The Bible: What It Is!

'That the error is such as I described it, and consequently that the theory built upon it is fallacious, must inevitably result from the accuracy of our present statement, which becomes almost a matter of certainty from the concurrence of the Septuagint and Vulgate translations.

'In the German translations of the Bible the error has been corrected, and the proper reading of the word restored.

'It appears, then, that this passage, which has been made the basis for the belief that the Book of Joshua is a contemporary writing, has been incorrectly translated in our common English Bibles, and consequently the opinion "built upon it must fall to the ground".'

Verse 9. On page 35 is quoted Voltaire's criticism on this text, 'I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.' It is evident that it refers to the circumcision, which was an established ceremony amongst the Egyptians from the earliest ages.

Verses 13 to 15. In what manner shall I comment on these verses? Shall I gravely reason upon the improbability of 'a man with a drawn sword' being the 'captain of the Lord's host?' Shall I venture to doubt whether the captain of the Lord's host would come to Joshua for the mere purpose of telling him to take off his shoes, or ought I not rather at once to class these verses with such tales as 'Aladdin's Lamp,' and others of a like character, dismissing them as unworthy of further criticism?

Chapter vi. relates the miraculous falling down of the walls of the city of Jericho. One of two courses must be pursued when reading it; either the reader must discard the evidence presented by his senses, and, without reasoning, blindly accept the story, or he will be compelled at once to reject it as absurd. I have read of the destruction of a suspension bridge, or bridge of boats, in consequence of vibration, produced by the marching across, in regular time, of a large body of men, but I am inclined to think that all the Jews in the world might march round Jericho until they were sorely fatigued, and yet have but little effect on its walls. Walls are more likely to tumble down by pushing against them than by shouting at them. It is almost to be regretted that our Christian friends did not try the experiment at Sebastopol; if it had succeeded, it would have struck all the world with astonishment.

'Chap, vii., v. 1 to end. Among many nations in their rude infancy, and while gross and barbarous ideas prevailed, it has been held that sin or offence, particularly if of an aggravated kind, against the gods or the nearest relationships amongst men could never be pardoned. The Nemesis must be satisfied; but satisfaction was often obtained from the innocent, who were made the objects of vengeance instead of the guilty. The ancient Hebrews participated in these notions of other uncultivated nations, hence their ideas of visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children, of the Israelitish army defeated on account of Achan, etc. This idea was greatly encouraged by the Levitical priests, whose interests were promoted by it, and by the practice of sacrifices, which was founded upon the assumption of vicariousness and expiation. This idea also became thoroughly interwoven with the theocratical institution of the Jews, the worship of their sanctuary, their hymns, and the poetry of their prophets.

'Verse 26. And they raised over him [Achan] a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger Wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of Achor unto this day.

'Chap, viii., vv. 28, 29. And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day. And the King of Ai he [Joshua] hanged on a tree until eventide. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.'

'The words, that remaineth, do not occur in the original Hebrew; they have been added by the translators to make the sense complete. The only inference which both these last quoted passages carry with them concerning the age when they were written is that it was a very long time after the death of Achan in the first text, and of the King of Ai in the second. A similar inference is deduced from the verse which follows: —

'Chap, ix., v. 27. "And Joshua made them [the Gibeonites] that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose."

'The "place which the Lord should choose" was finally Jerusalem, and, if the words were written in the later period of the Israelitish government, the Lord had already chosen Jerusalem to be the site of his temple and the place of his worship.

'Chap, x., v. 1. "Now it came to pass when Adonizedec, King of Jerusalem, had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it," etc.

'This chapter is full of names that did not exist until many years afterwards, some more, some less. Bethhoron, mentioned at verse 10, was built by an Israelitish lady after the conquest, as we learn from 1 Chron. vii., 23, 24: —

'"And when he [Ephraim] went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. And his daughter was Sherah, who built Bethhoron the nether and the upper, and Uzzen-Sherah."

'The comparison of these texts involves an anachronism. Sherah was only the fourth in descent from Jacob, thus: – Joseph, Ephraim, Beriah, Sherah. If the Israelites remained 430 years in Egypt, as appears from several texts of Scripture, it is impossible that only one generation, Beriah, could have intervened between Ephraim, who was a child when Jacob went down into Egypt, and Sherah, who built Bethhoron.

'Chap, x., vv. 13,14. "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel."

