Joshua 7

Jos 7:1 But the sons of Israel committed a sin in the cursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the thing which was cursed. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the sons of Israel.

Committed a trespass - “acted treacherously and committed a breach of faith.” This suitably describes the sin of Achan, who had purloined and hidden away that which had been dedicated to God by the ban in Jos_6:19. Achan in diverting any of these devoted things to his own purposes, committed the sin of sacrilege, that of Ananias and Sapphira. Act_5:2-3.

The “trespass” was the act of one man, yet is imputed to all Israel, who also share in the penalty of it Jos_7:5. The nation as a nation was in covenant with God, and is treated by Him not merely as a number of individuals living together for their own purposes under common institutions, but as a divinely-constituted organic whole. Hence, the sin of Achan defiled the other members of the community as well as himself. and robbed the people collectively of holiness before God and acceptableness with Him. Israel had in the person of Achan broken the covenant Jos_7:11; God therefore would no more drive out the Canaanites before them.

Achan - also Achar, Zabdi is generally identified with the Zimri of 1Chronicles 2:6 And the sons of Zerah were Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara, all of them five. Zerah was twin brother of Pharez and son of Judah Genesis 38:30 And afterwards his brother came out, on whose hand was the scarlet thread. And his name was called Zarah. In this genealogy, as in others, several generations are omitted, most likely those which intervened between Zerah and Zabdi, and which covered the space between the migration of Jacob’s household to Egypt and the Exodus.

sons of Israel committed - Through one man, the whole nation was considered guilty. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:6-13 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast; not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in the letter not to associate intimately with fornicators; yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you must go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to associate intimately, if any man called a brother and is either a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one not to eat. For what is it to me to also judge those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But God judges those who are outside. Therefore put out from you the evil one. Unjudged, unrepentant, sin contaminated the whole Corinthian church.

Jos 7:2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Bethel. And he spoke to them, saying, Go up and look over the country. And the men went up and spied out Ai.

Sent men from Jericho to Ai - This is the place called Hai, Genesis 12:8 And he moved from there to a mountain on the east of Bethel. And he pitched his tent with Bethel toward the sea and Hai on the east. And he built an altar there to the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. Ai was situated near Bethaven, on the east of Bethel, north of Jericho, from which it was distant about ten or twelve miles (some sources say only 4 miles from Jericho). The precise site of Ai, or Hai, is indicated with sufficient clearness (Gen_12:8; Gen_13:3) and has been discovered in an isolated tell, called by the natives Tell-el-Hajar, "the mount of stones," at two miles', or thirty-five minutes' distance, east southeast from Beth-el. From Jos_7:4, Jos_7:5 it appears to have been situated upon a hill, and belonged to the Amorites, as we learn from Jos_7:7. It is very likely that it was a strong place, as it chose to risk a siege, notwithstanding the extraordinary destruction of Jericho which it had lately witnessed.

Bethel - Bethel was originally called Luz Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place The House of God. But the name of that city was Luz at first, a place on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin Jos_16:2; Jos_18:13

Beth-aven--("house of vanity")--a name afterwards given derisively (Hos_4:15; Hos_5:8; Hos_10:5), on account of its idolatries, to Beth-el, "house of God," but here referred to another place, about six miles east of Beth-el and three north of Ai.

Jos 7:3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Let not all the people go up. But let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Do not make all the people labor there, for they are few.

let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai - After they had reconnoitred the place, they came back to their general, and gave it as their opinion, that there was no need for the whole army to go up against the city: The total population of Ai was about twelve thousand Jos_8:25. It could therefore hardly muster three thousand warriors.

Jos 7:4 And about three thousand men of the people went up there. And they fled before the men of Ai.

and they fled before the men of Ai; God having forsaken them, their courage failed, the dread of their enemies falling on them.

Jos 7:5 And the men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, for they chased them from before the gate to Shebarim, and struck them in the road going down. Therefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

Shebarim - not that there was a place of this name before, but it was so called from hence, because there they were broken, Shebarim signifies breaches or broken places, and may here apply to the ranks of the Israelites, which were broken by the men of Ai; for the people were totally routed, though there were but few slain. They were panic-struck, and fled in the utmost confusion. One commentator thinks the name came not from the event, but because there lay broken pieces of the rock scattered about:

The hearts of the people melted - They were utterly discouraged.

