that may seem to arise from the matter, whereof these trumpets were composed; but From Josh. i. then it is to be considered, that as the first instruments of this kind were probably made to the end. of horns, so has the notion of the impossibility of boring a ram's-horn been sufficiently. confuted by our learned Spencer. The truth is, every one knows, that in the inside of it there is a softer part which may be drawn out by art; after which it is hollow all the way up, except four or five inches towards the top, part of which is sawed off, to make it broad enough for the mouth, and then the rest is easily bored *. But whether there is any foundation for that fancy of the Jews, that these horns were retained in the proclamation of some of their greatest festivals, in memory of Isaac's being rescued from his father Abraham's knife by the substitution of a ram in his stead, is a point that we leave to the speculations of the curious. Whatever materials these trumpets were made of, it is impossible to conceive that there should be any power in their sound to demolish cities; and though the noise of a great number of people might be very loud, yet still it would require a miracle in Joshua to know, what the just proportion was between their noise and the strength of the walls of Jericho, since the least deviation in this respect would have defeated the whole experiment. What the effect of gunpowder, or of other sulphureous matter fired under ground, or in the bowels of the earth, is, no one that has seen either the springing of a mine, or felt the convulsions of an earthquake, 'needs be told; but that no stratagem of this kind could be employed in the siege of Jericho, is manifest, because the invention of gunpowder is a novel thing, nor had the Israelites been long enough on the western side of Jordan to have undermined its walls, even though they had had the secret of some inflammatory stratum to have lodged under them. On the contrary, the whole process of this siege (if we may so call it) was managed at such a rate, as plainly discovered an expectance of a miracle to be wrought; for had not this been the case, instead of sauntering about the walls for seven days, they should have been working in their trenches, and carrying on their approaches, as we now call it. The art of war was then but in its infancy; and as the manner of undermining and blowing up the most ponderous bodies was what the ancients were unacquainted with, so was the battering-ram an invention of a later date than some imagine. (a) Pliny indeed seems to say, that Epeus first made use of it at the siege of Troy; but, in all probability, (b) Ezekiel is the earliest author that mentions this machine, and perhaps the first time that it was employed was under Nebuchadnezzar at the siege of Jerusalem. But there is no need to ransack history for the confutation of this system, which (c) they who propose it do nevertheless acknowledge, that though the walls of Jericho might have fallen, without any extraordinary act of the Divine power, yet by the circumstances of the whole account, it appears, that this event was altogether miraculous. Nor should Joshua's denouncing an anathema over the vanquished city be thought a thing unprecedented, or a token of a furious and unplacable spirit, since the like practice has been observed by some of the greatest generals of other, nations; forasmuch as (d) Agamemnon, after he had taken Troy, denounced a curse upon those who should at any time attempt to rebuild it; the Romans published a decree of execration against them who should do the like to Carthage; and when (e) Crassus had demolished Sidon, A. M. 2553, (which had been a lurking place to the tyrant Glaucias) he wished the greatest evils &c. or 3803. imaginable upon the head of that man who should but so much as build a wall about 1451, &c. the place where it once stood *. Ant. Chris. or 1608. Of all the questions in the Jewish schools, there is none more difficult than what we are to understand by the Urim and Thummim, which Moses takes notice of, as something belonging to the attire of the high priest, and withal enabling him to give responses to such as by his mediation came to consult, God. (a) The two words are variously translated; but, in the main, all the translations amount much to the same purport; and as this sacred thing (be it what it will) was to be placed on the high priest's breast, it very properly reminded him of the great qualifications requisite in those of his order; light, or sufficiency of spiritual knowledge; and perfection, or the virtue and sanctity of his life. The general opinion indeed is, that this Urim and Thummim were one and the same thing; but (b) an ingenious writer of our own nation conceives them to be two different oracles, and applied to different purposes: that Urim was the oracle whereby God gave answer to those who consulted him in difficult cases, and Thummim, that whereby the high priest knew whether God did accept the sacrifice or no; that therefore the former is called light, as giving knowledge, which dispels the darkness of our