Joshua therefore commanded the priests ,.... In obedience to the Lord, and sent them an order: saying ; as follows: come ye up out of Jordan ; from the midst of the river to the bank of it, which was properly an ascent. read more
And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan ,.... According to the command of Joshua in the name of the Lord: and the soles of the priests' feet were lift up upon the dry land ; and set upon it, on the bank of Jordan, and shores of the land of Canaan: that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place ; those that came from above, and had stood on an heap, gradually came down into the channel, and... read more
And the people came up out of Jordan ,.... The channel of it, to the shore: on the tenth day of the first month ; the month Nisan or Abib, which from the time of Israel's coming out of Egypt was appointed the first month of the year, Exodus 12:2 ; on the fifteenth of which month they came out of Egypt, having kept the passover on the fourteenth at even; so that their coming out of Egypt, to their entrance into Canaan, was just forty years, wanting five days. This tenth day was the... read more
And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan ,.... The twelve men who were sent there for that purpose, and took them from thence, and brought them hither, Joshua 4:3 , did Joshua pitch in Gilgal ; set them in rows, or one upon another, and made a pillar of them commemorative of their passage over Jordan into the land of Canaan: according to Josephus F14 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.) , he made an altar of these stones; and Ben Gersom is of opinion, that they... read more
And he spoke unto the children of Israel, saying ,.... At the same time he set up the stones: when you children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying , What mean these stones ? See Gill on Joshua 4:6 . read more
Then ye shall let your children know ,.... The meaning of the erection of these stones, acquaint them with the whole history, the meaning of which they are designed to perpetuate: saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land ; and if they should ask how that could possibly be done, or if they did not, they were to inform them by what means it was brought about, as follows. read more
For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over ,.... As this is supposed to be said in future time, and to persons who were not upon the spot when this was done, and so entirely ignorant of the affair; it is not to be understood of them personally, but of the same people they were of, the people of Israel in former times, of their ancestors, and of them in them; the benefits of which they enjoyed by possessing the land of Canaan their fathers... read more
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty ,.... Even almighty, and can do that which is marvellous and surprising, and above the power of nature to effect; things unsearchable and past finding out, which cannot be expressed, or conceived how and by what means they are brought about; this the very Heathens would own and acknowledge when they should see these stones, and be told the meaning of them, or should hear of this amazing event: that ye... read more
When the people are passed over, Joshua commands twelve men, one taken out of each tribe, to take up a stone on his shoulder out of the midst of the river, and carry it to the other side, to be set up as a memorial of this miraculous passage, Joshua 4:1-7 . They do so, and set up the stones in the place where they encamp the first night, Joshua 4:8 , Joshua 4:9 . The priests stand in the river, till all the people are passed over, Joshua 4:10 , Joshua 4:11 . Of the tribes of Reuben... read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:16
Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony ,.... In all places before, in this history, the ark is called the ark of the covenant, here the ark of the testimony, which signifies the same thing, the law; which was both the covenant between God and the people, and a testimony of his will unto them; the Septuagint version has both words: that they come up out of Jordan ; where they stayed until all the people passed over, for the encouragement of them, and until they received... read more