Joshua 7:25

And Joshua said, why hast thou troubled us?.... Been the occasion of so much trouble to us, by committing this sin: the Lord shall trouble thee this day; by the destruction of him and all that

And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. No JFB commentary on this verse.

Stoned him 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, , which doubtless was here executed. Quest. How could both these deaths be inflicted upon them? Answ. It seems they were stoned to death, which was the punishment of such offenders, , and not burned to death; and therefore the stoning only of Achan is mentioned here, and not his burning; and God would have their dead carcasses burned to show his utmost detestation of such persons as break forth into sins of such a public scandal and mischief. And for the burning of Achan, commanded , it seems not likely to be meant of his burning alive, because that burning is common to him, and all that he hath, as is there expressed; but of the burning of his dead carcass, and other lifeless things, as the manner was with accursed things, .

Joshua 7:25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.Ver. 25. Why hast thou troubled us?] There was a young man among the Suitzers that went about to trouble and alter their free state. Him they condemned to death, and appointed his father for executioner, because he bred him no better. Bishop Ridley told Stephen Gardiner that it was the hand of God that he was now in prison, because he had so troubled others in his time. - Act. and Mon.

Verse 25. Why hast thou troubled us?] Here is a reference to the meaning of Achan's or Achar's name, מה עכרתנו meh ACHAR-tanu; and as עכר achar is used here, and not עכן 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 1 Chronicles 2:7, and in some MSS., and ancient versions. See Clarke on Joshua 7:17. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned then with stones.] With great deference to the judgment of others, I ask, Can it be fairly proved from the text that the sons and daughters of Achan were stoned to death and burnt as well as their father? The text certainly leaves it doubtful, but seems rather to intimate that Achan alone was stoned, and that his substance was burnt with fire. The reading of the present HEBREW text is, They stoned HIM with stones, and burnt THEM with fire, after they had stoned THEM with stones. The singular number being used in the first clause of the verse, and the plural in the last, leaves the matter doubtful. The VULGATE is very clear: Lapidavitque EUM omnis Israel; et cuncta quae illius erant, igne consumpta sunt, "All Israel stoned him; and all that he had was consumed with fire." The SEPTUAGINT add this and the first clause of the next verse together: ΚαιελιθοβολησαναυτονλιθοιςπαςΙσραηλ, καιεπεστησαναυτῳσωρονλιθωνμεγαν: And all Israel stoned HIM with stones, and raised over HIM a great heap of stones. The Syriac says simply, They stoned HIM with stones, and burned what pertained to HIM with fire. The TARGUM is the same as the Hebrew. The ANGLO-SAXON seems to refer the whole to Achan and his GOODS: [Anglo-Saxon] And HIM they stoned there, and burnt his goods. The ARABIC version alone says, They stoned HIM and his CHILDREN, and his goods, [Arabic]. Instead of burnt THEM, אתם otham, two of De Rossi's MSS. read אתו otho, HIM; which reading, if genuine, would make the different members of the verse agree better. It is possible that Achan, his oxen, asses, sheep, tent, and all his household goods, were destroyed, but his sons and daughters left uninjured. But it may be asked, Why are they brought out into the valley with the rest? Why, that they might see and fear, and be for ever deterred by their father's punishment from imitating his example. I have gone thus far into this important transaction, in which the justice and mercy of God are so much concerned, that I might be able to assign to each its due. That Achan's life was forfeited to justice by his transgression, no one doubts: he sinned against a known and positive law.

25. Why hast thou troubled us?] Compare the question of Ahab to Elijah, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” (1 Kings 18:17). “For thou disturblidist us, the Lord schall disturble the in this dai,” Wyclif. And all Israel stoned him] The use of the singular here and in the following verse is deserving of notice. It suggests that it does not necessarily follow that the sons and daughters of Achan were burned with him. In this case “the plural number used would refer only to the oxen, asses, and sheep, and all that Achan possessed.” Edersheim. Stoning was the ordinary mode of execution (Exodus 17:4), especially for idolatry and blasphemy (1 Kings 21:10). and burned them with fire] This was a terrible aggravation of the ordinary punishment of death, Leviticus 20:14.

25. Why hast thou troubled us? — The verb here used has, in the Hebrew, (achar,) a sound much like Achan’s name. See note on Joshua 7:26.