Jos 7:6 And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of Jehovah until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust on their heads.

Put dust upon their heads - signs of mourning. Rending the clothes, beating the breast, tearing the hair, putting dust upon the head, and falling down prostrate, were the usual marks of deep affliction and distress.

and fell to the earth upon his face - in a posture of adoration and prayer,

before the ark of the Lord, the symbol of the divine Presence, not in the most holy place, where that usually was, and into which Joshua might not enter, but in the tabernacle of the great court, over against where the ark was:

he and the elders of Israel; likely the sanhedrim or council, and which attended Joshua, and assisted him as such:

Jos 7:7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, why have You at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? And, oh that we had been content and lived on the other side Jordan!

Alas, O Lord God – words of exclamations and distress.

would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan; in which he seems to cast the blame, not upon the Lord but upon himself and the people, who were not content to dwell on the other side, but were desirous of a larger and better country; and now ruin seemed to be the consequent of that covetous disposition and discontented mind.

Compare the words of Joshua now to the words of Israel in Numbers 14:1-4 And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried. And the people wept that night. And all the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them, Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or, Oh that we had died in the wilderness! And why has the LORD brought us into this land to fall by the sword, so that our wives and our sons should be a prey? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? And they said to one another, Let us make a leader, and let us return to Egypt.

Jos 7:8 O, Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns their backs before their enemies?

Jos 7:9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear, and shall surround us, and shall cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?

What wilt Thou do with regard to Thy great name? - signifies, according to the parallel passage, Exodus 32:11-12 And Moses prayed to the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why does Your wrath become hot against Your people whom You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak and say, He brought them out for harm, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and be moved to pity as to this evil against Your people. “How wilt Thou preserve Thy great name, which Thou hast acquired thus far in the sight of all nations through the miraculous guidance of Israel, from being misunderstood and blasphemed among the heathen?” A name wasn’t just an identity for God (or people either). It represented His character and reputation. See also Num 14:13-19; Deut 9:26-29

and cut off our name from the earth; utterly destroy us, that we shall be no more a nation and people, and the name of an Israelite no more be heard of. Psalms 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, so that the name Israel may be remembered no more.

Jos 7:10 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Get up! Why do you lie on your face this way?

As Joshua had questioned the Lord, God’s answer is given directly. Joshua must not lie helpless before God; the cause of the calamity was to be discovered.

Wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? - in this manner, so distressed and dejected; or for this thing, as the Targum, for this defeat of the army; something else is to be done besides prayer and supplication. It is plain there was nothing in Joshua’s prayer or complaint that was offensive to God, for here there is no reprehension: this is no time for complaint; something else is indispensably necessary to be done.

Jos 7:11 Israel has sinned, and they have also broken My covenant which I commanded them, and have even taken of the cursed things, and have also stolen and pretended falsely. And they have even put it among their own stuff.

Also stolen, and dissembled also - The anger of God and the heinousness of Israel’s sin are marked by the accumulation of clause upon clause. As a climax they had even appropriated to their own use the consecrated property purloined from God.

Jos 7:12 And the sons of Israel could not stand before their enemies. They will turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become cursed. I will not be with you again, unless you destroy the one who is cursed from among you.

Because they were accursed - From this verse it appears that the nature of the execration or anathema was such, that those who took of the thing doomed to destruction fell immediately under the same condemnation. The inhabitants of Jericho and all that they had were accursed: therefore they and all their substance were to be destroyed. The Israelites took of the accursed thing, and therefore became accursed with it. This was certainly understood when the curse was pronounced: Every man who touches this property shall be involved in the same execration. Achan therefore was sufficiently aware of the risk he ran in taking any part of the anathematized thing; and when viewed in this light, the punishment inflicted on him will appear to be perfectly just and proper. Joshua 6:18 And you surely shall keep clear of the cursed thing, lest you make yourselves cursed when you take of the cursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

Jos 7:13 Up! Sanctify the people and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow. For thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, A cursed thing is in the midst of you, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the cursed thing from among you.

