Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD
God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
Achan then acknowledge his sin, and confessed that he had appropriated to himself
from among the booty a beautiful Babylonish cloak, 200 shekels of silver, and a
tongue of gold of 50 shekels weight. The form waa'erª'eh (OT:7200) is not to be
abbreviated into waa'eere' (OT:7200), according to the Keri , as the form is by no
means rare in verbs l''h . "A Babylonish cloak" ( lit. a cloak of Shinar, or Babylon) is
a costly cloak, artistically worked, such as were manufactured in Babylon, and
distributed far and wide through the medium of commerce.
(Note: Plinius h. n. viii. 48: Colores diversos picturae vestium intexere Babylon maxime celebravit et
nomen imposuit. (See Heeren Ideen. i. 2, pp. 205ff., and Movers Phönizier , ii. 3, pp. 258ff.) The Sept.
rendering is psilee' poiki'lee , i.e., a Babylonian cloak ornamented with pictures. It is called psilee'
because it was cut smooth, and poiki'lee (NT:4164) because it was covered with coloured figures, either
of men or animals, sometimes woven, at other times worked with the needle ( Fischer de vers. graec.
libr. V. T. pp. 87-8).)
Two hundred shekels of silver was about £25. "A tongue of gold" (according to
Luther , "ornaments made in the shape of tongues") was certainly a golden ornament
in the form of a tongue, the use of which is unknown; it was of considerable size, as it
weighed 50 shekels, i.e., 13,700 grains. It is not necessary to suppose that it was a
golden dagger, as many do, simply because the ancient Romans gave the name
lingula to an oblong dagger formed in the shape of a tongue. Achan had hidden these
things in the ground in the midst of his tent, and the silver "under it," i.e., under these
things (the suffix is neuter, and must be understood as referring to all the things with
the exception of the silver). The Babylonish cloak and the tongue of gold were
probably placed in a chest; at any rate they would be carefully packed up, and the
silver was placed underneath. The article in haa'aahaaliy (OT:168), which occurs
twice, as it also does in Josh 8:33; Lev 27:33; Mic 2:12, is probably to be explained
in the manner suggested by Hengstenberg , viz., that the article and noun became so
fused into one, that the former lost its proper force.
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