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Introduction to Joshua
INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA
The
Jews distinguish the prophets into former and latter; the first of the former
prophets is Joshua, or Sepher Joshua, the book of Joshua, as it is commonly
called in the Hebrew copies; the Syriac inscription is,
"the
book of Joshua, the son of Nun, the disciple of Moses:'
in
the Arabic version it is reckoned a book of the judges, which adds,
"the
first among the judges of the children of Israel was Joshua, the son of Nun,
the twenty eighth from Adam, who reigned over Israel after the Prophet Moses.'
This
book bears the name of Joshua, either because it is concerning him, his actions
and exploits in the land of Canaan, or because it was written by him, or both;
though some ascribe it to Ezra, and others to Isaiah; but it must have been
written before the times of Ahab, as appears from 1 Kings 16:34; and
even before the times of David, as is clear from Joshua 15:63,
compared with 2 Samuel 5:6; for
though mention is made in it of the mountains of Judah and of Israel, from
whence some have concluded, that the writer must have lived after the times of
Rehoboam, in whose days the kingdom was divided; yet we find the distinction of
Israel and Judah took place before, even in the times of David and Asaph, Psalm 76:1; It is
most likely that this book was written by Joshua himself, as the Jews in their
TalmudF1T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 14. 2. assert; and, indeed, who
more fit for it than himself? and if written or put together by another, it is
most probable that it was taken out of his diary, annals, or memoirs; and
though there are some things recorded in it, which were done after his death,
these might be inserted under a divine direction and influence by Eleazar, or
Phinehas, or Samuel, to each of whom some ascribe the writing of this book,
just as Joshua is supposed to add some verses concerning Moses at the end of
the Pentateuch: however, be it wrote by whom it may, there is no doubt to be
made of the divine inspiration and authenticity of it by us Christians, since
some histories recorded in it are taken from it, or referred to, in Hebrews 11:30; and
the promise made to Joshua is quoted, and applied to every believer, Hebrews 13:5; and
the Apostle James refers to the case of Rahab, her character and conduct in it,
James 2:25. The
subject matter of this book is Joshua's taking upon him the government of the
children of Israel, after the death of Moses, by a divine commission,
exhortation, and encouragement given him to engage in war with the Canaanites;
his conquests of them, the division of the land of Canaan to the children of
Israel, and their settlement in it. It is of great use not only to give us the
geography of the land of Canaan, and the history of the church of God, from the
death of Moses to the times of the judges; but shows the exact fulfilment of
prophecy, and the faithfulness of God to his promises in giving the land of
Canaan to Israel, according to those made to their fathers, and the justice of
God in punishing the Canaanites for their abominable sins, as had been
foretold; and the wonderful care, of God, and his love to the people of Israel
in preserving and protecting them, and in settling them in such a good land,
notwithstanding all their murmurings, ingratitude, and unbelief, in the
wilderness; and may serve to lead us to Christ, whose type Joshua was in the
whole affair here related: his name has the signification of the salvation of
the Lord in and he is by the Greek writers, and so in the New Testament, called
Jesus, a Saviour, Acts 7:45, Hebrews 4:8; and as
they agree in their name, so they do in their state, condition, and character;
Joshua was a servant of Moses, Christ was made under the law, and became
subject to it, both moral and ceremonial; and also in their office, Joshua was
the governor of Israel, and the commander of their forces, for which he was
well qualified with wisdom, courage, and integrity; Christ is King of saints,
the Leader and Commander of the people, who has fought their battles for them,
being abundantly qualified, having the spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, and of
the fear of the Lord, resting on him. Joshua was a type of Christ in various
actions of his; in leading the people through the river Jordan, an emblem
either of baptism, or of afflictions, or of death itself, in which Christ is
with his people, and carries them through; in saving Rahab and her family, so
Christ saves the worst and chief of sinners; in receiving the Gibeonites, who
submitted to him, as Christ does all that come to him; in his conquest of the
several kings of the Canaanites, so Christ has conquered all the spiritual
enemies of his people, sin, Satan, and the world; in bringing and settling the
people of Israel in the land of Canaan, their rest, and dividing it to them by
lot, which Moses might not do; so Christ only brings souls into the true rest,
into spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter; in whom they obtain the
inheritance of the heavenly glory by lot, and by whom only they enjoy salvation
and eternal life, and not by the works of the law. This book contains an history
of Joshua, of his government, his acts and deeds, from the death of Moses to
his own; how long that was is not certain; the Jewish chronologersF2Ganz.
Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 7. 2. observe, that the time of his principality we
find not in the text; though theyF3Seder Olam Rabba, c. 12. p. 33.
Juchasin, fol. 10. 1. say he succeeded Moses when he was eighty two years of
age, and governed Israel twenty eight years; EupolemusF4Apud Euseb.
Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 30. , an Heathen writer, says thirty years.
Christian writers commonly make his reign to be twenty seven yearsF5Tertullian,
Lactantius, Eusebius, Augustin. apud Hottinger. Thesaur. Philolog. l. 2. c. 1.
sect. 2. p. 960. so Ben Gersom in Jud. 11. 26. &
Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 25. ; but an Arabic writerF6Elmacinus
apud Hottinger. p. 524. stretches it further to thirty one years; he says, he
took the government of the people in the seventy ninth year of his age, and
reigned thirty one; but it seems more probable that he was ninety three years
of age when Moses died, who lived to be an hundred ten, so that only seventeen
years intervened between the death of the one and of the other; seven years
Joshua was in subduing the land, and ten years more were taken up in dividing
it to the people, and settling them in it, and in the government of them; after
which Eleazar might rule ten years more, whose death is mentioned in it; so
indeed the book may be reckoned an history of twenty seven years, though Joshua
lived only seventeen of them. The Chronicle, to which the Samaritans give the
name of the book of Joshua, is a spurious work; an epitome of which HottingerF7Ad
Calcem Exercitat. Antimorin. has compiled, and translated out of the Arabic
exemplar into Latin.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
Commentator
John Gill (November 23, 1697-October 14,
1771) was an English Baptist, a biblical scholar, and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
In his youth, he attended Kettering Grammar School, mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve, Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor, William Wallis, on the text, "And the Lord called
unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel,
Horsleydown, Southwark in 1719. In 1757, his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane, St. Olave's Street, Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748, Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist, which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself, which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
New King James Version Bible, NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay Christians
worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and grammar of
the King James Version, while preserving the classic style of the of the 1611
version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order,
grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou",
"thee", "ye," "thy," and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example, "speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young, who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.