Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 10:19
And stay ye not, [but] pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.
Stay ye not; lose not your opportunity by your sloth or negligence. The hindmost of them; their rereward, all whom you can overtake. To enter into their cities, whereby they will recover their strength, and renew the war.
The Lord hath delivered them into your hand; your work will be easy, God hath already done the work to your hands.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And stay you not, [but] pursue after your enemies,…. That is, do not stay at this cave, but having placed a sufficient guard there, go in pursuit of the enemy, with as much celerity as possible:
and smite the hindmost of them; their rear; or “tail” them o, as the word is, cut off the tail of them:
suffer them not to enter their cities; where they would not only be safe themselves for a while, but would be able to hold out against a siege for some time, and give much trouble to conquer them:
for the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hands; this he said to encourage them, and quicken them to the pursuit of them with all eagerness and vehemence. According to the Samaritan Chronicle p, the signal or watchword was,
“God is strong in battle, God is his name.”
o “caudam eorum caedite”, Pagninus, Vatablus, Masius, Drusius; “et decaudetis eos”, Montanus; “decaudabitis eos”, Munster. p Apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 509.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(19) Smite the hindmost of them.See Deu. 25:18, the only other place where the same Hebrew verb occurs.
For the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hand.It is worth while to observe that the command given to Israel to exterminate the Canaanites, though perfectly general, is notwithstanding limited as to time and circumstances by this very condition, in Deuteronomy 7, Jos. 10:1-2, when the Lord thy God shall bring thee in, . . . and hath cast out . . . before thee . . . seven nations, and when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them. Again, Jos. 10:16, Thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee, and Jos. 10:22, The Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little; thou mayest not consume them at once. The extermination of each particular army or nation was to be determined (as to time and circumstances) by the mandate of Jehovah, whose guidance Israel must follow on all occasions. The present occasion was one for pursuit and slaughter without respite or delay. But though the army, as an army, was annihilated, a remnant of fugitives escaped into fortified places (Jos. 10:20).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Pursue after your enemies The excitement of such a victory would in a wonderful manner keep up the strength of the soldiers, and perhaps supernatural vigour was also imparted to them.
For the Lord hath delivered Compare notes on Jos 6:2; Jos 8:1. But though the enemies’ destruction is a foreseen certainty in the Divine Mind, the conditions, pursue, smite, are insisted on.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jos 10:19 And stay ye not, [but] pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.
Ver. 19. Smote the hindmost of them. ] Heb., Caudate eos, cut off the tail, fall upon the rear.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
God. Hebrew Elohim. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
stay ye: Psa 18:37-41, Jer 48:10
smite: Heb. cut off the tail, Isa 9:14, Isa 9:15
suffer them: Jos 10:20, 2Sa 17:13, 2Sa 20:6, Jer 8:14
Reciprocal: Exo 23:31 – deliver the Jos 21:29 – Jarmuth Jdg 4:16 – pursued 1Sa 14:36 – Let us go 2Ch 13:19 – took cities
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 10:19. Suffer them not to enter their cities Whereby they would have recovered their strength, and renewed the war. God hath delivered them Your work will be easy; God hath already done the work to your hands.