JOSHUA, VI.
[vv. 26, 27.
26, 27. The Curse upon Jericho. And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho : he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstbom, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. 21 So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country. 26
ll6, 27.
THE CURSE UPON JERICHO.
ll6. adjured them] i. e. " put an oath upon them." Cursed be the man] A city, which was cherem or "devoted," could
not be rebuilt, Deut. xiii. 15, 16, 17. Joshua therefore pronounces an imprecation on the foundation of Jericho. The words "have a rhythmical and antistrophical form; which was probably adopted for greater solemnity, and to impress them more deeply on the memories of the people." Bp Wordsworth. and buildeth] So Agamemnon is said to have uttered a curse upon Ilium, and Scipio upon Carthage. Here the curse is to be understood as extending only to the walls and gates of Jericho, or a fortified place, on which, as bidding proud defiance to the host, the attention of Joshua, as a military leader, would chiefly fasten. Comp. 1 Kings xv. 17; 2 Chron. xi. 5. He himself gave.it to the Benjamites Gosh. xviii. u), and it was inhabited in the time of the Judges (Judg. iii. 13; 2 Sam. x. 5). he shall lay the foundation] What the prophecy foretells is that the beginning of the building would be marked by the death of the builder's eldest son, and the end of it by the death of his youngest. Comp. Jos. Antiq. v. 1. 8. In the ungodly reign of Ahab the prophecy was fulfilled; Hie!, a native of Bethel, "built Jericho; he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstbom, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua" (1 Kings xvi. 34). Observe the incidents connected with Jericho in the life of the Antitype of the first J oshna. Here He entered into the house of Zacchreus (Luke xix. 5, 9); here He healed blind Bartimreus (Mark x. 46, 52); He mentioned Jericho in the parable of "the Good Samaritan" (Luke x. 30); in the vicinity of the city He repeated the announcement of His coming sufferings (Luke xviii. 31). 27. So the Lord was with J'oshua) He and He alone had achieved the victory for His people, and they had " stood still" and '' seen the salvation of Jehovah" {Exod. xiv. 13; 2 Chron. xx. 17):. (a) The entrance into Canaan itself had been effected by the miraculous receding of the waters of the Jordan; (b) The walls of the city had fallen down flat, not before Israel, but before the Ark of Jehovah, Whose presence was ever connected with its golden Mercy-Seat; (c) When it had been bestowed upon the people as a free gift, without any effort on their part, all that it contained was devoted