Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 21:44
And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he swore unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.
44. And the Lord gave them rest ] Moreover He gave them rest round about, in accordance with His promise to their forefathers. Comp. ( a) Exo 33:14, “And He said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. ” ( b) Deu 3:20, “Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren.” ( c) Deu 25:19, “When the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.”
there stood not a man ] “Noone of the Enemyes is hardi to withstoond hem,” Wyclif. For even though the Canaanites were not all exterminated, yet those who remained did not venture upon an attack on the Israelites so long as they remained loyal and steadfast to their invisible King, and as long as Joshua and his contemporaries lived. “It was no part of the Divine purpose that the native population should be annihilated suddenly (Exo 23:29; Deu 7:22); but they were delivered into the hand of Israel, and their complete dispossession could have been effected at any time by the Divine aid which was never wanting when sought.”
the Lord delivered all their enemies ] See above ch. Jos 2:24. Hence, though Israel after the death of Joshua became slothful in the work, and never obtained complete possession of the land, never, e.g. conquered Tyre and Sidon, still this was no breach of the Divine promise, for its complete fulfilment depended upon Israel’s fidelity.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To wit, all the days of Joshua, by comparing Jos 1:5, for afterwards it was otherwise with them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the Lord gave them rest round about,…. Not only from their travels, with which they had been fatigued forty years in the wilderness, but from wars with the Canaanites they had been engaged in for some years past:
according to all that he sware unto their fathers; not only to give them the land, but peace, rest, and safety in it:
and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; for whenever any rose up to oppose them, they were immediately cut off: this is to be understood while Joshua was living; for afterwards, sinning against God, they were again and again delivered up into the hands of their enemies:
the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands; that is, that made war with them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
44. There stood not a man The many were humbled and rendered tributary, and all their enemies would have been expelled if the Hebrews had had faith in Jehovah, their unfailing ally. [Some rationalistic critics affirm that this passage is contradicted by other statements of the ancient history which affirm that Israel’s enemies were not all subdued, and considerable portions of the land were never in possession of the Israelites. But they forget that the promise to the fathers was accompanied also with the express statement that the Canaanites should be gradually exterminated. See note on next verse. This passage affirms a thorough subjugation of all Canaan, and a division of it for a possession among the Israelites, but not, as some would assume, an extermination of all its original inhabitants. Even Ewald admits, as unquestionable, “that this first irruption into Canaan under Joshua was decisive for all future time, and that the Canaanites were never able in succeeding ages to rally permanently from the losses and disasters which they then underwent.” In another place the same rationalistic critic affirms: “There can be no doubt that Joshua, during the first years of the entrance into Canaan, subdued the country on every side, and received the submission of all the Canaanites whose lives were spared. It is very possible that in the first terror of surprise the Philistines, and even the men of Zidon and the rest of the Phenicians, may have paid homage, although these last could never again be subdued.”]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jos 1:15, Jos 11:23, Jos 22:4, Jos 22:9, Deu 7:22-24, Deu 31:3-5, Heb 4:9
Reciprocal: Exo 23:31 – deliver the Exo 33:14 – rest Deu 2:33 – the Lord Jos 2:24 – Truly the Lord Jos 11:8 – the Lord Jos 23:1 – the Lord Jos 23:9 – For the Lord 1Sa 26:8 – God 2Sa 7:1 – the Lord 1Ki 8:56 – hath given rest 2Ch 13:16 – God delivered Psa 47:3 – subdue Act 9:31 – the churches
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
REST AT LAST!
Rest round about.
Jos 21:44
The conquest is ended, and the distribution of the land is completed. The time has now come for the peaceable possession and cultivation of the land. During the whole of this time, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, already settled on the east side of the Jordan, have been helping their brethren on the west side of Jordan. The time seems now to have come for their return home.
I. Recapitulation.This portion of the Book of Joshua relates how, in accordance with the earlier injunction, given in Numbers 35, three cities on either side of the Jordan were set apart as cities of refuge for innocent homicides; how also, for the Levites, forty-eight cities, with their pasture land, including the six cities of refuge, were drawn from the other tribes, and assigned by lot to the three Levitical clans, and how, then, the eastern tribes were dismissed by Joshua in peace, being heartily commended by Joshua for their unselfish service. These tribes, on the way back, erected a memorial altar. This being regarded as idolatrous by the western tribes, was inquired into, but the offenders proved clearly that the altar signified neither rebellion nor a new sacrificial centre, but merely stood as a witness of their kinship and sympathy with the western tribes. Their plea was effective. The deputation accepted it, commended the piety of their brethren, and reported to the nation that the incident was worthy of praise.
II. The nations unity.These details emphasise the strong and hopeful spirit of unity manifested by the people. That this should appear is surely not strange, after the inspiring leadership of Joshua and his judicious management of the allotment of the land.
Joshua 21:435 puts delightfully the writers view of the work of Joshua in this age. So the Lord gave, as in the Revised Version, though but a slight alteration, makes an important difference. The people were now in actual possession of the land promised to their fathers. In one sense it was theirs by conquest, but they had conquered only as far as they had received Divine help, and had obeyed the Divine will. Individually it was theirs also by Divine appointmentfor it had been divided to them by lot. Promised. The promise was first made centuries before, to Abraham. But time neither annuls nor invalidates Gods promises. The Lord gave them rest, etc. The rest was twofold, from the wilderness wanderings, and from the perils of war. But the rest was not absolute. The Apostle uses it as a type of the true rest in Christ (Heb 4:8-9, R.V.). None of the Israelites were now in arms against them. Most of those who remained were in subjection and paid tribute. The subsequent ascendancy of the Canaanites at certain periods was the effect of the cowardice and slothfulness of the Israelites; and may be regarded as the punishment of their sinful tendencies towards idolatry.
III. The Divine faithfulness.There failed not, etc. Note how the writer dwells upon the Divine faithfulness. God takes His own timeto us it may seem a long timeto make good His promises. But he who can wait Gods time will always prove the truth of Gods promises. God royally fulfils His part of His covenants. Delays and failures are always found to be due to the over-confidence, or cowardice, or inertness, of those who have the right to trust His promises and go ahead.
Illustrations
(1) There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. The verse would end well there, but that is not a full stop. After the word Israel there is but a semicolon. Four words remain which contain all we want to know about Gods promises and Gods dispensations. These four words are all of one syllable. They might form a childs first lesson in reading. All came to pass. What a testimony for the old man to bear! What more could be said? The note of hand had matured and been redeemed. The promised harvest had grown into golden abundance, and had been reaped and garnered.
(2) Here is the triumphant record of Gods faithfulness. But the only name inscribed thereon is Jehovahs. Other memorials of victories have borne the pompous titles of commanders who arrogated the glory to themselves; but the Bible knows of only one conqueror, and that is God. The help that is done on earth, He doeth it all Himself. The military genius and heroic constancy of Joshua, the eagerness for perilous honour that flamed, undimmed by age, in Caleb, the daring and strong arms of many a humbler private in the ranks, have their due recognition and reward; but when the history that tells of these comes to sum up the whole, and to put the philosophy of the conquest into a sentence, it has only one name to speak as cause of Israels victory. That is the true point of view from which to look at the history of the world and of the church in the world. The difference between the miraculous conquest of Canaan and the ordinary facts of history is not that God did the one and men do the other; both are equally, though in different methods, His acts.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Jos 21:44. The Lord gave them rest round about Namely, all the remaining days of Joshua; for afterward it was otherwise with them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands This is not to be understood as if all the people of Canaan were absolutely in subjection to them, but that as long as Joshua lived, all those who attempted to oppose or rise up against them were delivered into their power and subdued.