Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Prologue and Argument
Jesus (son of) Nave, says St. Jerome in his Epistle to Paulinus, presents a type of the Lord not only in his deeds but also in his name: he crosses the Jordan, overthrows the kingdoms of enemies, divides the land among the victorious people, and through each city, village, mountain, river, torrent, and border describes (allegorically) the spiritual kingdoms of the Church, and (anagogically) of the heavenly Jerusalem.
From the Gospels (to which I put the finishing touch upon the whole New Testament), I return, with God's favor, to the Old Testament — from the antitype to the type, from Jesus, I say, to Joshua, who succeeded Moses and his Deuteronomy (where I concluded the Pentateuch). Where, then, I had lifted my hand from the work, there I apply it again, and I continue the ancient history and psalms from Joshua up to the Psalms, and so likewise I shall put the finishing touch on the entire Old Testament in two volumes (if God grants me life and strength). Forty years ago I dictated and taught these very things at Louvain in public lectures. Following my customary manner, I shall be brief — indeed briefer than usual — lest the volumes on Sacred Scripture grow excessively, and because these books are historical, narrating the plain, easy, and pleasant history of the ancient age from Joshua to David, and therefore do not require such extensive commentary as the Prophets, the Gospels, and the Epistles. I shall append the moral sense to the literal sense whenever I find it in St. Jerome, Augustine, Origen, Theodoret, Rabanus, Rupert, and the other Fathers, adhering to and suited to the literal sense.
Question 1: Why is this book entitled Joshua?
It is asked, therefore, first: why is this book entitled Joshua? I answer: because it describes the deeds of Joshua, by which he subdued Canaan in war, divided it among the twelve tribes, established the commonwealth of Israel there, and governed it most wisely in both peace and war. For God wished in Joshua to give the model of the ideal Emperor, General, and Prince — far more excellent than Xenophon described in his Cyrus, Plato in his Republic, or Aristotle in his Politics — which therefore all Christian princes ought rightly to set before their eyes, to contemplate constantly, and to imitate. Add that Joshua appears to be the author of this book, about which more shortly.
Question 2: Is this book Canonical Scripture?
It is asked secondly: is this book Canonical Sacred Scripture? I answer: it is not merely Canonical, but proto-canonical (first-canonical), and therefore is reckoned among the primary books of Sacred Scripture, about whose authority no orthodox person has ever doubted. Moreover, the Hebrews place this book first among the Prophets in their canon. For the Hebrews, as St. Jerome testifies in the Prologus Galeatus (which is prefixed to Sacred Scripture like a helmet), divide Sacred Scripture in three ways, partitioning it into Torah, that is, the Law or Pentateuch of Moses; Nebiim, that is, the Prophets; and Ketubim, that is, the Hagiographa. Among the Prophets, they call some the Former and others the Latter. Among the Former they place Joshua first; second, the book of Judges; third, Samuel, that is, the first and second book of Kings; fourth, Kings, namely the third and fourth book of the same. As Latter Prophets they reckon Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets. But they number those Former ones, though they are historical, in the order and under the name of the Prophets, either because they were written by Prophets, or because all their history foreshadowed the future times of the Messiah by a kind of mutual prophecy.
Question 3: Who is the author of the book?
It is asked thirdly: who is the author of the book? I answer: Theodoret here, Question XIII; Abulensis, Question V; and Andreas Masius hold that it was compiled long after the death of Joshua from ancient diaries and annals (which in chapter 10, verse 13, are called 'the book of the just') by someone inspired by the Spirit of God, that is, a Prophet — specifically by Ezra, as Masius holds, or by Samuel, as Abulensis holds. That this is more probable will become clear from the course of the book, especially chapter 10, verses 12 and 13; chapter 19, verse 47; chapter 11, verse 16; and from the end of the book. Moreover, the Hebrews judge that these diaries were originally written by Joshua himself, and they make Joshua the author of this his book, and chapter last, verse 26 sufficiently indicates this: 'He wrote,' it says, 'all the words in the volume of the law of the Lord.' For just as Moses wrote his own deeds in the Pentateuch, so also Joshua, Moses' disciple and successor, here describes his own. Similarly, Julius Caesar wrote up his acts and wars item by item in the very camps, and hence called his book the Commentary on the Gallic War, etc. But to these diaries written by Joshua or his secretary, certain things were added in this book by their compiler — things that occurred after the death of Joshua, such as what is narrated in chapter 15 about Achsah, daughter of Caleb, and in chapter 19, verse 47, about the sons of Dan, and finally the death of Joshua itself in the last chapter.
Moreover, who, what manner of man, and how great Joshua was, will become clear from the course of the book. Hear Ecclesiasticus, chapter 46, verse 1, recounting the praises and mighty deeds of this hero of heroes: 'Valiant in war was Jesus (son of) Nave, successor of Moses among the Prophets, who was great according to his name, very great in the salvation of God's elect, to fight the enemies that rose up, that he might obtain the inheritance of Israel. What glory he gained in lifting up his hands and hurling swords against cities! Who before him so stood firm? For the Lord Himself brought the enemies to him. Was not the sun stopped in his wrath, and one day made as long as two? He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, when his enemies pressed him on every side, and the great and holy God heard him in hailstones of mighty power. He dashed against the hostile nation, and in the descent he destroyed the adversaries, so that the nations might know his power, because it is not easy to fight against God.' See the commentary on that passage.