minds {.. and the other integrity or perfection, because they whose sacrifices God accepted, were accounted hummim, i. e. just and righteous in his sight. In short, that by the former the Jews were ascertained of the counsel or will of God; by the latter, of his favour and good acceptance. But this distinction has not met with a general approbation, because, however there may be (c) passages where the one is mentioned without the other, yet in this case, the one (which is generally the Urim) may well enough be supposed to include both. The Jewish doctors are mostly of opinion, that the Urim and Thummim were nothing else but the precious stones which were set upon the breast-plate; and that (d) by the shining or protuberating of the letters in the names of the twelve tribes engraven upon the twelve stones, the high priest, when he came to consult God, could read the answer; but in this opinion there are some difficulties hardly to be surmounted. For, besides that all the letters in the Hebrew alphabet are not to be found on the pectoral, since there are four, viz. Heth, Teth, Zade, and Koph manifestly wanting; (e) the question is, By what rules the high priest could make a combination of these letters, (supposing there were enough of them) and so put them together as to spell out the Divine oracle; because it is not pretended that these letters moved out of their places, but only swelled or raised themselves above the rest? Suppose, for instance, that any six of these letters should have swelled or shone with a more than ordinary lustre, yet how should the high priest know to dispose of them in right order, and which should be first, and which last? If it be said-By the spirit of prophecy this vacates all the ne * [All these events were long posterior to the destruction of Jericho, and though they had not, the conduct of Agamemnon or Crassus could have served nothing to the vindication of Joshua. The case appears to have been this,-Jericho was taken and destroyed in so singular a manner, that it seems to have been the wish of the Hebrew leader, approved by God, to preserve a memorial of one of the greatest miracles that were wrought for Israel, by leaving the ruins of the city as a monument, to the latest posterity, of the power of the God of Israel, and his hatred of polytheism, and of such vices as sprang from polytheism, and were practised in Jericho. Accordingly Joshua adjured the elders of the people, or made them bind themselves by a solemn oath, to leave the ruins of the city, as a perpetual warning to their posterity of the consequences of idolatry and vice; and to give additional sanctity to the oath, he pronounced a curse up. on any one of them or their descendants, by whom it should be violated. It was one of the many extraordinary precautions taken to preserve the Israelites from worshipping the idol deities of the surrounding na、 tions.] (a) Edwards's Enquiry into difficult Texts, part ii. (c) Numb. xxvii. 21. 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. cessity of the Urim and Thummim; because a prophetic spirit would teach him what from Josh. i. he desired to know, without any farther assistance. (a) Christophorus à Castro, and from him (b) Dr Spencer, will needs have it, that this Urim and Thummim were two little images (much of the same make with the Gentile teraphim), which, being folded in the doubling of the breast-plate, did from thence give oracular answers by an audible voice, and that this device was taken from the Egyptians But, besides that the word teraphim (to which these others were compared) is seldom or never taken in a good sense, it seems a little improbable that, in a matter so solemn and sacred, the Jews should be left to follow the example of the idolatrous Egyptians. (c) The Sacred Records indeed inform us, that the Jews borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and gold, and raiment; but they nowhere intimate that the Jewish high priest borrowed his pontifical, and particularly his oracular, habit from them: And therefore to think that God, who declares himself so positively against the idolatrous practice of the Gentiles, should, by these images of Pagan invention, take the ready way to give them countenance and encouragement, or to think that the Jews, who were expressly commanded not to "learn the way of the heathen; and (d) after the doings of the land of Egypt, where they had dwelt, not to do;" were permitted, nay, commanded to make use of this magical and superstitious rite, is such an heap of odd and wild conceits, as no unprejudiced mind can ever entertain. Others therefore are of opinion, that it was the tetragrammaton, or ineffable name of God; and others, that it was no more than two plain words Urim and Thummim written or engraven on some plate of gold or precious stones, which, when placed upon the pectoral, would give it an oracular power: (e) But the most probable opinion is, that it was no corporeal thing at all, but only a certain virtue (which God was pleased to give to the breast-plate at its consecration) of obtaining an oracular answer from