_THE INHERITANCE OF JUDAH._[20]
JOSHUA xv.
[20] We do not encumber our exposition with a discussion of the
extraordinary theory of Wellhausen, to the effect that Judah and
Simeon, with Levi, were the first to cross the Jordan and attack
the Canaanites; that Simeon and Levi were all but annihilated;
that Joshua, who belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, did little more
than settle that tribe; and that there was hardly such a thing as
united action by the tribes, most of them having acted and fought
at their own hand. This theory rests professedly on the ground
that Judges i. is a more true and trustworthy account of the
settlement than the narrative of Joshua. It is a strange proof of
the greater truthfulness of Judges that, according to this theory,
its very first statement should be a lie--"It came to pass _after
the death of Joshua_!" The narrative of Judges naturally follows
that of Joshua because it is plain that while Joshua secured for
his people standing ground in the country, he did not secure
undisturbed possession. Joshua set them an example of faith and
courage which, if followed up by them, would have secured
undisturbed possession; but with few exceptions they preferred to
tolerate the Canaanites at their side, instead of making a
vigorous effort to dispossess them wholly.
Judah was the imperial tribe, and it was fitting that he should be
planted in a conspicuous territory. Even if the republic had not been
destined to give place to the monarchy, some pre-eminence was due to
the tribe which had inherited the patriarchal blessing, and from which
He was to come in whom all the families of the earth were to be
blessed. Judah and the sons of Joseph seem to have obtained their
settlements not only before the other tribes, but in a different
manner. They did not obtain them by lot, but apparently by their own
choice and by early possession. Judah was not planted in the heart of
the country. That position was gained by Ephraim and Manasseh, the
children of Joseph, while Judah obtained the southern section. In this
position his influence was not so commanding at first as it would have
been had he occupied the centre. The portion taken possession of by
Judah had belonged to the first batch of kings that Joshua
subdued,--the kings that came up to take vengeance on the Gibeonites.
What was first assigned to Judah was too large, and the tribe of
Simeon got accommodation within his lot (chap. xix. 9). Dan also
obtained several cities that had first been given to Judah (comp.
chaps. xv. 21-62 and xix. 40-46). In point of fact, Judah ere long
swallowed up a great part of Simeon and Dan, and Benjamin was so
hemmed in between him and Ephraim that, while Jerusalem was situated
within the limits of Benjamin, it was, for all practical purposes, a
city of Judah.
The territory of Judah was not pre-eminently fruitful; it was not
equal in this respect to that of Ephraim and Manasseh. It had some
fertile tracts, but a considerable part of it was mountainous and
barren. It was of four descriptions--the hill country, the valley or
low country, the south, and the wilderness. "The hill country," says
Dean Stanley, "is the part of Palestine which best exemplifies its
characteristic scenery; the rounded hills, the broad valleys, the
scanty vegetation, the villages and fortresses sometimes standing,
more frequently in ruins, on the hill tops; the wells in every valley,
the vestiges of terraces whether for corn or wine." Here the lion of
the tribe of Judah entrenched himself, to guard the southern frontier
of the Chosen Land, with Simeon, Dan, and Benjamin nestled around him.
Well might he be so named in this wild country, more than half a
wilderness, the lair of savage beasts, of which the traces gradually
disappear as we advance into the interior. Fixed there, and never
dislodged, except by the ruin of the whole nation, "he lay down, he
couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?"