Joshua was, therefore, a General, Prince, and Emperor of Israel; he was a Prophet intimate with God, a zealot for the law and divine worship; he was a conqueror and triumphant one, who, having expelled the Canaanites, led the faithful people back into the promised land, and therefore was an express type of Jesus Christ, who makes His faithful ones triumph over the flesh, the world, and the devil, and so leads them back to the land of the living and of those who reign in heaven. Hence also Joshua, contrary to the custom of that age, was celibate and a virgin, and indeed before Elijah and all others was the first to raise the standard of virginity, as St. Ignatius teaches in his epistle to the Philadelphians; St. Jerome in Book I Against Jovinian; and St. Chrysostom in his sermon On the Martyrs, whom hear: 'From the origin of the world, innocent Abel is slain, Enoch pleasing to God is translated, just Noah is found, faithful Abraham is proved, gentle Moses is recognized, Jesus [Joshua] is chaste, David is mild, Elijah is accepted, Daniel is holy, the three youths are rendered victorious.'
Finally, in Hebrew Yehoshua, and by contraction Yosua, or Yeshua, in Greek Iesous, in Latin Jesus, means the same as Savior. All these, therefore, are one and the same name, by which first our Joshua, and then his antitype Jesus Christ, was called. On this name our Serarius has much to say here; I too have said more about it on Numbers chapter 13, verse 17; Matthew chapter 1, verse 21; and Philippians chapter 2, verse 10.
Blessed Gregory of Tours narrates, in his book On the Glory of the Confessors, chapter 40, that his father Florentius, afflicted with severe fevers and pains, placed under his head, at a heavenly admonition, a small staff inscribed with the name of Jesus (son of) Nave, and so was immediately freed from all sickness and pain.
Moreover, for all these things Joshua was chosen by Moses at God's command and ordained by the imposition of hands, authorized and, as it were, consecrated as leader of the people, Numbers chapter 27, verse 18; and he was again encouraged by the same Moses for such heroic works, Deuteronomy chapter 31, verse 7: 'Be strong,' he said, 'and be courageous; for you shall bring this people into the land, etc. The Lord Himself will be with you.'
Question 4: What is the subject matter and argument?
It is asked fourthly: what is the subject matter and argument of this book? I answer: the argument is to continue the history of Moses and to carry it forward to the end of Joshua's life. For Moses in Genesis writes the history of the world, beginning from its creation, and carries it forward to the death of the patriarch Joseph, where he ends Genesis. Then in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy he continues the history of Israel from the death of Joseph, and especially his own deeds up to his death. But Joshua here, succeeding Moses, recounts his own and Israel's heroic deeds after the death of Moses, and especially the wars by which he conquered Canaan and distributed it among the Israelites for their possession. In this book, therefore, there shines forth a most brilliant example of divine providence and of faithfulness in keeping promises: inasmuch as it is clear that God, after the promise given to Abraham concerning the possession of Canaan in the year 470, which was the year 2494 from the creation of the world, and 40 from the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, brought all twelve tribes descended from Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham safely into the promised land and its possession. This is what is said in Exodus 12:40: 'Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was 430 years.' Add now to that number 40 years of wandering in the desert, which elapsed from the departure from Egypt to the entry into the land of Canaan, and you will have the 470 years just mentioned.
And so the literal reason for writing this book was that the history of the creation of the world begun by Moses, and the continuous propagation of the ancient Church, might be carried forward in unbroken chronological order, and that God's faithfulness to His promises might be attested to the whole world.
The moral reason was that in Joshua there might be given the ideal of the perfect Prince, governing the commonwealth excellently in both war and peace. Cicero, praising Pompey, requires four qualities in a commander, namely knowledge of military affairs, virtue, authority, and good fortune. All of these shine wonderfully in Joshua. Hence Tertullian, in Book III Against Marcion, chapter 16, considers Joshua to be that angel and leader whom God promised in Exodus chapter 23, saying: 'Behold, I send My angel before your face, who shall guard you on the way, and bring you into the land that I have prepared for you; attend to him and hear him, do not disobey him: for he has not concealed from you that My name is upon him.' He called him an angel on account of the greatness of the virtues he was to display, and on account of the office of a Prophet, namely one who announces the divine will; but Jesus, on account of the mystery of his future name.
St. Jerome, on that passage of the Apostle, 'Appoint presbyters throughout the cities, as I also directed you,' at Titus chapter 1, verse 5: 'Moses,' he says, 'the friend of God, could certainly have made his own sons successors in the leadership and left the dignity to his posterity, but a stranger from another tribe, Jesus [Joshua], was chosen, so that we might know that leadership over peoples should be conferred not by blood but by virtue of life. But now we see very many treating this matter as a favor, so that they do not seek out those who can benefit the Church most and raise up pillars in the Church, but those whom they themselves love, or whose flattery has beguiled them, or for whom some one of the elders has interceded, and — to pass over what is worse in silence — those who obtained the clergy by bribes.'
The allegorical reason was that in Joshua there might be depicted Jesus Christ conquering sin and all the power of hell. Hence Tertullian thus sings of Joshua, Book III Against Marcion, in the poem of chapter 3:
The Holy Spirit joined him to Himself as companion by name, etc.
An example of the Name, an image of Christ's power.
See our Salian, volume II, at the year of the world 2600, where he applies all the deeds of Joshua to Christ.
The tropological and anagogical reason was that in the same person there might be represented the way in which every faithful person, as a soldier, having conquered not seven nations but the seven capital vices of the soul, ought to strive as a victor for the land of the living promised to those who overcome. So Origen, Theodoret, and Rupert. For this reason, just as Joshua by his faith divided and dried up the Jordan and stopped the sun, so by his innocence he surpassed Moses; for Moses offended God at the waters of Contradiction, and was therefore excluded from the promised land, so that innocent Joshua might lead Israel into it, Numbers chapter 20. For nothing was found blameworthy in Joshua, but all was praised, and especially his faith toward God, confidence, obedience, piety, charity, zeal, fortitude, integrity, justice, governance, poverty, etc., by which he merited to be enrolled in the catalog of Saints in the Roman Martyrology, on the first day of September, on which day I write these words.
