Joshua · Chapter 3

V. 1. In the morning-Not after the return of the spies, but after the three days, Joshua 1:11, as it follows, ver. 3:2. Lodge there-That night, that they might go over in the day time, that the miracle might be more evident and unquestionable, and strike the greater terror into their enemies.

Verse 1. Joshua rose early] Archbishop Usher supposes that this was upon Wednesday, the 28th of April, A. M. 2553, the fortieth year after the exodus from Egypt. From Shittim, where they had lately been encamped, to Jordan, was about sixty stadia, according to Josephus; that is, about eight English miles.

Verse 1. Joshua rose early in the morning — Not after the return of the spies, as may seem at first view, but after the three days mentioned Joshua 1:11, when orders were given to the army to make all necessary provision for invading the enemies’ country. They came to Jordan — and lodged there — That night, that they might go over in the day-time, that the miracle might be more evident and unquestionable, and might strike the greater terror into their enemies.

1. Rose early in the morning — According to a necessary custom in hot countries to work by night or early dawn and rest at noonday. Compare Genesis 19:2, 27; 20:3; 28:18. Came to Jordan — Not close up to the brink of the river, but within some two thousand cubits of it. Ver. 4. Lodged there — Not merely spent one night there, as some understand, but abode there (for ˆwl often has this sense) three days, as the next verse most naturally explains.

V. 2. After three days-Either at the end of them, or upon the last of them. Through the host-The second time to give them more particular directions, as they had given them a general notice, Joshua 1:10,11.

Verse 2. After three days] These three days are probably to be thus understood: As soon as Joshua took the command of the army, he sent the spies to ascertain the state of Jericho; as we have seen Joshua 1:12. They returned at the end of three days, or rather on the third day, and made their report. It was at this time, immediately on the return of the spies, that he made the proclamation mentioned here; in consequence of which the people immediately struck their tents, and marched forward to Jordan.

Verses 2, 3. After three days — The three days mentioned Joshua 1:11, either at the end of them, or upon the last of them. The officers went through the host — To give them more particular directions, as they had given a general notice before. They commanded the people — In Joshua’s name, and by his authority. When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God — The sign and symbol of his presence, and of his being in covenant with you, and engaged to protect and conduct you, as your God. What greater encouragement could they have than this, that Jehovah was in covenant with them, as their God, and that here was the ark, the token of it, going before them? Usually, and in their common marches, the ark was carried in the middle of the camps, according to the direction given Numbers 2:17; but now it was to be carried in the front, or at the head of the whole army, as it had been on their first march, when they left mount Sinai. And the priests and Levites bearing it — The Levites of the family of Kohath had the office of carrying the ark assigned them, Numbers 4:15; but the priests, all of whom were also Levites, might perform that office, and were appointed to do so on extraordinary occasions. Then ye shall — go after it — Toward Jordan, in such a manner as is here described.

2. [After three days — Obviously three days after they came to the Jordan, near whose banks they lodged for this length of time, probably to make preparations for crossing. Their camp consisted not merely of armed men, but of the entire population, including women and children, with all their possessions, and a delay of three days before crossing into the enemy’s country might have been useful for many reasons now unknown to us. To identify these three days with those mentioned Joshua 1:11, is altogether unnecessary, and never would have been attempted but for the supposition, wholly untenable, that Joshua completed the passage of the Jordan within three days from his giving the order to prepare to cross. See notes on Joshua 1:11, and 2:22. Strangely have some rationalistic critics argued that because the historian records in one place an order for the people to prepare to cross the Jordan in three days, and afterwards states that they stopped at the river three days, therefore his narrative was compiled from two different and contradictory documents, and these two periods of three days each were confounded by him!] Officers — See note Joshua 1:10.

V. 3. Commanded the people-In Joshua’s name, and by his authority. Priests and Levites-Who were not only Levites, but priests also. For altho’ the Levites were to carry the ark, Numbers 4:1-15, yet the priests might perform that office, and did so upon some solemn occasions. Go after it-Towards Jordan, to go over it in such a manner as I am about to describe. ‘Till this time the ark went in the middle of the cloudy pillar, now it goes in the front. Probably the pillar of fire and cloud was still hovering over the ark.

Verses 2, 3. After three days — The three days mentioned Joshua 1:11, either at the end of them, or upon the last of them. The officers went through the host — To give them more particular directions, as they had given a general notice before. They commanded the people — In Joshua’s name, and by his authority. When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God — The sign and symbol of his presence, and of his being in covenant with you, and engaged to protect and conduct you, as your God. What greater encouragement could they have than this, that Jehovah was in covenant with them, as their God, and that here was the ark, the token of it, going before them? Usually, and in their common marches, the ark was carried in the middle of the camps, according to the direction given Numbers 2:17; but now it was to be carried in the front, or at the head of the whole army, as it had been on their first march, when they left mount Sinai. And the priests and Levites bearing it — The Levites of the family of Kohath had the office of carrying the ark assigned them, Numbers 4:15; but the priests, all of whom were also Levites, might perform that office, and were appointed to do so on extraordinary occasions. Then ye shall — go after it — Toward Jordan, in such a manner as is here described.

3. When ye see the ark of the covenant — This was a chest made of shittim or acacia wood, four feet in length, and two and one third feet in breadth and depth. It was overlaid with gold within and without. The cover, which was edged with gold, was called the mercy-seat. Standing on this lid were the cherubim with outstretched wings. The ark was borne upon the shoulders by means of rods passing through two rings on each of the two sides. When transported, it was enveloped in the veil of the dismantled tabernacle, the curtain of badger skins, and the blue cloth, (Numbers 4:5, 6,) and was therefore not seen. Its name is derived from its chief contents, the “covenant of Sinai” — the two tables of stone, on which was the Decalogue, written by the finger of God. From Hebrews 9:4, we learn that it contained also “the pot of manna,” and “Aaron’s rod that budded.” It was never seen save by the high priest, thus symbolizing the invisible Jehovah. See on Exodus 25:10-22. And the priests the Levites — The Levite-priests, as distinguished from all irregular priests who are not Levitical. Such occasionally arose in times of apostasy from the law. On ordinary occasions the Levites of the house of Kohath, by special command, bore the ark. But when removed from within the veil, or when borne on festive occasions of extraordinary interest, the priests, the offspring of Aaron, were the bearers. Joshua 6:6 and 1 Kings 8:3,

6. Go after it — Let the ark of God be your leader, and move ye as the ark moves. Heretofore it stood at the centre when Israel was encamped, and in mid army when they marched. The ark now led them, as heretofore the pillar of fire.

