Joshua 4

Joshua 4:1

joiND it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying. It is likely he went to return thanks unto God for vol. n. so wonderful a mercy; and then God spake to him what follows:

Joshua 4:2

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man. He bids him now call together the twelve men formerly chosen, iii. 12.

Joshua 4:3

And command you them. I suppose Joshua had some of the elders, or heads of the tribes, that.joined with him in this office. Saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan.] Which continued perfectly dry for some space after they were all gone over; that is, till the priests removed from thence. Out of the place where the priests 7 feet stood firm, twelve stones.] Some understand this so precisely, as if they were to take them from under the very soles of the priests’ feet,.which is not probable; but only near to the place where they stood. For the priests did not stir a step from the place where they first stood; and therefore none can tell how they should take these stones from under their feet, and place others in their room, (ver. 9.) while they remained standing fixed in the same place. And ye shall carry them over with you.] In the sight of all the people, to make the miracle more known among them all. And leave them in the lodging-place where you shall lodge this night. 1 As a monument of this miraculous work of God; which remained ever after in Gilgal; the place where they lodged that night, ver. 19, 20.

Joshua 4:4

Tlien Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared, &c. Before they passed over Jordan, (iii. 12.)

Joshua 4:5

And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord God into the midst of Jordan. This is a, Divino order to go back again into the river, to the very place where the priests stood with the ark; by which these twelve men were dispensed withal, to come nearer to the ark than the rest of the congregation. And take ye up every man a stone upon his shoulder.] Great stones, as big as they could well lift and carry. So the Hebrew word imports, ver. 3. According unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel.] Thaf they might publish in every tribe this evident testimony of the power of God; which laid the bottom of the river dry for so long a time, that they not only all went over on dry ground, but some of them returned again, and took up these stones, and laid others in their room,; (ver. 9.)

Joshua 4:6

That this may be a sign unto you. A token of what God had now done for them. Tliat when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?] It was natural for men, in future ages, seeing great stones (in a place, perhaps, where there were no more), and just twelve of them, laid together, or one upon another, to ask how they came there, and for. what end they were brought thither, and by whom.

Joshua 4:7

Then shall ye answer 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 of Jordan were cut off. This was to give them occasion to report, at large, what God had done for them at their entrance into Canaan; that their posterity. might be affected with it, no less than themselves. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel for ever.] To keep in memory this miracle in all Microsoft® [chap. IV, ages to como, as long as this nation lasted. All people have been wont to erect monuments of stone to preserve the memory of covenants or victories, or other great things. And though there was no inscription upon these stones, yet, the number of them, and tho place where they lay, which was not stony, was sufficient to signify some memorable thing; which, upon inquiry, would be made known to.those that saw and observed them._

Joshua 4:8

And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, &c. That is, the twelve men did according to his order, both in taking up the stones and carrying tbem to the place w T hcrc they lodged. And laid them doivn there.] Which, perhaps, were erected into a kind of pillar, that they might look like a monument of something done thereabout. Or, they were so placed, as to be so many little monuments of God’s mercy, (See ver, 20.)

Joshua 4:9

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bare the covenant stood. This renders it probable, that the other twelve stones taken out of Jordan were set up in Gilgal, as these, taken out of some of the fields thereabouts, were erected in the midst of the river, to testify to all posterity their miraculous passage over it at this place. And they are there unto this day.] From hence, not only such men as Mr. Hobbes, but Masius, and Grotius, and divers others, have argued, that this book was not written by Joshua, but by some person who lived at a great distance from his time, as these words, they fancy, import. But this is a mere fancy; for if Joshua wrote this book in his old age, or, at least, then added his last hand to it (as it is probable he did), he might as well use these words as one that lived a hundred years after. And, at this rate of arguing (as Huetius observes), Moses must not be the author of the book of Deuteronomy, (whero ho Speaks in the same style, x. 5. xi. 4.) nor St. Matthew the author of the gospel, which he WTote not many years after our Saviour’s death; who uses the very same words, xxvii. 8. xxviii. 21. (See Demonstr, Evang. propos. iv. cap. 24.)