Finally, hear St. Augustine, Book 18 of The City of God, chapter 11: 'Jesus (son of) Nave succeeded Moses, and settled the people, once brought into the promised land, by divine authority, having conquered the nations by whom those same places were held. After he had ruled the people for twenty-seven years after the death of Moses, he too died, while among the Assyrians Amyntas was the eighteenth king, among the Sicyonians Corax the sixteenth, among the Argives Danaus the tenth, and among the Athenians Erichthonios the fourth.'
Question 5: How many years' events does this book encompass?
Fifth, it is asked: how many years' events does this book encompass? I answer: nearly all agree that Joshua waged wars for seven years to subdue Canaan, all of which are described here. After that followed peace, but how many years Joshua survived during it and governed the people is not entirely certain. For the interpreters and chronologists differ. Rabbi Moses holds that Joshua died shortly after the wars; others give Joshua ten or eleven years of peace after the wars, so that he presided over the people for seventeen or eighteen years in total. So Genebrardus, Book I of his Chronology, Salian, Torniellus, Adrichomius, Arias, and Lucidus. But Josephus, Book 5 of Antiquities, chapter 1, at the end, assigns to Joshua a total of twenty-five years; Bede and Bellarmine, twenty-six. The Hebrews, however, whom the Fathers follow — such as Eusebius, Book 10 of the Preparation; Clement of Alexandria, Book I of the Stromata; St. Augustine, Book 18 of The City of God, chapter 11; Sulpitius, Book I of the Sacred History; Magalianus and Masius on the last chapter of Joshua — give him twenty-seven years. Therefore, since Joshua died at the age of 110, as is clear from the last chapter, verse 29, it follows that he assumed the leadership of the people at age 83. For subtract 27 years of his leadership from 110 years of his life, and you arrive at the year 83 as the beginning of his leadership. Which of these opinions is truer, I shall indicate in the last chapter.
Now, Moses begins Genesis from the creation of Adam and the world, and ends it at the death of Joseph, which occurred in the year of the world 2310, 633 years after the Flood, and 361 after Abraham. From the death of Joseph to the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt and the leadership of Moses, 144 years elapsed. Moses presided over the people for 40 years. Therefore Joshua, immediately succeeding him, began to rule in the year 2494 from the creation of the world, 837 from the Flood, 545 from Abraham, 470 from the Promise, 184 from the death of Joseph — which was the year 1436 before the birth of Christ. See the Chronological Table that I prefixed to the Pentateuch.
Commentators
Origen wrote 36 homilies on Joshua, being, in his usual manner, moral in approach. On the literal sense wrote Theodoret, Procopius, and St. Augustine, who composed thirty Questions. They are found in volume IV, after the Questions on Genesis and the entire Pentateuch.
In later centuries wrote Rupert, Lyranus, Hugo Cardinal, Dionysius the Carthusian, Cajetan, and, copiously and precisely, Alphonsus Tostatus, Bishop of Avila. In our own century, Andreas Masius wrote learnedly and piously — he was a counselor of the Duke of Cleves and exceedingly skilled in languages. But he has this defect: that he occasionally criticizes the Vulgate translator, though mostly in minor matters. He also has certain things that are less sound or do not sound sound, such as concerning the cross not being adored and images not being placed on the altar, which must be read and understood with caution. D. Joannes Molanus noted these at the beginning of the work's later edition. Masius excels in geography and in graphically describing each place in the Holy Land.
Arias Montanus followed Masius, and excels in elegance of style. Among our own, Cosmus Magalianus commented copiously, Nicolaus Serarius learnedly and with recondite scholarship, and Jacobus Bonfrerius with accuracy.
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, God appears to Joshua and strengthens him for the invasion of Canaan. Second, verse 10, Joshua commands the people to prepare themselves within three days to cross the Jordan, and he orders the Reubenites and Gadites to go armed before the other tribes, as they had promised to do.
Vulgate Text: Joshua 1:1-18
1. And it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and said to him: 2. Moses My servant is dead; arise, and cross this Jordan, you and all the people with you, into the land which I shall give to the children of Israel. 3. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread, I will deliver to you, as I said to Moses. 4. From the desert and Lebanon to the great river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the great sea toward the setting of the sun shall be your boundary. 5. No one shall be able to resist you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6. Be strong and courageous; for you shall divide by lot to this people the land for which I swore to their fathers that I would give it to them. 7. Be strong, therefore, and very courageous, that you may keep and do all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may understand all that you do. 8. Let not the book of this law depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may keep and do all things that are written in it; then you shall direct your way, and shall understand it. 9. Behold, I command you: be strong and courageous. Do not fear and do not be afraid; for the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you go. 10. And Joshua commanded the leaders of the people, saying: Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, and say: 11. Prepare provisions for yourselves; for after three days you shall cross the Jordan and enter in to possess the land which the Lord your God is about to give you. 12. And to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh he said: 13. Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying: The Lord your God has given you rest and all this land. 14. Your wives and children and cattle shall remain in the land that Moses gave you across the Jordan; but you shall cross over armed before your brothers, all the mighty men of valor, and fight for them, 15. until the Lord give rest to your brothers, as He has also given to you, and they too possess the land which the Lord your God is about to give them; and so you shall return to the land of your possession and dwell in it, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you across the Jordan toward the rising of the sun. 16. And they answered Joshua and said: All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go. 17. As we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you also; only may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18. Whoever contradicts your word and does not obey all the commands you give him shall die. Only be strong and act manfully.
Verse 1: And it came to pass after the death of Moses
1. 'And it came to pass,' etc., 'that the Lord spoke.' — In Hebrew: 'And it came to pass, and He spoke,' that is, 'and He spoke.' For 'it came to pass' is redundant in the Hebrew manner. Hence our translator [the Vulgate] clearly renders: 'And it came to pass that He spoke.' The Septuagint also connects this book with the end of Deuteronomy; for it continues the acts of that book in order — although otherwise among the Hebrews the vav, or 'and,' is merely initial and only marks the beginning of a book, as I said on Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 1, regarding the words: 'And it came to pass in the thirtieth year.'