Up - Joshua, all the time that God spake, lay prostrate before the ark: he is now commanded to get up. The word "up" not only signifies getting up from the ground on which he lay, but to bestir himself, and to be active in what he would now be enjoined and directed to do

sanctify the people - and sanctify the people, and get into a proper disposition to hear the judgment of the Lord relative to the late transactions. The people must be consecrated again. Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; either by some ceremonial ablutions, or by the performance of moral duties, as prayer, repentance, and good works; or rather, they were to "prepare" themselves. Prepare themselves to appear before the Lord, expecting the sentence of God for the discovery and punishment of the sin.

Jos 7:14 And in the morning, you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be, the tribe which Jehovah takes shall come, according to its families. And the family which Jehovah shall take shall come by households. And the household which Jehovah shall take shall come man by man.

The Lord taketh - by lot. The Hebrew word for lot suggests that small stones, probably white and black ones, were used. These were probably drawn from a chest. Compare the expressions in Joshua 18:11 And the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up by their families. And the border of their lot came forth between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph; Joshua 19:1 And the second lot came forth to Simeon, for the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. And their inheritance was inside the inheritance of the sons of Judah. The lot was regarded as directed in its result by God and hence, was used on many important occasions by the Jews and by other nations in ancient times. With the advent of the Holy Spirit, casting of lots ceased to be needed to divine His will.

Examples of the use of lot in the bible:
1) for apportionment, as of Canaan among the twelve tribes Numbers 26:55 But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit; of the Levitical cities Joshua 21:4 And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And the sons of Aaron the priest, of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities; of spoil or captives taken in war Joel 3:3 And they have cast lots for My people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, so that they might drink.
2) for detection of the guilty, as in the case of Achan, Jonathan 1Samuel 14:42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan. And Jonathan was taken, and Jonah 1:7 And they said, each one to his fellow, Come and let us cast lots, so that we may know who has caused this evil to occur to us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
3) for determining the persons to undertake a dangerous or warlike enterprise
Judges 20:9-10 And now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah, going against it by lot. and we will take ten men of a hundred of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to bring food for the people, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may do according to all the folly which they have done in Israel.
4) for making appointment to important functions Leviticus 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats; one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. Acts 1:26 And they gave forth their lots. And the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles; or for sharing the duties or privileges of an office among those concerned 1Chronicles 24:31 And they also cast lots along with their brothers, the sons of Aaron, before David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites, the head of the fathers, as well as his younger brother. Luke 1:9 according to the custom of the priests, it was his lot to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
(The casting of lots before Haman Est_3:7 seems to have been with a view of determining the lucky day for his undertaking against the Jews. One passage Pro_18:18 perhaps points also to the employment of the lot to decide litigation.)

you shall be brought according to your tribes - This was nearly the plan pursued in the election of Saul by Samuel. “Now therefore,” says he, “present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken,” 1Samuel 10:19-21 And you have this day rejected your God who Himself saved you out of all your calamities and your tribulations. And you have said to Him, But set a king over us. And now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they looked for him, but he could not be found. If the lot was used in the one case it was likely used in the other also, as the procedure in the main was entirely similar. The same mode was used to find out who it was that transgressed the king’s command, when it was found that Jonathan had eaten a little honey, 1Sa_14:40-43.

Some commentators have suggested that the method of choosing was by the Urim and Thummim on the breastplate dulling when confronted with the sinner. It seems that the use of a lot is the more likely view of how this was accomplished.

Jos 7:15 And it shall be, he who is taken with the cursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all he has, because he has broken the covenant of Jehovah, and because he has done wickedness in Israel.

burnt with fire - after he had been put to death by stoning. Burning, one of the four capital punishments with the Jews was ordered in this case, because the city of Jericho, accursed or devoted, was burnt with fire, Jos_6:24,

he and all that he hath; the particulars of which are enumerated, Joshua 7:24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had. And they brought them to the valley of Achor.

Jos 7:16 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes. And the tribe of Judah was taken.

So Joshua rose up early in the morning,.... Which showed his readiness and diligence to obey the command of God.

Jos 7:17 And he brought the families of Judah. And he took the family of the Zerahites. And he took the family of the Zerahites man by man. And Zabdi was taken.

