Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 23:7

That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear [by them], neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

7. That ye come not among these nations ] He especially warns them against all intercourse with the heathen nations, and, above all, against any participation in their idolatries.

make mention of the name of their gods ] “To make mention of the names of the gods (Exo 23:13), to swear by them, to serve them with offerings, and to bow down to them, i.e. call upon them in prayer, represent the four expressions of divine worship.” See Deu 6:13; Deu 10:20.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 7. Come not among these nations] Have no civil or social contracts with them, (see Jos 23:12), as these will infallibly lead to spiritual affinities, in consequence of which ye will make honourable mention of the name of their gods, swear by them as the judges of your motives and actions, serve them in their abominable rites, and bow yourselves unto them as your creators and preservers; thus giving the whole worship of God to idols: and all this will follow from simply coming among them. He who walks in the counsel of the ungodly will soon stand in the way of sinners, and shortly sit in the seat of the scornful. Nemo repente fuit turpissimus. “No man rises to the highest stages of iniquity but by degrees.” NERO himself, under the instructions of Seneca, was a promising youth.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Come not among these nations, i.e. avoid all familiar converse and contracts, but especially marriages, with them, as it is explained, Jos 23:12, and as the Hebrew word intimates, being oft used of coming or going in to a woman.

Neither make mention of the name of their gods, to wit, unnecessarily and familiarly, lest the mention of them breed discourse about them, and so by degrees bring a man to the approbation and worship of them. Compare Exo 23:13; Deu 12:3; Psa 16:4; Eph 5:3.

Nor cause to swear by them; nor require nor compel the Gentiles to swear by them, as they used to do; especially in leagues and contracts, which therefore the Israelites are here implicitly forbidden to make with them.

Neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them; neither give them any inward reverence, or outward adoration. Here is an observable gradation, whereby he shows what notable progress sin usually makes, and what reason there is to look to the beginnings of it, forasmuch as a civil and common conversation with their persons was likely to bring them, and indeed did actually bring them, by insensible steps, to the worship of their gods. So it is no wonder if some things not simply and in themselves evil be forbidden by God, as here the naming of their gods is, because they are occasions and introductions to evil.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

That ye come not among these nations, those that remain among you,…. That remained unsubdued, or that were suffered to dwell among them, being tributaries to them; with these they were not to converse freely and familiarly, nor to carry on trade and commerce with them, nor enter into any alliances or marriages with them, and not even attend any of their feasts, and especially their idolatrous ones:

neither make mention of the name of their gods; not in common conversation, and still less in any religious matters; never with any reverence of them, or in any respectable manner; but always with indignation and contempt, calling them dunghill gods, and the like, as they often are in Scripture:

nor cause to swear [by them]; neither swear by them themselves, nor cause others to swear by them, as Abarbinel; or a man his neighbour, as Kimchi; no, not a Gentile, as Ben Melech; so it is said in the Misnah p,

“he that vows in the name of an idol, and confirms in his name, (which Bartenora interprets, swears by his name,) transgresses a negative precept.”

Maimonides q also says,

“he that vows in the name of an idol, and swears by it, is to be beaten–he that swears by it himself, or causes a Gentile to swear by it; for it is forbidden to cause a Gentile to swear by his fear (or idol), and even to cause him to make mention of it, though not in the way of an oath, it is forbidden:”

neither serve them; by offering any sacrifice or incense to them, or by praying to them, or offering them praises on any account, or by performing any religious service in any instance or form whatever:

nor bow yourselves unto them; give them any adoration or worship, external or internal.

p Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 6. q Hilchot & Obedeth Cochabim, c. 5. sect. 10.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

7. That you come not among these nations, etc He distinctly admonishes them that it will be impossible rightly to discharge their duty if they be not carefully on their guard against all sources of corruption. This it was very necessary to enforce upon them. For they were surrounded on all sides by the snares of Satan, and we know how great their proneness to superstition was, or rather how headlong their eagerness for it. First, then, he warns them that intimate intercourse with the nations may involve them in fellowship in crime; for the term mingling used in this passage is equivalent to what is termed by St. Paul, being yoked. (2Co 6:14) In short, he first removes the incitements or allurements to idolatry, and then declares his detestation of idolatry itself. It is to be observed, however, that he does not expressly mention either bending of the knee, or sacrifices, or other rites, but designates all perverse modes of worship by the terms naming them and swearing by them. Whence we infer that God is defrauded of his honor when ever any particle, however small, of all the things which he claims for himself is transferred to idols. He accordingly concludes that they are to adhere to God alone; in other words, they are to be bound to him out and out.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(7) Come not among these nationsi.e., do not mix with them; literally, do not go in unto them. (See on Jos. 13:2-7, for the rules to be observed in dealing with the nations.) It must always be remembered that, in proposing the extermination of the seven nations, Jehovah reserved to Himself the ordering of the details of the conquest and extermination. When the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them. He did not propose to deliver them all to Israel at once, for reasons set forth in Judges 2, 3. Meantime, it was a trial of Israels faith and obedience to live among idolaters without making any peace with them, or lending any countenance to their idolatry.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

7. Neither make mention This not only forbids the admiring mention of the names of the pagan gods, but, as we believe, it commands the literal abstinence from uttering their names, as defiling the tongue. As the name of Jehovah was in Jewish estimation too holy to be pronounced, so the names of the Canaanite gods were too vile.