'After Moses' — that is, after the completion of the thirty days of mourning during which the Hebrews lamented the death of Moses, Deuteronomy last chapter, verse 8; for during that time they needed to mourn and rest. So Abulensis, Serarius, and Cajetan, although Lyranus, Salian, and Masius, following the Talmudists, hold the contrary — on which see chapter 3.
Therefore, since Moses died around the third day of February, and the Hebrews then mourned him for thirty days, as is clear from Deuteronomy last chapter, verses 1 and 8, and immediately after the mourning Joshua assumed leadership of the people in place of Moses, authorized and strengthened here by God — it follows that this apparition and encouragement was made to him around the third day of the first month, Nisan; on the tenth day of which the Hebrews crossed the Jordan, as is clear from chapter 4, verse 19; and on the fourteenth day they celebrated the Passover, as is clear from chapter 5, verse 10.
'That the Lord spoke' — through an Angel acting in the place of God, just as He had also spoken to Moses through an Angel and had given him the law at Sinai, as is clear from Galatians chapter 3, verse 19. 'For the angels are the ministering spirits of God,' Hebrews 1:14. Accordingly, whenever in the Old Testament God is said to have appeared or spoken, He did so not in His own person but through an Angel, as I showed in the Pentateuch. Now this Angel spoke to Joshua either by spiritual speech — presenting to his mind the concepts of these words, in such a way as if Joshua heard God Himself speaking in person — or by corporeal speech, appearing in an assumed body and speaking audibly to Joshua: for either is probable. Joshua, therefore, is here immediately constituted and authorized by God through an Angel as leader of the people, and is therefore by Him instructed in all things, directed, prospered with victories, adorned with spoils, and enriched with kingdoms — whereas other kings and princes are constituted by God not immediately, but through the election of the people or the nobles.
Verse 2: Arise, and cross this Jordan
2. 'Arise' — that is, 'come now, act.' For it is the word of one exhorting, stirring up, and encouraging, not commanding him to stand up on his feet.
'Which I shall give.' — Hebrew: 'I give,' as if to say: I shall so certainly give it as if I were already giving it — indeed, I am beginning to give it at this very moment.
Verse 3: Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread
3. 'Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread, I will deliver to you' (Hebrew: natatti, that is, 'I have given, I have delivered,' meaning, 'I shall most certainly and imminently deliver'), 'as I spoke to Moses.' — 'Every place,' that is, all of Canaan, toward which the Hebrews were journeying. He promised this to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrews: Genesis chapter 15, verse 18; Exodus 23:31; Deuteronomy chapter 11, verse 9, and often elsewhere. Now God fulfills His promises, and through Joshua delivers it to the Hebrews for their possession, because He is the supreme Lord of that land and of the whole world. 'For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and all who dwell therein,' Psalm 23 [24]:1.
Tropologically, Origen, Homily 1: Our Canaan is concupiscence — namely, the movements of pride, anger, lust, gluttony, impatience, sloth, and avarice. If we courageously trample these by fighting and subject them to ourselves, we shall dominate them under the leadership of Joshua — that is, through the grace of Jesus Christ.
But Rupert here, chapter 6, says: 'Every place' is every heart, or every conscience, which the foot of Jesus treads — that is, which submits itself to be trodden under the feet of Jesus, after the manner of Magdalene. This, therefore, belongs to Jesus Himself; this belongs to the Savior and to eternal salvation, so that Jesus — that is, the Savior and salvation — may possess it. On the contrary, those whom the footstep of Jesus has not trodden — that is, who are not surrendered and subject to Him — are given over to the devil, and therefore are not the people of acquisition, but sons of perdition.
St. Bernard, however, subtly and piously, in Sermon 15 on Psalm 'He who dwells': 'Hope in the Lord,' he says, 'all the congregation of the people; for whatever place your foot shall tread, it shall be yours. Your foot is indeed your hope, and as far as it shall advance, it shall obtain — provided, however, that it is wholly fixed on God, so as to be firm and not waver.' He, therefore, who hopes in God will obtain all things from Him, because God has promised this throughout Scripture and the Gospels. Therefore, since He is most faithful, He will fulfill His promises, and since He is most merciful and most generous, He will not allow Himself to be surpassed by our hope, but will strive to exceed it. Hence the same St. Bernard, Sermon 3 On the Annunciation: 'Hope alone,' he says, 'obtains the place of compassion before You (Lord), nor do You pour the oil of mercy except into the vessel of confidence.'
Anagogically, Origen takes 'every place' to mean heaven, and the glory and happiness of heaven: 'Lucifer,' he says, 'had his seat in the heavens; but after he became a fugitive angel, if I can conquer him and subject him beneath my feet, if I shall merit that my Lord Jesus crush Satan under my feet, I shall consequently merit to receive the place of Lucifer in the heavens.'
Finally, St. Francis says: To tread underfoot is to despise; but poverty of spirit despises and treads upon all things. It, therefore, is the mistress of all and the queen of the world, according to the saying: 'To the faithful one, the whole world is wealth.' So reports Luke Wadding in the sayings and writings of St. Francis. For the miser, says St. Bernard, hungers for earthly things like a beggar, while the poor in spirit despises them like a lord. St. Cyprian gives the reason in his treatise On the Lord's Prayer, saying: 'He who has already renounced the world is greater than its honors and its kingdom, and therefore he who dedicates himself to God and Christ desires not earthly but heavenly kingdoms.' And St. Chrysostom, Homily 15 to the People: 'Just as,' he says, 'to those looking down from the summit of a mountain, everything appears small — not only people and trees, but even entire cities and great armies seem to move upon the earth like ants — so those who dwell with their minds raised to heavenly things, as if on a height, find all human things — power, glory, riches — so minute and insignificant that they do not even judge them worthy of applying the nobility of their immortal soul to them.'