Joshua 4:10

For the priests that bare the ark stood in the midst ofJoi’dan. It is remarkable in this whole relation, that when the priests arc mentioned, these words are still added, that bare the ark, or, the ark of the covenant, (both in this chapter, ver. 9. 1Q. 18. and in the foregoing, ver. 13 — 15, 17.) to shew that this miracle was not to be ascribed to them, but to the power of the Lord, unto whom they ministered. Until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people.] Concerning the taking up of the twelve stones, and placing others in their room; and all that preceded concerning their passing over the river; which, it is likely, he exhorted them to do cheerfully. According to all that Moses commanded Joshua.] We do not read that Moses gave any particular directions about the foregoing matters; therefore the meaning is, that Joshua strenuously executed all that God ordered, as Moses had admonished him, Deut. iii, 28. and other places. And the people hasted, and passed over.] This doth not refer to all the people, as if they went a swift pace over the river, out of fear of the waters overwhelming them (as some think), but to such as remained still behind the ark, to attend its motion. Who now seeing all that Joshua commanded was finished, made haste to get over the river, as their brethren had done before them. It is said, indeed, (ver. 1.) that when all the people were clean passed over, Joshua gave order about the twelve stones: Tmt the meaning is, when the main body of the people were gone over: for it appears by the next verse, that they had not all entirely passed over until now.

Joshua 4:11

And it came to pass, that when all the people were clean passed over. So that none were remaining in the, plains of Moab, from whence they came. That the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests.] They who went first into the river came last out: it being by the power of the Lord, whose ark the priests bare, that the course of the river was stopped, and a way made for all the people to pass over. In the presence of the people.] Who beheld the water standing still on a heap, while the ark was in the river; but come tumbling down when it was gone. Which demonstrated that it was God’s presence with them, to which alonethey owed this miraculous mercy.

Joshua 4:12

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them. They were the first that passed over, (according to their engagement, Numb, xxxiii. 20, 21. 27, of which Joshua had put. them in mind, i. 13.) ready to encounter any enemy that might have opposed their landing.

Joshua 4:13

About forty thousand, prepared for war. Or, ready armed (as it is in the margin), and prepared to fight, in case they met with any opposition. It is observable, > that in the last muster, made not long ago, of those that were fit for war, in their several tribes, there were above forty thousand in the tribe of Reuben alone; and above fifty thousand in that of Manasseh, (Numb, xxvi. 7. 34.) And therefore it is likely, Joshua picked out only this number of chosen men; and left all the rest to look after their families and flocks. Passed over before the Lord unto battle.] Being passed over the river, they stood in battle array before the ark; at the distance, I suppose, of two thousand cubits. In the plains of Jericho.] Where it might be supposed the people of Jericho would have encamped, to hinder their passage. „.. Ver* 14. On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel.] As he promised, iii. 7. And they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.] This wonder gained him the like Tespect and reverence, that the dividing the Red Sea did to Moses. (Exod. xiv. 31.).

Joshua 4:15

And tlie Lord spake unto Joshua, saying. All this business was managed purely by the Divine direction. Ver. 1G. Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.] The midst of which river, where they stood, being the lowest and deepest part of it, they ate properly said to come up whpn they left that station.

Joshua 4:17

Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. W’here they waited for the Divine, order, and did not stir till they received it.