V. 4. Two thousand cubits-A thousand yards, at which distance from it the Israelites seem to have been encamped in the wilderness. And because they generally went from their tents to the ark to worship God, especially on the sabbath-days; hence it hath been conceived, that a sabbath-day’s journey reached only to two thousand cubits. But that may be doubted; for those who encamped nearest the ark, were at that distance from it, and came so far; but the rest were farther from it, and their sabbath-day’s journey was considerably longer. Near unto it-Partly from the respect they should bear to the ark; but chiefly, that the ark marching so far before you into the river, and standing still there ‘till you pass over, may give you the greater assurance of your safe passage. Ye have not passed this way heretofore-While we are here, we must expect unusual events, to pathways that we have not passed before: and much more when we go hence, when we pass thro’ the valley of the shadow of death. But if we have the assurance of God’s presence, what have we to fear?

Verse 4. About two thousand cubits] This distance they were to keep, 1. For the greater respect, because the presence of the ark was the symbol and pledge of the Divine presence. 2. That the ark, which was to be their pilot over these waters, might be the more conspicuous which it could not have been had the people crowded upon it.

Verse 4. There shall be a space between you and it — Thus it was made to appear that the ark needed not to be guarded by the men of war, but was itself a guard to them. With what a noble defiance of the enemy did it leave all its friends far behind, save the unarmed priests that carried it, as perfectly sufficient for its own safety and theirs that followed it. Two thousand cubits — A thousand yards, at which distance from it the Israelites seem to have been encamped in the wilderness. And because they generally went from their tents to the ark to worship God, especially on the sabbath days, hence it hath been conceived that a sabbath day’s journey reached only to two thousand cubits. But that may be doubted; for those who encamped nearest the ark were at that distance from it, and came so far; but the rest were farther from it, and their sabbath day’s journey was considerably longer. Come not near unto it — Partly from the respect they should bear to the ark; but chiefly, that the ark, marching so far before them into the river, and standing still there till they passed over, might give them the greater assurance of a safe passage. Thus also the faith of the priests would be tried, and their confidence and courage displayed for an example to the people. That ye may know the way by which you must go — May see it, as it were, chalked out, or traced by the ark. For had they been allowed to come near, and surround it, none could have had a sight of it but those that were close to it; but as it was at such a distance before them, they would all have the satisfaction of seeing it when it entered the river, and would be animated by the sight, especially if the pillar of cloud and fire still hovered over it, which some think it did; although others judge it to be more probable that it was now removed. For ye have not passed this way heretofore — Therefore there was the more reason that this provision should be made for their encouragement. This, however, had been the character of it all their way through the wilderness: it was a way they had not passed before; but this through Jordan was especially such. While we are in this world we must expect and prepare for unusual events, to pass ways we have not passed before. And much more when we go hence, when we pass through the valley of the shadow of death. But if we have the assurance of God’s presence with us we need not fear; that will furnish us with protection and strength such as we never had, when we come to pass a way we never passed, and to do a work we never did.

4. Space… two thousand cubits — The design of this space of a thousand yards — more than half a mile — was that the people might see the way to the opened passage through the Jordan. Some have supposed that this space was required on account of the sacredness of the ark. But it is not stated in the text, nor was such a space ever required during all their journeyings in the wilderness, nor ever afterwards. In this case the miraculous division of waters would be more impressive because the required space would render it visible to all. For ye have not passed this way heretofore — The Hebrews yesterday and the day before is equivalent to previously. The Greeks have a similar expression: cqiza te kai prwixa. Homer’s Iliad, 2:303.

V. 5. And Joshua said-Or rather, had said, the day before their passage; for it follows, to-morrow. Sanctify yourselves-Both in soul and body, that you may be meet to receive such a favour, and with more reverence observe this great work, and fix it in your hearts.

Verse 5. Sanctify yourselves] What was implied in this command we are not informed; but it is likely that it was the same as that given by Moses, Exodus 19:10-14. They were to wash themselves and their garments, and abstain from every thing that might indispose their minds from a profitable attention to the miracle about to be wrought in their behalf.

Verse 5. And Joshua said — He himself also, as well as the officers, by his direction, spake to the people the day before their passage; and as the matter was very important, he probably went himself from tribe to tribe, to give the orders here mentioned. Sanctify yourselves — Not only wash your clothes, and shun all kinds of bodily impurities, (see Genesis 35:2; Exodus 19:10; Numbers 9:10,) but purify your minds and hearts, by repentance, and faith, and new obedience, without which the external purifications of your bodies and garments will be of little avail. In other words, prepare yourselves by seriousness, recollection, and prayer, that you may behold with proper regard, reverence, and gratitude, and may fix in your hearts, the wonderful display which is about to be made of the divine power in your behalf, and that you may be meet to receive so great a favour as is now about to be conferred upon you.

Verse 5. Sanctify yourselves, by washings and purifications. The Persians, when commissioned to march against Babylon, are called God’s sanctified ones; for the ministers of his vengeance are holy. Isaiah 13:3.

5. Sanctify yourselves — By sacred ablutions and observances, and by a change of raiment where the washing of the raiment was impracticable. Compare the marginal references. The Lord will do wonders among you — He will open a passage through the Jordan as he did through the Red Sea, and lead his people through dry-shod. The miracle of the Red Sea was a wonder whose name had been noised abroad for forty years, (chap. 2:10,) and this at the Jordan was to be like it.