Jos 7:18 And he brought his household man by man. And Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

Jos 7:19 And Joshua said to Achan, My son, I pray you, give glory to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and make confession to Him. And tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.

Give glory to the Lord - A form of solemn adjuration by which the person addressed was called upon before God to declare the truth. The phrase assumes that the glory of God is always promoted by manifestation of the truth. Give glory to God signifies the same as, Make a thorough confession as in the presence of God, and disguise no part of the truth. And this was designed, not only for the edification of the people, and a vindication of the righteous judgment of God, but in reference to his own salvation; for as his life was now become forfeited to the law, there was the utmost necessity of humiliation before God that his soul might be saved. So it is said in the Misnah, whoever confesses has a part in the world to come. Maimonides said this was but a temporary law on which Achan was put to death; for the law condemns no man to death on his own confession, nor on the prophecy of a prophet, who says that he committed such a theft; and it was not on his confession, but by the order of God, determining the affair by lot, that he was put to death: the confession Joshua directs to was not what was made to man, but to God, that is, of the evil of it, and as committed against God, though the fact itself was to be owned before man In this way and in these very words the Jews adjured the man who had been born blind that he would truly tell who had healed him; for they pretended to believe that Christ was such a sinner that God would not work a miracle by him. John 9:24 Then a second time they called the man who was blind and said to him, Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.

Jos 7:20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against Jehovah, the God of Israel, and this I have done.

Jos 7:21 When I saw among the spoil a goodly robe of Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, I coveted them and took them. And behold, they are hidden in the earth in the middle of my tent, and the silver under it.

A Babylonish cloak - lit. a cloak of Shinar, or Babylon, is a costly cloak, artistically worked, such as were manufactured in Babylon, and distributed far and wide through the medium of commerce. The Sept. rendering is a Babylonian cloak ornamented with pictures. Joshua 7:21 I saw in the spoil an embroidered mantle, and two hundred didrachms of silver, and one golden wedge of fifty didrachms, and I desired them and took them; and, behold, they are hid in my tent, and the silver is hid under them. (Septuagint) It was cut smooth, and because it was covered with colored figures, either of men or animals, sometimes woven, at other times worked with the needle. It was a long robe such as was worn by kings on state occasions Jonah 3:6 For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne. And he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, and by prophets 1Kings 19:13 And it happened when Elijah heard, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out, and stood at the cave entrance. And behold, a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? The Assyrians were in early times famous for the manufacture of beautiful dyed and richly embroidered robes. The same word is used, Jon_3:6, to express the royal robe, of the king of Nineveh which he laid aside in order to humble himself before God.

A tongue of gold - A wedge of gold what we commonly call an ingot of gold, a corruption of the word lingot. A golden ornament in the form of a tongue like wedge, the use of which is unknown; it was of considerable size, as it weighed 50 shekels, i.e., 13,700 grains.

I coveted them, and took them; he is very particular in the account, and gradually proceeds in relating the temptation he was under, and the prevalence of it; it began with his eyes, which were caught with the goodliness of the garments, and the riches he saw; these affected his heart and stirred up covetous desires, which influenced and directed his hands to take them: He accurately describes the progress of his sin, which began at his eye, which he permitted to gaze upon them, which inflamed his desire, and made him covet them; and that desire made him take them; and having taken, resolve to keep them; and to that end hide them in his tent. This verse gives us a notable instance of the progress of sin.
1.It enters by the eye;
2.It sinks into the heart;
3.It actuates the hand; and,
4.It leads to secrecy and dissimulation.

I coveted them, and took them - Exodus 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's. Coveting is the start of the sin here, and often the start of many sins. James 1:13-15 Let no one being tempted say, I am tempted from God. For God is not tempted by evils, and He tempts no one. But each one is tempted by his lusts, being drawn away and seduced by them. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is fully formed, brings forth death.

Jos 7:22 And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran into the tent. And behold, it was hidden in his tent, and the silver under it.

