682 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For the Lord hath driven out before you great nations and strong,.... Especially as they were reckoned in those times, before any great monarchies had existed, as did afterwards; and indeed these were, considering the land they inhabited, very numerous and populous, and were very stout and able bodied men, and some of a gigantic stature; and all...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
One man of you shall chase a thousand,.... Here Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, that the future tense is put for the past, and that the sense is, one of them had chased a thousand in their war with the Canaanites; but Abarbinel disapproves of this observation, and thinks it refers to time to come, what they should be able to do if they cleaved unto...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Else if ye do in any wise go back,.... From the Lord and his worship, from his word and ordinances: and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, [even] those that remain among you; in cities not taken, or in several which the Philistines were in possession of, or lived among them as tributaries to them, if they should take to them, and be free...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out [any] of these nations from before you,.... Or, "knowing ye shall know" (r); or "know ye"; this may be taken for granted, or the fullest proof, and clearest demonstration, and strongest assurance will be given of it, that in case of such bad conduct, and disobedience to the will of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And, behold, this day I [am] going the way of all the earth,.... That is, about to die; not that precise day, but in a short time, of which the daily increasing infirmities of old age gave him notice. Death is a journey from this world to another, a man's going to his long home, a path trodden by all men, and but once (t); a way in which all men...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore it shall come to pass, [that] as all the good things are come upon you which the Lord hath promised you,.... Of which there was full proof, and it could not be denied: so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things; calamities and distresses, by his sore judgments of famine, sword, pestilence, evil beasts, and captivity, in case of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you,.... The law, so called, and the several precepts of it, particularly those which relate to the faith and worship of the one only true God; see Exodus 24:7; and have gone and served other gods, and have bowed down yourselves unto them; been guilty of idolatry, of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Joshua 24 This chapter gives us an account of another summons of the tribes of Israel by Joshua, who obeyed it, and presented themselves before the Lord at Shechem, Joshua 24:1; when Joshua in the name of the Lord rehearsed to them the many great and good things the Lord had done for them, from the time of their ancestor Abraham to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem,.... The nine tribes and a half; not all the individuals of them, but the chief among them, their representatives, as afterwards explained, whom he gathered together a second time, being willing, as long as he was among them, to improve his time for their spiritual as well as civil good; to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua said unto all the people,.... Then present, or to all Israel by their representatives: thus saith the Lord God of Israel; he spoke to them in the name of the Lord, as the prophet did, being himself a prophet, and at this time under a divine impulse, and spirit of prophecy. According to an Arabic writer (w): the Angel of God appeared in...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood,.... The river Euphrates, as before: or "your father, to wit, Abraham", as Noldius (x); he took him not only in a providential way, and brought him from the other side of the Euphrates, out of an idolatrous country and family, but he apprehended him by his grace, and called and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau,.... When Rebekah was barren, so that the children appeared the more to be the gift of God; though Esau perhaps is mentioned, for the sake of what follows: and I gave unto Esau Mount Seir to possess it; that Jacob and his posterity alone might inherit Canaan, and Esau and his seed make no pretension to it: but...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I sent Moses also and Aaron,.... To demand Israel's dismission of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and to be the deliverers of them: and I plagued Egypt according to that which I did amongst them; inflicting ten plagues upon them for refusing to let Israel go: and afterwards I brought you out; that is, out of Egypt, with an high hand, and outstretched arm.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I brought your fathers out of Egypt,.... Which more fully expresses the sense of the last clause of Jos 24:5: and you came unto the sea; which respects some senior persons then present; for, besides Caleb and Joshua, there were many at this time alive who came to and passed through the Red sea, at their coming out of Egypt; for those whose...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they cried unto the Lord,.... That is, the Israelites, being in the utmost distress, the sea before them, Pharaoh's large host behind them, and the rocks on each side of them; see Exodus 14:10; he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; the pillar of cloud, the dark side of which was turned to the Egyptians, and which was the reason...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan,.... The kingdoms of Sihon and Og, and they fought with you; the two kings of them, and their armies: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and which was now possessed by the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, arose,.... Being alarmed with what Israel had done to the two kings of the Amorites, and by their near approach to the borders of his kingdom: and warred against Israel; he fully designed it, and purpose is put for action, as Kimchi observes; he prepared for it, proclaimed war, and commenced it,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But I would not hearken unto Balaam,.... Who was very solicitous to get leave of the Lord to curse Israel, which he knew he could not do without; he had a goodwill to it but could not accomplish it: therefore he blessed you still; went on blessing Israel to the last, when Balak hoped every time he would have cursed them; and Balaam himself was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And ye went over Jordan,.... In a miraculous manner, the waters parting to make way for the host of Israel: and came unto Jericho; the first city of any size and strength in the land, which was about seven or eight miles from Jordan; [See comments on Numbers 22:1]; and the men of Jericho fought against you; by endeavouring to intercept their...