament, he does not do it by himself, but by an angel only. This perhaps might be his most common way of communicating himself; but there want not several instances in Scripture, where God himself, or, as others will have it, the eternal Logos, converses with his servants. And this he may do, either by a mental locution, wherein he objects to their minds the express idea of what such a number of words would convey; or by a corporal locution, when he assumes an apparent body, and The city of Jericho was just opposite to the place where he was to pass the river Jordan; and as it was the first that he intended to attack, he thought it advis speech, in the same manner that men speak. But in the place before us, whether it were an angel, or God himself, he seems to have spoken to Joshua out of the sanctuary, from whence he had spoken to him a little before Moses' death, and gave him encouragement to perform strenuously what he is now putting upon him.-Deut. xxxi. 14, 23. b Jericho was a city of Canaan, which afterwards fell to the lot of the tribe of Benjamin, about seven leagues distant from Jerusalem, and two from Jordan. Moses calls it likewise the city of palm trees,' Deut. xxxiv. 3, because there were great numbers of them in the plains of Jericho; and not only of palm trees, but as Josephus tells us, (Antiquities, b. 4. c. 5.) balsam trees likewise, which produced the precious liquor in such high esteem among the ancients. The plain of Jericho was watered with a rivulet, which was formerly salt and bitter, but was afterwards sweetened by the prophet Elisha, 2 Kings ii. 21, 22; whereupon the adjacent country, which was watered by it, became not only one of the most agreeable, but most fertile spots in all that country. As to the city itself, after it was destroyed by Joshua, it was, in the days of Ahab king of Israel, rebuilt by Hiel the Bethelite, 1 Kings xvi. 34; and in the times of the last kings of Judea, yielded to none, except Jerusalem. For it was adorned with a royal palace, wherein Herod the Great died; with an hippodromus, or place where the Jewish nobility learned to ride the great horse, and other arts of chivalry, with an amphitheatre and other magnificent buildings; but during the siege of Jerusalem, the treachery of its inhabitants provoked the Romans to destroy it. After the siege was over there was another city built, but not upon the same place where the two former stood; for the ruins of them both are seen to this day. Of what account and bigness it was, we have no certain information; but some later travellers inform us, that at present it is no more than a poor, nasty village of the Arabs.-Wells' Geography of the Old and New Testament, and Maundrell's Journey from Aleppo. This village, called Rieha, or Rihha, was long supposed to be situated on the site of ancient Jericho. But Mr Buckingham has shown that the real site of the ancient city was about four miles higher up the valley, where he traced to a considerable extent the boundary of its walls, and found portions of ruined buildings, shafts of columns, &c., scattered about over the widely extended heaps of this ruined city, which seemed to cover a surface of a square mile. The once celebrated "City of Palms" cannot now boast of a single tree of any kind, either palm or balsam; and there is scarcely any verdure or bushes to be seen about the site of this deserted city. But the desolation with which its ruins are surrounded, Mr Buckingham observes, is rather to be attributed to the cessation of the usual agricultural labours on the soil, and the want of a distribution of water over it by the aqueducts, the remains of which evince that they were chiefly constructed for that purpose, than to any change in the climate or soil.-ED. c Jordan is supposed to derive its name from the Hebrew word Jor, which signifies a spring, and Dan, which is a small town, and not far from the fountain-head of this river. It is certainly a river of very great note in holy writ, and of it the Jewish historian gives us the following account; "The head of this river has been thought to be Panion; but, in truth, it passes hither under ground, and the source of it is Phiala, an hundred and twenty furlongs from Cæsarea Philippi, a little on the right hand, and not much out of the way to Trachonis. From the cave of Panion it crosses the bogs and fens of the lake Semechonitis, and after a course of an hundred and twenty furlongs further, passes under the city of Julias, or Bethsaida, and so over the lake Gennesareth, or Tiberias, and then running along through a wilderness or desert, it empties itself into the lake Asphaltites, or the Dead Sea." Now since the cave Panion lies at the foot of Mount Lebanon, and the lake Asphaltites reaches A. M. 2553. A. C. 1451; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3803. A. C. 1608. JOSH. i. TO THE END. The | able to send two spies thither, to take a view of the situ- | session of the promised land, and were therefore to ation and strength, and avenues of the place. As soon as the spies were gone, he bade the officers go through the camp, and