Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 7:13
Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel. [There is] an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
13. sanctify the people ] “Rise, halwe the puple,” Wyclif. Compare the instructions to Moses before the giving of the Law, Exo 19:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 13. Up, sanctify the people] Joshua, all the time that God spake, lay prostrate before the ark: he is now commanded to get up, and sanctify the people, i.e., cause them to wash themselves, and get into a proper disposition to hear the judgment of the Lord relative to the late transactions.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Sanctify yourselves; purify yourselves from that defilement which you have all in some sort contracted by this accursed fact, and prepare yourselves to appear before the Lord, as it is most probable they were required to do; as imploring and expecting the sentence of God for the discovery and punishment of the sin, and that the guilty person might hereby be awakened and terrified, and brought to a free and seasonable confession of his fault. And it is a marvellous thing that Achan did not on this occasion acknowledge his crime; but this is to be imputed to the heart-hardening power of sin, which makes men grow worse and worse; partly, to his pride, being loth to take to himself the shame of such a mischievous and infamous action; partly, to his self-flattering and vain conceit, whereby he might think many others were guilty as well as he, and some of them might be taken, and he escape; and partly, to the just judgment of God, whereby he blinds and hardens sinners to their own ruin. See a like instance, Mat 26:21,22,25.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Up, sanctify the people,…. The word “up” not only signifies getting up from the ground on which he lay, but to bestir himself, and to be active in what he would now be enjoined and directed to do, and in the first place to “sanctify the people”, that is, by giving them orders to do it themselves:
and say, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; either by some ceremonial ablutions, or by the performance of moral duties, as prayer, repentance, and good works; or rather, they were to “prepare” themselves, as the Targum and Kimchi interpret it, to get ready against the morrow, and expect to be thoroughly searched, in order to find out the person who had taken the accursed thing:
for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, [there is] an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; an accursed person, who had taken of what was devoted to the Lord for his own use, and so accursed:
thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you; by putting him to death.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13. Up, sanctify the people, etc Although the word קדש has a more extensive meaning, yet as the subject in question is the expiation of the people, I have no doubt that it prescribes a formal rite of sanctification. Those, therefore, who interpret it generally as equivalent to prepare, do not, in my judgment, give it its full force. Nay, as they were now to be in a manner brought into the divine presence, there was need of purification that they might not come while unclean. It is also to be observed in regard to the method of sanctifying, that Joshua intimates to the people a legal purgation. But though the ceremony might be in itself of little consequence, it had a powerful tendency to arouse a rude people. The external offering must have turned their thoughts to spiritual cleanness, while their abstinence from things otherwise lawful reminded them of the very high and unblemished purity which was required. And they are forewarned of what is to take place, in order that each may be more careful in examining himself. Nay, the Lord proceeds step by step, as if he meant to give intervals for repentance; for it is impossible to imagine any other reason for descending from tribe to family, and coming at length to the single individual.
In all this we see the monstrous stupor of Achan. Overcome perhaps by shame, he doubles his impudence, and putting on a bold front, hesitates not to insult his Maker. For why, when he sees himself discovered, does he not voluntarily come forward and confess the crime, instead of persisting in his effrontery till he is dragged forward against his will? But such is the just recompense of those who allow themselves to be blinded by the devil. Then when first by the taking of his tribe and next by that of his family, he plainly perceived that he was urged and held fast by the hand of God, why does he not then at least spring forward, and by a voluntary surrender deprecate punishment? It appears, then, that after he had hardened himself in his wickedness, his mind and all his senses were charmed by the devil.
Though God does not bring all guilty actions to light at the very moment, nor always employ the casting of lots for this purpose, he has taught us by this example that there is nothing so hidden as not to be revealed in its own time. The form of disclosure will, indeed, be different; but let every one reflect, for himself, that things which escape the knowledge of the whole world are not concealed from God, and that to make them public depends only on his pleasure. For though a sin may seem as it were to have fallen asleep, it is however awake before the door, and will beset the miserable man till it overtake and crush him.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
13. Up sanctify yourselves This mode of address indicates the critical nature of the exigency, which demanded immediate action to prevent further disaster. There cannot be too great haste in putting ourselves right in the sight of God. In order to prepare for the scrutiny which the Lord was to exercise upon all the camp, the entire people were to perform the ablutions and observances required by the law. Jehovah required these washings whenever he came near to them in order to impress them with his own holiness. Exo 19:10-11; see Jos 3:5, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ Get up, sanctify the people and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, for thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, there is a devoted thing in your midst, Oh Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies, until you take away the devoted thing from among you.’ ”
So Joshua was commanded to rise and do something about it. YHWH would assist in the search for the devoted thing which was such a curse to them, but they must first sanctify themselves to prepare for His drawing near. This probably meant washing their clothes, bathing with water, waiting in their tents until the evening and abstention from sexual relations and from anything unclean. They were also to be made aware of the seriousness of the situation. It may well also have included special sacrifices and offerings on their behalf at the Tabernacle.
