Joshua 4:1

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Joshua 4:1. The Lord spake unto Joshua — This was commanded before, (Joshua 3:12,) and is here repeated with enlargement, as being now to be put in execution. It is the pious conjecture of the learned Bishop Patrick, that Joshua was gone into some place of retirement, to return thanks immediately for this wonderful mercy; and then God met him and spake thus to him. Or, perhaps, it was by Eleazar the priest that God gave these and other instructions to Joshua; for though he is not mentioned here, yet, when Joshua was ordained by the imposition of hands to this great trust, God appointed that Eleazar should ask counsel for him, after the judgment of Urim; and at his word Joshua and all the children of Israel were to go out and come in, Numbers 27:21.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:1-9 The works of the Lord are so worthy of rememberance, and the heart of man is so prone to forget them, that various methods are needful to refresh our memories, for the glory of God, our advantage, and that of our children. God gave orders for preparing this memorial.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The miraculous passage to the holy land through Jordan is not less pregnant with typical meaning than that through the Red Sea (compare 1 Corinthians 10:1-2). The solemn inauguration of Joshua to his office, and his miraculous attestation, by the same waters with which Jesus was baptized on entering on the public exercise of His ministry (compare Matthew 3:16-17); the choice of twelve men, one from each tribe to be the bearers of the twelve stones, and the builders of the monument erected therewith (compare 1 Corinthians 3:10; Revelation 21:14): these were divinely-ordered occurrences, not without a further bearing than their more immediate one upon Israel. Nor must in this point of view the name "Adam," the place where the stream flowed to the people which cut them off from the promises, and the failure for the time under the rule of Joshua of the full and rapid flood which supplies the Dead Sea, be overlooked.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 4

Jos 4:1-8. Twelve Stones Taken for a Memorial Out of Jordan.

1-3. the Lord spake unto Joshua, Take you twelve men—each representing a tribe. They had been previously chosen for this service (Jos 3:12), and the repetition of the command is made here solely to introduce the account of its execution. Though Joshua had been divinely instructed to erect a commemorative pile, the representatives were not apprised of the work they were to do till the time of the passage.God commands them to carry twelve stones for a memorial out of Jordan; Joshua orders it; the people perform, Joshua 4:1-8. Twelve other stones set up for a memorial in the midst of Jordan, Joshua 4:9. The people pass over: the order they observe, Joshua 4:10-13. God magnifies Joshua, Joshua 4:14. The priests with the ark are commanded to come up out of Jordan, Joshua 4:15-17. The waters return, Joshua 4:18. The time of this passage, Joshua 4:19. Twelve stones set up in Gilgal; to what purpose declared, Joshua 4:20-24.

This was commanded before, Joshua 3:12, and is here repeated with enlargement, as being now to be put in execution.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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.

Geneva Study Bible

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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).

THE MEMORIAL. - Joshua 4:1

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When all the people had crossed over Jordan,

(Note: The piska in the middle of Joshua 4:1 is an old pre-Masoretic mark, which the Masorites have left, indicating a space in the midst of the verse, and showing that it was the commencement of a :parashah.)

Joshua issued to the twelve men who had been appointed by the twelve tribes the command given to him by God: "Go before the ark of Jehovah into the midst of Jordan, and take every man a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites," or, as it is expressed in the fuller explanation in the divine command in Joshua 4:3, "from the standing-place of the priests, the setting up of twelve stones (הכין is an infinitive used as a substantive, or else it should be pointed as a substantive), and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place of encampment where ye shall pass the night."