Many parts of Judah were adapted for the growth of corn: witness
Bethlehem, "the house of bread." But the cultivation of the vine was
pre-eminently the feature of the tribe. "Here more than elsewhere in
Palestine are to be seen on the sides of the hills the vineyards,
marked by their watch-towers and walls, seated on their ancient
terraces, the earliest and latest symbol of Judah. The elevation of
the hills and table-lands of Judah is the true climate of the vine. He
'bound his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice
vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of
grapes.' It was from the Judæan valley of Eshcol, 'the torrent of the
cluster,' that the spies cut down the gigantic cluster of grapes. 'A
vineyard on a "hill of olives"' with the 'fence,' and 'the stones
gathered out,' and the tower in 'the midst of it,' is the natural
figure which both in the prophetical and evangelical records
represents the kingdom of Judah. The 'vine' was the emblem of the
nation on the coins of the Maccabees, and in the colossal cluster of
golden grapes which overhung the porch of the second Temple; and the
grapes of Judah still mark the tombstones of the Hebrew race in the
oldest of their European cemeteries at Prague."[21]
[21] Stanley's "Sinai and Palestine."
The chapter now before us has a particularly barren look; but if we
examine it with care we shall find it not deficient in elements of
interest.
1. First, we have an elaborate delineation of the boundaries of the
territory allotted to Judah. It is not difficult to follow the
boundary line in the main, though some of the names cannot be
identified now. The southern border began at the wilderness of Zin,
where the host had been encamped more than forty years before, when
the twelve spies returned with their report of the land. The line
moved in a south-westerly course till it reached "the river of Egypt"
and the sea shore. What this "river of Egypt" was is far from clear.
Naturally one thinks of the Nile, the only stream that seems to be
entitled to such an appellation. On the other hand, the term
translated "river" is commonly though not always, applied to brooks or
shallow torrents, and hence it has been thought to denote a brook, now
called El Arish, about midway in the desert between Gaza and the
Pelusiac mouth of the Nile. While we incline to the former view, we
own that practically the question is of little consequence; the only
difference being that if the boundary reached to the Nile, it included
a larger share of the desert than if it had a more northerly limit.
The Dead Sea was the chief part of the eastern frontier. The northern
boundary began near Gilgal, and stretched westwards to the
Mediterranean by a line that passed just south of Jerusalem.
The position of Judah was peculiar, in respect of the enemies by whom
he was surrounded. On his eastern frontier, close to the Dead Sea, he
was in contact with Moab, and on the south with Edom, the descendants
of Esau. On the south-west were the Amalekites of the desert; and on
the west the Philistines, and pre-eminent among them, until Caleb
subdued them, the sons of Anak, the giants. On his extreme north, but
within the tribe of Benjamin, was the great fortress of the Jebusites.
It was no bed of roses that was thus prepared for the lion of the
tribe of Judah. If he should rule at all, he must rule in the midst of
his enemies. Hemmed in by fierce foes on every side, he needed to show
his prowess if he was to prevail against them. It was the necessity of
contending with these and other enemies that developed the military
genius of David (1 Sam. xvii. 50, xviii. 5, 17, 27, xxvii. 8), and
made him the fitting type of the heavenly warrior who goes forth
"conquering and to conquer." The vigilance that was needed to keep
these enemies at bay was one means of preserving the vigour and
independence of the tribe. Living thus in the very heart of foes,
Judah was the better fitted to symbolize the Church of Christ, as she
is usually found when faithful to her high calling. "Behold, I send
you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves." "We wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places." As long as the Church is militant, it cannot be
otherwise; and it little becomes her either to complain on the one
hand, or be despondent on the other, however strong and bitter the
opposition or even the persecution of her foes.
2. Next, a little episode comes into our narrative (vv. 13-19), in
connection with a special allocation of territory within the tribe.
The incident of Caleb is rehearsed, as an introduction to the
narrative that follows. Caleb, on the strength of his promise to
drive out the Anakim, had got Hebron for his inheritance, and a
portion of the country around. Near to Hebron, but on a site now
unknown, stood Debir, or Kirjath-sepher, apparently a stronghold of
the Anakim. We do not know the circumstances that induced Caleb to put
this place up, as it were, to public competition. Whoever should
capture it was promised his daughter Achsah in marriage. Othniel, who
is called his younger brother, which may perhaps mean his brother's
son, took the place, and, according to the bargain, got Achsah for his
wife. The capture of Debir is recorded twice, here and in Judges i.