him, whenever the high priest should put it on in order to ask counsel of him in the manner that he had appointed; and that the names of Urim and Thummim were given it, only to denote the clearness and perspicuity which those answers of God had, viz. that they were not like the heathen oracles, enigmatical and ambiguous, but plain and manifest, and such as never fell short of perfection, either in the fulness of the answer, or the certainty of the truth of it. Whether this oracle was only consulted in the great and important affairs of the state, or might be advised with in questions of a lower nature, is not entirely determined by the learned; but the most prevailing opinion is, that the high priest (who was the only officiating minister in this ceremony) was not allowed to address it for any private person, but only for the king, the president of the sanhedrim, the general of the army, or some other public governor in Israel; and that, not upon any private affairs, but such only as related to the public interest of the nation, whether in church or state. When therefore any such matter happened, wherein it was necessary to consult God, the custom was for the high priest to put on his robes and breast-plate, and so present himself, not within the veil of the holy of holies, (for thither he never entered but once a year, on the great day of expiation), but without the veil in the holy place, and there standing with his face directly towards the ark or mercy-seat, whereon the Divine presence rested, he propounded the matter; and, at some distance behind him, but without the holy place, stood the person, for whom the oracle was consulted, in devout expectation of the answer, which (as (ƒ) it seems most congruous to the thing) was given him in an audible voice from the mercy-seat, which was within behind the veil. Here it was that Moses went to ask counsel of God in all cases; and from hence he was answered in an audible voice: And, in like manner, whenever the high priest pre (a) De Vaticinio. (d) Levit. xviii. 3. (b) Dissert. de Urim et Thummim. (e) Prideaux's Connection, part i. lib. 3. (c) Edwards's Enquiry, part ii. to the end. &c. or 3803. Ant. Chris. or 1608. A. M. 2553, sented himself before God, according to the prescription of the Divine law, it is reasonable to believe that God gave him an answer in the same way that he did Moses, i. e. 1451, &c. by an audible voice from the mercy-seat: And for this reason it is, that such address for council is called " enquiring at the mouth of God;" and the holy of holies (the place where the mercy-seat stood, and from which the answer was given) is so often in Scripture styled (a) the oracle, because from thence were the oracles of God delivered to such as came to ask counsel of him. *Such was the standing oracle which the Israelites might have had recourse to upon all important occasions; and if, in their league with the Gibeonites, they were too hasty and precipitate, their unadvisedness is only to be blamed, and not the insufficiency of that means which God had appointed for their better information. The short of the matter is, the pretended foreign ambassadors drew them in by a wile and artifice. The story of their old shoes and mouldy bread was so well contrived, and seemed so very plausible, that they took the thing for granted, as we say. (b) "They took of their victuals" (as the text expresses it), or received them, without any farther enquiry, upon the account of the staleness of their provision, and (c) “ asked not counsel of the mouth of the Lord;" and therefore no wonder that God should suffer them to be outwitted, when they had an infallible Director so near at hand, and yet in a matter of such moment as that of entering into a national treaty, never once bethought themselves to consult him. But there was a greater error in their conduct with relation to the Gibeonites. The orders and directions which God gave them, when they entered into a state of war, were to this effect.-(d) That to all cities which upon their summons surrendered to them, they were to give quarter; to save their lives, but at the same time to make them their slaves and tributaries; but that to such as slighted their summons and stood upon their defence, they were not to use the same treatment. If they were a distant nation, or not belonging to the country of Canaan, upon their taking any place they were to put the men only to the sword, sparing the women and children and other living creatures that were found in it; but if they were a neighbouring or Canaanitish state, that stood out and resisted, they were to destroy all without exception, and save alive nothing that breathed. In the whole, however, there was this injunction, that of what country soever the people were, and whether they resisted or resisted not, the Israelites were to make no (e)" covenant with them nor with their gods;" and the reason hereof is this-(ƒ) That as a league between two nations implies, in the very notion of it, their having upon some terms given their faith to each other, to observe punctually, (a) Exod xxv. 18. 20. chap. xxxvii. 