Such, therefore, is the eagle, which, as Job 39:27 says: 'She places her nest on high, etc. From there she surveys her food, and her eyes look out from afar.' Indeed, 'the mind fixed on heaven laughs at the mockeries of the world.' St. Gregory confesses that he was such a man when he was leading the religious life in a monastery. For writing to Theoctiste, the sister of the Emperor, Book I, Epistle 5, he says: 'Desiring nothing in this world, fearing nothing, I seemed to myself to stand on a certain summit of things, so that I almost believed fulfilled in me what I had learned from the Lord's promise through the Prophet: I will lift you above the heights of the earth. For he is lifted above the height of the earth who tramples underfoot by contempt of mind even those things that seem lofty and glorious in the present age.'
Verse 4: From the desert and Lebanon to the great river Euphrates
4. 'From the desert and Lebanon to the great river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the great sea toward the setting of the sun shall be your boundary.' — God here circumscribes the promised land beyond the Jordan from three quarters of the world, assigning three boundaries: for it has the Arabian Desert to the south, Lebanon and the Euphrates to the north, and the great sea, that is, the Mediterranean, to the west. The fourth boundary on the eastern side, namely the Jordan, is omitted, because Joshua was standing not far from it, and God was pointing out this land from there.
'Lebanon.' — The Septuagint has 'Anti-Lebanon'; but it is the same mountain, which is divided toward the Mediterranean Sea by a broader valley, and is called Lebanon near Tripoli but Anti-Lebanon near Sidon, says Strabo, Book 16. In Greek, Anti-Lebanon properly means 'the mountain opposite Lebanon': for Anti-Lebanon near Sidon curves in such a way that it seems to face Lebanon. Hence St. Jerome in his On Hebrew Places says: 'The entire region which is above Lebanon to the East, looking toward the region of Damascus, which fell to the lot of the tribe of Manasseh, is called Anti-Lebanon.'
Now, Lebanon in Hebrew is named from Laban, that is, 'white,' because its summit is always white with snow; also from lebanon, that is, 'frankincense,' because Lebanon is fertile in cedars, pines, cypresses, and other resinous and incense-bearing trees, says Masius and Adrichomius. For Lebanon is the greatest, highest, most fertile, most pleasant, and most beautiful of all the mountains of Syria. From this it is clear why Ecclesiasticus, chapter 39, verse 18, said: 'Have the fragrance of sweetness like Lebanon, blossom like the lily and send forth fragrance, and put forth leaves with grace' — that is, with grace, with pleasant and lovely foliage — 'and praise the Lord, and bless the Lord in His works.'
Likewise, why the glory of the Church is compared to the beauty or fragrance of Lebanon. Isaiah chapter 60, verse 13: 'The glory of Lebanon,' he says, 'shall come to you, the fir and the pine and the box tree.' And chapter 35, verse 2: 'The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, the beauty of Carmel and Sharon.' And Hosea chapter 14, verse 7: 'He shall blossom like the lily, his root shall sprout like Lebanon, his glory shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.' And Song of Songs chapter 4, verse 8: 'Come from Lebanon, my bride.'
'All the land of the Hittites' — that is, of the Canaanites. It is a synecdoche: from one nation he means the other six that inhabited the promised land, just as elsewhere he calls the same peoples Amorites, who were but one nation among these seven. So in Genesis 27, last verse, Rebecca does not want her son Jacob to take a wife from the daughters of Heth, that is, a Hittite woman, meaning a Canaanite, as is explained in chapter 28, verse 1. So Abulensis.
Now, the Hittites were descended from and named after Heth, the son of Canaan, the son of Ham, the son of Noah, Genesis chapter 10, verse 15, and they inhabited the place called Heth in the region of Hebron. Hence from these Hittites Abraham purchased the double cave in Heth to bury Sarah, Genesis chapter 23, verse 26. The Hittites were strong, warlike, and formidable men, as their very name indicates. For the Hittites in Hebrew are called Chittim, that is, 'crushers' and 'those who strike terror.' Hence among the Hittites there were terrible giants called Anakim, inhabitants of Hebron, Numbers chapter 13, verse 33. Uriah the Hittite was also a most valiant soldier, whom David had killed by the sword of the sons of Ammon so that he might take his wife, 2 Kings [2 Samuel] 12, verse 9. He therefore names the Hittites here above the other Canaanite nations because they were formidable to Joshua and the Hebrews on account of their strength, as if to say: Do not fear the Hittites, though they be gigantic and most warlike; for I will tame them and subdue them for you. So Masius.
'To the great sea, etc., shall be your boundary.' — Note: these were the ample and vast boundaries of Canaan promised by God to the Hebrews, but the Hebrews did not actually obtain all of them, partly because of their own sluggishness, and partly because they offended God with their crimes and rendered themselves unworthy of His promises, as will be clear from Judges 2:20.
Verse 5: As I was with Moses, so I will be with you
5. 'As I was with Moses, so I will be with you' — helping you, fighting for you, striking terror into the Canaanites and subduing them for you, and dividing and drying up the Jordan, just as Moses divided and dried up the Red Sea. The Chaldean [Targum] translates: 'As My Word was a help to Moses, so My Word will be a help to you,' and so the Chaldean consistently translates whenever in the Scriptures it is said that God takes part in mortal affairs, or descends to them to aid them — and this he does to intimate, as it seems, the generation of the Word from the eternal Father. Hence also the Fathers, such as St. Justin in his Dialogue against Trypho; Tertullian in Book 2 Against Marcion; and others whom I cited in Genesis, teach that in the apparitions of God that are narrated in the Old Testament, it was always the Son who appeared, not the Father nor the Holy Spirit — that is, the Angel appearing in those manifestations bore the person of the Son, to signify that He would one day descend to earth and assume flesh to save mankind.
'I will not leave you, nor forsake you' — unless you or your people first forsake Me, as Achan forsook Me by seizing spoils from Jericho against My command, and therefore I forsook you for a time and handed you over to be slaughtered by the Canaanites inhabiting the city of Ai, chapter 7. What is promised here to Joshua is promised to all the faithful and just children of Jesus Christ. Hence the Apostle, Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5: 'Let your conduct,' he says, 'be without covetousness, content with what you have; for He Himself said: I will not forsake you, nor abandon you.' Hence also St. Augustine and the Council of Trent, session 6, canon 11, teach that this is a stimulus for the just: 'That they should feel more obliged to walk in the way of justice; for God does not abandon those once justified by His grace, unless He is first abandoned by them.'
Verse 6: You shall divide by lot to this people the land
6. 'For you (shall subdue by arms, and having subdued) shall divide by lot to this people the land' — so as to be a type of Jesus Christ, who opened heaven and distributed it to His elect.
Hear St. Chrysostom, in his homily on Acts, near the end: 'Lead out a hundred myriads to war,' he says, 'and one holy man — we know that he will accomplish more. Jesus (son of) Nave went out to war, and he alone accomplished everything vigorously, while the others contributed nothing. A multitude, when it does not do the will of the Lord, is no different from those who do not exist.' And a little later: 'I would wish,' he says, 'that the Church be adorned by a multitude, but a proven multitude. But if this cannot be, let at least those few be proven. You can see that it is better to have one precious stone than a thousand pennies.'
From this it is clear that Joshua was chosen by God as the successor of Moses and the leader of the people because of his faithfulness, probity, and obedience, by which he had obeyed both the law of God and Moses his lord. Hence St. Ephrem, treatise On Virtue, chapter 2: 'Jesus,' he says, 'son of Nave, by his perfect obedience merited so great a gift as to become the successor of Moses: namely, he who obeys his superior well rightly commands others, and therefore deserves to command.'
Verse 7: Be strong and very courageous
7. 'Be strong, therefore, and very courageous' — Hebrew: meod, that is, 'exceedingly,' meaning 'very much.' For one must strive beyond the forces of nature for the law and for God, in order to fulfill the supernatural law of God. What, therefore, is 'too much' for nature, is 'enough' for grace and charity. Great and heavenly strength is needed, therefore, to overcome concupiscences, temptations, and all things opposed to God's law, and so to fulfill the entire law of God. For this reason God here repeats three times 'be strong and courageous,' as appears in verses 6, 7, and 9 — to indicate that he needed the triple and supreme strength of the Most Holy Trinity.
'That you may keep (in mind) and do (in deed) all the law which Moses commanded you.' — He means the law promulgated generally and given to the whole people by Moses at Sinai, which is contained in Deuteronomy and the other four books of the Pentateuch — not some special law given to Joshua, as is clear from verse 8. He says specifically, however, 'which he commanded you,' so that Joshua might know that the common law was imposed and commended to him especially, as leader, by God, and that therefore he should have it at heart and in his care above all others — so that he himself would first keep it, and then see that it was kept by others; and that he should do so not so much by words and threats as by his life and deeds, so that the leader himself might be, for the people, a living and visible law, as Cyrus says in Xenophon.
'Do not turn from it to the right or to the left.' — First, to turn to the right is to add something to the law; to the left is to take something from it, say the Hebrews and Vatablus. Second, Serarius says: to turn to the right is to violate the law for the sake of hopes and advantages; to the left is to transgress it from fear and threats.
But I say it is a Hebraism, which means nothing other than that one must walk in the straight way of the law, not turning aside in either direction, if one wishes to reach heaven — just as travelers keep to the straight royal road in order to reach the end of the journey, and do not allow themselves to be drawn from it by byways or detours that appear smoother and shorter, lest they be led astray into pathless places and wander from the destination — so that those wishing to go to Jerusalem end up going to Jericho. For thus sinners wishing to proceed to heaven, straying from the way of the law, find themselves at the end of life in hell and Tartarus. For 'from it,' the Hebrew has mimmenu, that is, 'from it' [masculine], namely what the law commands; but mimmenna is put for mimmenna, that is, 'from it' [feminine], namely min thora, that is, the law. It is an enallage of gender.
'That you may understand all that you do.' — In Hebrew: 'that you may understand all things in which you walk,' that is, all that you do. For actions and deeds are called 'ways' in Hebrew, because through them, as through roads, we tend toward happiness, heaven, and God. 'That you may understand,' that is, that you may act prudently — for this is what the Hebrew taschil means. So often in Proverbs, prudence is called understanding, knowledge, learning, practical wisdom — namely, that which leads a person to salvation and therefore makes them blessed.
Verse 8: Let not the book of this law depart from your mouth
8. 'Let not the book of this law (of Deuteronomy and the Pentateuch, which I gave to Moses) depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may keep and do all things that are written in it' — that is to say: constantly turn the law of God over in your mind and on your lips. For the Hebrew haga means to meditate so frequently and fervently that from fervent meditation the words of the law are born and bubble forth in the mouth, as if in a whisper; and that you may teach them to the people subject to you. Hence the saying: 'The mouth of the just shall meditate (that is, by meditating, or from meditation) and shall speak wisdom.' He implies that it is the duty of a ruler to teach the people the law of God, as Moses did in Deuteronomy, and as Jagello, prince of Poland, who by his own mouth, catechizing and preaching, taught the Poles the faith and law of Christ.
Indeed, this piety and this study of the law paved the way for Joshua to so many and such great victories, that Rabbi Simeon rightly said: 'The example of the law was the banner of Joshua.'
'Day and night' — namely, at alternating intervals, that is, frequently, diligently, constantly. For to meditate continually and always on the law of God is impossible for a person in this life, since one must sleep, eat, and work. Therefore, Rabbi Ishmael was overly strict when, asked by his sister's son whether it was permitted, after finishing the reading of Moses, to read the writings of the Greeks, he answered that it was permitted, provided he did not do so by day or by night. For, he said, all the time of day and night must be given to the law, according to this commandment of God.