14, 15, and in the latter case with the addition of an incident that
followed the marriage, as if in both cases it had been copied from an
older record. Achsah was evidently a woman who could look well after
her interests. She was not satisfied with the portion of land that
fell to Othniel. There was a certain field besides, on which she had
set her affection, and which she induced her husband to ask of Caleb.
This he appears to have obtained. Then she herself turned supplicant,
and having gone to Caleb and lighted down from off her ass,[22] and
Caleb having said to her, "What wouldest thou?" she said unto her
father, "Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give
me also springs of water." ["And she said, Give me a blessing
(_margin_, present); for thou hast set me in the land of the south;
give me also springs of water," R.V.] Her request was granted:--"he
gave her the upper springs and the nether springs."
[22] Founding on the expression, "having lighted off her ass",
some have thought that she feigned to fall off, and that her
father coming to help her in the compassionate spirit one shows in
a case of accident, she took the opportunity to ask and obtain
this gift. The explanation is far-fetched if not foolish. Her
dismounting is explained by the universal custom when one met a
person of superior rank. Comp. Gen. xxiv. 64. See Kitto's
"Pictorial Commentary."
The incident, though picturesque, is somewhat strange, and we
naturally ask, why should it have a place in the dry narrative of the
settlement? Possibly for the very reason that what concerns the
settlement was very dry, and that an incident like this gave it
something of living interest. Those who lived at the time must have
had a special interest in the matter, for in Judges i. 14 it is said
that Achsah moved Othniel to ask of her father "_the_ field" (_Heb._),
implying that it was a particular field, well known to the public. The
moral interest of the narrative is the light it throws on the
generosity of Caleb. His son-in-law asked of him a field, a field
apparently of special value; he got it: his daughter asked springs of
water, and she too gained her request. We contrast Caleb with Saul, as
we afterwards read of him. In no such fashion was David treated by his
father-in-law, after his brilliant victories over the Philistines. So
far was he from acquiring field or fountain, that he did not even
acquire his wife:--"It came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's
daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given unto
Adriel the Meholathite to wife" (1 Sam. xviii. 19). Caleb had another
spirit with him. He had the heart of a father, he had a genuine
interest in his daughter and son-in-law, and desired to see them
comfortable and happy. Kindly and large-hearted, he at once
transferred to them valuable possessions that a greedier man would
have kept for himself. Evidently he was one of those godlike men that
enjoy giving, that have more pleasure in making others happy than in
multiplying their own store. "The liberal man deviseth liberal things,
and by liberal things shall he stand." "There is that scattereth, and
yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and
it tendeth to poverty."
It is no great wonder that an incident which reveals the flowing
generosity of a godlike heart, should sometimes be turned to account
as a symbol of the liberality of God. All human generosity is but a
drop from the ocean of the Divine bounty, a faint shadow of the
inexhaustible substance. "If ye that are evil know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give
good things to them that ask Him?" If in the earthly father's bosom
there be that interest in the welfare of his children which is eager
to help them where help is needed and it is in his power to give it,
how much more in the bosom of the Father in heaven? Why should any be
backward to apply to Him--to say to Him, like Achsah, "Give me a
blessing"? It pleases Him to see His children reposing trust in Him,
believing in His infinite love. All that He asks of us is to come to
Him through Jesus Christ, acknowledging our unworthiness, and pleading
the merit of His sacrifice and intercession, as our only ground of
acceptance in His sight. After His revelation of His grace in Christ
our requests cannot be restricted to mere temporal things; when we ask
a blessing it must be one of higher scope and quality. Yet such is His
bounty that nothing can be withheld that is really for our good. "No
good thing will the Lord withhold from them that walk uprightly."
"Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord; if I will not open to you the
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be
room enough to receive it."
