Bands. Hebrew, "prepared for war passed over, before the Lord, unto battle, to the plains of Jericho." (Haydock) --- These formed the van-guard. --- Plains. Hebrew harboth, which is translated desert, Jeremias lii. 8. A large plain, fit for pasturage, extended from the city to the Jordan, on the east side. (Calmet) read more
10-19 The priests with the ark did not stir till ordered to move. Let none be weary of waiting, while they have the tokens of God's presence with them, even the ark of the covenant, though it be in the depths of adversity. Notice is taken of the honour put upon Joshua. Those are feared in the best manner, and to the best purpose, who make it appear that God is with them, and that they set him before them. read more
The Stones Pitched in Gilgal v. 10. For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hasted and passed over, made as quick a passage as possible. Moses had, according to the command of God, commissioned Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land, at the same time giving him the assurance that the Lord would be with him.... read more
3. The Passage of the Israelites through the JordanJoshua 3-4a. Joshua’s Regulations concerning the Passage through the JordanJoshua 3:1-131And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed [broke up1] from Shittim and came to [the] Jordan, he and all the children [sons] of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2And it came to pass after three days, that the officers 3[overseers] went through the host [camp]; and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the... read more
Joshua STONES CRYING OUT Jos_4:10 - Jos_4:24 . This chapter is divided into two sections. The first from Jos_4:1 - Jos_4:14 has as its main subject the bringing up of the twelve memorial stones from the bed of Jordan; the second Jos_4:15 - Jos_4:24 gives the conclusion of the whole incident. The plan of arrangement, already pointed out in a former chapter, is very plain in this. Each section has God’s commands to Joshua, Joshua’s to the people, and the execution of these. To each is... read more
the Memorial Stones Joshua 4:1-24 Twelve stones were brought up from the Jordan and erected in Gilgal. They gave fathers the opportunity of telling their children of the miraculous passage of the river. We, too, through our Lord, have passed through the waters of death on to resurrection-ground. Let the great deliverances of God wrought for our fatherland, as well as those wrought for us personally in Christ, be more frequent subjects of family-talk. Twelve other stones were placed in the... read more
The commands of God required haste in obedience. Haste, however, never means neglect of religious observance. The very fact of their need for the divine guidance made it of supreme importance that the people should take time for worship and the recognition of their relationship with God. Safely over Jordan, with the conflict waiting, the hosts must pause while stones were gathered out of the river bed and erected in a memorial pile on the land to which they now had come. We shall miss a very... read more
‘ And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them, about forty eleph ready armed for war, passed over before Yahweh to battle, to the plains of Jericho.’ This is not chronologically placed. The point is that they passed over at some stage in the sight of the people and in the sight of YHWH, ready armed for the coming battle, just as the ‘Ark of YHWH’ had crossed over ready for the... read more
Joshua 3:1 to Joshua 5:1 . The Crossing of Jordan.— Here we begin to meet with more serious difficulties. The old tradition was that after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, they commemorated the event by the erection of twelve stones. But this simple narrative existed in two recensions, which differed as to the destination of these memorial stones. According to one account, they were to be placed in the midst of the river; according to the other, they were to be set up on the W. side of... read more
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George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:12
Them. (Chap. i. 14., and Numbers xxxii. 28.) Forty thousand were only chosen. (Haydock) read more