V. 6. Take up-Namely, upon your shoulders; for so they were to carry it, Numbers 7:9. Before the people-Not in the middle of them, as you used to do.

Verse 6. Spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark] It is remarkable that the priests, not the Levites, whose ordinary business it was were employed to carry the ark on this occasion. Calmet conjectures that this was because it was probably carried without being wrapped up in its curtains, as it always was when the Levites carried it. Though it was the business of the Levites, the sons of Kohath, to carry the ark; yet on certain occasions the priests alone performed this office. 1. In the present case. 2. When they encompassed Jericho, Joshua 6:6. 3. When it was carried to the war against the Philistines by the priests, the sons of Eli, 2 Samuel 15:25. 4. When David sent it back to Jerusalem, at the time he was obliged to fly from it, through the rebellion of his son Absalom, 2 Samuel 15:25; and, 5. At the time that it was taken out of the tabernacle, to be deposited in the temple; see 1 Kings 8:6-11. These were the most solemn occasions, and on such alone, we may presume, the priests performed this office instead of the Levites.

In all their former marches the ark was carried in the centre of this immense camp; (see the scheme at the end of Numbers 2:2 of the book of Numbers;) but now it was to proceed at the head of the army, and to go before them, and at such a distance, about three quarters of a mile, that the whole camp might see it as their guide.

Verse 6. Take up the ark — Namely, upon your shoulders; for so they were to carry it, Numbers 7:9. Before the people — Not in the middle of them, as you used to do. And they took up the ark — They did as they were commanded. And now we may suppose that prayer of Moses to be used, which he addressed to God when the ark set forward, Numbers 10:3. Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered.

6. Take up the ark — This command was among the announcements relating to the order of crossing, and not to the crossing itself, which took place on the next day. And they took up the ark — A statement which is, according to the rules of modern composition, brought in before its proper place, which would naturally be between verses 13 and 14. For the message from God to Joshua, and the address of the latter, must have been given before the priests moved. But this is the manner of the Hebrew historians, who often thus mention the fulfilment of a prophecy or the execution of a command in the immediate connection.

V. 7. Magnify thee-That is, to gain thee authority among them, as the person whom I have set in Moses’s stead, and by whom I will conduct them to the possession of the promised land.

Verse 7. This day will I begin to magnify thee] By making him the instrument in this miraculous passage, he did him honour and gave him high credit in the sight of the people: hence his authority was established, and obedience to him as their leader fully secured. What must have confirmed this authority was, his circumstantially foretelling how the waters should be cut off as soon as the feet of the priests had touched them, Joshua 3:13. This demonstrated that the secret of the Lord was with him.

Verse 7. This day will I begin to magnify thee — That is, to honour thee in a peculiar manner, and gain thee authority; in the sight of all Israel — As the person I have set in Moses’s stead, and by whom I will conduct them into the promised land. It has been observed by some, as a remarkable circumstance, that, from the time of Moses to that of Saul, God always signified to the people, by some miracle, whom he had appointed to govern them.

7. This day will I begin to magnify thee — This was only the beginning of a glorious succession of miracles attesting the divine commission of Joshua. Jehovah pledges to make Joshua great in the estimation of the people, and thus secure to him their promised loyalty and obedience. Compare Joshua 1:17. As I was with Moses — As I crowned Moses with divine honour when, at the outstretching of his rod, I divided the waters of the Red Sea, so will I honour thee by rolling back the Jordan, when, at thy command, the symbol of my presence shall be borne to the river’s brink. Special honour had been put upon Joshua when he was permitted to accompany Moses up the Mount, but it was eclipsed by the greater honour of his master, who alone was permitted to enter the cloud of the glory of the Lord. Exodus 24:13-16. Moses on a former occasion (Deuteronomy 31:7) had magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, but now a Greater than Moses is about to magnify him in the sight of all mankind.

V. 8. The brink-Heb. to the extremity, so far as the river then spread itself, which was now more than ordinary, Joshua 3:15. In Jordan-Within the waters of Jordan, in the first entrance into the river; Where they stood for a season, ‘till the river was divided, and then they went into the midst of it, and there abode ‘till all the people were passed over.

Verse 8. Ye shall stand still in Jordan.] The priests proceeded first with the ark, and entered into the bed of the river the course of which was immediately arrested, the waters collecting above the place where the priests stood, while the stream fell off towards the Dead Sea; so that the whole channel below where the priests were standing became dry. The whole camp, therefore, passed over below where the priests were standing, keeping at the distance of two thousand cubits from the ark; this they would readily do, as the whole bed of the river was dry for many miles below the place where the priests entered.

Verse 8. The brink of Jordan — Hebrew, to the extremity, so far as the river then spread itself, which was now more than ordinary, verse 15. Ye shall stand still in Jordan — Within the waters of Jordan, in the first entrance into the river; where they stood for a season, till the river was divided, and then they went into the midst of it, and there abode till all the people were passed over.

8. The brink of the water — Hebrews end of the water, that is, the eastern margin of the river. It is evident from Joshua’s address to the people, which immediately follows, that all the Lord’s words to Joshua are not reported here. The abbreviation is to prevent repetition. The main point is to show that the whole order of the crossing was arranged by the Lord and not by Joshua. Stand still in Jordan — As a solemn and impressive indication to the passing host that the miracle is wrought by Jehovah, whose chosen ministers are the priests, and the symbol of whose presence is the ark.

V. 9. Come hither-To the ark or tabernacle, the place of public assemblies. The Lord your God-Who is now about to give a proof that he is both the Lord, the omnipotent governor of heaven and earth, and all creatures; and your God, in covenant with you, having a tender care and affection for you.