give the people notice, that within three days they were to pass the Jordan, in order to take pos provide themselves with victuals for their march. taken, because they had not been long gone:" where- a The Israelites' usual food, while they sojourned in the wilderness, was manna: but as they approached the promised land, where they might have provision in the ordinary way, that miraculous bread did perhaps gradually decrease; and in the space of a few days after this, was totally withdrawn. They were now in the countries of Sihon and Og, which they had lately conquered, and the victuals which they were commanded to provide themselves with, were such as their new conquest afforded: for being, after three days, (Josh, iii. 1.) to remove very early in the morn ing, they might not perhaps have had time to gather a sufficient quantity of manna, and to bake it, before they were obliged to march.-Patrick's Commentary. to the very extremity of the south of Judea, the river Jordan must extend its course quite from the northern to the southern boundary of the holy land. [Burckhardt, however, who visited its source, does not notice this distribution; but says, that it rises an hour and a quarter, or about four miles, north-east from Banias, or Cæsarea Philippi, in the plain, near a hill called Telel-Kadi. There are, he says, two springs, near each other, one smaller than the other, whose waters unite immediately below. Both sources are on level ground, amongst rocks, of what Burck-before sunset, they went away, but might easily be overhardt calls tufwacke. The larger source immediately forms a river twelve or fifteen yards across, which rushes rapidly over a stony bed into the lower plain. The few houses at present inhabited near this spot, are called Enkeil. It is soon after joined by the river of Banais, which rises on the north-east of the city. Over the source of this river is a perpendicular rock, in which several niches have been cut to receive statues; the largest of which is above a spacious cavern, beneath which the river rises. This niche, the editor of Burckhardt sensibly conjectures, contained a statue of Pan; whence the name of Paneas given to the city, and of Iau to the cavern. This explains the error of Josephus; who considered this to be, not the source of a distinct river, but the second head of Jordan, after emerging from its subterraneous channel.] But the largeness of this river is far from being equal to its extent. It may be said indeed to have two banks, whereof the first and uttermost is that to which the river does, or at least anciently did, overflow at some seasons of the year; but at present, (whether the rapidity of the current has worn its channel deeper, or its waters are directed some other way) so it is, that it seems to have forgot its ancient greatness: for "we," says Mr Maundrell, "could discern no sign or probability of such overflowing, though we were there on the 30th of March, which is the proper time for its inundations. Nay, so far was the river from overflowing, that it ran at least two yards below the brink of its channel. After you have descended the outermost bank, (continued he,) you go about a furlong upon the level strand, before you come to the immediate bank of the river, which is so beset with bushes and trees, such as tamarisks, willows, oleanders, &c., that you can see no water, until you have made your way through them. In this cover of the banks, lions, and other wild creatures are said to hide themselves in summer, but upon the inundation of the river, they are forced to dislodge." To which the prophet seems to allude in these words, he shall come like a lion from the swelling of Jordan,' (Jer. xlix. 19).—Wells and Maundrell. The course of the Jordan is about one hundred miles; its breadth and depth are various. Dr Shaw computed it to be about thirty yards broad, and three yards or nine feet in depth; and states that it discharges daily into the Dead Sea about 6,090,000 tons of water. Viscount Chateaubriand, who travelled nearly a century after him, found the Jordan to be six or seven feet deep close to the shore, and about fifty paces in breadth. The late count Volney asserts it to be scarcely sixty paces wide at its embouchure. Messrs Bankes and Buckingham, who crossed it in January, 1816, pretty nearly at the same ford over which the Israelites passed on their first entering the promised land, found the stream extremely rapid; and as it flowed at that part over a bed of pebbles, its otherwise turbid waters were tolerably clear, as well as pure and sweet to the taste. The passage of this deep and rapid river by the Israelites, at the most unfavourable season, when augmented by the dissolution of the winter snows, was more manifestly miraculous, if possible, than that of the Red Sea; because here was no natural agency whatever employed; no mighty winds to sweep a passage as in the former case; no reflux in the tide on which minute philosophers might fasten to depreciate the miracle. It seems, therefore, to have been providentially designed, to silence cavils respecting the former: it was done at noonday, in the presence of the neighbouring inhabitants; and it struck terror into the kings of the Amorites and Canaanites westward of the river, whose hearts melted, neither was there any spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.' (Josh. v. 1.) The place where the Israelites thus miraculously passed this river, is supposed to be the 'fords of Jordan' mentioned in Judg. iii. 28. -ED. b The eastern writers tell us, that these spies, whom they make to be Caleb and Phineas, were valiant and religious men, and in the prime of their youth; that to pass unobserved, they changed their habits, as if they had come from a distant country; and any one asked them any questions, their reply was to this effect: "We are people from the east, and our companions, have heard of this powerful people, who were forty years in the wilderness, without either guide or provision: and it was reported to us, that they had a God whom they called the King of heaven and earth,' and who, as they say, hath given them both your and our country. Our principals have therefore sent us to find out the truth hereof, and to report it to them. We have likewise heard of their captain, whom they call Joshua the son of Nun, who put the Amalekites to flight, who destroyed Sihon and Og, the kings of Midian and Moab. Wo therefore be to us, and you, and all that flee to us for shelter! They are a people who pity none, leave none alive, drive all out of their country, and make peace with none. We are all accounted by them infidels, profane, proud, and rebellious. Whoever of us or you, therefore, that intend to take care of themselves, let them take their families and be gone, lest they repent of their stay, when it is too late." By this means they imposed upon the people; and, as Josephus informs us, went whither they would, and saw whatever they had a mind to, without any stop or question. They took a view of the walls, the gates, the ramparts, and passed the whole day for men of curiosity only, without any design. So that if any credit may be given to this account, it was but just that they who thus im posed upon the Canaanites should, in the same manner, be imposed upon by the Gibeonites.-A Samaritan Chronicle written in Arabic, p. 65, and Josephus' Antiquities, b. 5. c. 1. e The roofs of houses were then very flat, and having prob ably battlements round them to secure people from falling off, as the manner of building was afterwards among the Jews, Deut. xxii. 8, were made use of for places to walk, or at any time to lay any kind of goods upon. A. M. 2553. A. C. 1451; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3803. A. C. 1608. JOSH. i. TO THE END. instance, shown them uncommon kindness, her only request was, that when they came against the city, they would, in return, spare hers and her family's lives; for which she desired of them some assurance." An offer so generous and so unexpected, joined with so liberal a confession, could not but engage the two spies to a compliance with what she requested; and therefore they promised, and solemnly swore to her, that whenever they became masters of the city, not only she, and her family, but every one else that was found in her house, should be exempted from the common ruin. which they used to march, were to follow. When the priests were got into the middle of the channel, there they were to stand still, till the whole multitude was got safe to the other shore; and that this wonderful passage might be more regarded, they were all enjoined to sanctify themselves, by washing their clothes, avoiding all impurities, and abstaining from matrimonial intercourse the night before. The gates were so closely shut and guarded, that there was no possibility for making their escape that way; but Rahab's house being happily situated upon the city wall, as soon as it was conveniently dark, she first charged them to make to the neighbouring mountains, where they might keep themselves concealed, until the messengers were returned, and then let them down by a silken cord from one of her windows, which faced the country. But before they parted, they agreed that this same cord, hung out at her window, should be the token between them; and therefore they desired, that whoever she was minded to save, might, when their army approached the city, be kept within doors. The spies, having thus luckily escaped, took Rahab's advice, and concealed themselves in the mountains, until those who were sent out to pursue them were returned to the city, and then they made the best of their way to the camp; where they informed | Joshua of their whole adventure, and withal gave him to understand, that the general consternation which they found the people in, was to them a sure omen that God Almighty intended to crown their arms with success. a Pleased with this news, Joshua gave orders for the army to decamp; but before he did that, he reminded the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of the promise they had made to Moses to assist their brethren in the conquest of Canaan; a which they readily consented to