6. Lev. xvi. 2. 1 Kings vi. 5, &c. 2. Chron. iii. 16. chap. iv. 20, &c. Psal. xxviii. 2. *The Jewish doctors think that the custom of consulting God by Urim and Thummim continued no longer than under the tabernacle: For it is a maxim among them, that the Holy Spirit spake to the children of Israel by Urim and Thummim, while the tabernacle lasted, under the first temple, i. e. the temple of Solomon, by the prophets; and under the second temple, or after the captivity of Babylon, by the bath-col, or daughter of the voice, by which they mean a voice sent from heaven, such as was heard at our Saviour's baptism and transfiguration, Matth. iii. 17. Our learned Spencer seems to have adopted this opinion, and endeavours to support it by these arguments, viz. That the Urim and Thummim were a consequence of the theocracy of the Hebrews; for, while the Lord immediately governed his people, it was necessary that there should always be a means (b) Josh. ix. 14. what had been stipulated between them; and as, when such public faith was given and From Josh. i. taken, the parties to the treaty swore solemnly to each other by their respective gods; to the end. the Israelites, who looked upon the gods of these nations as vanity and nothing, who were obliged to (a) " overthrow their altars, burn their groves, hew down their images," and utterly extirpate their religion, were totally debarred from entering into any treaty or alliance with them, because they could not recognise their idols as gods, nor take any public faith from the worshippers of them. For so the people seem to say to the Gibeonites at their first coming into the camp to propose a treaty," peradventure you dwell among us," are some of those neighbouring nations whom we are ordered to destroy, whose gods we are to drive out, and whose country we are come to take possession of," and how shall we make a league with you?" The interdiction we are under will not permit us; and therefore if you pretend to impose upon us in this matter, the covenant of course is null and invalid; and so in reality it was.' 6 It is reasonable however to imagine, that, after the fraud of the Gibeonites was discovered, the princes of Israel might reflect upon their neglect in not consulting the Divine oracle before; and, as the peace which they had entered into was plainly repugnant to God's command of exterminating all the Canaanites, the question was, what they should do in this case, whether abide by the treaty, and so postpone the command? or execute the command, and so disannul the treaty? The whole stress of the question turns upon this-(b) Whether God commanded the Israelites to destroy all the people of Canaan absolutely, and without exception? or whether he allowed them to spare such as voluntarily submitted themselves, and came to implore their pity and protection? The words of the injunction in this case are full and express enough; (c) " When thou goest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it; and if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then shall all the people that are found therein be tributaries to thee, and shall serve thee-Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, and which are not of these Canaanitish nations. But of the cities of these people which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth, but shall utterly destroy them, that they teach thee not to do all their abominations. which they have done to their gods." But here some great writers have observed, that this utter extinction of the Canaanitish nations, considering the reasons that are given for it both here and (d) elsewhere, is to be looked upon (e) as a permission rather than a positive command, and should, at least, (f) be understood with this limitation, "unless they immediately submitted, renounced their idolatry, and did every thing that was enjoined them." And to this purpose (g) the Jews have a tradition, that Joshua, before he declared war against the seven nations, wrote letters to them, wherein he offered them three conditions-That, if they were minded to depart, they should quit the country immediately; if they were desirous to make peace, they should come and treat with the Israelites; but, that if they intended to fight it out, they might betake themselves to their arms; And they farther add, that the first of these conditions the Girgashites embraced, and fled into Egypt; the second the Gibeonites accepted, and made a league with Joshua; and the third the confede rate kings made their choice, when they took up arms against the Israelites and were all defeated. But this is no more than a bare hypothesis, invented on purpose to solve the difficulty, and seems not to have near so good a foundation as that which supposes that the princes of Israel, remembering their former omission and their insecurity in acting upon their own bottom, might, in this perplexity, have recourse to God for advice, and that (a) Deut. xii. 3. Deut. xx. 10, &c. (b) Puffendorf, de Jure Gent. lib. iv. cap. 2. sect. 7. de Juramentis, &c. (f) Grotius, de Jure Belli, lib. ii. cap. 13. |