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Joshua Chapter
Four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 4
This
chapter relates an order, that is men, should take twelve stones out of the
midst of Jordan, and carry them to the first place they lodged at as a memorial
of their passage over it, Joshua 4:1; and how
Joshua set up twelve other stones in the river itself, Joshua 4:9; and how
many of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, went before the Israelites
when they passed over, Joshua 4:10; which
being done, the priests were ordered to come out of Jordan, when the waters
returned to their place, Joshua 4:15; The
time when this miracle was wrought is observed, Joshua 4:19; and an
account is given of Joshua's pitching the twelve stones taken out of Jordan in
Gilgal, and the use they were to be of in future time, Joshua 4:20.
Joshua 4:1 And
it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan,
that the Lord
spoke to Joshua, saying:
YLT
1And it cometh to pass, when
all the nation hath completed to pass over the Jordan, that Jehovah speaketh
unto Joshua, saying,
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over
Jordan,.... As related, Joshua 3:17,
that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying: as follows.
Joshua 4:2 2 “Take for yourselves
twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
YLT
2`Take for you out of the
people twelve men, one man -- one man out of a tribe;
Take you twelve men out of the people,.... Joshua
had before this ordered twelve men to be taken from among them, which seems to
have been done of himself; and now he has a direction from God for it, and what
to employ them in:
out of every tribe a man; so that what they did
was in the name of the several tribes, and as representing them.
Joshua 4:3 3 and command them, saying,
‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan,
from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over
with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’”
YLT
3and command ye them,
saying, Take up for you from this [place], from the midst of the Jordan, from
the established standing-place of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and
ye have removed them over with you, and placed them in the lodging-place in
which ye lodge to-night.'
And command you them, saying,.... As follows:
take you hence out of the midst of Jordan; so that they
were obliged to go back into the midst of Jordan, having already passed over it,
as appears from Joshua 4:1,
out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm; where being
stones, they chose to stand upon them, and which were a firm standing for them;
and which secured them from the slime and mud at the bottom of the river the
waters left behind; though it is not absolutely necessary to understand it that
they were to take, and did take, the stones from under their feet, but those
that lay about the place where they stood:
twelve stones; each man a stone; and, according to the
Samaritan ChronicleF6Apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. p. 500, 503. ,
every man inscribed his name on the stone:
and ye shall carry them over with you; from the place
they took them up, to the place they should next stop at:
and leave them in the lodging place where you shall lodge this
night: which was in the place afterwards called Gilgal, Joshua 4:19.
Joshua 4:4 4 Then Joshua called the
twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from
every tribe;
YLT
4And Joshua calleth unto the
twelve men whom he prepared out of the sons of Israel, one man -- one man out
of a tribe;
Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the
children of Israel,.... It may be for some other purpose, Joshua 3:12; but
this was the destination of them eventually, and as by divine direction:
out of every tribe a man: as he had before
ordered, and was now directed to.
Joshua 4:5 5 and Joshua said to them:
“Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst
of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according
to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,
YLT
5and Joshua saith to them,
`Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God unto the midst of the Jordan and
lift up for you each, one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the
tribes of the sons of Israel,
And Joshua said unto them,.... The twelve men:
pass ye over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of
Jordan; that is, they were to go back to Jordan again, which they had
passed over, and go into the midst of it, where were the priests bearing the
ark; for it is not to be imagined that the ark went along with them, or
followed them, they going before it; but they went where that was, just before
it, from whence they were to take the stones, as next directed:
and take you up every man of you 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:
according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; who had that
day passed over Jordan, of which these stones were to be a memorial.
Joshua 4:6 6 that this may be a sign
among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones
mean to you?’
YLT
6so that this is a sign in
your midst, when your children ask hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones
to you?
That this may be a sign among you,.... A commemorative one:
that when your
children ask their fathers in time to come; or
"tomorrow"F7מחר αυριον, Sept. "eras",
Pagninus, Montanus. and so in all time, or any time hereafter:
saying, what mean you by these stones? what is the
reason of setting them up, and in this place, and being just of such a number?
Joshua 4:7 7 Then you shall answer them
that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of
the Lord;
when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And
these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
YLT
7that ye have said to them,
Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the ark of
the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing over into the Jordan were the waters of
the Jordan cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of
Israel -- to the age.'
