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James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joshua 3:7-10

"And Jehovah said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, ye shall stand still in the Jordan. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God. And Joshua said, Hereby shall ye know that the living God is... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 3:9-10

Ver. 9, 10. And Joshua said to the children of Israel, &c.— After giving God's orders to the priests, Joshua communicated them to the Israelites at the door of the tabernacle, making them sensible of their felicity in a dependance upon a Deity who was the living God, in opposition to the idols of the heathen, who were as impotent as lifeless; whereas the LORD, the Sovereign of heaven and earth, did whatever pleased him. He insists on this great God's being among them; that is, that he... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joshua 3:1-12

B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:12The entrance into the land was an extremely important event in the life of Israel. The writer marked it off in three major movements. Each one begins with a command from God to Joshua (Joshua 3:7-8; Joshua 4:1-3; and Joshua 4:15-16), followed by the communication of the command to the people, and then its execution. The way the narrator told the story seems designed to impress on the reader that it was Yahweh who was bringing His people miraculously into the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joshua 3:7-13

The miraculous parting of the Jordan was only the beginning of a series of miracles that demonstrated to the Israelites that their God was indeed among them. He was active for them and working through Joshua to give them victory (Joshua 3:7).This event bore many similarities to the crossing of the Red Sea (Joshua 3:13; cf. Exodus 14). In contrast, Moses had divided the waters of the Red Sea with his rod. Joshua divided the waters of the Jordan with the ark that had become the divinely appointed... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 3:1-17

The Passage of JordanThis is the initial miracle of Joshua’s leadership. Its moral effect upon the Israelite host is suggested in Joshua 3:7 and Joshua 4:14 that wrought upon the Canaanites in Joshua 5:1 (which properly belongs to this section of the book). 3. The ark of the covenant of the Lord your God] see Exodus 25:10-22 and Exodus 37:1-9. It was the authoritative symbol of the Divine Presence (cp. Exodus 23:20.), and as such led the van in the desert marches (Numbers 10:33-36). The priests... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Joshua 3:1-17

Joshua 3:0 'In the mosaics of the earliest churches of Rome and Ravenna,' says Dean Stanley, 'before Christian and pagan art were yet divided, the Jordan appears as a river-god pouring his streams out of his urn. The first Christian Emperor had always hoped to receive his long-deferred baptism in the Jordan up to the moment when the hand of death struck him at Nicomedia.... Protestants, as well as Greeks and Latins, have delighted to carry off its waters for the same sacred purpose to the... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Joshua 3:1-17

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 3:1-17

3. The Passage of Jordan CHAPTER 3 1. The Ark of Jehovah going before (Joshua 3:1-6 ) 2. Jehovah’s words to Joshua (Joshua 3:7-8 ) 3. Joshua’s words to the people (Joshua 3:9-13 ) 4. The passage accomplished (Joshua 3:14-17 ) The River Jordan divided the people from the promised land. To be in the land Jordan had to be crossed. Jordan, overflowing all its banks at that time (verse 15), rolled its dark waters between them and their God-given possession. Only the power of God could... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Joshua 3:10

3:10 And Joshua said, {d} Hereby ye shall know that the living God [is] among you, and [that] he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.(d) By this miracle in dividing the water. read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 3:1-17

THE CROSSING OF JORDAN (vv. 1-17) The next morning Joshua arose early and led Israel to the river. There may be a question as regards the three days spoken of in chapter 2:11 and the three days the spies hid.Whether the latter two are the same three days spoken of in chapter 2:11 seems to be rather unclear; but the spiritual lesson of three days is the most important, speaking of resurrection, thus Israel acting in "newness of life," the energy of resurrection power. The people were told... read more

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