Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 2:10

For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that [were] on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

10. dried up the water ] The inhabitants of the land had heard of two important events, which filled them with alarm; ( a) the drying up of the Red Sea before the Israelites (cp. Psa 106:7; Psa 106:9; Psa 106:22; Psa 136:13); ( b) the defeat at Jahaz of Sihon king of the Amorites, who refused the Israelites a passage through the territory between the Arnon and the Jabbok (Num 21:21-31; Deu 2:30-37), and at Edrei of Og, the giant king of the district which, under the name of “Bashan,” extended from the Jabbok up to the base of Hermon (Num 21:33-35; Deu 3:1-7).

whom ye utterly destroyed ] Or, devoted. The word here used denotes (i) to separate for God, devote to Him (Lev 27:21; Lev 27:28; Jos 6:17-18; 1Sa 15:21), (ii) to devote to utter destruction, utterly destroy (Deu 4:26). The objects of such a doom might be ( a) persons, as here (and comp. 1Ki 20:42; Rom 9:3; Gal 1:8-9; Gal 3:13), or ( b) things (Jos 6:17-18; Jos 7:1).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt,…. To make a passage for them through it, to walk in as on dry land; this they had heard of and remembered, though it was forty years ago:

and what you did unto the kings of the Amorites that [were] on the other side Jordan: which were things more recent, done but a few months ago:

Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed; the history of which see in

Nu 21:21; who were destroyed by them under Moses and Joshua their commanders; and Hercules, who is thought to be the same with Joshua, is by Lucian g called Ogmius, from slaying Og, as is supposed h.

g In Hercule. h Dickinson. Delph. Phoenic. c. 4. p. 44.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

10. For we have heard how, etc. She mentions, as the special cause of consternation, that the wide-spread rumor of miracles, hitherto without example, had impressed it on the minds of all that God was warring for the Israelites. For it was impossible to doubt that the way through the Red Sea had been miraculously opened up, as the water would never have changed its nature and become piled up in solid heaps, had not God, the author of nature, so ordered. The transmutation of the element, therefore, plainly showed that God was on the side of the people, to whom he had given a dry passage through the depths of the sea.

The signal victories also gained over Og and Bashan, were justly regarded as testimonies of the divine favor towards the Israelites. This latter conclusion, indeed, rested only on conjecture, whereas the passage of the sea was a full and irrefragable proof, as much so as if God had stretched forth his hand from heaven. All minds, therefore, were seized with a conviction that in the expedition of the Israelitish people God was principal leader; (40) hence their terror and consternation. At the same time, it is probable that they were deceived by some vain imagination that the God of Israel had proved superior in the contest to the gods of Egypt; just as the poets feign that every god has taken some nation or other under his protection, and wars with others, and that thus conflicts take place among the gods themselves while they are protecting their favorites.

But the faith of Rahab takes a higher flight, while to the God of Israel alone she ascribes supreme power and eternity. These are the true attributes of Jehovah. She does not dream, according to the vulgar notion, that some one, out of a crowd of deities, is giving his assistance to the Israelites, but she acknowledges that He whose favor they were known to possess is the true and only God. We see, then, how in a case where all received the same intelligence, she, in the application of it, went far beyond her countrymen.

(40) French, “ Que Dieu estoit le principal conducteur de l’entreprise du peuple d’Israel, et qu’il marchoit avec iceluy;” “That God was the principal conductor of the enterprise of the people of Israel, and that he was marching along with them.” — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

10. We have heard An event so wonderful filled the world with amazement. Traders and caravans passing from Egypt through the deserts would frequently pass through Jericho, and spread the tidings of the Hebrews’ triumphs. Of all the miracles which attended the exodus from Egypt, none was capable of producing so profound an impression upon all surrounding nations as the drying up of the Red Sea, the safe passage of the Israelites, and the destruction of the Egyptian host by the rolling back of the parted surges. Exo 14:15-31. The lapse of forty years had not effaced that deep impression an incidental proof of the magnitude of the miracle. Events more recent and nearer to them had increased their alarm.

The Amorites east of the Jordan, who had evinced their martial prowess by conquering the king of Moab and seizing his land, were in turn subdued by the resistless arms of the Israelites. The Amorites were the most powerful and distinguished of the Canaanitish nations, and occupied a tract on both sides of the Jordan. Those on the east side were under two kings, Sihon and Og. The former refused passage to the Hebrews through his territory, came to Jahaz, fought, and was defeated. Og also gave battle at Edrei, and was totally routed. See on Num 21:21-35.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jos 2:10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that [were] on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

Ver. 10. For we have heard. ] Historiae fidae monitrices. Succurrat illud Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)