3. We leave this picturesque incident to re-enter the wilderness of
unfamiliar names. We find a list of no fewer than a hundred and
fifteen cities which lay within the confines of the tribe of Judah
(vv. 21-32). They fall into four divisions. First, twenty-nine cities
belonged to "the south"--the "Negeb" of the Hebrews, the part of the
country which bordered on the desert, and to some degree partook of
its character. Cities they are called, but few of them were more than
villages, and hardly any were important enough to leave their mark on
the history. There are two, however, having memorable associations
with men of mark, the one carrying us back to a glorious past, the
other forward to a disgraceful future. Strange association--Abraham
and Judas Iscariot! With Beersheba the name of Abraham is imperishably
associated, as well as the name of Isaac. And to this day the very
name Beersheba seems to emit a holy fragrance. With Kerioth (ver. 25)
we connect the traitor Judas--the Is-cariot of the New Testament being
equivalent to Ish-Kerioth, a man of Kerioth, of the Old. Our heart
fills with a sense of nausea as we recall the association. The traitor
was doubly connected with the tribe of Judah,--by his name and by his
birthplace. What mockery of a noble name! "Judah, thou art he whom thy
brethren shall praise." What contrast could be greater than that
between the Judah who surrendered himself to slavery to set his
brother free, and the Judah who sold his Lord for thirty pieces of
silver! What extremes of character may we find under the same name,
and often in the same family! Strange that so few are drawn by the
example of the noble, and so many follow the course of the vile!
The next division, "the valley," the lowland, or Shephelah, embraced
three subdivisions--the north-eastern Shephelah with her fourteen
towns (vv. 33-36), the middle, with sixteen (vv. 37-41), and the
southern, with nine (vv. 42-44); to which are added three of the
cities of the Philistines,--Ekron, Ashdod, and Gaza (vv. 45-47). Many
of the places in this list became famous in the history. Eshtaol and
Zorah were of note in the history of Samson, but in his time they were
Danite settlements. Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, and Makkedah had been
conspicuous in Joshua's great battle of Bethhoron. Adullam and Keilah
figured afterwards in David's outlaw history, and Ashdod and Ekron
were two of the Philistine cities to which the ark was taken after the
battle of Ebenezer and Aphek (1 Sam. iv. 1, v. 1, 10). In later years
Lachish and Libnah were among the places attacked by Sennacherib, King
of Assyria, in his great raid upon the country (Isa. xxxvii. 8).
The third great group of cities were those of "the mountain," or
highlands. These were mostly in the central part of the territory, on
the plateau or ridge that runs along it, rising up from the valley of
the Dead Sea on the east, and the Shephelah, or "valley," on the west.
Here there were four groups of cities: eleven on the south-west (vv.
48-51), nine farther north (vv. 52-54), ten to the east (vv. 55-57),
and six to the north (vv. 58, 59), along with Kirjath-baal and Rabbah
in the same neighbourhood. This group included Hebron, of which we
hear so much; also Carmel, Maon, and Ziph, conspicuous in the outlaw
life of David. It is remarkable that there is no mention of Bethlehem,
which lay in "the mountain": it probably had not yet attained to the
rank of a town. But its very omission may be regarded as a proof of
the contemporaneous date of the book; for soon after Bethlehem was a
well-known place (Ruth i.-iv.), and if the Book of Joshua had been
written at the late date sometimes assigned to it, that city could not
have failed to have a place in the enumeration.
A fourth group of cities were in "the wilderness" or Migdar. This was
a wild rocky region extending between the Dead Sea and the mountains
of Hebron. "It is a plateau of white chalk, terminated on the east by
cliffs which rise vertically from the Dead Sea shore to a height of
about two thousand feet. The scenery is barren and wild beyond all
description. The chalky ridges are scored by innumerable torrents, and
their narrow crests are separated by broad, flat valleys. Peaks and
knolls of fantastic forms rise suddenly from the swelling downs, and
magnificent precipices of rugged limestone stand up like fortress
walls above the sea. Not a tree nor a spring is visible in the waste;
and only the desert partridge and the ibex are found ranging the
solitude."[23] This district was in large measure the scene of David's
wanderings, and well might he call it "a dry and thirsty land where
there is no water" (Psalm lxiii. 1). It was also the scene of the
preaching of John the Baptist, at least at the beginning (Matt. iii.