Joshua 4:18

And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the river Jordan, and the soles of the priests 9 feet were lifted up’y 11 Ww9t*§ VWVH CHAP, IV,] UPON JOSHUA. unto the dry land.] Where the waters of Jordan, when it overflowed farthermost, were never wont to come. That the waters of Jordan returned into their place.] The channel was filled again by the descent of the waters. Which for some time had stood heaped up, and could not stir; but now were let loose to keep their ancient course. And overflowed all his banks, as they did before.] Which was done, it is likely, by a gradual descent of the water, and not by the tumbling down of that great heap all at once. Vcr. 19. And the people came out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.] In which month they came out of Egypt, upon the fifteenth day of it; so that there wanted just five days of forty years since their coming from thence. And encamped in GilgaL] A place very famous in aftertimes, because of their first encampment here; where they seem to have continued for several years, during the wars of Canaan. Here also they were circumcised (from whence the place had its name, ver. 9.) and kept the first Passover; the tabernacle and the ark remaining here, as long as the Israelites kept their station in this place. Sec ix. 6. x. 6. 43. xiv. 6. which was, I suppose, till the war was ended; and they had also begun to divide the land. (See xiv. 6.) After which the tabernacle was fixed in Shiloh: (xviii. 1. xxii. 9. 12.) though still Gilgal continued a famous place, as appears from Judg. ii. 1. 1 Sam. xi. 14, 15. xiii. 4, &c. In tlte east border of JerichoT] That is, between Jordan which lay behind them, and Jericho which lay before them.

Joshua 4:20

And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in GilgaL. We are not told in what form they were pitched; whether they remained single and distinct, or, as Joscphus will have it, joined together in the form of an altar. It seems to a!grec best with the end and intention of them, if we conceive them to have been set down single, but in some order (suppose three in a row), representing, like so many little pillars, the twelve tribes of Israel; who passing over Jordan on dry ground, a man out of each tribe was ordered to bring a stone, and place them here, for a perpetual memorial (ver. 7.) of what God had done for them. For stones, every one knows (especially some sorts of them), are of a very durable nature, and therefore used by all nations in the monuments they have made to preserve the memory of persons and things. Insomuch, that if it be true which Procopius reports (in his second book dc Bello Vandalico) concerning the two pillars erected by the Canaanitcs, who fled into Africa before the face of Joshua, with an inscription signifying their expulsion by him; I conclude it to have been done in imitation of these stones, whereby Joshua preserved the memory of the miraculous way which was opened to him, for their expulsion.

Joshua 4:21

And he spakeunto the children of Israel, saying. When yo7ir children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?. See ver. 6. where he had said this, at the time they took up the stones; and now repeats it, when they pitched them. For then he may be thought to have spoken only to the twelve men; but now to all the twelve tribes.

Joshua 4:22

And ye sliall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land,. That it might not be left to every man’s liberty to give what answer they pleased to their children, when they inquired the meaning of these stones, he sets down the very words they should speak unto them; that they might be sure to be duly instructed in the wonderful mercy of God to their nation.

Joshua 4:23

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before ye, until ye were passed over. He would have posterity made sensible it was a Divine benefit bestowed on them by tlie Divine Power: which alone could stop the course of a river, till a whole nation passed over on dry ground. As the Lord your God did to the Red Sea.] At the same time he would have them take occasion to remember them of another miraculous mercy, like unto this, though superior to it. Which the prophets, in after times, delighted to commemorate together, as appears from Psal. cxiv. 5.’ Which he dried up before us, until we were gone over.) What he did for their forefathers he dicl for them, who reaped the happy fruit of it: just as the saving of Noah and his family in the ark was the saving of all mankind, who sprang from them.

Joshua 4:24

That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord. All nations round about, who heard of this, might be made sensible of the power of the God of Israel. That it is mighty.] Which can do all things. And that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.] The people of Israel, especially (for whom these wonders were wrought), might religiously worship and serve him: for so the fear of God frequently signifies in Scripture: and therefore the LXX. here translate these words,‘iva fyuTe aifinaQs K&piov rbv Beov v/xwv, that ye may, worship the Loi’d your God; which includes in it all the duty owing to him. And so they translate the last words/or ever, lv wavri ipyi$> every thing that you do.