Verses 9, 10. Come hither — To the ark or tabernacle, the place of public assemblies. Hear the words of the Lord your God — Who is now about to give a proof that he is both the Lord, the omnipotent Governor of heaven and earth, and all creatures, and your God, in covenant with you, having a tender care and affection for you. Ye shall know — By experience and sensible evidence. The living God — Not a dull, dead, senseless idol, such as the gods of the nations are; but a God of life, and power, and activity, to watch over you and work for you. Among you — Is present with you to strengthen and help you.

9. Unto the children of Israel — The objection that Colenso urges against these addresses to the children of Israel by Moses and by Joshua, that it was a physical impossibility for so vast an encampment to hear the words of one speaker, falls to the ground when we reflect that all the people were addressed, not personally en masse, but representatively, as specified verse 2 and Joshua 1:10, 16, through the heads and officers of their tribes.

V. 10. Ye shall know-By experience and sensible evidence. The living God-Not a dull, dead, senseless God, such as the gods of the nations are; but a God of life, and power, and activity to watch over you, and work for you. Among you-Is present with you to strengthen and help you.

Verse 10. Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you] The Israelites were apt to be discouraged, and to faint at even the appearance of danger; it was necessary, therefore, that they should have the fullest assurance of the presence and assistance of God in the important enterprise on which they were now entering. They are to combat idolaters, who have nothing to trust in and help them but gods of wood, stone, and metal: whereas they are to have the living God in the midst of them-HE who is the author of life and of being-who can give, or take it away, at his pleasure; and who by this miracle proved that he had undertaken to guide and defend them: and Joshua makes this manifestation of God the proof that he will drive out the Hittites, Hivites, &c, before them. With regard to the situation of each of these nations in the land of Canaan, Calmet remarks, that those called CANAANITES chiefly inhabited what is called Phœnicia, the environs of Tyre and Sidon: the HITTITES occupied the mountains, southward of the promised land: the HIVITES dwelt by Ebal and Gerizim, Sichem and Gibeon, towards the mountains of Hermon: the PERIZZITES were probably not a distinct nation or tribe, but rather villagers, scattered through the country in general: the GIRGASHITES possessed the country beyond the Jordan, towards the lake of Gennesareth: the JEBUSITES possessed Jerusalem: and the AMORITES occupied the mountainous country in the vicinity of the western part of the Dead Sea, and also that part of the land of Moab which the Israelites conquered from Sihon and Og.

Verses 9, 10. Come hither — To the ark or tabernacle, the place of public assemblies. Hear the words of the Lord your God — Who is now about to give a proof that he is both the Lord, the omnipotent Governor of heaven and earth, and all creatures, and your God, in covenant with you, having a tender care and affection for you. Ye shall know — By experience and sensible evidence. The living God — Not a dull, dead, senseless idol, such as the gods of the nations are; but a God of life, and power, and activity, to watch over you and work for you. Among you — Is present with you to strengthen and help you.

10. The living God is among you — The adjective living is here and elsewhere applied to God in the sense of true, in opposition to the false pagan gods; and also in the sense of efficient, in opposition to the dead idols of the heathen world. In Psalm 106:28, the heathen are spoken of as eating the sacrifices of the dead — that is, dead idol gods. Jeremiah (x, 3-10) gives a detailed account of the process of manufacturing an idol, and then, in striking contrast, sets forth Jehovah as the living God. We may also with equal truth affirm that the attribute living signifies the providential care of the personal God, instead of the blind, impersonal force, the nondescript agency, which, entombed in matter, is indifferent to the wants and progress of men. The design of Joshua is to inspire faith and courage in the hearts of his people. Hence he represents to them that God will demonstrate by a series of astonishing miracles that he dwells not in serene repose, careless of their good, but that he is alive to their interests, and will overrule the laws of nature to secure their triumph. Without fail drive out — A strong promise, yet not unconditional. When man fails, God refuses. See notes on Joshua 1:4, 5, 6.

Seven tribes are now enumerated, who shall, by the faithful co-operation of Israel with Jehovah, be driven from the Land of Promise. All of these tribes are of the same stock as the Phenicians. “It is startling to be reminded that the detested and accursed race, as it appears in the books of Joshua and Judges, is the same as that to which from Greece we look back as the parent of letters, of commerce, of civilization.” — Stanley. See note on Acts 8:40. Their character, as portrayed by Gentile writers, coincides substantially with that delineated by the Scriptures — their dusky complexion, their southern origin, their preservation of monarchical, federal, and aristocratic institutions, their superiority to surrounding nations in social arts, and their human sacrifices, licentious orgies, and multitudes of gods. In Genesis 15:19-21, ten nations are mentioned, whose land was promised to the seed of Abraham. It is impossible at present to tell the exact location of all these tribes. Some of them seem to have become divided, and, like the tribes of Dan and Manasseh in Israel, become settled in different parts of the land. The Canaanites were, strictly speaking, the lowlanders, who inhabited the lower tracts of Palestine, on the sea-coast and western bank of the Jordan. Num 13:29. But this term is often used in a wider sense, including all the tribes west of the Jordan and in Phenicia deriving their descent from Canaan. Genesis 10:15-18. Hittites — Or, Chittites. Of these Abraham purchased Machpelah, (Genesis 23:10,) and among them Esau married two wives. Genesis 26:34. See note on Joshua 1:4. Hivites — Or, the Chivite. The Hebrew name is always in the singular. This tribe dwelt at the foot of Hermon, (Joshua 11:3,) and “in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.” (Judges 3:3;) also at Gibeon (Joshua 9:7; 11:19) and at Shechem. Genesis 34:2. Gesenius and Furst explain the name as villagers. [Ewald explains it as mid-landers, and supposes that “they loved peaceful occupations and trading pursuits in well-ordered communities and fortified cities, and located themselves principally in districts the most suitable for peaceful civil life, and such as have from the earliest times possessed the most flourishing inland cities.”] Perizzites — Hebrews, rustics or countrymen. They inhabited the mountainous regions subsequently allotted to Judah and Ephraim, a part of which was afterwards called Samaria. Joshua 11:13; 17:15. They were engaged in agricultural pursuits. Hence in a wider sense the term Perizzites sometimes includes all the agricultural Canaanites, in distinction from those engaged in trade and commerce. [Girgashites — The residence of this tribe is not distinctly specified in the Old Testament. Eusebius affirms that they dwelt east of the Jordan, and many writers incline to locate them east of lake Gennesaret. For here, according to Matthew 8:28, lay “the country of the Gergesenes,” identical with the name of this tribe, as given in the Septuagint and Vulgate versions.] Amorites — The mountaineers; the largest, most powerful, and wide-spread tribe of all. Therefore their name is sometimes taken in a wide sense, to include all the Canaanitish tribes, as in Joshua 24:18. A part of them dwelt in the mountainous tract afterwards allotted to Judah, and were subject to five kings. Joshua 10:5. Another part had possession of the region east of the Jordan, between the Arnon and the Jabbok. See note on Joshua 2:10. The Jebusites inhabited the city and neighbouring mountains of Jebus — ancient Jerusalem. They were not expelled from the city till the time of David. 2 Samuel 5:6, 8.

