Chapter Four

1. The divine command to bring forth 12 stones to preserve the memory of the event. 9. Erection of another memorial at the bank of the Jordan. 10, 19. The crossing of the entire people through the Jordan and the time of the event. 15. The exit of the priests with the Ark of the Covenant. 14, 21. The significance of the miraculous event.

The crossing of the Jordan on its dried-up bed had great significance not only for those who witnessed it, but also for subsequent generations. It therefore required preservation in memory. How this was accomplished is described in the first 9 verses of this chapter.

Joshua 4:1. When the entire people had crossed over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: The thought of preserving the memory of the event came not from Joshua son of Nun, but from the Lord, at whose command this account begins. Although the divine revelation concerning this was given to the Israeli leader before the crossing itself, as appears from Josh 3:12, the biblical writer describes it at this place because by its content it belongs to this part of the narrative. By divine command, Joshua had to take from the 12 tribes of Israel (Josh 3:12) 12 men who had been chosen beforehand, so that they might lift from the bed of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, 12 stones, carry them out, and set them at the place where the people would camp for the night.

Joshua 4:2. Take for yourselves from the people twelve men, one man from each tribe, Joshua 4:3. and command them and say: Take for yourselves from here, from the middle of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them with you and set them at the lodging where you will lodge this night. “Take... and command them” agrees with the present Hebrew text; in the Slavonic Bible: “take... command” according to the LXX translation, Theodotion, and Jerome. Since this divine command was directed to Joshua son of Nun, not to the people, the form of the imperative in the singular, adopted by the LXX, seems more appropriate. “From the middle of the Jordan,” see the explanation to Josh 3:17. “Stood firm,” which is the rendering of the same Hebrew word (“haken”), as in Josh 3:17; in the LXX it is translated here as “ready” (Slavonic Bible), in Jerome: “firm,” this word applying not to the preceding but to the following words “twelve stones.” This Greek-Slavonic-Latin translation has the significance that it indicates for the selection of stones to be removed the mark: “readiness,” i.e., suitability for erecting a memorial, or “firmness.”

Joshua 4:4. Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe, Joshua 4:5. and Joshua said to them: Go before the Ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan and [each of you take up a stone on his shoulder], one stone for each of the tribes of the sons of Israel, Joshua 4:6. that they may be for you a sign; when your sons ask in time to come: “What do these stones mean to you? Fulfilling the divine command, Joshua called “the twelve men whom he had appointed” and who, as they had been chosen beforehand, remained on the east side of the Jordan awaiting the task they were to carry out. To the words “whom he had appointed” the Greek-Slavonic translation corresponds with “renowned,” expressing the same thought in more general form. The words “[take from there]” are taken from the Slavonic Bible, which agrees here with the Alexandrian and other copies, as well as with the Aldine Bible, in which “taking from there” is read. The same must be said of the words “[lying always],” corresponding to the Greek-Slavonic translation, but not found in the Hebrew text or Latin translation.

Joshua 4:7. you shall tell them: “In memory that the water of the Jordan was divided before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord [of all the earth]; when it passed through the Jordan, the water of the Jordan was divided”; thus these stones shall be for the sons of Israel a memorial forever. The words “In memory” are supplied by the Russian translators for the flow of the discourse.

Joshua 4:9. And Joshua set up twelve other stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant [of the Lord] stood. They are there to this day. Besides the memorial erected from the 12 stones taken from the bed of the Jordan at Gilgal (Josh 4:20), Joshua son of Nun set up another memorial also of 12 stones at the place where the feet of the priests with the Ark of the Covenant stood, that is, at the east bank of the Jordan (see the explanations to Josh 3:17). The middle of the river could not serve as a place for this memorial both because it was not the place where the priests stood and because this memorial, being continuously exposed to the action of water, would be very short-lived. From this it can be seen that the Hebrew preposition “betoch” is used here in the sense not of “in the midst of” but “in,” which meaning is also given to it in the LXX, in whose translation is read: “in the very Jordan, in the place where...” The memorial standing on the bank of the Jordan, which is covered by water only during the time of the river’s flood, was visible most of the year. The expression of the biblical text “Joshua set up,” in the absence of any indication in the divine command of this second memorial, gives some ground to think that the thought of its erection belonged to the Israeli leader, who thereby expressed the elevated feelings that filled his soul, which he wished to convey to his contemporaries and to future generations. At the time when the author of the book of Joshua lived, that memorial still existed, which is not said about the first memorial at Gilgal.