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 power of God, of whose presence the
ark was a symbol:
the waters of Jordan were cut off; which is repeated for
the confirmation of it, and that it might be taken notice of as a very
marvellous event, and to be ascribed to the divine omnipotence and goodness:
and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of
Israel for ever; which, whenever seen and observed by them, would put them in
mind of this wonderful appearance of God for them; and JeromF8Epitaph.
Paulae in tom. 1. Oper. fol. 59. K. speaks of them as if seen by Paula in his
time, whose life and travels in those parts are written by him.
Joshua 4:8 8 And the children of Israel
did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of
the Jordan, as the Lord
had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of
Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and
laid them down there.
YLT
8And the sons of Israel do
so as Joshua commanded, and take up twelve stones out of the midst of the
Jordan, as Jehovah hath spoken unto Joshua, according to the number of the
tribes of the sons of Israel, and remove them over with them unto the
lodging-place, and place them there,
And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded,.... That is,
the twelve men taken out of the twelve tribes of Israel, and who were the
representatives of them in this action:
and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord
spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of
Israel; they took the exact number, and out of the very place Joshua was
ordered to direct them to do:
and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged: which, as Josephus
saysF9Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4. , was fifty furlongs from Jordan,
which was above six miles; so far they carried these stones on their shoulders:
and laid them down there; which afterwards were
put in proper order by Joshua, or at least by his direction.
Joshua 4:9 9 Then Joshua set up twelve
stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests
who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
YLT
9even the twelve stones hath
Joshua raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of
the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, and they are there
unto this day.
And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan,.... Twelve
other stones, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and so Jarchi;
which he set one upon another, so that they might be seen above the water; or
however the water of Jordan being clear, they might easily be discerned by
those who either passed over the river, or walked by the side of it, where they
were; and perhaps may be the very stones John the Baptist pointed at in Matthew 3:9; 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,
in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of
the covenant stood; and which was done in commemoration of it: the words will bear
to be read "under the station" of the feet of the priests: hence
Jarchi fancies these were set, that their feet might not sink in the mud at the
bottom of the river; but this, though here recorded, might be done by Joshua
immediately after the priests were come out of Jordan, or as they were coming
up: hence some think Joshua was the last that came up from it; but Abarbinel
observes, that the word signifies "in the room" or "stead
of"; see Gill on Exodus 21:24; so
that these stones were placed in the room and stead of the station of the
priests, in the midst of the river, and in memory of it:
and they are there unto this day; to the time of the
writing of this book, which is no objection to Joshua being the writer of it,
though it is by some made one; since it might be wrote by him, as doubtless it
was, when such an observation could not be impertinent; and if what has been
before observed is true, these stones were in the same place in the times of
John the Baptist; and that they were in the order in which they were first set;
for that they were in the waters of Jordan, there could scarce be any question
of it. This was done to perpetuate the memory of this remarkable event: so
Alexander the great set up twelve altars on the borders of India, by the river
Oraxes, in commemoration of his exploitsF11Arrian. Expedit. Alex. l.
5. Curtius, l. 9. sect. 3. .
Joshua 4:10 10 So the priests who bore
the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the
Lord had commanded
Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded
Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over.
YLT
10And the priests bearing the
ark are standing in the midst of the Jordan till the completion of the whole
thing which Jehovah commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all
that Moses commanded Joshua, and the people haste and pass over.
For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan,.... Though on
dry ground, the waters being divided:
until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to
speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; that is,
until all the people had passed over Jordan, as the Lord had ordered Joshua, to
encourage them unto, and go over with them, Joshua 1:2; and
which Moses, by divine direction, had given Joshua in charge to do, Deuteronomy 31:7;
Kimchi interprets this of the setting up of the stones in Jordan, and the
removal of the other to Gilgal, of which Moses said nothing to Joshua; and
though it may be true of the former, that the priests stood in Jordan till that
was done, which is not certain, yet not of the latter; for it is plain, and it
is most reasonable to conclude, that the priests were come up from the midst of
Jordan before Israel marched to Gilgal, or even began their march, see Joshua 4:18; and
much less is this to be understood of the stones at Ebal, as others, and so
referred to Deuteronomy 27:2;
which was not done until after Ai was taken, Joshua 8:24. And it
is not reasonable to imagine that the priests should continue in Jordan to that
time; Abarbinel thinks it refers to the words in Joshua 1:3; which
had been spoken by the Lord to Joshua, and had been expressed by Moses, Deuteronomy 11:24;
and which he supposes were now repeated by Joshua, and the priests continued in
their station until he had made an end of rehearsing them; the last clause
relating to Moses is left out in the Septuagint version:
and the people hasted and passed over; not stood in
fear of the waters of the river returning upon them; rather through an eager
desire of setting their feet on the land of Canaan, and it may be to relieve
the priests from their station as soon as might be.
