1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
1 And Joshua H3091 rose early H7925 in the morning; H1242 and they removed H5265 from Shittim, H7851 and came H935 to Jordan, H3383 he and all the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and lodged H3885 there before they passed over. H5674
2 And it came to pass after H7097 three H7969 days, H3117 that the officers H7860 went H5674 through H7130 the host; H4264
3 And they commanded H6680 the people, H5971 saying, H559 When ye see H7200 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 of the LORD H3068 your God, H430 and the priests H3548 the Levites H3881 bearing H5375 it, then ye shall remove H5265 from your place, H4725 and go H1980 after H310 it.
4 Yet there shall be a space H7350 between you and it, about two thousand H505 cubits H520 by measure: H4060 come not near H7126 unto it, that ye may know H3045 the way H1870 by which ye must go: H3212 for ye have not passed H5674 this way H1870 heretofore. H8543 H8032
1 And Joshua rose up early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp;
3 and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
1 And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and they journey from Shittim, and come in unto the Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel, and they lodge there before they pass over.
2 And it cometh to pass, at the end of three days, that the authorities pass over into the midst of the camp,
3 and command the people, saying, `When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then ye journey from your place, and have gone after it;
4 only, a distance is between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; ye do not come near unto it, so that ye know the way in which ye go, for ye have not passed over in the way heretofore.'
1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 And it came to pass at the end of three days, that the officers went through the camp;
3 and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then remove from your place, and go after it;
4 yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Ye shall not come near it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
1 Joshua rose up early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over.
2 It happened after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp;
3 and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: don't come near to it, that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way heretofore.
1 Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and, moving on from Shittim, he and all the children of Israel came to Jordan and were there for the night before going over.
2 And at the end of three days, the men in authority over the people went through the tents,
3 Giving the people their orders, and saying, When you see the ark of the agreement of the Lord your God lifted up by the priests, the Levites, then get up from your places and go after it;
4 But let there be a space between you and it of about two thousand cubits: come no nearer to it, so that you may see the way you have to go, for you have not been over this way before.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Joshua 3
Commentary on Joshua 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
Jos 3:1-6. Joshua Comes to Jordan.
1. Joshua rose early in the morning—On the day following that on which the spies had returned with their encouraging report. The camp was broken up in "Shittim" (the acacia groves), and removed to the eastern bank of the Jordan. The duration of their stay is indicated (Jos 3:2), being, according to Hebrew reckoning, only one entire day, including the evening of arrival and the morning of the passage; and such a time would be absolutely necessary for so motley an assemblage of men, women, and children, with all their gear and cattle to make ready for going into an enemy's country.
2-4. the officers went through the host; And they commanded the people—The instructions given at this time and in this place were different from those described (Jos 1:11).
3, 4. When ye see the ark …, and the priests the Levites bearing it—The usual position of the ark, when at rest, was in the center of the camp; and, during a march, in the middle of the procession. On this occasion it was to occupy the van, and be borne, not by the Kohathite Levites, but the priests, as on all solemn and extraordinary occasions (compare Nu 4:15; Jos 6:6; 1Ki 8:3-6).
then ye shall … go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it—These instructions refer exclusively to the advance into the river. The distance which the people were to keep in the rear of the ark was nearly a mile. Had they crowded too near the ark, the view would have been intercepted, and this intervening space, therefore, was ordered, that the chest containing the sacred symbols might be distinctly visible to all parts of the camp, and be recognized as their guide in the untrodden way.
5. Joshua said unto the people—rather "had said," for as he speaks of "to-morrow," the address must have been made previous to the day of crossing, and the sanctification was in all probability the same as Moses had commanded before the giving of the law, consisting of an outward cleansing (Ex 19:10-15) preparatory to that serious and devout state of mind with which so great a manifestation should be witnessed.
6. Joshua spake unto the priests—This order to the priests would be given privately, and involving as it did an important change in the established order of march, it must be considered as announced in the name and by the authority of God. Moreover, as soon as the priests stepped into the waters of Jordan, they were to stand still. The ark was to accomplish what had been done by the rod of Moses.
Jos 3:7, 8. The Lord Encourages Joshua.
7, 8. the Lord said to Joshua, This day will I … magnify thee in the sight of all Israel—Joshua had already received distinguished honors (Ex 24:13; De 31:7). But a higher token of the divine favor was now to be publicly bestowed on him, and evidence given in the same unmistakable manner that his mission and authority were from God as was that of Moses (Ex 14:31).
Jos 3:9-13. Joshua Encourages the People.
9-13. Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord—It seems that the Israelites had no intimation how they were to cross the river till shortly before the event. The premonitory address of Joshua, taken in connection with the miraculous result exactly as he had described it, would tend to increase and confirm their faith in the God of their fathers as not a dull, senseless, inanimate thing like the idols of the nations, but a Being of life, power, and activity to defend them and work for them.
Jos 3:14-17. The Waters of Jordan Are Divided.
14-16. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, &c.—To understand the scene described we must imagine the band of priests with the ark on their shoulders, standing on the depressed edge of the river, while the mass of the people were at a mile's distance. Suddenly the whole bed of the river was dried up; a spectacle the more extraordinary in that it took place in the time of harvest, corresponding to our April or May—when "the Jordan overfloweth all its banks." The original words may be more properly rendered "fills all its banks." Its channel, snow-fed from Lebanon, was at its greatest height—brimful; a translation which gives the only true description of the state of Jordan in harvest as observed by modern travellers. The river about Jericho is, in ordinary appearance, about fifty or sixty yards in breadth. But as seen in harvest, it is twice as broad; and in ancient times, when the hills on the right and left were much more drenched with rain and snow than since the forests have disappeared, the river must, from a greater accession of water, have been broader still than at harvest-time in the present day.
16. the waters which came down from above—that is, the Sea of Galilee
stood and rose up upon a heap—"in a heap," a firm, compact barrier (Ex 15:8; Ps 78:13);
very far—high up the stream;
from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan—near mount Sartabeh, in the northern part of the Ghor (1Ki 7:46); that is, a distance of thirty miles from the Israelitish encampment; and
those that came down toward the sea of the desert—the Dead Sea—were cut off (Ps 114:2, 3). The river was thus dried up as far as the eye could reach. This was a stupendous miracle; Jordan takes its name, "the Descender," from the force of its current, which, after passing the Sea of Galilee, becomes greatly increased as it plunges through twenty-seven "horrible rapids and cascades," besides a great many lesser through a fall of a thousand feet, averaging from four to five miles an hour [Lynch]. When swollen "in time of harvest," it flows with a vastly accelerated current.
the people passed over right against Jericho—The exact spot is unknown; but it cannot be that fixed by Greek tradition—the pilgrims' bathing-place—both because it is too much to the north, and the eastern banks are there sheer precipices ten or fifteen feet high.
17. the priests … and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground—the river about Jericho has a firm pebbly bottom, on which the host might pass, without inconvenience when the water was cleared off.