26. And Joshua wrote] As Moses at Sinai wrote all the words that Jehovah had spoken in a book, probably a papyrus-roll (Exodus 24:4), so Joshua now inscribed “minutes” of the transactions connected with this renewal of the covenant at Shechem.

in the book of the law of God] This protocol he placed inside the roll of the Law of Moses.

and took a great stone] Like

(a)  The stone which Jacob set up at Bethel (Genesis 28:18);

(b)  The pillar of stones which the same patriarch set up on his return from Padan-aram (Genesis 31:44-46);

(c)  The twelve pillars which Moses set up at Sinai (Exodus 24:4);

(d)  The twelve stones set up to mark the passage of the Jordan (Joshua 4:3).

under an oak] Or rather, under the oak which was in the sanctuary of Jehovah. See above, ch. Joshua 24:1. “This spot, called in Genesis 12:6 and Genesis 35:4, ‘Allon-Moreh,’ ‘the oak of Moreh’ or of Shechem, is called by the Samaritans Ahron-Moreh, ‘the Ark of Moreh,’ from a supposition that in a vault underneath is buried the Ark. The Mussulmans call it ‘Rigad el Amad,’ ‘the place of the Pillar,’ or ‘Sheykh-el-Amad,’ ‘the Saint of the Pillar.’ ” Stanley’s Lectures, i. 280, n. Possibly beside the old consecrated oak of Abraham and Jacob their altar was still remaining, and it is to be remembered that Joshua himself had built an altar on Mount Ebal, and therefore close to Shechem (Joshua 8:30). Thus many reasons conspired to give a sacred character to “the border of the sanctuary,” the mountain “which the right hand of the Lord had purchased” (Psalm 78:54) at Shechem.

Verse 26. - And Joshua wrote these words. Or, these things, since the word (see note on Joshua 22:24; 23:15) has often this signification. Joshua no doubt recorded, not the whole history of his campaigns and the rest of the contents of what is now called the Book of Joshua, but the public ratification of the Mosaic covenant which had now been made. This he added to his copy of the book of the law, as a memorial to later times. The covenant had been ratified with solemn ceremonies at its first promulgation (Exodus 24:3-8). At the end of Moses' ministry he once more reaffirmed its provisions, reminding them of the curses pronounced on all who should disobey its provisions, and adding, as an additional memorial of the occasion, the sublime song contained in Deuteronomy 32. (see Deuteronomy 21:19, 22). Joshua was present on this occasion, and the dying lawgiver charged him to undertake the conquest of the premised land, and to maintain the observance of the law among the people of God. Hitherto, however, God's promise had not been fulfilled. It seems only natural that when Israel had obtained peaceful possession of the land sworn unto their fathers, and before they were left to His unseen guidance, they should once more be publicly reminded of the conditions on which they enjoyed the inheritance. It may be remarked that, although Joshua's addendum to the book of the law has not come down to us, yet that it covers the principle of such additions, and explains how, at the death of Moses, a brief account of his death and burial should be appended by authority to the volume containing the law itself. The last chapter of Deuteronomy is, in fact, the official seal set upon the authenticity of the narrative, as the words added here were the official record of the law of Moses, having been adopted as the code of jurisprudence in the land. And took a great stone (see notes on Joshua 4:2, 9). An oak. Perhaps the terebinth. So the LXX. (see note on ver. 1). The tree, no doubt, under which Jacob had hid the teraphim of his household. This was clearly one of the reasons for which the place was chosen. By the sanctuary. Keil denies that בְּ ever means near. It is difficult to understand how he can do this with so many passages against him (see Joshua 5:13; 1 Samuel 29:1; Ezekiel 10:15). He wishes to avoid the idea of the sanctuary being at Shechem. Joshua 24:26All these things (האלּה הדּברים are not merely the words spoken on both sides, but the whole ceremony of renewing the covenant) Joshua wrote in the law-book of God, i.e., he wrote them in a document which he placed in the law-book of Moses, and then set up a large stone, as a permanent memorial of what had taken place, on the spot where the meeting had been held, "under the oak that was in the sanctuary of Jehovah." As בּמקדּשׁ neither means "at the sanctuary," nor near the sanctuary, nor "in the place where the sanctuary was set up;' the "sanctuary of Jehovah" cannot signify "the ark of the covenant, which had been brought from the tabernacle to Shechem, for the ceremony of renewing the covenant." Still less can we understand it as signifying the tabernacle itself, since this was not removed from place to place for particular sacred ceremonies; nor can it mean an altar, in which an oak could not possibly be said to stand; nor some other illegal sanctuary of Jehovah, since there were none in Israel at that time. The sanctuary of Jehovah under the oak at Shechem was nothing else than the holy place under the oak, where Abraham had formerly built an altar and worshipped the Lord, and where Jacob had purified his house from the strange gods, which he buried under this oak, or rather terebinth tree (Genesis 12:6-7; Genesis 35:2, Genesis 35:4). This is the explanation adopted by Masius, J. D. Michaelis, and Hengstenberg (Diss. ii. p. 12). In Joshua 24:27 Joshua explains to the people the meaning of the stone which he had set up. The stone would be a witness against the people if they should deny their God. As a memorial of what had taken place, the stone had heard all the words which the Lord had addressed to Israel, and could bear witness against the people, that they might not deny their God. "Deny your God," viz., in feeling, word, or deed. Joshua 24:26 Interlinear
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