“YHWH, the God of Israel.” This phrase occurs previously only in Exo 5:1; Exo 32:27. It was used at particularly solemn moments. In Exo 5:1 it was at the time of Moses’ very first demand to Pharaoh in YHWH’s name. In Exo 32:27 it was used in the giving of the command to the Levites to slay Israelites caught in idolatry when Moses came down from Sinai. It became prominent in the book of Joshua, in the historical books and especially in Jeremiah.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Reader! doth not your heart tremble while this examination is making? Do you not feel interested in the prospect of a similar enquiry, which must one day take place in your own circumstances? May there not be an Achan in your heart? Have you looked diligently, searched the ground of your hopes, and seen whether Jesus be indeed your security? have you heard that precious voice, referring to your own case: deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom! Oh! for assurance in a matter of such infinite concern. Job 33:23-24 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow.” Jos 7:13
In this sense sanctification was equal to preparation. There should be solemn days of scrutiny in every man’s life. We can complete the process of self-scrutiny even where social scrutiny is impossible. The man who judges himself most severely has least to fear from the judgments of others: he can bear their criticism with composure when he knows it to be just; he can treat it with disdain when he knows it to be malicious. All these appointments lead up to the grand assize in which the whole world shall be judged. To live without scrutiny is to live without the enjoyment of many a privilege. Scrutiny is not all on the side of severity. The Old Testament saints were sometimes enabled to plead their integrity under circumstances of persecution as a ground for divine protection. They knew that the enemy had formed a wrong estimate of their character, and, being confident of this, they had also confidence in God. Such scrutiny as is indicated in the text shows that there are circumstances in life which can only be met by severe moral inquest. Penetrating questions must be asked; detailed examination must be conducted. A man must, so to say, retire within himself, and submit every part of himself to scrutiny, as if each part were a separate individuality. The sin may be found lurking in the imagination, the taste, the affections, the understanding, the selfishness or the ignorance of man. The man must not look upon himself as a whole, and ask general questions regarding his conduct, but must regard himself as divided into many attributes and forces, and must seize each, and by severest cross-examination discover which is the Achan, the thief, the idolater, the miser, the blasphemer, the liar; it is easy to talk about a general examination and to pronounce vague judgments; we are called to analysis severe and exhaustive. He does not love himself, but, on the contrary, bitterly hates himself, who is unfaithful in this matter of self-scrutiny.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Jos 7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [There is] an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
Ver. 13. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify, &c. ] Come before God with the best preparations you can make. That “God that is holy is to be sanctified in righteousness.” Isa 5:16 And he will be “sanctified of all them that draw nigh unto him” Lev 10:3
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
sanctify: Jos 3:5, Exo 19:10-15, Lam 3:40, Lam 3:41, Joe 2:16, Joe 2:17, Zep 2:1, Zep 2:2
an accursed: Jos 7:11, 2Ch 28:10, Mat 7:5
take away: 1Co 5:1-6, 1Co 5:11-13
Reciprocal: Exo 32:1 – Up Lev 26:37 – and ye shall Num 11:18 – Sanctify Num 16:26 – I pray you Jdg 2:14 – could not Jdg 4:14 – Up 1Sa 9:26 – Up 1Sa 16:5 – sanctify yourselves 1Ch 21:7 – he smote Job 22:23 – thou shalt Pro 3:33 – curse Ecc 7:25 – know Lam 1:6 – her princes Jon 1:7 – for Mal 3:9 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 7:13. Sanctify yourselves Not only wash your clothes and give yourselves up to religious exercises, meditation, and prayer, as you were required to do formerly, when called to meet the Lord at Sinai, (see Exo 19:10,) and lately, when you were about to be led over Jordan, (Jos 3:5,) but purify yourselves from that defilement which you have all in some sort contracted by this accursed fact, and prepare yourselves to appear before the Lord, expecting his sentence for the discovery and punishment of the sin. This was enjoined that the guilty person might be awakened, and brought to a free confession of his fault. And it is a marvellous thing that he did not on this occasion acknowledge his crime. But this is to be imputed to the heart-hardening power of sin, which makes men grow worse and worse; to his pride, which made him loath to take to himself the shame of such a mischievous and infamous action; and to his vain conceit, whereby he might think others were guilty as well as he, and that some of them might be taken, and he escape.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [There is] an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the {g} accursed thing from among you.
(g) Meaning, the man that took of the thing forbidden.