Albert Barnes Commentary Judges 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Judges 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Judges 2
"And the angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you:" — Judges 2:1 (ASV)
The angel of the Lord (not an angel). - The phrase is used nearly 60 times to designate the Angel of God’s presence. See (Genesis 12:7) note. In all cases where “the angel of the Lord” delivers a message, he does it as if God Himself were speaking, without the intervening words Thus saith the Lord, which are used in the case of prophets (Joshua 24:2).
When the host of Israel came up from Gilgal in the plain of Jericho, near the Jordan (Joshua 4:19) to Shiloh and Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim, the Angel who had been with them at Gilgal (Exodus 23:20–23; Exodus 33:1–4; Joshua 5:10–15) accompanied them. The mention of Gilgal thus fixes the transaction to the period soon after the removal of the camp from Gilgal, and the events recorded in (Judges 1:1–36) (of which those related in Judges 1:1-29 took place before, and those in Judges 1:30-36, just after that removal). It also shows that it was the conduct of the Israelites, recorded in (Judges 1:0) as in (Joshua 16:1–10; Joshua 17:0), which provoked this rebuke.
"and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall break down their altars. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice: why have ye done this?" — Judges 2:2 (ASV)
The two articles of the covenant specified here (compare the marginal references) are those which the Israelites had broken at this time. The other important prohibition (Deuteronomy 7:3) is not specified by the Angel. This indicates that when the Angel spoke, the intermarriages with pagans, as mentioned in Judges 3:6, had not yet occurred. This, in turn, is further evidence of the early date of this event.
"Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you." — Judges 2:3 (ASV)
Wherefore I also said—Rather, because you have done the things mentioned in (Judges 2:2), “I have now said (that is, I now protest and declare) that I will not drive them out from before you” . And it was the announcement of this resolution by the Angel that caused the people to weep.
The word 'thorns' in this verse is supplied by the King James Version from the similar passage in Joshua (see the marginal reference). Other versions adopt a different reading of the original text, and prefer the sense they shall be to you for adversaries (Compare to the last words of Numbers 33:55).
"And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto Jehovah." — Judges 2:5 (ASV)
Bochim - that is, weepers. It was near Shechem, but the site is unknown. Compare the names given to places for similar reasons in (Genesis 35:8); (Genesis 50:11).
"And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Jehovah that he had wrought for Israel." — Judges 2:7 (ASV)
If Joshua was about 80 at the entrance into Canaan, 30 years would bring us to the close of his life. The "elders" would be all that were old enough to take part in the wars of Canaan (Judges 3:1–2); and therefore, reckoning from the age of 20 to 70, a period of about 50 years may be assigned from the entrance into Canaan to the death of the elders, or 20 years after the death of Joshua.
The great works of the Lord - The overthrow of the Canaanite nations.
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