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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And these [are] they [of] the sons of Israel who inherited in the land of Canaan, whom Eleazar the priest, and Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel, caused to inherit; |
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| 2 by lot [is] their inheritance, as Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine of the tribes, and the half of the tribe; |
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| 3 for Moses hath given the inheritance of two of the tribes, and of half of the tribe, beyond the Jordan, and to the Levites he hath not given an inheritance in their midst; |
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| 4 for the sons of Joseph hath been two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and they have not given a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to dwell in, and their suburbs for their cattle, and for their possessions; |
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| 5 as Jehovah commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done, and they apportion the land. |
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| 6 And the sons of Judah come nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenezzite saith unto him, 'Thou hast known the word that Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses the man of God, concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-Barnea: |
Caleb – A descendant of Abraham through the rejected son Esau, and adopted into the tribe of Judah. His faithfulness and reward have special meaning to us who by nature are children of wrath, typified by Esau. R3091:1
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| 7 a son of forty years [am] I in Moses, servant of Jehovah, sending me from Kadesh-Barnea, to spy the land, and I bring him back word as with my heart; |
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| 8 and my brethren who have gone up with me have caused the heart of the people to melt, and I have been fully after Jehovah my God; |
My brethren – Note the absence of any evil speaking against those who sinned. R3091:6
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| 9 and Moses sweareth in that day, saying, If not the land on which thy foot hath trodden, to thee it is for inheritance, and to thy sons to the age, for thou hast been fully after Jehovah my God. |
Thine inheritance – Caleb did not expect, and was not promised, a heavenly inheritance. R4071:2
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| 10 'And, now, lo, Jehovah hath kept me alive, as He hath spoken, these forty and five years, since Jehovah spake this word unto Moses, when Israel went in the wilderness; and now, lo, I [am] to-day a son of five and eighty years; |
These 45 years – Link No. 22 in the true Bible chronology. B48
From the sending of the spies to the division of the land, leaving one year from the leaving of Egypt to the sending of the spies. HG44:3
Forty-six years after the exodus. R1980:3; B48
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| 11 yet [am] I to-day strong as in the day of Moses' sending me; as my power then, so [is] my power now, for battle, and to go out, and to come in. |
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| 12 'And now, give to me this hill-country, of which Jehovah spake in that day, for thou didst hear in that day, for Anakim [are] there, and cities, great, fenced; if so be Jehovah [is] with me, then I have dispossessed them, as Jehovah hath spoken.' |
Anakims – Among these entrenched enemies are traditions of men, religious customs, nominalism, sectarian pride, ambition and love of show. R3091:5
I shall be able – This well illustrates the progress of the spiritual Israelite. He looks back to the beginning of his experiences and rejoices that the Lord has kept him and has faith to see himself victor over the strongest and most entrenched enemies of the flesh. R3091:5
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| 13 And Joshua blesseth him, and giveth Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh for an inheritance, |
Joshua blessed him – In order to inherit the promises we, like Caleb, must have faith in God and a corresponding obedience. R3092:4
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| 14 therefore hath Hebron been to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenezzite for an inheritance unto this day, because that he was fully after Jehovah, God of Israel; |
Wholly followed – These words have special weight in view of the fact that Caleb was only an Israelite by adoption. R3091:1
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| 15 and the name of Hebron formerly [is] Kirjath-Arba (he [is] the great man among the Anakim); and the land hath rest from war. |
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