Joshua 4:11 11 Then it came to pass, when
all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the
priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
YLT
11And it cometh to pass when
all the people have completed to pass over, that the ark of Jehovah passeth
over, and the priests, in the presence of the people;
And it came to pass, when the people were clean passed over,.... Every one
of them, as in Joshua 3:17,
that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the
presence of the people; that is, the priests bearing the ark came out of the midst of
Jordan in the sight of all the people, who were on the banks of it, on the
other side, where they had been stationed during the passage of the people;
though this motion of them was not until they received an order for it, of
which there is an after mention. The Septuagint version reads, "and the
stones before them"; see Joshua 4:8.
Joshua 4:12 12 And the men of Reuben, the
men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the
children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.
YLT
12and the sons of Reuben, and
the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, pass over, by fifties,
before the sons of Israel, as Moses had spoken unto them;
And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the
tribe of Manasseh,.... Who were settled on the other side Jordan, in the countries
taken from Sihon and Og:
passed over armed before the children of Israel; the rest of
the tribes:
as Moses spake unto them; or ordered them, and as
they promised they would, Numbers 32:17.
Joshua 4:13 13 About forty thousand
prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains
of Jericho.
YLT
13about forty thousand, armed
ones of the host, passed over before Jehovah for battle, unto the plains of
Jericho.
About forty thousand prepared for war,.... Accoutred
with proper armour to defend themselves, and their brethren, and annoy their
enemies: this is to be understood of such a number of the above mentioned
tribes; otherwise the number of all Israel that went over Jordan, even armed or
fighting men, besides women and children, were five hundred thousand or more.
Now though the number of men fit for war, of these tribes, were an hundred
thirty thousand, who were all, according to the original agreement, under
obligation to go with their brethren over Jordan into Canaan's land, and
continue with them until it was subdued, and they had rest in it; yet Joshua
took no more than about forty thousand of them, who we may suppose were select
men, and fit for his purpose; the rest were left to look after their flocks,
their families, and their lands: these
passed over before the Lord unto battle; over Jordan,
before the ark of the Lord, as that stood in Jordan, bore by the priests there,
being ready to engage in battle whenever it was necessary: and they went on
with their brethren
to the plains of Jericho; to a place afterwards
called Gilgal; see Joshua 4:19. The
Septuagint version is, to the city Jericho.
Joshua 4:14 14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua
in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all
the days of his life.
YLT
14On that day hath Jehovah
made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel, and they reverence him, as they
reverenced Moses, all days of his life.
On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of Israel,.... Made him
great and honourable 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:
and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his
life; had a reverend esteem of him, and affection for him, and yielded
obedience to him all his days; see Exodus 14:31.
Joshua 4:15 15 Then the Lord spoke to
Joshua, saying,
YLT
15And Jehovah speaketh unto
Joshua, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Joshua,.... When all the people
had passed over jordan:
saying; as follows.
Joshua 4:16 16 “Command the priests who
bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
YLT
16`Command the priests
bearing the ark of the testimony, and they come up out of the Jordan.'
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 this order.
Joshua 4:17 17 Joshua therefore commanded
the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”
YLT
17And Joshua commandeth the
priests, saying, `Come ye up out of the Jordan.'
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.
Joshua 4:18 18 And it came to pass, when
the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from
the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the
dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed
all its banks as before.
YLT
18And it cometh to pass, in
the coming up of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of
the midst of the Jordan -- the soles of the feet of the priests have been drawn
up into the dry ground -- and the waters of the Jordan turn back to their
place, and go as heretofore over all its banks.
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 those below that were cut off returned:
and flowed over all his banks, as they did before; and usually
did at this time of the year, see Joshua 3:15; so
that there was no decrease or loss of the waters by their failing, and being
cut off.
