Joshua 24:7

Jos 24:7 And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.

Ver. 7. And ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.] Where ye had pluviam escatilem et petram aquatilem, as Tertullian phraseth it: never was prince so served in his greatest pomp as ye were all that while.

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 24:7. Your eyes hare seen what I have done in Egypt — He speaks this to the elders, (Jos 24:1,) who were such not only in power and dignity, but many of them by age; and as there were not sixty years past since the plagues were inflicted on Egypt, it is probable that a considerable number of those present had been witnesses of them, and had seen with their own eyes the Egyptians lie dead upon the sea-shore, Exo 14:30. And, not being twenty years old at that time, they were exempted from the dreadful sentence denounced and executed upon all that were older.

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

24:7 Even though the older Israelites present here had been children at the time of the Exodus, they had seen the events with their very own eyes.

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

Or, a cloud.

Even forty years.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

7. when they cried unto the Lord] The Israelites were encamped on the western shore of the Red Sea, when suddenly a cry of alarm ran through the vast multitude. Over the ridges of the desert hills were seen the well-known horses, the terrible chariots of the Egyptian host; “Pharaoh pursued after the children of Israel, and they were sore afraid.”

he put darkness] “He settide derknessis bitwix çou and Egipcians,” Wyclif. A grand, poetical description. In the midst of the terror and perplexity of the Israelites the Angel of God, who went before them in the pillar of cloud and fire, stationed himself behind them so as to deepen the gloom in which the Egyptians were advancing, and afford light and encouragement to the Israelites. Comp. Exo_14:20; Psa_78:12-14.

and brought the sea upon them] Determined to prevent the escape of their prey, the Egyptians had rushed on amidst the pitchy darkness that surrounded them into the pass between the walls of water standing up on either side of the Chosen People, but the hand of Moses was uplifted, and straightway the waters began to break and give way, and the sea to return in his strength. The engulphing waves closed over them; all efforts to escape were fruitless; horse and chariot and horseman “sank like lead in the mighty waters” (Exo_15:10).

and covered them] “And hilide hem,” Wyclif. A good illustration of the meaning of the A. S. hélen = to cover, conceal, whence the word Hell, the covered place, the invisible underworld.

your eyes have seen] The trembling panic-stricken host stood still and saw “the salvation of the Lord” (Exo_14:13), and the great work which He did upon the Egyptians (Exo_14:31).

a long season] Even forty years, a year for each day the spies had been engaged in searching out the land” (Num_14:33-34), during which time every one of the generation from twenty years old and upwards died, and their carcases lay bleaching in the wilderness (1Co_10:5; Heb_3:17).

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 when they cried unto the Lord,.... That is, the Israelites, being in the utmost distress, the sea before them, Pharaoh's large host behind them, and the rocks on each side of them; see Exo 14:10,

he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; the pillar of cloud, the dark side of which was turned to the Egyptians, and which was the reason of their following the Israelites into the sea; for not being able to see their way, knew not where they were; see Exo 14:20,

and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; or "upon him, and covered him" (y); on Pharaoh, as Kimchi; or on Egypt; that is, the Egyptians or on everyone of them, as Jarchi, none escaped; see Exo 14:26,

and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt; what signs and wonders were wrought there, before they were brought out of it, and what he had done to and upon the Egyptians at the Red sea; some then present had been eyewitnesses of them:

and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season; forty years, where they had the law given them, were preserved from many evils and enemies, were fed with manna, and supplied with the necessaries of life, were led about and instructed, and at length brought out of it.

(y) "super eum, et operuit eum", Munster, Vatablus, Pagninus, Montanus.

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

He speaketh this to the elders, Jos 24:1, who were so, not only by power and dignity, but many of them by age; and there being now not sixty years past since those Egyptian plagues, it is very probable that a considerable number of those here present had seen those things in Egypt, and being not twenty years old, were exempted from that dreadful sentence of destruction, passed upon all who were then of more years standing, Num 14.

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

7. Ye dwelt in the wilderness — This was true of the adults of the nation, many of whom were born there. Joshua gives no hint of the painful cause of their long sojourn in the wilderness.

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

And when they cried unto the Lord. This fact is taken, without addition or amplification, from Exo_14:10-12. The original has unto Jehovah, for "unto the Lord." He put darkness. (see Exo_14:19, Exo_14:20) The occurrence, which there is most striking and miraculous, is here briefly related. But the miracle is presupposed, although its precise nature is not stated. You. This identification of the Israel of Joshua"s day with their forefathers is common in this book. (see notes on Jos_6:21, dec.) A long season. Literally, many days. Here, again, there is no discrepancy between the books of Moses and this epitome of their contents. If both this speech and the Pentateuch were a clumsy patchwork, made up of scraps of this narrative and that, flung together at random, this masterly abstract of the contents of the Pentateuch is little short of a miracle. Whatever may be said of the rest of the narrative, this speech of Joshua"s must have been written subsequently to the appearance of the books of Moses in their present form. But is there any trace of the later Hebrew in this chapter more than any other?

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

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

your ancestors ... you

Yahweh continually alternates between these two phrases, which both refer to all the Israelites, past and present. The word "you" is plural throughout this speech and refers to the entire nation of Israel. (See: Forms of You)

the sea

This refers to the Sea of Reeds.

in the wilderness

an uninhabited area, a desert

translationWords

Yahweh

darkness

Egypt

desert

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

And He brought the sea upon “him.” He brought the sea upon each individual among them. If it happened that one of them ran away, in order not to enter the sea, a sea-wave would pursue him and catch him.

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.