Joshua 24:2

“And Joshua said unto all the people, etc.] Then present, or to all Israel by their representatives: thus saith the Lord God of Israel; he spoke to them in the name of the Lord, as the prophet did, being himself a prophet, and at this time under a divine impulse, and spirit of prophecy. According to an Arabic writer f526: the Angel of God appeared in the form of a man, and with a loud voice delivered the following, though they are expressed by him in a different manner; perhaps he mean, the Captain of the Lord’s host, (<061513>Joshua 15:13,14); and which is not unlikely: your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time; on the offer side the, river Euphrates; so the Targum,…”

“RELATES GOD'S BENEFITS. (Jos 24:2-13) Joshua said unto all the people--His address briefly recapitulated the principal proofs of the divine goodness to Israel from the call of Abraham to their happy establishment in the land of promise; it showed them that they were indebted for their national existence as well as their peculiar privileges, not to any merits of their own, but to the free grace of God. Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood--The Euphrates, namely, at Ur. Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor--(see Gen 11:27). Though Terah had three sons, Nahor only is mentioned with Abraham, as the Israelites were descended from him on the mother's side through…”

“The other side of the flood - Better “On the other side of the river,” i. e. the Euphrates. See the marginal reference. They served other gods - Possibly the “images,” or teraphim, which we find their ancestor Laban calling “his gods” (see the marginal reference); and of which it would seem that there were, as Joshua spoke, some secret devotees among the people Joshua 24:14, Joshua 24:25. It is not stated that Abraham himself was an idolater, though his fathers were. Jewish tradition asserts that Abraham while in Ur of the Chaldees was persecuted for his abhorrence of idolatry, and hence, was called away by God from his native land. The reference in the text to the original state of those…”

“The people - To the elders, by whom it was to be imparted to all the rest, and to as many of the people as came thither. He spake to them in God's name, and as from him, in the language of a prophet, Thus saith the Lord. Jehovah, the great God, and the God of Israel, whom you are peculiarly engaged to hear. The flood - Or, the river, namely, Euphrates, so called by way of eminency. They served - That is, Both Abraham and Nahor were no less idolaters than the rest of mankind. This is said to prevent their vain boasting in their worthy ancestors, and to assure them that whatsoever good was in, or had been done by their progenitors, was wholly from God's free grace, and not for their own merit…”

“24:2 Terah: See Gen 11:27-32.”

“Your fathers: Gen 11:26, Gen 11:31, Gen 12:1, Gen 31:53; Deu 26:5; Isa 51:2; Eze 16:3 served other gods: In the case of Abraham this was probably the case, till he was called to the knowledge of God, when above 70 years old. Jos 24:15; Gen 31:19, Gen 31:30, Gen 31:32, Gen 31:53, Gen 35:4 Joshua 24:3”