John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 2. And Joshua called for all Israel , etc.] Summoned them together, whether at Timnathserah, his own city, he being old and infirm, and not able to go elsewhere; or whether at Shechem, where it is plain they were afterwards convened, ( Joshua 24:1), or whether rather at Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, is not certain; and by “all Israel” cannot be meant the whole body of the people, unless it can be thought to be at one of the feasts, when all the males in Israel appeared before the Lord; though this seems to be not a stated convocation, but occasionally made, and to be understood of the representatives of the people called together, as explained in the following clause: [and] for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers ; the first and is supplied, and another word or words may be supplied, as “even”, or “that is”, or the like, and so explanative of all Israel, namely, “their elders”, both in age and office, especially the latter, the seventy elders, or who composed what in later times was called the great sanhedrim; and the “heads” of their tribes, the chief princes of every tribe; and their “judges” in their several cities, who heard and tried causes, and administered justice and judgment to the people; and their “officers”, who attended on them to execute the judgment they pronounced: and said unto them, I am old [and] stricken in age ; which he observes as a reason of his calling them together to give them some advice and instructions before his death, and in order to command greater reverence of him, and respect to him, and to excite attention to what he had to say to them.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-10 - Joshua was old and dying, let them observe what he said now. He pu them in mind of the great things God had done for them in his days. He exhorted them to be very courageous. Keep with care, do with diligence and regard with sincerity what is written. Also, very cautiously to endeavour that the heathen idolatry may be forgotten, so that it ma never be revived. It is sad that among Christians the names of the heathen gods are so commonly used, and made so familiar as they are Joshua exhorts them to be very constant. There might be many thing amiss among them, but they had not forsaken the Lord their God; the way to make people better, is to make the best of them.
Original Hebrew ויקרא7121 יהושׁע3091 לכל3605 ישׂראל3478 לזקניו2205 ולראשׁיו7218 ולשׁפטיו8199 ולשׁטריו7860 ויאמר559 אלהם413 אני589 זקנתי2204 באתי935 בימים׃3117