Joshua 4:19 19 Now the people came up
from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in
Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
YLT
19And the people have come up
out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamp in Gilgal, in the
extremity east of Jericho;
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
day in which the passover was taken from the flock, and kept till the
fourteenth, on which day the children of Israel kept their first passover in
Canaan, in the plains of Jericho, Joshua 5:10,
and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho; it has its
name here by anticipation, for it was so named after this for a reason given, Joshua 5:9; It was,
according to JosephusF12Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.) ,
ten furlongs, or a mile and a quarter, from Jericho. Jerom saysF13De
loc. Heb. fol. 91. M. , there was shown in his time a desert place two miles
from Jericho, had in wonderful esteem by men of that country, which he suggests
was this place; as it was had in great veneration, both by the worshippers of
the true God, and by idolaters, for many ages.
Joshua 4:20 20 And those twelve stones
which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.
YLT
20and these twelve stones,
which they have taken out of the Jordan, hath Joshua raised up in Gilgal.
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 JosephusF14Ut supra.
(Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.) , he made an altar of these stones; and Ben
Gersom is of opinion, that they were placed in the sanctuary by the ark, though
not in it; which yet was the sentiment of TertullianF15Contr.
Marcion. l. 4. c. 13. , but very improbable; since that ark was not capable of
such a number of large stones; and it must be a very large ark or chest, if one
could be supposed to be made on purpose for them; but it is most likely they
were erected in form of a pillar or statue, in memory of this wonderful event,
the passage of Israel over Jordan, see Joshua 4:7; they
may be considered as emblems of the twelve apostles of Christ, and their
ministrations and writings; their number agrees, and so does the time of their
appointment to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel, which was after
the resurrection of Christ, typified by the passage of Joshua over Jordan, and
out of it; the name of one of them, and he a principal one, was Peter or
Cephas, which signifies a stone; and all of them in a spiritual sense were
lively stones, chosen and selected from others, and called by grace, and were
very probably most, if not all of them, baptized in this very place, Bethabara,
from whence these stones were taken; and were like them unpolished, as to
external qualifications, not having an education, and being illiterate, but
wonderfully fitted by Christ for his service; and were not only pillars, as
James, Cephas, and John, but in some sense foundation stones; as they were the
instruments of laying Christ ministerially, as the foundation of salvation, and
of preaching the fundamental truths of the Gospel, in which they were constant
and immovable; and their ministry and writings, their Gospels and epistles, are
so many memorials of what Christ, our antitypical Joshua, has done for us in
passing over Jordan's river, or through death; finishing thereby transgression
and sin, obtaining peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation, opening the way
to the heavenly Canaan, abolishing death, and bringing life and immortality to
light.
Joshua 4:21 21 Then he spoke to the
children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to
come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’
YLT
21And he speaketh unto the
sons of Israel, saying, `When your sons ask their fathers hereafter, saying,
What [are] these stones?
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.
Joshua 4:22 22 then you shall let your
children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’;
YLT
22then ye have caused your
sons to know, saying, On dry land Israel passed over this Jordan;
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.
Joshua 4:23 23 for the Lord your God dried
up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did
to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over,
YLT
23because Jehovah your God
dried up the waters of the Jordan at your presence, till your passing over, as
Jehovah your God did to the Red Sea which He dried up at our presence till our
passing over;
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 were at this time introduced into:
as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from
before us, until we were gone over; for though the
generation of men, for the most part, was dead, that passed through the Red
sea; yet as Joshua himself, and Caleb and Eleazar, and it may be some others that
were not among the murmurers, were still living, for whom that miracle was
wrought, this way of speaking is very properly made use of; and especially when
it is observed, that there were many of the present generation then young,
which passed over, and even those unborn were in and represented by their
ancestors, and who enjoyed the advantages of that wonderful mercy; so these two
strange events are joined together, as instances of divine power and goodness,
in Psalm 114:3.
Joshua 4:24 24 that all the peoples of
the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is
mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”
YLT
24so that all the people of
the land do know the hand of Jehovah that it [is] strong, so that ye have
reverenced Jehovah your God all the days.'
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 might fear the Lord your God for ever; as the above
mentioned end was to be answered among the people of the earth by these stones,
this among the people of Israel; who upon sight of them would call to mind the
power and goodness of God, which would serve to keep an awe of his majesty on
their mind, a due reverence of him and his greatness, and engage them to fear,
serve, and worship him; who by such acts as these had abundantly showed himself
to be the only true and living God, and the covenant God of them his people
Israel; the Septuagint version is,"that ye may worship the Lord your God
in every work.'
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》