Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 7:7
And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
7. would to God we had been content ] Or perhaps better as the LXX. have rendered it, “would that we had remained and dwelt on the other side Jordan.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 7. Alas, O Lord God] Particles of exclamations and distress, or what are called interjections, are nearly the same in all languages: and the reason is because they are the simple voice of nature. The Hebrew word which we translate alas is ahah. The complaint of Joshua in this and the following verses seems principally to have arisen from his deep concern for the glory of God, and the affecting interest he took in behalf of the people: he felt for the thousands of Israel, whom he considered as abandoned to destruction: and he felt for the glory of God, for he knew should Israel be destroyed God’s name would be blasphemed among the heathen; and his expostulations with his Maker, which have been too hastily blamed by some, as savouring of too great freedom and impatience are founded on God’s own words, De 32:26-27, and on the practice of Moses himself, who had used similar expressions on a similar occasion; see Ex 5:22-23; Nu 14:13-18.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
These clauses, though well intended, and offered to God only by way of expostulation and argument, yet do savour of human infirmity, and fall short of that reverence, and modesty, and submission which he owed to God; and are mentioned as instances that the holy men of God were subject to like passions and infirmities with other men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Joshua said, alas! O Lord God,…. What a miserable and distressed condition are we in! have pity and compassion on us; who could have thought it, that this would have been our case?
wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us: who are mentioned either for the whole people of the land of Canaan; or rather, because the people of Israel were now in that part of the country which they inhabited: these words discover much weakness, diffidence, and distrust, and bear some likeness to the murmurs of the children of Israel in the wilderness; but not proceeding from that malignity of spirit theirs did, but from a concern for the good of the people and the glory of God, they are not resented by him:
would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan; in which he seems to cast the blame, not upon the Lord but upon himself and the people, who were not content to dwell on the other side, but were desirous of a larger and better country; and now ruin seemed to be the consequent of that covetous disposition and discontented mind.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7. Alas, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan This is not the language of distrust, but of distress. It is the tearful wail of a great soul in deepest humiliation and gloom. Joshua unburdens his troubled mind, and reasons with God only as one having the utmost confidence in him can reason. The urgency of his expostulation and the importunity of his plea evince faith in God. He cannot think that such miracles as the passage of the Jordan and the conquest of Jericho are to lead the chosen nation to destruction.
Amorites See note on Jos 2:10.
Would to God we had been content “To all human view it would have been better for us to have remained on the other side of Jordan, and we shall be strongly prompted to wish that that had been the case, for it will be inferred from the event that thy sole purpose in bringing us hither was to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites.” Bush.
‘ And Joshua said, “Alas! O Lord YHWH, why have you at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? Would that we had been content and dwelt beyond Jordan. Oh YHWH, what shall I say after that Israel have turned their backs on their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?” ’
Joshua’s prayer covered a number of points:
Firstly as to why YHWH had brought them over the Jordan in order to destroy them. So quickly does faith dissipate when something goes wrong.
Secondly as to what he was to say to the people in view of what had happened. How was he to explain defeat?
And thirdly as to the effect this would all have on YHWH’s own reputation when the surrounding peoples heard that Israel had been defeated and had turned their backs on Amorites. It would encourage them and bolster them up to attack the Israelites in order to destroy them. And then where would YHWH’s name be?
Note the reference to the Amorites and then the Canaanites. Both names could be used to describe all the inhabitants of the land, but as here could distinguish the mountain dwellers from those who dwelt in the plains. The reference to the Amorites is particularly poignant. It was Amorites whom they had destroyed on the other side of the Jordan, a place which now looked increasingly attractive, but was second best. But at this point Joshua was ready to settle for second best. However we must recognise that his prayer was intended to challenge YHWH about His covenant promises. It was not all negative. And we must recognise that he was in a state of total confusion. He just did not know what to make of it.
Note also his concern for the name of YHWH. With His people blotted out where would He be? There would be none to honour His name (see Isa 49:3).
