Joshua 7:1-5 NIV

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 7:1

Verse 1 1.But the children of Israel committed, etc Reference is made to the crime, and indeed the secret crime, of one individual, whose guilt is transferred to the whole people; and not only so, but punishment is at the same time executed against several who were innocent. But it seems very unaccountable that a whole people should be condemned for a private and hidden crime of which they had no knowledge. I answer, that it is not new for the sin of one member to be visited on the whole body.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 7:2

Verse 2 2.And Joshua sent men from Jericho, etc To examine the site of the city and reconnoiter all its approaches was an act of prudence, that they might not, by hurrying on at random through unknown places, fall into an ambuscade. But when it would be necessary shortly after to advance with all the forces, to send forward a small band with the view of taking the city, seems to betray a want of military skill. Hence it would not have been strange that two or three thousand men, on a sudden... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

EXPOSITION THE DEFEAT BEFORE AI .— Committed a trespass in the accursed thing. The word מָעַל , here used, signifies originally to cover, whence מְעִיל a garment. Hence it comes to mean to act deceitfully, or perhaps to steal (cf. the LXX . ἐνοσφίσαντο , a translation rendered remarkable by the fact that it is the very word used by St. Luke in regard to the transgression of Ananias and Sapphira. But the LXX . is hare rather a paraphrase than a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

Sin committed. By the narrative before us we are reminded of several characteristics of sin. I. IT DISOBEYS A COMMANDMENT . Only two precepts had been issued at the sacking of Jericho, one to spare Rahab and her family, another to "keep from the accursed thing," and the latter precept was broken. The command was distinct, unmistakable; no difficulty in comprehending its import. Scripture defines sin as the "transgression of the law." "By the law is the knowledge of sin." A... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

The way of the transgressor. In order to understand Achan's sin, we must bear in mind the absolute nature of the decree that everything belonging to Jericho should be devoted to the Lord—all living beings slain, and destructible materials consumed as a sacrifice to His offended Majesty; all indestructible materials—silver and gold, vessels of iron and brass—consecrated to the service of the sanctuary. The sin was, therefore, something more than an act of disobedience. It was a violation of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

The accursed thing. Immediately after the taking of Jericho, Israel found itself suddenly arrested in its career of conquest. Its advanced guard received a humiliating repulse from the inhabitants of the small town of Ai. Joshua was driven almost to despair by this defeat, because it seemed to doom the army of Israel to feebleness and failure, by the withdrawal of the presence and power of God. It seemed as if the heavens were closed against him, and he could no more reckon upon that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1-5

The sin. One of the most valuable uses of the historical portions of the Old Testament is the valuable moral lessons they convey. "The Old Testament is not contrary to the New." Both come from God, and the offences God denounces and punishes under the old dispensation will be equally denounced and punished by Him under the new. Let no sinner flatter himself that he will escape because his doctrine is sound, or because he belongs to an orthodox body of Christians, or because he feels... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:2

Ai . עַי or הָעַי "the ruins" (cf. Iim and Ije-abarim, the ruins or heaps of Abarim, Numbers 33:44 , Numbers 33:45 ; and Iim, Joshua 15:29 . Probably it is the same as הָעַוּים which we find mentioned in conjunction with Bethel in Joshua 18:22 , Joshua 18:23 . It becomes עַיָּא in Nehemiah 11:31 , and the feminine form is found in Isaiah 10:28 . The latter, from the mention of Michmash in the route of Sennacherib immediately afterwards, is probably the same as Ai.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:3

Make not all the people to labour thither; or, weary not the people with the journey thither. "Good successe lifts up the heart with too much confidence" (Bp. Hall). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:5

Unto Shebarim. LXX ; καὶ ἕως συνέτριψαν αὐτούς , as though we had שְׁבָרוּם (or, as Masius suggests, הַשְׁבִירִים ) from שָׁבַר to break in pieces. So the Syriac and Chaldee versions. But this is quite out of the question. The Israelites were not annihilated, for they only lost about 36 men. Nor is Shebarim a proper name, as the Vulgate renders it. It has the article, and must be rendered either with Keil, the stone quarries (literally, the crushings or breakings ) ... read more

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 7:1

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 7:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:1-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 7:5

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