11. The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth — Here are four words grammatically dependent on one another, though slightly separated by the disjunctive accent. But this Hebrew accent by no means requires so strange a translation as that adopted by some scholars, which makes Lord of all the earth in apposition with ark of the covenant. {This would be to make the ark of Jehovah identical with Jehovah.} This claim of universal dominion for Jehovah, in contrast with the limited sway of the local gods of the pagans, not only enthrones Jehovah over all nations, but also over the forces of the material world. Perhaps no miracle of Jesus inspired such overwhelming awe in his disciples as his control of the winds and the waves.

V. 12. Twelve men-For the work described, Joshua 4:2,3.

Verse 12. Take you twelve men] See Clarke’s note on “Joshua 4:2”.

Verses 12, 13. Twelve men — For the work described, Joshua 4:2, 3. The ark of the Lord — That so it may appear this is the Lord’s doing, and that in pursuance of his covenant made with Israel. Of all the earth — The Lord of all this globe of earth and water, who therefore can dispose of this river and the adjoining lands as he pleaseth. Cut off — The waters which now are united shall be divided, and part shall flow down the channel toward the Dead sea, and the other part, that is near the spring of the river, and flows down from it, shall stand still. They shall stand upon a heap — Being as it were congealed, as the Red sea was, (Exodus 15:8,) and so kept from overflowing the country. God could by a sudden and miraculous frost have congealed the surface, so that they might all have gone over upon the ice; but that being a thing, it seems, sometimes done even in that country, by the ordinary power of nature, (Job 38:30,) it would not have been such an honour to Israel’s God, nor such a terror to Israel’s enemies. It must therefore be done in such a way as had no precedent, but in the dividing of the Red sea. And that miracle is here repeated to show that God has the same power to finish that he had to begin the salvation of his people, for he is the Omega as well as the Alpha; and that the word of the Lord, (as the Chaldee reads it, verse 7,) the essential word, was with Joshua as truly as he was with Moses.

12. [Now therefore take you twelve men — Emphasis is put on now. The election of these twelve men is to take place immediately, not after they cross the Jordan. The purpose for which they are selected is shown in Joshua 4:4, 5, where it will be seen that a visible memorial of this miracle is provided for before it takes place. The men were designated at this time because they could not be elected while the people were crossing, and afterwards there would be too little time. Hence the assumption of some that this verse is brought in by mistake, being disconnected from the succeeding chapter, is utterly groundless. The men are mentioned before the moving of the ark because they were chosen then.] Out of every tribe a man — This was done that every tribe might be represented in the memorial, and have its accredited witness of the great event.

V. 13. The ark of the Lord-That so it may appear this is the Lord’s doing, and that in pursuance of his covenant made with Israel. Of all the earth-The Lord of all this globe of earth and water, who therefore can dispose of this river and the adjoining land as he pleaseth. Cut off-The waters which now are united now shall be divided, and part shall flow down the channel towards the dead sea, and the other part that is nearer the spring of the river, and flows down from it, shall stand still. An heap-Being as it were congealed, as the Red-Sea was, Exodus 15:8, and so kept from overflowing the country.

Verses 12, 13. Twelve men — For the work described, Joshua 4:2, 3. The ark of the Lord — That so it may appear this is the Lord’s doing, and that in pursuance of his covenant made with Israel. Of all the earth — The Lord of all this globe of earth and water, who therefore can dispose of this river and the adjoining lands as he pleaseth. Cut off — The waters which now are united shall be divided, and part shall flow down the channel toward the Dead sea, and the other part, that is near the spring of the river, and flows down from it, shall stand still. They shall stand upon a heap — Being as it were congealed, as the Red sea was, (Exodus 15:8,) and so kept from overflowing the country. God could by a sudden and miraculous frost have congealed the surface, so that they might all have gone over upon the ice; but that being a thing, it seems, sometimes done even in that country, by the ordinary power of nature, (Job 38:30,) it would not have been such an honour to Israel’s God, nor such a terror to Israel’s enemies. It must therefore be done in such a way as had no precedent, but in the dividing of the Red sea. And that miracle is here repeated to show that God has the same power to finish that he had to begin the salvation of his people, for he is the Omega as well as the Alpha; and that the word of the Lord, (as the Chaldee reads it, verse 7,) the essential word, was with Joshua as truly as he was with Moses.

Ver. 13. The waters of Jordan. The river near the place where the Israelites passed was a rapid stream; its depth is from five to six feet, and its breadth about twenty yards. But by overflowing its banks it has worked an outward bank at the distance of two hundred and twenty yards from the channel. This overflowing is occasioned by the melting of the snow of the northern mountains. The Euphrates overflows at the same time, and from the same cause.

