ヨシュア記 4:20 JCB

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 4:20

Ver. 20. And those twelve stones—did Joshua pitch in Gilgal— Josephus relates the matter as if the Israelites had reared these stones in the form of an altar. It is more probable, that, in order to represent the number of the tribes, they were pitched each upon its basis, as so many small pillars, perhaps in three lines, and probably on an elevation. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Joshua 4:20

20-24. those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal—Probably to render them more conspicuous, they might be raised on a foundation of earth or turf. The pile was designed to serve a double purpose—that of impressing the heathen with a sense of the omnipotence of God, while at the same time it would teach an important lesson in religion to the young and rising Israelites in after ages. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joshua 4:1-24

The memorial of the crossing ch. 4The main point in the story of the crossing recorded in this chapter is the removal of the stones from the riverbed. They served as a memorial of this event for generations to come (Joshua 4:6-7). [Note: For a discussion of the supposed contradictions in chapters 3 and 4 and a solution based on literary analysis, see Brian Peckham, "The Composition of Joshua 3-4," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 46:3 (July 1984):413-31.] read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joshua 4:15-24

The text carefully clarifies that it was the presence of God, which the ark symbolized, that held back the waters of the Jordan. When the priests removed the ark from the riverbed, the waters resumed their flow (Joshua 4:18)."The ark is the very symbol of the covenant of the Lord. Thus the full light falls on the redemptive significance of the event. No mere recalling of a miracle is envisaged. The miracle is to be viewed as an expression of covenant fidelity." [Note: Woudstra, p. 91.] There... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 4:1-24

The Double Memorial of the Passage of JordanThe main subject of the chapter is the memorial cairn set up at Gilgal, which is described in two sections, Joshua 4:1-8 and Joshua 4:20-24, separated by the record in a single v. (Joshua 4:9) of another cairn set up in the midst of Jordan, and by a long parenthesis (Joshua 4:10-19) describing in an expanded form the crossing already narrated in Joshua 3:14-17. The repetitions are most satisfactorily explained on the hypothesis that the narrator has... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Joshua 4:20-24

(20—5:9) It would seem that these verses all belong to one section. The use of the first person in Joshua 5:1, “until we were passed over,” is most naturally explained by taking the verse as part of what the Israelites were to say to their children by the command of Joshua. The difficulty has been met in the Hebrew Bible by a Masoretic reading, in which “they” is substituted for “we.” But the more difficult reading is to be preferred. There is nothing else in the section that creates any... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:1-24

CHAPTER IX.JORDAN DIVIDED.Joshua Ch. 3-4.AT Joshua’s command the priests carrying the ark are again in motion. Bearing the sacred vessel on their shoulders, they make straight for the bank of the river. "The exact spot is unknown; it certainly cannot be that which the Greek tradition has fixed, where the eastern banks are sheer precipices of ten or fifteen feet high. Probably it was either immediately above or below, where the cliffs break away; above at the fords, or below where the river... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Joshua 4:1-24

4. The Memorial Stones CHAPTER 4 1. The first memorial (Joshua 4:1-8 ) 2. The second memorial (Joshua 4:9 ) 3. The return of the priests with the ark (Joshua 4:10-18 ) 4. The encampment at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19-24 ) Jehovah commanded that the great event should be remembered by a memorial. From the river-bed, where the priest’s feet stood firm, twelve men, one from each tribe, were to carry twelve stones and leave them at the first lodging place in the land, that is, at Gilgal. These... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 4:1-24

STONES OF MEMORIAL (vs.1-24) Only when all were passed over did Joshua, at God's command, instruct that each of the twelve chosen men should carry a stone out of the midst of Jordan, from the place where the priests had stood, and take them to the place where they would encamp that night (vs.4-5). This was to be a sign for Israel when their children would ask the meaning of the stones set as they were (v.6). The spiritual significance is quite simple. The stones taken out of the water (the... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:1-24

JORDAN CROSSED PREPARATION OF THE PEOPLE (3:1-13) The events in this section are the removal to Shittim and the encampment there (Joshua 3:1 ); directions about the leadership of the priests (Joshua 3:2-4 ); sanctification of the people (Joshua 3:5 ); encouragement of Joshua (Joshua 3:7-8 ); encouragement of the people (Joshua 3:9-13 ). There is little requiring explanation, but notice in Joshua 3:4 the care God took for the people’s guidance and the occasion for it. And do not forget the... read more