'Here we obtain a fact that bears with great force upon our present argument. The writer of the Book of Joshua quotes an earlier work, to which he refers his readers, for a more full account of the miracle which he records – namely, the arresting the sun and moon in their flight that the Israelites might be avenged on their enemies. It is impossible to conceive that Joshua himself, who wrought that miracle, could have referred his readers to another book, in which a better account of it was to be found. It is far more likely that a compiler in a later age finding this miraculous event well described in a book still popular in his time, called the Book of Jasher, should have referred his readers to that book for further information.

'But this is not the only observation elicited by the mention made of the Book of Jasher in this place. The same work is quoted in 2 Sam. i., 17, 18: —

'"And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, his son. Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow; behold it is written in the Book of Jasher."

'Here we learn that the Book of Jasher contains the narrative of King David teaching his subjects the use of archery in war. The Book of Jasher was, therefore, written in or after the reign of David; and the Book of Joshua, which quotes the Book of Jasher, must have been written later still.'

Whether these verses were written by Joshua, or Jasher, or by some other equally reliable personage, nothing can save them from condemnation as being absurd in the extreme. Paine observes: —

'This tale of the sun standing still upon Mount Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, is one of those fables that detects itself. Such a circumstance could not have happened without being known all over the world. One half would have wondered why the sun did not rise, and the other why it did not set, and the tradition of it would be universal, whereas there is not a nation in the world that knows anything about it. But why must the moon stand still? What occasion could there be for moonlight in the day time, and that, too, whilst the sun shined? As a poetical figure the whole is well enough; it is akin to that in the song of Deborah and Barah. The stars in their courses, fought against Sisera; but it is inferior to the figurative declaration of Mahomet to the person who came to expostulate with him on his goings on: —Wert thou, said he, to come to me with the sun in thy right hand and the moon in thy left, it should not alter my career. For Joshua to have exceeded Mahomet, he should have put the sun and moon one in each pocket, and carried them as Guy Fawkes carried his dark lanthorn, and taken them out to shine as he might happen to want them.

'The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again; the account, however, abstracted from the poetical fancy shows the ignorance of Joshua, for he should have commanded the earth to have stood still.'

Verse 14. 'The time implied by the expression after it, that is, after that day being put in comparison with all the time that passed before it, must, in order to give any expressive signification to the passage, mean a great length of time. For example, it would have been ridiculous to have said to the next day, or the next week, or the next month, or the next year; to give, therefore, meaning to the passage comparative to the wonder it relates, and the prior time it alludes to it, must mean centuries of years; less, however, than one would be trifling, and less than two would be barely admissible.'

It is not true, as stated in verse 14, that there was no day before or after that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man. The Lord before hearkened unto Abraham (vide Genesis, chap, xviii., vv. 23 to 32), and unto Moses (Exodus, chap, xxxii., vv. 11 to 14; Numbers, chap, xi., vv. 11 to 23; chap, xiv., vv. 13 to 20). After, the Lord hearkened unto Samson (Judges, chap, xvi., v. 28), to David (1 Samuel, ehap. xxiii., vv. 2 to 12).

Verse 26. The King of Hebron is slain and hanged in this verse, and afterwards slain again in verse 37. In the foot note to the Douay it is alleged that this was a second king, but the explanation is not correct, as only one King of Hebron was slain by Joshua (vide chap. xii., v. 10).

'The burial place of the five kings was marked out to posterity by a lasting monument – a heap of stones which Joshua caused to be placed over the cave where they were buried.

'"Verse 27. 'And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day?"

Chapter xi., v. 6. 'Thou shalt hough (or hamstring) their horses and burn their chariots with fire.' Will any man attempt to defend this as a command from the Deity to Joshua? Is it consistent that the eternal omnipotent and merciful Creator of all things should order harmless and unoffending animals to be cruelly and inhumanly maltreated? We are sometimes told that the Canaanites were murdered because they were idolaters, but surely their horses took no part in the worship of Moloch or of Baal.

Chapter xiv., 14. 'Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenezite, unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims; and the land had rest from war. (See chap, xv., 13 to 19.) 'Every part of this verse shows a later writer and a later age. The city had lost its ancient name of Kirjath-Arba, and was known by the name of Hebron: it had become the inheritance of Caleb, by which is implied that Caleb was dead, and his descendants were in possession of it, until this day– i.e., for a great length of time. And this is further confirmed by the concluding words, "And the land had rest from war." The war of the invasion was over, and the children of Israel had quiet possession of the country when the Book of Joshua was written.

'Chap, xv., 8 – 10. And the border went up the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward: and the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim: and the border compassed from Baalah westward unto Mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of Mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed onto Timnah.