do, and not only in that, but in every thing else he commanded them to do, promised to obey him with the same cheerfulness that they had done Moses: so that forty thousand of them decamped with him, and fell down to the banks of the Jordan. It was now in the time of the barley-harvest, which in these hot countries falls early in the spring, when, by reason of hasty rain, and the melting of the snow upon Mount Lebanon, the river is generally full of water, and sometimes overflows its banks; and as soon as the army was come within a small distance of the place where it was intended they should cross, Joshua sent and communicated to every tribe the order that was to be observed in this solemn march. The priests, bearing the ark, were to begin the procession; each tribe, in the order in a The two tribes and an half had the countries which had been lately conquered, and were now given to them in possession, to preserve against the attempts of the nations from whom they had taken them; and can hardly be supposed to go, one and all, along with their brethren, to the conquest of the countries which lay on the other side of the river Jordan. In the last muster of the army, they consisted of above an hundred thousand able soldiers; and we can hardly suppose that at this time their number was decreased. The forty thousand that went over Jordan, were but a part of them, and the rest were left behind to guard their new conquests against the vanquished nations, that had abundant reason to become their enemies.-Saurin, vol. 3, Dissertation 1. b Before they crossed the river, Joshua, by God's direction, appointed twelve men, out of every tribe one, to choose twelve stones, according to the number of their tribes, in the midst of the channel, where the priests, with the ark, were ordered to stand, and there to set them up, that they might be seen from each side of the river, when the waters were abated, as a monument of this great miracle; and to bring twelve more ashore with them for the like purpose. с With these orders and instructions, the army set forward. The priests with the ark led the van; and as soon as they touched the river with their feet, the stream divided. The waters above went back, and rose up on heaps as far as the city Adam; whilst those that were below, continuing their course towards the Ded Sea, opened a passage of above sixteen or eighteen miles for the Israelites to cross over, and all the time that they were thus crossing, the priests with the ark stood in the middle of the channel, till every thing was done that Joshua commanded; and then, upon their coming out of it, the river returned to its wonted course. By this miraculous passage, Joshua having gained the plains of Jericho, encamped in a d place which was afterwards called Gilgal; and while the whole country lay under a great terror and consternation, God commanded the It has been a custom in all nations to erect monuments of stone, in order to preserve the memory of covenants, victories, and other great transactions; and though there was no inscription upon these stones, yet the number of them, and the place signify some memorable thing, which posterity would not fail to where they lay, which was not at all stony, was sufficient to hand down from one generation to another.-Patrick's Commentary on Joshua iv. 7. c Adam, or Adom, is a place situate on the banks of the river Jordan, towards the south of the sea of Cinnereth, or the sea of Galilee.-Wells' Geography of the Old Testament. d Gilgal, the place where the Israelites encamped for some time after their passage over the river Jordan, was so called, because here the rite of circumcision, which had long been disused, was renewed: whereupon the Lord said unto Joshua, this day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt (that is, uncircumcision) from off you; wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal (that is, rolling) unto this day,' Josh. v. 9. From this expression the place received its name, and if we look into its situation, we shall find, that as the Israelites passed over 'Jordan right against Jericho,' Josh. iii. 16. and encamped in Gilgal, in the eastern border of Jericho, it is plain, that Gilgal must be situated between Jordan and Jericho; and therefore, since Josephus tells us, that Jericho was sixty furlongs distant from Jordan, and the camp of Gilgal was fifty furlongs from the same river; it hence follows, that Gilgal was ten furlongs (that is, about a mile and a quarter) from Jordan eastward. But as some learned men have observed, that five of the furlongs used by Josephus make up an Italian mile, so the distance between Gilgal and Jericho will be just two miles; which exactly agrees with the testimony of St Jerome, who makes it two miles distant from Jericho, and a place held in great veneration by the inhabitants of the country in his days.-Wells' Geography, vol. 2. c. 4. e The command which God gives Joshua, concerning the rite of circumcision, is this,' Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise the children of Israel the second time,' Josh. v. 2. And after |