Joshua 7:23

Jos 7:23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.

Ver. 23. And they took them out of the midst of the tent.] Sin not therefore in hope of secrecy: or if you have, take up the matter in God’s privy chamber of mercy by true repentance, that so his open judicial proceeding in court may be stopped. See 1Co 11:31.

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.

(23) And laid them out before the Lord.—The silver and the gold, by His order, should have been brought into His treasury (Jos_6:19). The spoils of Canaan might have been consecrated as holiness to Jehovah. But in this instance the spoil of Jericho had become the sin of Israel, and it must therefore be no longer preserved, but consumed.

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

23. laid them out] Literally, poured them out.

before the Lord] i.e. before the ark of Jehovah, where He was enthroned. Comp. Jos_6:8.

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 they took them out of the midst of the tent,.... Out of the place, hole, or pit in which they were hid:

and brought them to Joshua and to the children of Israel; to Joshua as the chief ruler, and to the elders and heads of the tribes assembled together:

and laid them out before the Lord; or "poured them out" (o); the golden wedge, out of the garment in which it was wrapped, and the two hundred shekels of silver found under it: it seems as if these were poured or laid out separately upon the ground before the tabernacle, where the ark of the Lord was, they belonging to the spoils which were devoted to him; as well as hereby they were plainly seen by the Israelites, that these were the very things which Achan had confessed.

(o) "fundentes", Munster; "fuderunt", Piscator.

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

Where Joshua and the elders continued yet in their assembly, waiting for the issue of this business.

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

23. Unto all the children of Israel — Representatively; that is, unto the elders.

Laid them out before the Lord — “As a sign,” says Keil, “that they belonged to Jehovah on account of the ban.” They were before the Lord’s eyes when covered up in the earth. But now they are publicly displayed before the ark of the covenant, the symbol of Jehovah’s presence.

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

Laid them out before the Lord. This shows the directly religious nature of the proceeding. God had directed the lot, the offender was discovered, and now the devoted things are solemnly laid out one by one (for so the Hebrew seems to imply, though in 2Sa_15:24 it has the sense of planting firmly, as molten matter hardens and becomes fixed) before Him whose they are, as a confession of sin, and also as an act of restitution.

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

Before the Lord - Where Joshua and the elders continued yet in their assembly waiting for the issue.

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

And they spread them out. The Targum renders וַיַצִקָם as וְאַתִּיכוּנוּן [which implies, and they melted them] Our Sages said, ‘He [Yehoshua] came and cast them before the Omnipresent. He said before him, “Master of the universe, for these, shall the bulk of Sanhedrin fall?’”

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.