Joshua 4

The contents of this chapter which records the miraculous passage of Israel over Jordan, are given in 2 sections:
(1) Jos_4:1-14, the accomplishment of it;
(2) Jos_4:15-24, the conclusion of the passage and erection of a monument to commemorate it.

Jos 4:1 And it happened when all the people had completely passed over the Jordan, Jehovah spoke to Joshua saying,

Spake - This was commanded before, Jos_3:12, and is here repeated with enlargement, as being now to be put in execution.

Crossing the River. - To set forth the importance of their taking twelve stones with them from the bed of the river to the opposite side to serve as a memorial as a divine appointment, the command of God to Joshua is mentioned first of all (Jos_4:2, Jos_4:3); then the repetition of this command by Joshua to the men appointed for the work (Jos_4:4-7); and lastly, the carrying out of the instructions (Jos_4:8).

Jos 4:2 Take twelve men for you out of the people, a man out of every tribe,

Jos 4:3 and command them saying, Take twelve stones from here, out of the middle of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm. And you shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the place where you shall stay tonight.

Where ye shall lodge this night - This was in the place that was afterwards called Gilgal. Joshua 4:19 And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and camped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm; it is not absolutely necessary to understand it that they were to take the stones from under their feet, but those that lay about the place where they stood:

Jos 4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared from the sons of Israel, a man out of every tribe.

Jos 4:5 And Joshua said to them, Pass over in front of the ark of Jehovah your God into the middle of the Jordan. And every man take a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel,

a stone upon his shoulder; by which it appears they were large stones they were to take, not what they could carry in their hands, but what they were obliged to take upon their shoulders.

Jos 4:6 so that this may be a sign to you when your sons ask in time to come, saying, What do you mean by these stones?

when your sons ask in time to come – This expression is common in the Old Testament.
Exodus 13:14 And it shall be when your sons asks you in time to come, saying, What is this? you shall say to him, The LORD brought us out of Egypt by the strength of His hand, from the house of bondage.
Exodus 12:26-27 26 And it will be, when your sons shall say to you, What is this service to you? Then you shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our houses. And the people bowed and worshiped.
Deuteronomy 6:20-21 When your son asks you in time to come, saying, What are the testimonies, and the statutes and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son, We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

That this may be a sign among you--The erection of cairns, or huge piles of stones, as monuments of remarkable incidents has been common among all people, especially among the nomadic people of the East.
Joshua 7:26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones to this day. And the LORD turned from the greatness of His anger. Therefore, the name of that valley is called, The Valley of Grief, to this day.
Joshua 24:26-27 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone and set it up there under an oak by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.
Gen 28:18-22 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone which he had put at his head, and set it as a memorial pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. And he called the name of that place The House of God. But the name of that city was Luz at first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, and I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall Jehovah be my God. And this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house. And of all that You shall give me, I will surely give the tenth to You.
Genesis 31:45-47 And Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. And Jacob said to his brothers, Gather stones. And they took stones and made a heap. And they ate there upon the heap. And Laban called it in Syrian , Heap of the Testimony, and Jacob called it in Hebrew, Heap of Testimony.
1 Samuel 7:12 And Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, The LORD has helped us until now.

Jos 4:7 Then you shall answer them, The waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. When it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off, and these stones shall be for a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.

and these stones shall be for a memorial - whenever seen and observed by them, would put them in mind of this wonderful appearance of God for them

Jos 4:8 And the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded. And they took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, as Jehovah spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they stayed, and laid them down there;

The children of Israel - The execution is ascribed to the “children of Israel,” i.e., to the whole nations, because the men selected from the twelve tribes acted in the name of the whole nation, and the memorial was a matter of equal importance to all. It does not signify that they set up the stones as a memorial, but simply that they laid them down in their place of encampment. The setting up at Gilgal is mentioned for the first time in Jos_4:20.

and carried them - which, as Josephus says, was fifty furlongs from Jordan, which was above six miles that they carried these stones on their shoulders:

Jos 4:9 even the twelve stones Joshua lifted up in the middle of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant, stood. And they are there to this day.

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan - It seems from this chapter that there were two sets of stones erected as a memorial of this great event; twelve at Gilgal, Jos_4:20 and twelve in the bed of Jordan, Jos_4:9. The one set was erected by the command of God at the spot where they passed the night Jos_4:3; the other by Joshua on the spot where the priests’ feet rested while they bore up the ark during the passage of the people.

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan - perhaps may be the very stones John the Baptist pointed at in Matthew 3:9 and do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones; since it was at Bethabara he was baptizing, supposed to be the very place of the passage of the children of Israel over Jordan, and had its name from thence, John 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

And they are there to this day. - at least twenty years after the event, if we reckon by the date of this history (Jos_24:26), and much later, if the words in the latter clause were inserted by Samuel or Ezra. The waters of Jordan are very clear; therefore these stones might be seen in it, either by those who stood upon the shore, because the river was not broad; or by those that passed in boats.