'Then you will direct (Hebrew: tasliach, that is, you will prosper, succeed, make fortunate) your way (that is, the actions of your life), and you will understand it.' — Hebrew: taschil, that is, you will wisely manage it, or you will be understanding and prudent, as I said on verse 7. Note here that prudence is joined with prosperity and happiness, as a mother with her daughter; for prudence makes actions prosper, often in this life, and always in the life to come, since it always directs them toward eternal happiness.
Verse 9: Do not fear, for the Lord your God is with you
9. 'Do not fear, for the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you go.' — For who would fear with God as companion — indeed, as leader? Therefore, this is to be imitated by everyone: that in all they do and undertake, they strive to have God as the leader of their study and work, and therefore implore His help at the beginning of any work by humble prayer, as I have often urged. 'For if God is for us, who can be against us?' Romans 8. St. Ambrose says excellently, Book 2 On Duties, chapter 1: 'A blessed life is produced by tranquillity of conscience and the security of innocence.' The same, Book 2 On Jacob and the Blessed Life, chapter 6: 'Perfect virtue has tranquillity and stability of mind. For it belongs to the perfect not to be easily moved by worldly things, not to be troubled by fear, not to be disturbed by suspicion, not to be shaken by terror, not to be vexed by pain, but as if on the safest shore, to calm the immovable mind against the surging waves of worldly storms by a steadfast anchorage of faith.'
Verse 11: Prepare provisions for yourselves
11. 'Prepare provisions for yourselves' — not manna, for this fell daily from heaven and had to be gathered daily, nor could it be kept for the next day, for if it was kept, it rotted, Exodus 16. But prepare cooked foods and meats from the spoils of the kingdoms of Og and Bashan — for example, slaughter, cook, salt, and store in vessels the sheep and oxen captured there.
Note: manna was still raining down from heaven for the Hebrews; for manna did not cease until the fifteenth day of the month, when the Hebrews tasted and possessed the new crops of Canaan, as is clear from chapter 5, verse 12. From this, therefore, it is clear that the Hebrews in the desert, besides manna (which the more gluttonous ones despised, especially since they had eaten it continually for thirty-eight years), also used other foods such as meats, for which that pleasure-loving people craved, as is clear from Numbers chapter 11, verse 13 — foods which they treated as a side dish alongside the manna, which served as bread. This is evident from the fact that they purchased these foods from the neighboring Edomites and Moabites. Hear God in Deuteronomy chapter 2, verse 6: 'You shall buy food from them for money, and eat.' And verse 27, the Hebrews say to King Sihon, requesting passage from him: 'We will pass through your land; we will go by the public road, etc. Sell us food at a price, that we may eat.'
Hence also in Deuteronomy 29:6, it is said not of meat, but only of bread and wine: 'You have not eaten bread, you have not drunk wine or strong drink.' But the more devout among the Hebrews, as well as the poorer ones, lived in the desert on manna alone, and in it they tasted meats, fish, eggs, and whatever they wished to taste, according to Wisdom chapter 16, verse 20: 'You nourished Your people with the food of angels, and from heaven You gave them bread prepared without labor, having in itself every delight and the sweetness of every taste.'
'For after three days you shall cross the Jordan.' — The question is raised: how is this true? For in the following chapter, Joshua sent scouts to Jericho, who, besides the time of going and returning, lay hidden in the mountains for three days, as will be said in the following chapter, verse 22. After they returned to Joshua, at his command the Hebrews moved their camp to the Jordan and waited there three more days, as is clear from chapter 3, verse 1. So at least six days elapsed before the crossing of the Jordan. How then is it said, 'after three days'?
St. Augustine here, Question 1, thinks that Joshua set the three-day period not from divine revelation and certainty, but from human hope: for he hoped that the crossing could take place in that time if the scouts returned quickly; but when they delayed and did not return, Joshua's plans were changed.
But a simpler and more convenient answer is to say that there is here a hysteron proteron [reversal of chronological order], and that the sending of the scouts, and therefore the entire second chapter, should be placed before this command of Joshua. For Scripture wished to append immediately to the words and command of the Lord Joshua's prompt obedience and execution — namely, how he immediately ordered the whole people to prepare themselves for the crossing of the Jordan which the Lord had commanded and foretold; and then in chapter 2 it returns to those things that preceded, by which Joshua had prepared for this crossing with particular forethought.
Therefore, these three days mentioned here are the same as those in chapter 3, verse 1, where it is said that Joshua stayed with the Hebrews at the Jordan for three days, and crossed the Jordan on the following day. So Abulensis. And indeed this interpretation gives greater authority to the new leader Joshua and favor among his countrymen, which would have been greatly diminished if they had seen him proven false or frustrated in his hope on his first expedition. And this interpretation better corresponds to God's promise here in verse 9 and the other verses.
This, therefore, was the order of events: After the thirty-day mourning for the death of Moses was completed, on the third day of the first month Nisan, that is, March, Joshua, stirred up and strengthened by God, took up the leadership of the people. Hence on that same day from Shittim, where he was encamped, he sent two scouts to reconnoiter Jericho, which, according to Josephus, was sixty stadia from Shittim — that is, seven Italian miles, which make two and a half French leagues. A mile consists of a thousand paces; a league is one hour's journey. The scouts, received in Jericho by Rahab, betrayed and sought by the inhabitants, secretly sent away by Rahab, lay hidden in the mountains for three days. They therefore returned to Joshua toward the end of the sixth day of that same month Nisan. Upon hearing their report, Joshua on the very next night moved the camp from Shittim to the Jordan, where, staying three days, he commanded the people to prepare provisions and other things for the crossing of the Jordan. On the following day, which was the tenth of Nisan, the Jordan having been divided by God, he crossed it dry-shod with the Hebrews, as is clear from the whole of chapter 3 and chapter 4, verse 19. On the next day, the eleventh of Nisan, Joshua circumcised the people at Gilgal, chapter 5, verse 2. Then on the fifteenth day in the evening they celebrated the Passover there, chapter 5, verse 10. And when the crops of the land now sufficed to feed the people, the manna ceased to fall, verse 12. On the fifteenth of Nisan, Joshua, commanded by God, marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and finally on the seventh day, which was the twenty-first of Nisan, with the trumpets blasting, the walls of Jericho collapsed. The Hebrews entered and burned it, pronounced an eternal curse, and saved Rahab, whom Salmon son of Nahshon, prince of the tribe of Judah, took as his wife, chapter 6, verses 20 and following.