'The observations concerning the anachronisms which occur in the names of places, apply in all their force to this passage; we have three distinct places here mentioned, each of them designated both by its ancient and modern appellation, Jebusi, Jerusalem – Baalah, Kirjath-jearim – Mount Jearim, Chesalon. We know, also, that Jebusi did not receive the name of Jerusalem until the reign of David, proving that the book in which the word Jerusalem occurs was not written until the reign of David, or that, if written before that time, it has since been interpolated. Of these two probabilities the former is the stronger: because we find it confirmed by the last verse of the same chapter: —

'Chap, xv., 63. As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.

'It has been asserted that these words can apply only to the few years which immediately followed the death of Joshua; for, say the commentators, the Jebusites were then driven out, as we read the account in Judges i., 7, 8. We shall find, on inquiry, that they were not then driven out; at least, it is not so stated in Judges i., 7, 8, nor can any such meaning be inferred from the narrative there contained.'

'In the 1st chapter of Judges, the writer, after announcing the death of Joshua, proceeds to tell what happened between the children of Judah and the native inhabitants of the land of Canaan. In this statement, the writer, having abruptly mentioned Jerusalem in the seventh verse, says immediately after, in the eighth verse, by way of explanation, "Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it: " consequently, this book could not have been written before Jerusalem had been taken. In the quotation just made from the 15th chapter of Joshua, verse 63, it is said, that the Jebusitea dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day, meaning the time when the Book of Joshua was written.

'The evidence I have already produced, to prove that the books I have hitherto treated of were not written by the persons to whom they are ascribed, nor till many years after their death, if such persons ever lived, is already so abundant, that I can afford to admit this passage with less weight than I am entitled to draw from it. For the case is, that so far as the Bible can be credited as a history, the city of Jerusalem was not taken till the time of David; and consequently, that the Books of Joshua and of Judges were not written till after the commencement of the reign of David, which was 370 years after the death of Joshua.

'The name of the city that was afterwards called Jerusalem, was originally Jebus or Jebusi, and was the capital of the Jebusites. The account of David's taking this city is given in 2 Samuel, chap, v., v. 4, etc; also in 1 Chron., chap, xiv., v. 4, etc. There is no mention in any part of the Bible that it was ever taken before, nor any account that favours such an opinion. It is not said, either in Samuel or in the Chronicles, that they utterly destroyed men, women, and children; that they left not a soul to breathe, as is said of their other conquests; and the silence here observed implies that it was taken by capitulation, and that the Jebusites, the native inhabitants, continued to live in the place after it was taken. The account, therefore, given in Joshua, that the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day, corresponds to no other time than after the taking the city by David.'

'Chap, xix., 47. And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them; therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem [called Laish in Judges, chap, xviii., v. 29], and took it and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it and dwelt therein! and called Leshem Dan, after the name of Dan, their father.

'This is the same affair which is related in detail in the 18th chapter of Judges. According to the chronology given in the margin of our Bibles, and generally received by the learned, this happened about thirty years after the death of Joshua. The anachronism is explained in the following manner by the editors of the "Family Bible," quoting from Bishop Patrick and Shuckford: —

'"It is supposed that Ezra, or some other, thought good in aftertimes to insert this verse here, in order to complete the account of the Danites' possession."

'If this be received as sound criticism, history will truly be brought down to a level with the most worthless pastimes that man can choose for his amusement: it will be, literally, no better than an almanack, which is altered year by year to adapt it to the existing state of things. If the Book of Joshua were indeed the work of the great man whose name it bears, no later historian would have ventured to impair its value by adding to or detracting from its contents. ( Vide "Hebrew Records" and "Age of Reason")

Chapter xxi., v. 36. In the Douay another city, 'Misor,' is named, but as this would make five cities instead of four, as mentioned in verse 37, our orthodox translators have discreetly omitted 'Misor' from the list.

Verses 43-5. 'And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.' These verses are decidedly incorrect. The Israelites did not get all the promised land, they did not have rest round about, their enemies did stand before them, and in many places defeated them; the Lord did not deliver all their enemies into their hands, and much failed which the Lord had promised.

Chapter xxii., v. 8. According to chap, vi., Achan was stoned to death for the very act now recommended by Joshua to the whole of the people – i.e., preserving and keeping raiment, etc., taken from the enemy.

Verse 22. 'The Lord God of Gods.' Lord of what Gods? Is not this similar to the mythology with Jove as the chief of Gods? The Jews, as has been before observed, were clearly Polytheists, recognising a variety of gods, but claiming the chief place for the God of Israel.

Chapter xxiii., v. 6. 'Book of the law of Moses.' See remarks on page 86.

Verse 12. Although Joshua is here cautioning the people against the consequences which will result from intermarrying with the Canaanites, yet he allowed Rahab and her family to marry and settle amongst the Israelites.