Ver. 7. And Joshua said, Alas! O Lord God, wherefore, &c. The heart-felt emotion and humiliation in which Joshua appears, thus prostrate on the ground, with his face directed towards the sanctuary, and addressing God in the following prayer, are no way unbecoming of his high character. The greatest men are the most susceptible of the feelings of humanity and compassion. Without attempting to deny absolutely that Joshua testified some weakness, and too much dejection, in the prayer which he addresses to God, his sentiments seem capable of a very noble turn: his expressions are not the bursts of complaint; the Scriptures nowhere reproach him with any thing like it; they are an acknowledgment of his ignorance respecting the causes of that fatal blow which struck the whole camp of Israel with terror; as much as if he had said, that he knew not what to think of the event which astonished the people, and therefore instantly ventured to beg of God to discover to him the reason of it. Let us hear himself speak, and we shall better explain our idea on the subject. “O Lord, I am astonished, confounded, and dismayed at what I see; unable to comprehend why, after miraculously opening the passage of the Jordan to thy people, and giving them an entrance into this Promised Land, thou permittest them to be overpowered by the devoted Canaanites: better, as it seems, had we, contented with our former conquests, remained on the other side of the flood. What shall I say to the insults of the enemy? How henceforth shall I persuade the defeated Israelites to depend upon victory? Inflated by their success, the Canaanites will fall upon us from every quarter, will encompass us round, and hew us in pieces: still more deeply afflicting, the glory of thy great name will be obscured in the sight of these faithless nations, who will triumph to see our expectations deceived, and the miraculous displays of thy mighty power rendered useless.” In all this discourse, as we see, it is a concern for God’s glory that most nearly affects Joshua. He speaks as Moses had spoken on similar occasions; or, to express it more properly, he forms his own language on that of God himself. Deu 32:26-27. Note; A gracious soul is ever more solicitous about God’s glory than his own interests; let them stand or fall, if God be exalted, he asks no more.
After Joshua had humbled himself before the Lord, and lain low in the dust, he now takes hold of God’s strength to make peace. Jesus is the strength and peace of his people. Isa 27:5 .
Jos 7:7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
Ver. 7. Alas! O Lord God, wherefore, &c. ] This expostulation, though of a good intention, is not altogether sinless, but savoureth somewhat of human frailty and weakness of faith; some gravel goeth along with this pure water.
Alas. Figure of speech Ecphonesis. App-6
Lord GOD = Adonai Jehovah. See App-4.
wherefore. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
would to God. Hebrew “would that”. No “to God “in Hebrew text.
wherefore: Exo 5:22, Exo 5:23, Num 14:3, 2Ki 3:10, Psa 116:11, Jer 12:1, Jer 12:2, Heb 12:5
to deliver: Exo 14:11, Exo 14:12, Exo 17:3, Num 20:4, Num 20:5, Mat 17:17, Mat 17:20, Mar 8:17, Mar 8:18
would to: Exo 16:3
and dwelt: Jos 1:2-4
Reciprocal: Num 32:5 – bring us Deu 9:28 – Because Jos 8:1 – Fear not Jdg 20:28 – Shall I yet Jdg 21:3 – why is Psa 44:15 – confusion Isa 26:18 – we have not Jer 45:3 – added Luk 13:8 – let 2Co 11:1 – Would
Jos 7:7. Wherefore hast thou brought this people over Jordan? In this and the two following verses, Joshua shows the infirmity of human nature, and how apt even pious men are to forego their trust in God, and to think of him and his actions according to their own weakness. Because three thousand men had fled before Ai, Joshua seems ready to conclude that all Gods promises were about to be rendered of none effect; not considering the wisdom, power, and truth of the Almighty. To deliver us into the hand of the Amorites Here his expressions fall far short of that reverence, modesty, and submission which he owed to God, and they are recorded as instances, that the holy men of God of old were subject to like passions and infirmities with other men.
7:7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the {d} other side Jordan!
(d) This infirmity of his faith shows how we are inclined by nature to distrust.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes