Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto
me out of the cave.
Joshua then commanded the five kings to be fetched out of the cave, and directed the
leaders of the army to set their feet upon the necks of the kings; and when this had
been done, he ordered the kings to be put to death, and to be hanged upon trees until
the evening, when their bodies were to be thrown into the cave in which they had
concealed themselves. Of course this did not take place till the day after the battle, as
the army could not return from their pursuit of the foe to the camp at Makkedah till
the night after the battle; possibly it did not take place till the second day, if the
pursuit had lasted any longer. In v. 24, "all the men of Israel" are all the warriors in
the camp. hehaalªkuw' (OT:1980), with he artic. , instead of the relative pronoun
(see Ges. §109; Ew. §331, b. ); and the ending uw' for uw or uwn , as in Isa 28:12
(see Ew. §190, b. ).
The fact that the military leaders set their feet at Joshua's command upon the necks of
the conquered kings, was not a sign of barbarity, which it is necessary to excuse by
comparing it with still greater barbarities on the part of the Canaanites, as in Judg 1:7,
but was a symbolical act, a sign of complete subjugation, which was customary in
this sense even in the Eastern empire (see Bynaeus de calceis , p. 318, and Constant.
Porphyrogen de cerimon. aulae Byzant. ii. 19). It was also intended in this instance to
stimulate the Israelites to further conflict with the Canaanites. This is stated in the
words of Joshua (v. 25): "Fear not, nor be dismayed (vid., Josh 1:9; 8:1); for thus
shall the Lord do to all your enemies." On the putting to death and then hanging, see
Josh 8:29 and Deut 21:22-23. The words wgw' wayaasiymuw (OT:7760) (v. 27b) are
generally understood as signifying, that after the bodies of the kings had been cast
into the cave, the Israelites placed large stones before the entrance, just as in other
cases heaps of stones were piled upon the graves of criminals that had been executed
(vid., Josh 7:25), and that these stones remained there till the account before us was
written.
http://207.44.232.113/~bible/comment/ot/k&d/josh/jos61.html (1 of 2) [13/08/2004 01:17:53 p.m.]