Jos 4:10 For the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was finished, all that Jehovah commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and passed over.

according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua – This does not refer to any special instructions which Moses had given to Joshua with reference to the crossing, for no such instructions are to be found in the Pentateuch, nor can they be inferred from Num_27:23; Deu_3:28, or Deu_31:23; they simply affirm that Joshua carried out all the commands which the Lord had given him, in accordance with the charge which he received from Moses at the time when he was first called. It is a reminder that Joshua's ministry was subservient to that of Moses. The last clause relating to Moses is left out in the Septuagint version Joshua 4:10 And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant stood in Jordan, until Joshua [had] finished all that the Lord commanded him to report to the people; and the people hasted and passed over. (Septuagint)

Jos 4:11 And it happened, when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of Jehovah and the priests passed over before the people.

The Septuagint version reads, "and the stones before them"; Joshua 4:11 And it came to pass when all the people had passed over, that the ark of the covenant of the Lord passed over, and the stones before them. (Septuagint)

the ark of the Lord passed over--The ark had been the first to move--it was the last to leave--and its movements arrested the deep attention of the people, who probably stood on the opposite bank, wrapt in admiration and awe of this closing scene.

Jos 4:12 And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed in front of the sons of Israel, as Moses spoke to them;

And the sons of Reuben - The account of the fighting men of the tribes on the east of the Jordan passing over along with them, in number about 40,000, is added as a supplement, yet it was necessary that it should be expressly mentioned that these tribes performed the promise they had given (Jos_1:16-17), and in what manner they did so. Concerning the numbers of these tribes that stayed behind to take care of the women, children, and cattle, and which amounted to 70,580 men.

Jos 4:13 about forty thousand armed men of the army passed over before Jehovah to battle, to the plains of Jericho.

The plains of Jericho, consisting of the higher terrace of the Jordan valley, are almost seven miles broad. The mountains of Judaea here recede somewhat from the river, and leave a level and fertile space, which, at the time of Joshua’s invasion, was principally occupied by a forest of palms. Hence, the name “city of palms,” Deuteronomy 34:3 and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

Jos 4:14 On that day Jehovah made Joshua great in the sight of all Israel. And they feared him, even as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

On that day the Lord magnified Joshua - Made him great and honorable in their esteem, by doing what he foretold would be done, dividing the waters of Jordan, drying up the river to make a passage for them through it, as on dry land: It appeared clear from the chief part he acted, that he was the divinely appointed leader; for even the priests did not enter the river or quit their position, except at his command; and thenceforward his authority was as firmly established as that of his predecessor. Note parallel to Exodus 14:31 And Israel saw that great work which Jehovah did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared Jehovah, and believed Jehovah and His servant Moses.

and they feared him - had a reverend esteem of him, and affection for him, and yielded obedience to him all his days;

Jos 4:15 And Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying,

In Joshua, the literary style will show first the Lord telling Joshua, then Joshua telling the people, then the command is obeyed.

Jos 4:16 Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.

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 Joshua 4:16 Charge the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the testimony of the Lord, to go up out of Jordan. (Septuagint)

Jos 4:17 Joshua, therefore, commanded the priests saying, Come up out of the Jordan.

Jos 4:18 And it happened, when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of Jehovah had come up out of the midst of the Jordan, the soles of the feet of the priests were lifted up to the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks, as before.

The waters of Jordan returned unto their place - It is particularly remarked by the sacred historian, that as soon as the soles of the priests’ feet touched the water, the stream of the Jordan was cut off, Jos_3:15, and the course of the river continued to be inverted all the time they continued in its channel; and that as soon as the soles of their feet had touched the dry land, on their return from the bed of the river, the waters immediately resumed their natural course. All this was done by the sovereign influence of that God whose presence was represented by the ark of the covenant.

Jos 4:19 And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and camped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

Gilgal, was on rising ground, and, according to Josephus, nearly five miles from the river, and consequently about two from the city itself.

Jos 4:20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, were raised by Joshua in Gilgal.

were raised by Joshua in Gilgal - Possibly to render them more conspicuous, they might be raised on a foundation of earth or turf. The pile was designed to serve a double purpose--that of impressing the heathen with a sense of the omnipotence of God. Exodus 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah when I have gotten honor for Me upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen while at the same time it would teach an important lesson in religion to the young and rising Israelites in after ages. There Joshua set up the twelve stones, which they had taken over with them out of the Jordan, and explained to the people at the same time the importance of this memorial to their descendants (Jos_4:21, Jos_4:22), and the design of the miracle which had been wrought by God (Jos_4:24).

One commentator states that Joshua may have raised a standard rock cairn like Joshua 7:26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones to this day. And Jehovah turned from the greatness of His anger. Therefore, the name of that valley is called, The Valley of Grief, to this day.

Jos 4:21 And he spoke to the sons of Israel saying, When your sons shall ask their
fathers in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean?

Jos 4:22 Then you shall let your sons know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

Jos 4:23 For Jehovah your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you until you had passed over, even as Jehovah your God did to the Red Sea which He dried up from before us until we had gone over;

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, As this is supposed to be said in future time, and to persons who were not upon the spot when this was done, this isn’t done to them personally, and not to their ancestors only, but to all of them as a people.

Jos 4:24 so that all the people of the earth might know the hand of Jehovah is mighty, and so that you might fear Jehovah your God forever.

Joshua 4:24 That all the nations of the earth might know, that the power of the Lord is mighty, and that ye might worship the Lord our God in every work. (Septuagint)

the hand of the Lord is mighty, compare to Exodus 3:19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. Exodus 6:1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he shall let them go, and with a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land.