A Historical and Critical Commentary on the Old Testament, with a New Translation Volume 1

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1858 edition. Excerpt: ...and their political safety in constant and it was dense darkness, behold, a. smoking furnace, and a flame of fire that passed between those pieces. 18. On that day the Lord made a. covenant with Abram, saying, danger (comp. Judg. ii. 1-3). Violence or avarice had no share in the conquest; for, according to the Biblical notions, God Himself gives to every people their land (Dent. xxxii. 8; Acts xvii. 26); the Israelites had no human right to the possession of Canaan; it was the gift and favour of God; if He had deemed that occupation an injustice, He would have given to His chosen people another land, the appropriation of which would not have come into collision with the lawful interests of others. However objectionable the conduct of the Hebrews may have been, the theology of the Pentatench is pure and stainless.--Thus, we avoid all unnecessary justifications of the alleged "invasion" of the Hebrews; for it is urged, that Canaan had, by Noah's distribution, fallen to the lot of the Shemitcs, not of the Hamitcs (Epiphanius); that it belonged, from times immemorial, to Abraham and his children, especially by the purchase of the cave of Machpelah, and of other property (Michaelis, Ewald, whereas, in fact, the Canaanites undoubtedly possessed it before the patriarch's time, xii. 6; xiii. 7, etc.); that the rights of property were, in those early times, not yet strictly defined, and that the Israelites were, therefore, entitled to conquer as much land as they required (! Faber, Hess; no doubt, with the inclusion of the carefully cultivated fields, and the well-built cities); we avoid these and all the other artificial attempts, which have been ably refuted by Hengstenberg (Authent. des Pcntat., ii. 47l--507). After the sun had set, ...