Mystically, St. Augustine, Sermon 106 On the Seasons: 'What else,' he says, 'is it to say: Prepare food for yourselves for the third day, but: Receive the sacrament of the Trinity? After this, with the Jordan crossed — as if with the mystery of Baptism completed — the people of Israel enter the promised land.'
And Rupert here, chapter 8, considers these things to have been fulfilled allegorically in Jesus Christ, when rising on the third day He said to the Apostles: 'Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,' as if to say: I have risen from the dead on the third day; therefore baptize in My death by a triple immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, so that just as I rose from the dead through the glory of the Father, so you too may walk in newness of life.
'And you shall enter in to possess the land.' — Hebrew: lareschet, that is, 'to inherit,' as if ancestral estates and their own inheritance, so that you may possess the land of Canaan given to you by God as if by hereditary right. St. Augustine adds, Sermon 105 On the Seasons, that God restored Canaan to the Hebrews as if owed to them by right, because, according to tradition, in the division of the world it had fallen to Shem, the son of Noah, but his descendants had been expelled from it by the Canaanites. Hence the Hebrews, descended from Shem, here reclaim it, as owed to them from their ancestor.
Verse 12: To the Reubenites and the Gadites
12. 'And to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh he said.' — These three tribes had requested from Moses a portion of the land situated on this side of the Jordan, and they obtained it from him on the condition that they would go with the other tribes across the Jordan and march armed before them to conquer the rest of Canaan, so that the other tribes might divide it among themselves. The three tribes promised this to Moses; Joshua therefore here demands from them what they had promised. See the commentary on Numbers chapter 32.
13. 'Remember.' — Hebrew: zachor, that is, 'remember,' O three tribes, or 'you ought to remember.' It is an enallage, either of tense or number.
'And all this land' — namely this land on this side of the Jordan, where we are stationed, which belonged to Og and Sihon, kings of the Amorites, which Moses gave to you to possess.
14. 'Cattle' — livestock and flocks. For the Hebrews call these mikne, the Septuagint ktene, that is, 'possession, wealth, substance,' which in ancient times consisted almost entirely of livestock.
'Cross over armed before your brothers.' — 'Before,' that is, in the sight of the other tribes, says Masius. More simply, others take 'before' to mean 'preceding the other tribes,' as our translator [the Vulgate] renders in chapter 4, verse 12. For in this way you will give them courage to invade and possess the land across the Jordan, just as you possess it on this side of the Jordan.
'All the mighty men of valor.' — For although Moses required from all the men of these three tribes the promise of going before the other tribes across the Jordan, he nevertheless allowed Joshua his successor the freedom to call up from among them whomever he wished and as many as were useful or necessary. Joshua therefore called up only the strongest from among them, because he did not need the rest, and the rest had to be left at home to guard the land on this side of the Jordan, lest it be invaded by the Canaanites and other neighbors.
Verse 17: As we obeyed Moses in all things
17. 'As we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you also.' — The fathers of these men had often been rebellious against Moses, and therefore were excluded from the promised land and died in the desert; but their sons were more obedient to Moses, and therefore were led into this land. Or certainly those who said this were those who had obeyed Moses in all things; if others who had sometimes rebelled against Moses said the same, they were indeed lying, but they nonetheless confess that they ought to have obeyed Moses in all things, and in like manner they pledge themselves henceforth to obey Joshua as their new leader.
'Only may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.' — These are wishes of the people, acclaiming their new commander with good wishes, not conditions of his rule — as if to say: For our part, we will obey you in all things. But we pray that God, who chose you as the successor of Moses, may prosper all your undertakings, as we know He did with Moses.
And so it happened. Hence Joshua was to the Hebrews like a second Moses.
A general and leader, therefore, should rely on God alone, and through prayer and piety, innocence, and obedience, should be pleasing and intimate with Him. Hear the Emperor Leo giving golden precepts on this matter to his general in his Tactics, in the Epilogue: 'First, whatever you are about to say or do, let it have its beginning from God, and let nothing be done without calling upon Him and praying to Him. For why should the beginning of things to be done not be taken from God, when God is our Father, the maker and inspector of all our words and deeds, the judge of all thoughts and ideas of the heart, and no creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and open before His eyes, as the most divine Paul says? Therefore, nothing should be done by us apart from His counsel.'
Then he adds another, more divine reason: 'For there is a certain kinship between us and Him, and such an affection as ought to be toward a father. For by His gift we have come into the light and into sight; for Him we ought both to live and to die; by His goodness we are nourished; in Him we live, move, and have our being. We obey Him as much as subjects obey a governor, servants a master, magistrates a king. We are all His, who has all dominion; through Him all things are subject to us, both animate and inanimate, and we worship Him. The entire nature of beasts is governed by us, but we are fed by Him, the Prince of shepherds, who for our sake put on our nature.' See more, by which he establishes and reinforces the same point, and at last concludes his Tactics thus about God and with God: 'Therefore it is fitting that you, Emperor, with a suppliant mind always address prayers to God, and in all things beseech the Author of salvation for whatever is most salutary.'