Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
introduce contemporaneous facts, that do not carry forward the main course of the
history, or loses sight for the time of the strictly historical sequence and simply takes
note of the occurrence of some particular event (vid., Ewald , §136, b. ). The
assertion of modern critics, which Knobel repeats, that this account is out of place in
the series of events as contained in ch. 6-12, is so far correct, that the promulgation of
the law and the renewal of the covenant upon Ebal form no integral part of the
account of the conquest of Canaan; but it by no means proves that this section has
been interpolated by the Jehovist from his first document, or by the last editor of this
book from some other source, and that what is related here did not take place at the
time referred to.
The circumstance that, according to ch. 6-8:29, Joshua had only effected the conquest
of Jericho in the south of the land from Gilgal as a base, and that even in ch. 9 and 10
he was still engaged in the south, by no means involves the impossibility or even the
improbability of a march to Shechem , which was situated further north, where he had
not yet beaten the Canaanites, and had not effected any conquests. The distance from
Ai to Shechem between Gerizim and Ebal is about thirty miles in a straight line.
Robinson made the journey from Bireh (Beeroth) to Sichem on mules in eleven and a
half hours, and that not by the most direct route (Pal. iii. pp. 81-2), and Ai was not
more than an hour to the south of Beeroth; so that Joshua could have gone with the
people from Ai to Gerizim and Ebal in two days without any excessive exertion.
Now, even if the conquests of the Israelites had not extended further north than Ai at
that time, there was no reason why Joshua should be deterred from advancing further
into the land by any fear of attack from the Canaanites, as the people of war who
went with him would be able to repulse any hostile attack; and after the news had
spread of the fate of Ai and Jericho, no Canaanitish king would be likely to venture
upon a conflict with the Israelites alone.
Moreover, Shechem had no king, as we may gather from the list of the thirty-one
kings who were defeated by Joshua. To the further remark of Knobel , that "there was
no reason for their hurrying with this ceremony, and it might have been carried out at
a later period in undisturbed security," we simply reply, that obedience to the
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