13. The Lord — Hebrews, Jehovah. The Lord of all the earth — The efficient cause of the miracle. Shall rest in the waters — The Jordan had two, and in some places three, banks. See cut and note Matthew 3:6. At its flood it over-flowed the first and second banks, and covered the whole space between the terraces formed by the second and third banks. The waters on each side would be comparatively shallow. Here the priests were to stand or rest in the shoal water on the eastern bank until the waves receded, and the river’s channel was made bare; then they advanced into the midst of the channel of the Jordan, and there stood until all the people had crossed. Verse 17. The waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down — Grammatically, waters that come down is in apposition with waters of Jordan, and the word from, supplied in our English version, is incorrect and misleading. It is better to omit from, and substitute namely, and render, The waters of Jordan shall be cut off, namely, the waters that come down from above. And they shall stand upon a heap — Or, stand up, one mass. The word for heap is best understood by referring to its use in the description of the division of the Red Sea in Exodus 15:8, and in Psalm 78:13. By comparing these passages with Exodus 14:22, where it is said, “The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left,” we arrive at the conclusion that the phenomenon presented by the word heap was that of an upright mass of water held back by Omnipotence. {We take the meaning to be that just above the crossing the waters were “congealed,” or solidified, as if dammed up by an invisible perpendicular wall across the channel, causing the waters above to overflow all the banks. Below the miraculous dam the channel ran dry to the Dead Sea.} Compare note on verse 16. No natural agent was employed in the working of this miracle. In the division of the Red Sea the Lord caused a strong east wind to blow all night, when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. Exodus 14:21. But in the passage of the Jordan “there was neither wind nor tide, to the agency of which the effect could be attributed; and if the river way actually passed, at a high stage of its waters, without boats or bridges, the evidence of the miracle was irresistible — the current must have been suspended by supernatural power.” In the most degenerate periods of Jewish history this great miracle was never once questioned. So far as we know even the skeptical and materialistic Sadducees, who sifted the traditions of the elders with a destructiveness rivaling the German rationalists, never assailed this manifest token of supernatural power in their nation’s induction into the Land of Promise.

14. And the priests bearing the ark — The word priests is the grammatical subject of the implied verb, were. [Verses 14-16 should be rendered thus: And it came to pass while the people were removing from their tents to cross the Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people, and as those bearing the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the waters, (and the Jordan was full over all its banks all the days of harvest,) then stood the waters which came down from above; they rose up, one mass, very far away, in Adam, the city which is beside Zarthan, and those [waters] which came down upon the Sea of the Wilderness, the Salt Sea, were entirely cut off, and the people crossed in front of Jericho.]

V. 15. All the time of harvest-This is meant not of wheat-harvest, but of the barley-harvest, as is manifest from their keeping the passover at their first entrance, Joshua 5:10, which was kept on the fourteenth day of the first month, when they were to bring a sheaf of their first-fruits, which were of barley. So that this harvest in those hot countries fell very early in the spring, when rivers used to swell most; partly because of the rains which have fallen all the winter, partly because of the snows which melt and come into the rivers. And this time God chose that the miracle might be more glorious, more amazing and terrible to the Canaanites; and that the Israelites might be entertained at their first entrance with plentiful and comfortable provisions.

Verse 15. And the feet of the priests-were dipped in the brim of the water] Thus we find that every thing occurred exactly in the way in which Joshua had foretold it. This must have greatly increased his credit among the people.

For Jordan overfloweth all his banks, &c.] It has often been remarked that there was no need of a miracle in crossing Jordan, as it is but an inconsiderable stream, easily fordable, being but about twenty yards in breadth. But the circumstance marked here by the sacred historian proves that there was a time in the year, viz., in the harvest, that this said river overflowed its banks; and this is confirmed by another place in Scripture, 1 Chronicles 12:15. As the miracle reported here took place about the beginning of April, a time in which rivers in general are less than in winter, it may be asked how there could be such an increase of waters at this time? The simple fact is, that the Jordan, as we have already seen, has its origin at the foot of Mount Lebanon, which mountain is always covered with snow during the winter months; in those months therefore the river is low: but when the summer’s sun has melted these snows, there is consequently a prodigious increase of waters, so that the old channel is not capable of containing them; this accounts for the statement in the text that the Jordan overfloweth his banks all the time of harvest; and this was the time which God chose they should pass over it, that a miraculous interposition might be necessary, and that by the miracle they should be convinced of his omnipotence, who was not only their guide, but had promised to put them in possession of this good land.

Verse 15. The feet of the priests were dipped in the brim of the water — The stream stopped immediately, as if a sluice had been let down to dam it up; so that the waters above swelled, stood on a heap, and ran back, and yet, it seems, did not spread themselves over the adjacent lands. When they passed through the Red sea, the waters were a wall on either hand; here only on the right hand. Thus the God of nature, when he pleaseth, can change the course of nature, and alter any of its properties; can “turn waters into rocks, and rocks into waters,” to serve his own purposes. What can he not do? What will he not do for the perfecting of the salvation of his people? Hear the psalmist celebrate this work of wonder, in most beautiful and striking language: “When Israel went out of Egypt — Judah was his sanctuary. The sea saw it and fled: Jordan was driven back. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?” Well might he add, “Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of Jehovah, who turneth the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.” Jordan overfloweth all the time of harvest — This is meant, not of wheat-harvest, but of the barley-harvest, as is manifest from their keeping the passover at their first entrance, (Joshua 5:10,) which was kept on the fourteenth day of the first month, when they were to bring a sheaf of their first-fruits, which were of barley. So that this harvest, in those hot countries, fell very early in the spring, when rivers used to swell most; partly because of the rains which had fallen all the winter, partly because of the snows which melted and came into the rivers. And this time God chose that the miracle might be more glorious, more amazing and terrible to the Canaanites; and that the Israelites might be entertained at their first entrance with plentiful and comfortable provisions.