Verse 14. 'Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth.' Not one word is said about heaven or hell, not a hint that after his death he expects to live again, no expression of hope that he may reach heaven, and there enjoy eternal happiness, no thought about his soul. He does not refer to it in any way, so that it is quite evident that if there be a future state of happiness and misery, Joshua knew nothing of it, yet Joshua was a favoured individual; he had personally seen the 'Captain of the Lord's host,' and ought to have known much about heavenly things. Our translators felt the want of this spiritual feeling, and have put into Joshua's mouth the words, 'Your souls.' Joshua, however, never uttered these words. The verse reads, 'Ye shall know, in all your hearts and in all your souls;' the Douay more correctly translates the same passage, 'You shall know with all your mind.' It simply means, 'Ye shall be in no doubt; but shall thoroughly know and understand.' None of the books we have examined contain the slightest reference to an immortal soul outliving the body, and responsible for the acts committed during the body's life. (See pages 68 and 88).

Chapter xxiv., vv. 2 and 3. What flood is this? In verse 3, the Douay, instead of saying that Abraham came from the 'other side of the flood,' substitutes the words, 'from the borders of Mesopotamia.' We are here informed, for the first time, that Terah, the father of Abraham, was an idolator; but we cannot ascertain how Joshua obtained his knowledge. If from other books they are lost, together with 'Jasher,' and the 'Book of the Wars of the Lord.'

Verses 12 and 13. If these verses are true, all the preceding accounts of the wars of the Israelites must be false, as we are repeatedly told of their battles, and hard labours, and struggles, to obtain the land.

Verse 19. Moses said, that God kept 'mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.' Joshua says of God: 'He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.'

Verses 29 and 30. Dr. Giles thus comments: —

'If Joshua died at the age of 110 years, and his death is recorded in the Book which passes by his name, we need no further proof, that this book could not have been written until after Joshua was dead. But this limitation of its origin, to some period after the death of Joshua, must be still further qualified; for in the next verse of the same chapter we read as follows: —

'"Chap, xxiv., v. 31. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over-lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel."

'How could Joshua write, that Israel served the Lord a long time after he was dead, nay, after all those who out-lived him were dead also? If some later writer, as Samuel or Ezra, inserted all these additions to the original work of Joshua, he would certainly have not done so in a clandestine or covert manner; but with a note attached, that "so far is the work of Joshua, and the continuation is by a later hand." Even the monkish chroniclers have displayed this species of common honesty; for we always, or nearly always, find a mark attached to those passages, which begin the writing of a new author:

'"Hactenus dominus Radulfus scripsit Chronica, etc."

'"So far is the Chronicle of Master Ralph, etc."

'Or, "Explicit dominus Rogerus, incipit dominus Matthaeus, etc."

'"Here ends Master Rogers, of Wendover, and Master Matthew Paris begins." 'Even the supposition of these additions, made by later writers, goes far towards a concession of the fact, which I would establish – namely, that we have not the Hebrew writings in their original state; but that they are a compilation, put together after the nation had returned with fresh lights, and a fresh intellectual impetus from Babylon.'

Verse 33. Phineas was a Levite, and the Levites were forbidden to have any inheritance in the land; in what manner, therefore, did Phineas become entitled to this hill?

This Book of Joshua simply claims to be a relation of the adventures of the Jews under the leadership of Joshua. It has evidently been written very long after the occurrences it alleges to have taken place; and the writer must have either compiled from other writings, or from oral tradition; if from the latter, which is the more probable hypothesis, it will, perhaps, account for the anti-astronomical phenomenon, related in chapter x., and for the falling down of the walls of Jericho, and similar absurdities. By tradition, facts are exaggerated and distorted, especially where the people are uneducated ana superstitious. As a history it is of little value, as a romance it is of less; it affords but poor amusement, and nought of instruction to peruse the account of the wars of the Jews. A man of martial disposition may feel a degree of interest and pleasure in reading the accounts of the struggles for freedom of a Tell, a Washington, a Hampden, or even of the terrific battles under a Napoleon or a Wellington; but of these Jews, whose best fighting was but a sham, who were cowards at heart; who only fought well when the Lord had paralysed the arms of their enemies; who took credit for victories, which the 'hornet' had won for them; who were merciless scoundrels when victorious, and pitiable poltroons when defeated; who fought not in defence of their own land, but to rob their fellow men of their native homes; I say, reading of these, a true man feels disgust and sorrow; disgust at the horrible cruelties related; sorrow that men should have been so ignorant as to imagine that the butcheries took place under the supervision of a God of love.