Nor cause to swear by them Since swearing by them implied their existence, this also was forbidden.

[He who swears and he who administers an oath in the name of a false god virtually recognize and worship the false deity. Thus may a Christian state prostitute itself to idolatry, superstition, and even utter irreligion, by allowing in its courts of justice a careless, irreverent, or superstitious use of the oath. Better dispense with the civil oath entirely than prostitute the State to either idolatry, superstition, or atheism.] Neither serve, by external worship, nor bow yourselves, that is, enthrone them over yourselves as authorities to be revered in your hearts. Here is a fourfold prohibition of idolatry, which was rendered necessary by the uncultivated state of the Hebrews, by the strong influence of all the surrounding nations, and especially by that possessed by the idol-worshippers within their own borders whom they had failed to drive out.

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

“ That you come not among these nations, those who remain among you, nor make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, nor serve them, nor bow yourselves down to them.”

This was the negative side. They must avoid contact and fraternisation with these nations, they must totally reject them and have nothing to do with their gods (Deu 4:15; Deu 4:19), neither naming them (Exo 23:13), nor swearing by them, nor bowing down to them (Deu 5:9). It was here that they would later fail, for they would allow the Canaanites to remain, then they would be tempted by what they were told these gods could do for them. And when things went wrong, and rain was sparse, and YHWH seemed far away, it would be easy to make use of local knowledge, and of the gods of the land, looking to them to do for them what YHWH seemed to have failed to do.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Ver. 7-11. That ye come not among these nations, &c. “Hold no familiarity; make no marriages with these idolatrous nations: never make the least honourable mention of the name of their false gods in your conversation, nor cause any one to swear by those idols, nor serve them yourselves, by offering victims to them, or by addressing prayers and vows to them in secret; nor shall ye prostrate yourselves before them, or render them any public worship: in a word, let nothing be able to draw you from God, or turn you aside from the execution of those designs, for which that great God has rendered you invincible even unto this day. Acquit yourselves thus of your duty, and ye will certainly engage the Lord ever to grant you victory and success.”

REFLECTIONS.Joshua, now grown old, and having but a short time to live, is solicitous to improve it to the best purposes; his last words, it is to be presumed, would be heard with peculiar attention: wherefore, he summons those on whose carefulness and piety the well-being of the state chiefly depended, and whose examples must be most influential over the people; and thus addresses to them his discourse.

1. He reminds them of what God had done for them, to awaken a grateful return for such transcendant mercies. He had thrust out powerful nations, to make room for them; had given them success in every attack; neither city nor army ever was able to stand before them; and they were now in quiet possession of these valuable conquests. Note; We can never too frequently remember, nor too thankfully acknowledge, what great things God has done for us in our bodies or in our souls.

2. He assures them, that the same mercy and goodness was engaged to attend them in their future attempts; they had enough at present; but when they should be increased, the remaining Canaanites should fall as easy a prey as their neighbours; nor needed they the assembled forces of Israel; one tribe would be sufficient for any conquest, when one Israelite should chase a thousand. Note; It is God who giveth us the victory; though our spiritual enemies appear never so numerous or strong, if God fighteth for us, we must be more than conquerors.

3. Hereupon he exhorts them to courage and faithful obedience. They may confidently go forth under the blessing of Jehovah; only let them take care to secure his favour; and, in order thereunto, they must be, (1.) Obedient to God’s commands, careful to observe his instituted ordinances, and faithful in their adherence to him: they had been so, and this was an argument for their perseverance; they had experienced the comfort of it. (2.) They must avoid all connexion with the Canaanites who were among them. Idolatry being their besetting sin, and the most provoking to God, they must keep at the greatest possible distance from it. Note;

They who would keep from evil must avoid temptation, especially in the case of their easily besetting sin.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Jos 23:7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear [by them], neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

Ver. 7. That ye come not among these nations. ] For if ye once give way to come amongst them and converse with them, you will easily and quickly be drawn to do worse; even all that is here mentioned, to make honourable mention of their gods, to swear by them, to serve them, &c. Sin is wondrous catching, and contagious, and Nemo repente fuit turpissimus.

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