Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
my former commentary ( Keil on Joshua, pp. 177-8, Eng. trans.): "However truly the whole Scriptures
speak of each man as individually an object of divine mercy and justice, they teach just as truly that a
nation is one organic whole, in which the individuals are merely members of the same body, and are not
atoms isolated from one another and the whole, since the state as a divine institution is founded upon
family relationship, and intended to promote the love of all to one another and to the invisible Head of all.
As all then are combined in a fellowship established by God, the good or evil deeds of an individual
affect injuriously or beneficially the welfare of the whole society. And, therefore, when we regard the
state as a divine organization and not merely as a civil institution, a compact into which men have entered
by treaty, we fail to discover caprice and injustice in consequences which necessarily follow from the
moral unity of the whole state; namely, that the good or evil deeds of one member are laid to the charge
of the entire body. Caprice and injustice we shall always find if we leave out of sight this fundamental
unity, and merely look at the fact that the many share the consequences of the sin of one.")
Instead of Achan (the reading here and in Josh 22:20) we find Achar in 1 Chron 2:7,
the liquids n and r being interchanged to allow of a play upon the verb `aakar
(OT:5916) in v. 25. Hence in Josephus the name is spelt Acharos , and in the Cod.
Vat. of the LXX Achar , whereas the Cod. Al. has Achan. Instead of Zabdi , we find
Zimri in 1 Chron 2:6, evidently a copyist's error. Zerah was the twin-brother of
Pharez (Gen 38:29-30). Matteh , from naaTaah (OT:5186), to spread out, is used to
denote the tribe according to its genealogical ramifications; whilst shebet (from an
Arabic root signifying "uniform, not curled, but drawn out straight and long with any
curvature at all") was applied to the sceptre or straight staff of a magistrate or ruler
(never to the stick upon which a person rested), and different from matteh not only in
its primary and literal meaning, but also in the derivative meaning tribe , in which it
was used to designate the division of the nation referred to, not according to its
genealogical ramifications and development, but as a corporate body possessing
authority and power. This difference in the ideas expressed by the two words will
explain the variations in their use: for example, matteh is used here (in vv. 1 and 18),
and in Josh 22:1-14, and in fact is the term usually employed in the geographical
sections; whereas shebet is used in vv. 14, 16, in Josh 3:12; 4:2, and on many other
occasions, in those portions of the historical narratives in which the tribes of Israel
are introduced as military powers.
Joshua 7:2-5
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