Joshua 24:3

Jos 24:3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

Ver. 3. And gave him Isaac.] Effaetae fidei filium, the heir of the covenant, and therein more happy than his brother Ishmael, with all those twelve princes which he begot. {Gen 17:20-21}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jos 24:3. I took — I snatched him out of that idolatrous place, and took him into acquaintance and covenant with myself, which was the highest honour and happiness he was capable of. And led — That is, I brought him after his father’s death into Canaan, (Gen 12:1,) and I conducted and preserved him in all his travels through the several parts of Canaan. And multiplied — That is, gave him a numerous posterity, not only by Hagar and Keturah, but even by Sarah and Isaac. Gave him Isaac — By my special power and grace, to be heir of my covenant, and all my promises, and the seed in or by which all the nations were to be blessed.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24:3-13 Israel’s faith was always the result of God’s initiative. Joshua’s repetition of God’s words I took . . . I gave . . . I sent . . . I brought reminded the Israelites why they should continue to be loyal to God.

24:3 Abraham lived at Haran in Mesopotamia beyond the Euphrates with his father Terah (Gen 11:31-32). • led him into . . . Canaan: See Gen 12:1-9.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan--It was an irresistible impulse of divine grace which led the patriarch to leave his country and relatives, to migrate to Canaan, and live a "stranger and pilgrim" in that land.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

3. And I took your father Abraham, etc This expression gives additional confirmation to what I lately showed, that Abraham did not emerge from profound ignorance and the abyss of error by his own virtue, but was drawn out by the hand of God. For it is not said that he sought God of his own accord, but that he was taken by God and transported elsewhere. Joshua then enlarges on the divine kindness in miraculously preserving Abraham safe during his long pilgrimage. What follows, however, begets some doubt, namely, that God multiplied the seed of Abraham, and yet gave him only Isaac, because no mention is made of any but him. But this comparison illustrates the singular grace of God towards them in that, while the offspring of Abraham was otherwise numerous, their ancestor alone held the place of lawful heir. In the same sense it is immediately added, that while Esau and Jacob were brothers and twins, one of the two was retained and the other passed over. We see, therefore, why as well in the case of Ishmael and his brother as in that of Esau, he loudly extols the divine mercy and goodness towards Jacob, just as if he were saying, that his race did not excel others in any respect except in that of being specially selected by God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(3) The flood—i.e., the river, as in Jos_24:2; and so also in Jos_24:15.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. And I took] Joshua says nothing more of the life of Abraham than that Jehovah caused him to wander through the Land of Canaan, and finally gave him a son Isaac.

and gave him Isaac] Which means “Laughter” as one “born out of due time,” when Hope might have ceased to hope, and all fulfilment of the Promise seemed impossible. It was either at Gerar or Beersheba that Sarah gave birth to him (Gen_21:2).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood,.... The river Euphrates, as before: or "your father, to wit, Abraham", as Noldius (x); he took him not only in a providential way, and brought him from the other side of the Euphrates, out of an idolatrous country and family, but he apprehended him by his grace, and called and converted him by it, and brought him to a spiritual knowledge of himself, and of the Messiah that should spring from his seed, and of the Covenant of grace, and of the blessings of it, and of his interest therein; which was a peculiar and distinguishing favour:

and led him throughout all the land of Canaan; from the northern to the southern part of it; he led him as far as Shechem, where Israel was now assembled, and then to Bethel, and still onward to the south, Gen 12:6; that he might have a view of the land his posterity was to inherit, and, by treading on it and walking through it, take as it were a kind of possession of it:

and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac; he multiplied his seed by Hagar, by whom he had Ishmael, who begat twelve princes; and by Keturah, from whose sons several nations sprung; see Gen 17:20; and by Sarah, who bore him Isaac in old age, in whom his seed was called; and from whom, in the line of Jacob, sprung the twelve tribes of Israel, and which seed may be chiefly meant; and the sense is, that he multiplied his posterity after he had given him Isaac, and by him a numerous seed; so Vatablus: Ishmael is not mentioned, because, as Kimchi observes, he was born of an handmaid; but Abarbinel thinks only such are mentioned, who were born in a miraculous manner, when their parents were barren, as in this and also in the next instance.

(x) Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 119.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

From the. Hebrew and Septuagint, "other side of the flood or river," where Mesopotamia commences. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I took your father; I apprehended him by my grace, and snatched him out of that idolatrous and wicked place, and took him into acquaintance and covenant with myself, which was the highest honour and happiness he was capable of.

Led him throughout all the land of Canaan, i.e. I brought him after his father’s death into Canaan, Gen 12:1, and I conducted and preserved him in safety in all his travels through the several parts of Canaan.

Multiplied his seed, i.e. gave him a numerous posterity, not only by Hagar and Keturah, but even by Sarah and by Isaac, as it follows.

Gave him Isaac, by my special power and grace, to be the heir of my covenant, and all my promises, and the seed in or by which all nations were to be blessed, Gen 12:3; 21:2.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. And I took your father Abraham — There was nothing coercive in this taking. Abraham’s experience was like that of modern Christians who follow the Holy Spirit: “He drew me, and I followed on.” With this understanding we may adopt Calvin’s comment: “It is not said that he sought God of his own accord, but that he was taken by him and led to another place.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I took - I snatched him out of that idolatrous place, and took him into acquaintance and covenant with myself, which was the highest honour and happiness he was capable of. And led - That is I brought him after his father's death into Canaan, Gen. xii, 1, and I conducted and preserved him in all his travels through the several parts of Canaan. And multiplied - That is, gave him a numerous posterity, not only by Hagar and Keturah, but even by Sarah and by Isaac. Gave Isaac - By my special power and grace to be heir of my covenant, and all my promises, and the seed in or by which all the nations were to be blessed.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Joshua continues quoting what Yahweh said about his dealings with his people.

Seir

name of a place or location (See: How to Translate Names)

went down

Egypt was lower in elevation that the land of Canaan. AT: "traveled"

translationWords

ancestor

Canaan

descend

Isaac

Jacob

Esau

possess

Egypt

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

I multiplied his descendants. The word אַרְבֶּ in the text lacks the letter ה, [from which we infer:] “How many troubles and tests did I bring upon him before I gave him a descendant.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.