Joshua 24:32

_AND THE BONES OF JOSEPH, WHICH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BROUGHT UP OUT OF EGYPT, BURIED THEY IN SHECHEM, IN A PARCEL OF GROUND WHICH JACOB BOUGHT OF THE SONS OF HAMOR THE FATHER OF SHECHEM FOR AN HUNDRED PIECES OF SILVER: AND IT BECAME THE INHERITANCE OF THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH._ The bones of Joseph. They had carried these venerable relics with them in all their migrations through the desert, and deferred the burial, according to the dying charge of Joseph himself, until they arrived at the promised land. The sarcophagus in which his mummied body had been put was brought hither by the Israelites, and probably buried when the tribe of Ephraim had obtained their settlement, or at the solemn convocation described in this chapter. IN A PARCEL OF GROUND WHICH JACOB BOUGHT ... FOR AN HUNDRED PIECES OF SILVER. Kesitah, translated 'piece of silver,' is supposed to mean a lamb, the weights being...

32._And the bones of Joseph, _etc The time when the bones of Joseph were buried is not mentioned; but it is easy to infer that the Israelites had performed this duty after they obtained a peaceful habitation in the city of Shechem. For although he had not designated a particular place for a sepulchre, they thought it a mark of respect to deposit his bones in the field which Jacob had purchased. It may be, however, that this is expressed as a censure on the sluggishness of the people, to which it was owing, that Joseph could not be buried with Abraham, that locality being still in the power of the enemy. Stephen (Acts 7:0) mentions the bones of the twelve patriarchs, and it is not impossible that the other tribes, from feelings of emulation, gathered together the ashes of their progenitors. It is there said that the field was purchased by Abraham; but obviously an error in the name has

29-33 Joseph died in Egypt, but gave commandment concerning his bones, that they should not rest in their grave till Israel had rest in the land of promise. Notice also the death and burial of Joshua, and of Eleazar the chief priest. The most useful men, having served their generation, according to the will of God, one after another, fall asleep and see corruption. But Jesus, having spent and ended his life on earth more effectually than either Joshua or Joseph, rose from the dead, and saw no corruption. And the redeemed of the Lord shall inherit the kingdom he prepared for them from the foundation of the world. They will say in admiration of the grace of Jesus, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen....

Verse Joshua 24:32. _AND THE BONES OF JOSEPH_] Genesis 50:25, and on Exodus 13:19. This burying of the bones of Joseph probably took place when the conquest of the land was completed, and each tribe had received its inheritance; for it is not likely that this was deferred till after the death of Joshua....

EXPOSITION JOSHUA'S DEATH AND BURIAL.— JOSHUA 24:29 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. The theory of some commentators, that this expression is evidence of a later interpolation because "the title only dates, from the period when Moses, Joshua, and others were raised to the rank of national saints," need only be noticed to be rejected. It is a fair specimen of the inventive criticism which has found favour among modern critics, in which a large amount of imagination is made to supply the want of the smallest modicum of fact. What is wanting here is the slightest evidence of such a "period" having ever existed, except at the time when these saints of the old covenant closed their labours by death. All the facts before us go to prove that Moses, as well as Joshua, was held in

AND THE BONES OF JOSEPH, WHICH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BROUGHT UP OUT OF EGYPT,.... At the request, and by the order of Joseph, Genesis 50:25; which were punctually observed by the children of Israel under the direction and command of Moses, and therefore is ascribed to him, as here to them, Exodus 13:19; BURIED THEY IN SHECHEM; not in the city, but in a field near it, as the next clause shows. The Jews in their Cippi Hebraici say g, that Joseph was buried at a village called Belata, a sabbath day's journey from Shechem; but Jerom says h he was buried in Shechem, and his monument was to be seen there in his time. Not that they buried him at the same time Joshua was buried, but very probably as soon as the tribe of Ephraim was in the quiet possession of this place; though the

3. THE EPILOGUE CHAPTER 24:29-33 _ 1. Joshua's death and burial (24:29-31)_ 2. The bones of Joseph buried (24:32) 3. Eleazar's death (24:33) Moses, the instrument through whom the law was given, was buried by the Lord, no doubt a hint that some day the Lord would put away the law, with its curse, as we learn in the New Testament. Joshua was buried by the people in his own inheritance; he died ten years younger than Moses, that is 110 years old. Joseph had reached the same age, having died some 200 years before. Genesis 50:25, Exodus 13:19 and Hebrews 11:22 must be consulted to understand the burial of his bones recorded here. They had carried those bones all through the wilderness and

THE BONES OF JOSEPH. Compare Genesis 50:25.Hebrews 11:22. Shechem. Where God first appeared to Abraham in Canaan (Genesis 12:6), and where he built his first altar (Genesis 12:6; Genesis 12:7). JACOB BOUGHT. Compare Genesis 33:19. Not Acts 7:16, nor Genesis 23, which was quite. different transaction....

Death of Joshua and Eleazar 29. _And it came to pass_ With the close of Joshua's parting address comes the close also of his own life. The historian proceeds to bring the book to a conclusion, and tells us of (i) the death of Joshua; (ii) the conduct of the people after his death; (iii) the burial of the remains of Joseph, which had been brought out of Egypt; (iv) the death of Eleazar the high-priest. _Joshua … the servant of the Lord, died_ His work was now over. His work of war, and his work of peace. His age when he died was precisely that which Joseph reached (Genesis 50:26), a hundred and ten years....

_VER._ 32. _AND THE BONES OF JOSEPH—BURIED THEY IN SHECHEM_— See Genesis 50:25. Some are of opinion, that Joshua performed this duty soon after the passage over Jordan, immediately after he had built the altar on mount Ebal, near Shechem. Others think that it was not done till the peace which followed the conquest of the land of Canaan. They all conclude, that Joshua would not have longer deferred paying to the patriarch Joseph an honour so frequently enjoined. The reason, say they, that no mention of the ceremony occurs before, is, that it was thought proper to collect together, in this concluding passage, what respected the funerals of three great men. But there seems no difficulty in supposing Joshua to have discharged himself of this tribute to the remains of Joseph in the great assembly of the nation at Shechem. We might even suppose, that it was the design of interring the b