15. Overfloweth all his banks — The Jordan flows in a deep valley about three quarters of a mile wide, and about fifty feet deeper than the wide plain (the Ghor) in which it lies. In this lower valley a narrow fringe of canes, intermingled with trees, runs along the edge of the river. In the ordinary swellings of Jordan the water overflows this strip of vegetation, driving the beasts of prey from their dens to ravage the surrounding country. Jeremiah 12:5. Ordinarily the lower terrace of the river was dry, and the people went unto the Jordan for wood. 2 Kings 6:2; also see note on Matthew 3:6. Dr. Robinson visited the Jordan on the 12th of May, and found the stream so swollen that the water reached to the very top of the banks, and in some places flowed a little over and covered the roots of the bushes. The river was then about forty yards wide, and from ten to twelve feet deep. But when the Israelites crossed the waters must have been higher, as it is distinctly said that they overflowed all the banks. The idea that the river was forded by this multitude is inadmissible. The fact that the spies swam the river, and that the Arabs of modern times pass over in the rainy season in a few places known only to themselves, can by no means disprove this striking and well-attested miracle. All the time of harvest — The Hebrew word for harvest, according to Gesenius, here designates the grain harvest, in distinction from the fruit harvest. We are informed by Robinson that the barley harvest precedes the wheat harvest about two weeks. At Jericho, in the depressed valley of the Jordan, the barley was cut in the last half of April, and the wheat in the first half of May, about three weeks earlier than on the mountains of Hebron and Carmel. The reason for the overflow at this time instead of the winter — which, in that latitude, is the rainy season — is because the snow on the Lebanon, “which nourishes and pours out the Jordan,” melts at that time with the increasing heat of the summer.

Blunt observes here some undesigned coincidences with the books of Moses, which clearly demonstrate the reality and truth of this narration. In Exodus 9:31-32, we read that the hail, which fell a few days before the first passover in Egypt, smote the flax and the barley; “for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten, for they were not grown up.” Now the Jordan was passed on the 10th of Abib, four days before the passover, when we find the barley harvesting going on in the Jordan valley. This small circumstance, trifling though it be, confirms the truth of the account.

So minute a coincidence between two histories would not have been designed by those perpetrating literary forgeries. Again, flax is cut or pulled when in the boll, as it was in Egypt when the hail cut it down. Forty years afterwards, in about the same latitude, at the same time of the year, Rahab covers the two spies to Jericho with stalks of flax which she had spread to cure on the roof. “How very minute is this incident! Could the historian have contemplated for one moment the effect which a trifle about a flax stalk might have in corroboration of his account of the passage of the Jordan? Is it possible for the most jealous examiner of human testimony to imagine that these flax stalks were fixed upon above all things in the world for the covering of the spies, because they were known to be ripe with the barley, and the barley was known to be ripe at the passover, and the passover was known to be the season when the Israelites set foot in Canaan?”

V. 16. Adam-The city Adam being more obscure, is described by its nearness to a more known place, then eminent, but now unknown. The meaning is, that the waters were stopped in their course at that place, and so kept at a distance from the Israelites whilst they passed over. Against Jericho-Here God carried them over, because this part was, 1. The strongest, as having in its neighbourhood an eminent city, a potent king, and a stout and war-like people. 2. The most pleasant and fruitful, and therefore more convenient both for the refreshment of the Israelites after their long and tedious marches, and for their encouragement.

Verse 16. Rose up upon a heap] That is, they continued to accumulate, filling up the whole of the channel toward the source, and the adjacent ground over which they were now spread, to a much greater depth, the power of God giving a contrary direction to the current. We need not suppose them to be gathered up like a mountain, instar montis, as the Vulgate expresses it, but that they continued to flow back in the course of the channel; and ere they could have reached the lake of Gennesareth, where they might have been easily accumulated, the whole Israelitish army would have all got safely to the opposite side.

Very far from the city Adam-beside Zaretan] Where these places were it is difficult to say. The city Adam is wholly unknown. From 1 Kings 4:12 we learn that Zartanah was below Jezreel near Bethshean, or Scythopolis, and not far from Succoth, 1 Kings 7:46. And it appears from Genesis 33:17, Joshua 13:27, that Succoth lay on the east side of Jordan, not far from the lake of Gennesareth; and probably Adam was on the same side to the north of Succoth. It is probable that the Israelites crossed the Jordan near Bethabara, where John baptized, John 1:28, and which probably had its name, the house of passage, from this very circumstance. After all, it is extremely difficult to ascertain the exact situation of these places, as in the lapse of upwards of 3,000 years the face of the country must have been materially changed. Seas, rivers, and mountains, change not; and though we cannot ascertain the spot, it is sufficiently evident that we can come near to the place. It has been considered a lame objection against the truth of the Iliad that the situation of Troy cannot now be exactly ascertained. There are even many ancient cities and considerable towns in Europe, that, though they still bear their former names, do not occupy the same spot. There are not a few of those even in England; among such Norwich, Salisbury, &c., may be ranked, neither of which is in its primitive situation.

Right against Jericho.] It would be impossible for the whole camp to pass over in the space opposite to Jericho, as they must have taken up some miles in breadth, besides the 2,000 cubits which were left on the right between them and the ark; but the river was divided opposite to Jericho, and there the camp began to pass over.

Verse 16. Adam — The city of Adam, being more obscure, is described by its nearness to a more known place, then eminent, but now unknown. The meaning is, that the waters were stopped in their course at that place, and so kept at a distance from the Israelites while they passed over. Against Jericho — Here God carried them over, because this part was, 1st, The strongest, as having in its neighbourhood an eminent city, a potent king, and a stout and warlike people. 2d, The most pleasant and fruitful, and therefore more convenient both for the refreshment of the Israelites after their long and tedious marches, and for their encouragement.

Ver. 16. The waters were stopped at the city of Adam by the Angel of the covenant. The ark proceeded about half a mile at the head of the Israelites, unawed by the Jordan and the hostile nations. The ark is still able to defend itself against the waters of death, and all the enemies of the church. The people kept at this respectful distance because of the majesty of God.

