Joshua 4:7 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 4:1-9

We may well imagine how busy Joshua and all the men of war were while they were passing over Jordan, when besides their own marching into an enemy's country, and in the face of the enemy, which could not but occasion them many thoughts of hear, they had their wives, and children, and families, their cattle, and tents, and all their effects, bag and baggage, to convey by this strange and untrodden path, which we must suppose either very muddy or very stony, troublesome to the weak and frightful... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:7

Then ye shall answer them ,.... By informing them of the design and use of them: that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it passed over Jordan ; the waters below from those that were, above, which stood up on an heap; so that they were divided and separated from each other, and made dry land for a passage of the children of Israel; and this was done before, and in the presence of the ark of the covenant, to show that is was owing to the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 4:7

Verse 7 7.Then you shall answer them, etc Although the stones themselves cannot speak, yet the monument furnished the parents with materials for speaking, and for making the kindness of God known to their children. And here zealous endeavors to propagate piety are required of the aged, (50) and they are enjoined to exert themselves in instructing their children. For it was the will of God that this doctrine should be handed down through every age; that those who were not then born being... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 4:1-24

The memorial. Prom this chapter we learn several lessons. I. THE DUTY OF COMMEMORATING , BY A PIOUS MEMORIAL , THE GOOD THINGS GOD HAS DONE FOR US . The memory of events under the law was ever kept up in this way. The memorials of God's mercy we read of in the Old Testament are innumerable. There was circumcision, the memorial of God's covenant with Abraham; the stone set up at Bethel, the memorial of Jacob's vision. There was the passover, the memorial of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 4:6-22

Memorials. The crossing the Jordan dry shod was tile first miracle which marked the entrance of the people of Israel into the land of Canaan. It was God's purpose that this should be held in perpetual remembrance. Hence the erection of the twelve stones in the bed of the river, to remind the twelve tribes of that which the Almighty hand had wrought for them, in fulfilment of the promise made to their fathers. The material monument would, however, be insufficient of itself to preserve this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 4:7

Memorial stone. Look for a little at this cairn or Druidical circle, or whatever other shape the twelve stones combined produced. Our text reads as if two such enclosures were raised: one by Joshua in the bed of Jordan, laved at least by its waters; and one in Gilgal, the rising ground about midway between Jordan and Jericho. The first erection made by Israel in the promised land was this stone of remembrance. It was not casually or carelessly done. God enjoined it before they crossed, and... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:1-24

Crossing the Jordan River (3:1-5:1)Israel’s conquest of Jericho was more than just a military exercise. It had religious meaning. The Israelites were to cleanse themselves before God, because he was the one who would lead them against their enemies. His presence was symbolized in the ark of the covenant (GNB: covenant box), which the priests carried ahead of the procession in full view of the people (3:1-6).As God had worked through Moses, so he would work through Joshua. Just as the waters of... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joshua 4:1-7

"And it came to pass when all the nation had clean passed over the Jordan, that Jehovah spake unto Joshua saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 4:7

Ver. 7. Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off— "You shall seize this opportunity to inform them of the wonderful things which God has done for the opening to you an entrance into the land of Canaan; and you shall endeavour to transmit to them, together with the particular facts, those sentiments wherewith I presume you are animated. So long as the nation shall subsist, these stones shall be a perpetual monument to it of your miraculous passage through Jordan, as on... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joshua 4:1-14

Piling up stones was often a covenant ritual in the ancient Near East. [Note: G. Herbert Livingston, The Pentateuch in its Cultural Environment, p. 157.] It was a common method of preserving the memory of important events (cf. Genesis 8:20; Genesis 12:7; Genesis 35:7; et al.).There were apparently two piles of 12 stones each, one at Gilgal (Joshua 4:3-8; Joshua 4:20) and one in the Jordan River bed (Joshua 4:9). Some scholars believe there was only one pile of stones, which the NIV translation... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 4:1-9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:7

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 4:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 4:1-24

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 4:6-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 4:7

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joshua 4:1-24

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joshua 4:1-7

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 4:7

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joshua 4:1-14

Group of Brands