CHAPTER I.
THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN AND FALL OF JERICHO.
Josh. i.–vi. B.C. 1451.
JOSHUA, the son of Nun, of the powerful tribe of Ephraim, had, as we have seen, been already selected as the successor of Moses, and the leader of the Israelitish forces. When, therefore, the thirty days of mourning for that eminent servant of God were ended (Deut. xxxiv. 8), he was encouraged by the Lord to undertake the task of conquest, which now devolved upon him, and was assured of complete success, if careful to observe the commandments of the Law. Accordingly preparations were made for the enterprise without delay; provisions for three days were issued to the host, and the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, already located on the eastern side of the Jordan, were reminded of their promise to accompany their brethren, and share the perils and hardships of the campaign.
THE HOLY LAND
divided among
THE TWELVE TRIBES
Stanford’s Geographical Establishment
London & Cambridge Macmillan & Co.
The general distribution of the nations now inhabiting western Palestine has been already described[143]. Along the valley of the Jordan, and a large portion of the plain of Esdraelon, as also the sea-coast, dwelt the Canaanites proper or Lowlanders; the Jebusites held the strong fortress of Jebus (Jerusalem); the Hittites Hebron and its vicinity; between the Hittites and the Dead Sea were the powerful and warlike Amorites or Highlanders; the Hivites occupied the country about Gibeon and under Mount Hermon; the Perizzites the high plains under the range of Carmel; while in the extreme north dwelt a powerful chief, who bore the hereditary name of Jabin, or the wise. His fortress was at Hazor, somewhere on the high ground overlooking the waters of Merom, a strong and fortified position, and the principal city of that portion of the land.
The first step to any complete subjugation of the country was the capture of the important city of Jericho, situated immediately opposite the camp of Joshua in a vast grove of noble palm-trees, nearly three miles broad, and eight miles long, which “must have recalled to the few survivors of the old generation of the Israelites the magnificent palm-groves of Egypt, such as may now be seen stretching along the shores of the Nile at Memphis[144].” It was a fenced city, enclosed by walls of considerable breadth, was the residence of a king, and not only contained sheep and oxen, but abounded in silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron (Josh. vi. 24). From its position it was the key of Western Palestine, and “commanded the two main passes into the Central Mountains.”
The first act of Joshua, therefore, was to send two spies to reconnoitre this important place. Setting out from Shittim, or the meadows of Acacia, and crossing the Jordan, they effected their entrance into the houseof a woman named Rahab on the city wall. Their arrival was not unobserved, and was reported to the king of Jericho. He sent to Rahab’s house, and demanded their surrender, but she had already concealed her visitors among the flax-stalks spread out to dry on the flat roof of her house, and when the king’s messengers arrived, she informed them that the two men had departed, and advised a speedy pursuit. Misled by this information, the officers of the king went after them in all haste, while she came up to the spies upon the roof, and related what had occurred. The townsfolk, she said, had heard of the marvellous passage of the Red Sea, and of the defeat of the great Amorite chiefs on the east of Jordan, and despaired of offering any effectual resistance to a nation thus visibly protected by a God powerful in heaven above, and in earth beneath (Josh. ii. 11). These fears she herself shared, and now offered to assist them (Heb. xi. 31, Jas. ii. 25) in escaping, by letting them down by a cord from her window, that they might fly to the “jagged range of the white limestone mountains[145]” behind the city, and conceal themselves for three days till their pursuers were returned. As a requital for this kindness she implored them at the capture of the city, which she regarded as certain, to spare her life, and the lives of her father and mother, and all her relatives. To this the spies assented, and having agreed that the scarlet cord should be bound in the window whence they effected their escape, to mark out the house to their comrades, and be a pledge of its security, suffered themselves to be lowered down, and in the course of three days, after hiding in the mountains, once more crossed the Jordan, and announced to Joshua the despondency of the people of Jericho.
Early therefore the next morning the Hebrew leaderbroke up the encampment on the upper terraces of Shittim, and descended to the lower banks of the Jordan, where three days were spent in ceremonial purifications, and in preparing for the passage of the river. The Ark was to lead the way borne by the priests, and the people were to follow at a distance of 2000 cubits, or nearly a mile, and were assured that the feet of the priests should no sooner rest in the river, than the waters from the south would be cut off from the waters that came down from above, and would stand on a heap, thus at once affording a passage, and a pledge of future and complete victory over all the nations of Canaan (Josh. iii. 1–13).