16. The city Adam, that is beside Zaretan — It is impossible to locate these cities; no traces of them remain. The latter city is elsewhere more correctly spelled Zarthan. There is in the Hebrew a marginal reading which is generally preferred by the critics: “The waters stood and rose up upon one heap very far off — by Adam, the city that is by the side of Zarthan.” In accordance with this reading many commentators suppose that the entire channel of the Jordan was dry for many miles above the place of crossing, and that the waters were rolled back and piled up in a place many miles distant towards, or near, the Sea of Tiberias. The following is Stanley’s graphic description: “On the broken edge of the swollen stream the band of priests stood, with the ark on their shoulders. Suddenly the full bed of the Jordan was dried before them. High up the river, far, far away, in Adam, (that is, at a distance of thirty miles from the encampment,) the waters stood which ‘descended’ from the heights above; stood, and rose up as if gathered into a waterskin, as if in a barrier or heap, as if congealed, (LXX;) and those that descended toward the Sea of the Desert, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off. Thus the scene presented is of the ‘descending stream,’ (Jordan, etymologically, means the Descender,) not parted asunder, as we generally fancy, but, as the Psalm expresses it, (Psalm 114:3,) ‘turned backwards;’ the whole bed of the river left dry from north to south, through its long windings; the huge stones lying bare here and there, embedded in the soft bottom; or the shingly pebbles drifted along the course of the channel.” To this theory of the miracle, which is also that of Dr. A. Clarke, we object. We see no reason for heaping up the waters in a far-distant place where there were no Hebrew witnesses.

V. 17. Stood firm-That is, in one and the same place and posture; their feet neither moved by any waters moving in upon them, nor sinking into any mire, which one might think was at the bottom of the river. And this may be opposed to their standing on the bank of the water when they came to it, commanded, Joshua 3:8, which was but for a while, ‘till the waters were divided and gone away; and then they were to go farther, even into the midst of Jordan, where they are to stand constantly and fixedly, as this Hebrew word signifies, until all were passed over. The midst of Jordan-In the middle and deepest part of the river.

Verse 17. The priests-stood firm on dry ground] They stood in the mid channel, and shifted not their position till the camp, consisting of nearly 600,000 effective men, besides women, children, &c., had passed over.

1. Is it not surprising that the Canaanites did not dispute this passage with the Israelites? It is likely they would, had they had any expectation that such a passage would have been attempted. They must have known that the Israelitish camp was on the other side of the Jordan, but could they have supposed that a passage for such a host was possible when the banks of the Jordan were quite overflowed? It was not merely because they were panic struck that they did not dispute this passage, but because they must have supposed it impossible; and when they found the attempt was made, the passage was effected before they could prepare to prevent it.

2. GOD now appears in such a way, and works in such a manner, as to leave no doubt concerning his presence or his power, or of his love to Israel. After this, was it possible for this people ever to doubt his being or his bounty? This, with the miraculous passage of the Red Sea, were well calculated to have established their faith for ever; and those who did not yield to the evidence afforded by these two miracles were incapable of rational conviction.

3. In some respects the passage of the Jordan was more strikingly miraculous than that even of the Red Sea. In the latter God was pleased to employ an agent; the sea went back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, Exodus 14:21. Nothing of this kind appeared in the passage of the Jordan; a very rapid river (for so all travellers allow it to be) went back to its source without any kind of agency but the invisible hand of the invisible God.

4. Through the whole period of the Jewish history these miracles, so circumstantially related, were never denied by any, but on the contrary conscientiously believed by all. Nor did any of them in their revolts from God, which were both foul and frequent, ever call these great facts in question, when even so full of enmity against God as to blaspheme his name, and give his glory to dumb idols! Is not this a manifest proof that these facts were incontestable? and that Jehovah had so done his marvellous works that they should be had in everlasting remembrance? Reader, the same God who is over all is rich in mercy to all that call upon him. HE changes not, neither is he weary: trust in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength; and HE ever saves his followers out of the hands of all their enemies, and, having guided them by his counsel, will receive them into his glory.

JOSHUA

Verse 17. Stood firm — That is, in one and the same place and posture; their feet were neither moved by any waters flowing in upon them, nor sunk into any mire, which one might think was at the bottom of the river. And this may be opposed to their standing in the brink of the water when they came to it, as commanded, (verse 8,) which was but for a while, till the waters were divided and gone away; and then they were to go farther, even into the midst of Jordan, where they were to stand constantly and fixedly, as the Hebrew word signifies, until all were passed over. The midst of Jordan — In the middle and deepest part of the river. This manifests how firmly the priests believed the word of the Lord, and confided in his power, otherwise they would not have dared to stand so long in the midst of the channel of a river, whose rapid waters stood suspended above them in mountainous heaps, ready every moment to overwhelm them unless miraculously withheld by the power of God.

17. The priests… stood firm on dry ground — The priests stood above, near the wall of waters, and the people passed below. The ark, the symbol of the presence of Jehovah, was the instrument of the miracle, as the rod of Moses had been in the division of the Red Sea. Thus God honours his own ordinances. Dry ground — Not hard and dusty ground, but dry only in the sense of being drained of water. See note on Joshua 4:18. {All the Israelites passed… clean over Jordan — The Jordan is now passed, and Canaan is attained! The forty years’ sojourn is closed, and for the first ecstatic moment the feet of the tribes are standing on the Promised Land! Their departure from Egypt and their arrival in Canaan are signalized by parallel miracles of sea and river. Both at their exit and at their entrance Jehovah leads them through a watery gate, by cleaving the waves asunder. Through all ages the Church has seen in the desert sojourn the symbol of our probationary life, and in the crossing the Jordan the symbol of death. Yet is there this memorable difference: the crossing the Jordan was to Israel the commencement of a new warfare; the transit of Christian death is into eternal repose.}