Jos 7:23 And they took them out of the middle of the tent, and brought them to Joshua, and to all the sons of Israel. And they laid them out before Jehovah.

and laid them out before the Lord; or "poured them out"

Jos 7:24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had. And they brought them to the valley of Achor.

and all that he had – Was Achan alone killed, or were his family killed too? The commentators seem divided on this issue. He and his cattle and substance were brought to the valley to be consumed; his sons and his daughters, possibly, to witness the judgments of God inflicted on their disobedient parent. His sons and his daughters; according to some commentators, were not brought forth to be put to death, only to be spectators of the sentence of judgment, and the execution of it, that they might keep themselves from such evil things; Some Jewish writers remark, that they were worthy of death, because they saw and knew what was done, and were silent and did not declare it; and it seems by what is said, Joshua 22:20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a sin in the cursed thing, and did not wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity; that they died as well as Achan, though it may be interpreted of his substance, his cattle, perishing with him: Divine law expressly forbade the children to be put to death for their father's sins Deuteronomy 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, neither shall the sons be put to death for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin so if they were put to death as well, it was likely for their sin of participating in covering up their father’s sin. However, the law in question only referred to the punishment of ordinary criminals, and therefore was not applicable at all to the present case, in which the punishment was commanded by the Lord himself. Achan had fallen under the ban by laying hands upon what had been banned, and consequently was exposed to the same punishment as a town that had fallen away to idolatry Deuteronomy 13:16-17 And you shall gather all its spoil into the middle of its street, and shall burn the city with fire, and all its spoil, every bit of it, for the LORD your God. And it shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. And let nothing of the cursed thing cling to your hand, so that the LORD may turn from the heat of his anger and show you mercy, and give mercies to you, and multiply you as He has sworn to your fathers, The law of the ban was founded upon the assumption, that the conduct to be punished was not a crime of which the individual only was guilty, but one in which the whole family of the leading sinner, in fact everything connected with him, participated. Thus, in the case before us, the things themselves had been abstracted from the booty by Achan alone; but he had hidden them in his tent, buried them in the earth, which could hardly have been done so secretly that his sons and daughters knew nothing of it. By so doing he had made his family participators in his theft; they therefore fell under the ban along with him, together with their tent, their cattle, and the rest of their property, which were all involved in the consequences of his crime.

valley of Achor - That the valley in which Achan suffered his punishment received the name of Achor (troubling) with special reference to the fact that Joshua had described his punishment as well as Achan's sin as troubling: see Jos_7:25, and that it retained this name down to the writer's own time. The only other places in which there is any allusion to this event are Hosea 2:15 And I will give her vineyards to her from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt and Isaiah 65:10 And Sharon will be a fold of flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting-place of herds for My people who have sought Me. Scholars have identified the Valley of Achor as a place known today as Buqei`ah which is about 10 miles west of Qumran.

Jos 7:25 And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? Jehovah shall trouble you this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

Why hast thou troubled us? - Here is a reference to the meaning of Achan’s or Achar’s name, meh Achar-tanu; and as achar is used here, and not achan, and the valley is called the valley of Achor, and not the valley of Achan, hence some have supposed that Achar was his proper name, as it is read 1Chronicles 2:7 And the sons of Carmi: Achan, the troubler of Israel, who sinned in the cursed thing.

With stones - And burned him with fire; which is easily understood both out of the following words, and from God's command to do so. They were stoned (which was the punishment of such offenders, Lev_24:14; Num_15:35,) and not burned to death.

Jos 7:26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones to this day. And Jehovah turned from the greatness of His anger. Therefore, the name of that valley is called, The Valley of Grief, to this day.

They raised over him a great heap of stones - The burial-places, both of heroes and eminent culprits, were anciently thus distinguished; and transactions of this kind gave rise to those great piles of stones called cairns. From the whole of this account we may see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the great danger of not withstanding its first approaches.

Comparisons have been made between this and the story of Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5:1-11 And a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the price, his wife also knowing, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart for you to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own authority? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. And hearing these words, Ananias fell down and expired. And great fear came on all those who heard these things. And the younger ones arose, wound him up, and carrying him out, they buried him. And it was about the space of three hours afterward, when his wife (not knowing what was done) came in. And Peter answered her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much? And she said, Yes, for so much. Then Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out. Then at once she fell down at his feet and expired. And the younger ones found her dead, and, carrying her out, buried her beside her husband. And great fear came on all the church and on as many as heard these things.