ecause the place
on which he stood was holy. In chap. vi. 2 he is called Jehovah. For it
is evident that we are not to think of another divine revelation there
given to Joshua in any other way--as some interpreters suppose;
because, in that case, the appearance of the Captain, who only now
gives command to Joshua, would have been without an object. In chap. v.
the directions would be wanting; in chap. vi. we should have no report
of the appearance.

There can be no doubt that, by the host of the Lord, the heavenly host
is to be understood; and _Hofmann_ (S. 291) has not done well in
reviving the opinion of some older expositors (_Calvin_, _Masius_)
which has been long ago refuted, viz., that the host of the Lord is
"Israel standing at the beginning of his warfare," and in asserting
that the prince of this host is some inferior angel. The Israelites
cannot be the host of the Lord, that explanation is excluded by the
comparison with the host of the Lord mentioned at the very threshold of
revelation, in Gen. ii. 1; that which is commonly (Gen. xxxii. 2; 1
Kings xxii. 19; Neh. ix. 6; Ps. ciii. 21, cxlviii. 2, compared with 2
Kings vi. 27) so called, infinitely surpasses the earthly one in glory,
and of it the Lord has the name JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH. It is only in two
isolated passages of the Pentateuch that the appellation which properly
belongs to the heavenly hosts of God is transferred to the earthly
ones; and that is done in order to point out their correspondence, and
thereby to elevate the mind. In the first of these passages, Exod. vii.
4, the "host of the Lord" is not spoken of absolutely, but it is
expressly said what host is intended: "And I bring forth My host. My
people, the children of Israel." The second passage, in Exod. xii. 41,
is similarly qualified, and refers to the first. According to this view
of _Hofmann_, the words, "now I have come," are quite inexplicable.[1]
The Captain of the host of the Lord expresses Himself in such a manner
as if, by His coming, everything were accomplished. But if he was only
the commander of Israel--an inferior [Pg 130] angel--his coming was no
guarantee for success, for his limited power might be checked by a
higher one. But if the Captain of the host of Jehovah be the Prince of
angels, we cannot by any means refer the divine honour which He demands
and receives, to Him who sent Him, in contrast with Him who is sent;
the higher the dignity, the more necessary is the limitation. I