Ch. Joshua 4:1-18. Completion of the Passage

1. when all the people were clean passed over] Below the spot, where the priests stood firm and motionless, the host, probably at various points, “hasted and passed over” (Joshua 4:10).

3. twelve stones] We find on several occasions large stones set up to commemorate remarkable events, as (a) by Jacob in memory of the vision of the Angels at Beth-el (Genesis 28:18); (b) by the same patriarch on his return from Padan-aram (Genesis 35:14); (c) by the same patriarch again as a “heap of witness” between him and Laban (Genesis 31:45-47); (d) by Samuel at “Eben-ezer” to mark the site of the victory over the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:12). Such stones were sometimes consecrated by anointing with oil (Genesis 28:18).

6. when your children] Comp. Exodus 12:26; Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 6:20.

8. unto the place] “On the upper terrace of the plain of the Jordan, which became the centre of the first sanctuary of the Holy Land—the first place pronounced ‘holy,’ the sacred place of the Jordan valley (Joshua 5:10-15), where the Tabernacle remained till it was fixed at Shiloh” (Joshua 18:1).

9. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan] “Alios quoque duodecim lapides,” Vulg. Another set of stones is here intended than that just mentioned. The latter were set up by the direct command of God to mark the spot where they passed the night; the former Joshua set up, apparently without the Divine suggestion, to mark the spot where the feet of the priests rested, while they bare upwards the Ark during the passage of the people. The expression “midst of Jordan” does not necessarily imply that the priests stood, and that the stones were built up, in the middle channel; but only that they were in the midst of the water when it flowed as it did before the occurrence of the miracle. Comp. Joshua 3:8 with Joshua 3:15.

unto this day] This phrase recurs again and again in the Book of Joshua. Comp. Joshua 5:9; Joshua 6:25; Joshua 7:26; Joshua 8:28-29; Joshua 9:27; Joshua 10:27; Joshua 13:13; Joshua 14:14; Joshua 15:63; Joshua 16:10.

10. the priests which bare the ark stood] Their patient attitude, standing still and motionless, was eminently calculated to impart courage to the people.

12. passed over armed before the children of Israel] Contrary to the usual order (Numbers 32:20), as if to secure that they should fulfil their vow.

18. the waters of Jordan returned] Thus the history of the crossing is related in sections: (a) first briefly, Joshua 3:14-17; (b) then more completely, Joshua 4:1-11; (c) some supplementary notices, Joshua 4:12-17; (d) finally, the conclusion, concerning the return of the water, till Jordan “flowed over all his banks,” as it did before.

19–24. Erection of the Monument at Gilgal

19. the tenth day of the first month] Notice the exactness of the narrative. The first month is elsewhere called Abib, i.e. “the month of green ears” (Exodus 13:4; Exodus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:1), and subsequently “Nisan” (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7).

encamped] The site was doubtless fortified by Joshua “as a frontier fortress, such as the Greeks under the name of epitichisma, and the Romans under the name of colonia, always planted as their advanced posts in a hostile country, such as at Kufa the Arab conquerors founded before the building of Bagdad, and at Fostal before the building of Cairo.” Stanley’s Lectures, p. 233.

in Gilgal] situated apparently on a hillock or rising ground in the Arboth-Jericho, or, as it is rendered in our Version, “the plains of Jericho,” the more level district of the “Ghôr” which lay between the town and the river. We find Gilgal mentioned again, (a) in the time of Saul (1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:8), and (b) some sixty years later in the history of David’s return to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 19:15). The name is here mentioned by anticipation, Joshua 5:9.

20. those twelve stones] which seem to have been invested with a reverence which came to be regarded at last as idolatrous (Hosea 4:15; Hosea 9:15; Amos 4:4; Amos 5:5).

21. When your children] Nothing is more carefully inculcated in the Law than the duty of parents to teach their children not only its precepts and principles, but the meaning of all the great historical events in their national existence. (Comp. Exodus 12:26; Exodus 13:8; Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 4:5; Deuteronomy 4:9-10.)

24. that all the people of the earth might know] The miracle made the passage possible and easy for the Elect Nation, but it was intended also to have its effect on the nations around, and impart to them a knowledge of the power of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

that ye might fear] The tribes of Israel were now in the enemy’s country, and they had learnt afresh, as their fathers had done before them at the Red Sea, three important lessons; (i) that the power of Jehovah was unlimited; (ii) that it would be exerted on their behalf so long as they were obedient to His commands; (iii) that their leader was acting under the direct command and guidance of their Invisible Protector. These lessons were of universal application and were to be impressed on generation after generation.