1); for when the administration of baptism became common, it was
necessary for him to remove to a better-watered region (John iii. 23).
There is some reason to believe that it was also the scene of our
Lord's temptation (Matt. iv. 1), the more especially because one of
the Evangelists has said that "He was there with the wild beasts"
(Mark i. 12).
[23] Conder's "Handbook to the Bible," pp. 213, 214.
Only six cities are enumerated as "in the wilderness" (vv. 61, 62), so
that its population must have been very small. And of those mentioned
some are wholly unknown. The most interesting of the six is Engedi,
which derived its name from a celebrated fountain, meaning "fountain
of the kid." It is noted as one of the hiding-places of David; Saul
pursued him to it, and it was there that David spared his life when he
found him in a cave (1 Sam. xxiv.). Solomon extols its vineyards and
its camphire (Song of Solomon i. 14) [henna-flowers, R.V.], Josephus
its balsam (Ant., ix. 1, § 2), and Pliny its palms (v. 17). In ancient
times it was the site of a town, and in the fourth century, in
Jerome's time, there was still a considerable village; now, however,
there is no trace of anything of the kind. Sir Walter Scott, in the
"Talisman," makes it the abode of a Christian hermit--Theodoric of
Engaddi. It is situated near the middle of the western shore of the
Dead Sea. A rich plain, half a mile square, slopes gently from the
base of the mountains to the sea; and about a mile up the western
acclivity, four hundred feet above the plain, is the fountain of Ain
Jiddy, from which the place gets its name.
Such, then, was the distribution of the cities of Judah over the four
sections of the territory, the south, the Shephelah, the highlands,
and the wilderness. It was an ample and varied domain, and after Caleb
expelled the Anakim, there seems to have been little or no opposition
to the occupation of the whole by the tribe. But "the crook in the
lot" was not wanting. The great Jebusite fortress, Jerusalem, was on
the very edge of the northern boundary of Judah. Nominally, as we have
said, Jerusalem was in the territory of Benjamin, but really it was a
city of Judah. For it is said (ver. 63), "As for the Jebusites, the
children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwell
with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day."[24] For some
reason Joshua had omitted to take possession of this stronghold after
the battle of Bethhoron. The stream of pursuit had gone westward, and
the opportunity of taking Jerusalem when the king had been slain and
his army cut to pieces, was lost. And just as in modern history, when
the opportunity of taking Sebastopol was lost after the battle of the
Alma, and a long, harassing and most disastrous siege had to be
resorted to, so it was with Jerusalem; the Jebusites, recovering their
spirits after the defeat, were able to hold it, and to defy the tribe
of Judah, and all the tribes, for many a long year. While the fortress
was held by the Jebusites, Jew and Jebusite dwelt together in the
city, leading no doubt a comfortless life, neither the one nor the
other feeling truly at home.
[24] A proof that Joshua was written before the time of David.
The moral is not far to seek. There is a crisis in some men's lives,
when they come under the power of religion, and feel the obligation to
live to God. If they had decision and courage enough at this crisis to
break off all sinful habits and connections, to renounce all
unchristian ways of life, to declare with Joshua, "As for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord,"--they would no doubt experience a
sharp opposition, but it would pass over, and peace would come. But
often they hesitate, and shrink, and cower; they cannot endure
opposition and ridicule; they retain religion enough to appease their
consciences, but not to give them satisfaction and joy. It is another
case of the men of Judah dwelling with the Jebusites, and with the
same result; they are not happy, they are not at rest; they bring
little or no honour to their Master, and they have little influence on
the world for good.