Joshua 4:10. The priests bearing the Ark of the [Covenant of the] Lord stood in the middle of the Jordan until all was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak to the people—as Moses had commanded Joshua; meanwhile the people hurried across. “Stood in the Jordan”: according to the Greek-Slavonic translation “in the Jordan.” “As Moses had commanded Joshua.” Here may be understood not special ordinances of Moses relating to this particular event, for such ordinances are not found in the Pentateuch, but the general instructions by which Joshua son of Nun, having been placed at the head of the people, was to be guided (for example Deut 31:3). However, it should be borne in mind that in the Vatican, Alexandrian, and many other lists of the LXX translation the above words are not read and that the corresponding Greek reading is found only in very few lists, and from editions—in the Complutensian Polyglot, with which the Slavonic Bible agrees here. “And the people... “ (“meanwhile” is supplied by the Russian translators) “...hurried across.” Since this is said after the statement that “the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant stood in the Jordan,” the cause of the haste with which the crossing was conducted was, it must be thought, this standing of the priests, which required the exertion of strength that could weaken if the time were prolonged; this haste might also be prompted by the desire to complete the crossing before nightfall.

Joshua 4:11. When the entire people had crossed [the Jordan], then the Ark of the [Covenant of the] Lord also crossed, and the priests before the people; Comparison of what is said here in the biblical text with Josh 4:16-17 of this chapter shows that in his account of the crossing of the Jordan the biblical writer did not follow the order of time in which events occurred; therefore he mentions the crossing of the Ark of the Lord before the divine command concerning it. “And the Ark of the [Covenant of the] Lord crossed and the priests before the people.” By placing the Ark of the Lord first before the priests, the biblical writer thereby conveys the majesty of the Ark as the throne of the Lord, from which the miraculous power of God proceeded. Instead of “priests” in the Slavonic Bible is read: “and the stones,” according to many of the Greek lists; but this reading is found far from in all lists of the LXX translation; in the Uncial manuscripts—in the Ambrosian is read “priests”; this same word is read in some later Greek lists and the Complutensian Polyglot, as well as in the Vulgate. “And the stones” appeared here in the Greek list, probably under the influence of what is said in Josh 4:5, that the chosen 12 men, who were to carry stones from the Jordan, were to go before the Ark of the Lord. “Before the people,” that is, in the sight of the people, before their eyes, in their presence.

Joshua 4:12. and the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the sons of Israel, as Moses had told them. Joshua 4:13. About forty thousand armed men passed over before the Lord for battle to the plains of Jericho. To what is said in Josh 4:11 about the crossing of the “entire people” the biblical writer adds an indication of the crossing of the Jordan by armed warriors from the trans-Jordan tribes in the number of approximately 40,000, in accordance with the promise given by these tribes (Josh 1:12-18) and from a sense of duty “before the Lord,” who had brought them rest and given them the land. The mention of this event following the indication of the crossing of the Ark of the Lord does not mean that the warriors from these tribes crossed after the Ark, for after its exit from the Jordan the streambed once again filled with water, but once again testifies only that the biblical narrator was guided here not by the order of time in which events occurred but by the inner relationship between them. “To the plains of Jericho.” Thus is named the extensive fertile plain surrounding ancient Jericho, which in ancient times was covered with palm trees, from which the city bore also the name of the city of Palms (Deut 34:3).

Joshua 4:14. In that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him just as they had feared Moses all the days of his life. As in Josh 4:11, anticipating the course of events, the writer indicated the carrying of the Ark, so here too, before the account of the final manifestation with which the great event concluded, he draws a conclusion, indicating the significance of the event for Joshua son of Nun as a leader of the people; this significance consists of his exaltation before all the people, who thereafter came to fear him just as they had feared Moses (Exod 14:31).

Joshua 4:15. And the Lord said to Joshua, saying: Joshua 4:16. Command the priests bearing the Ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan. Joshua 4:17. And Joshua commanded the priests and said: Come up from the Jordan. Joshua 4:18. And when the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came up from the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry ground, the water of the Jordan returned to its place and flowed over all its banks as before. The last momentous event in the crossing of the Israeli people through the Jordan was the removal of the Ark of the Lord onto dry ground, accompanied by the fact that immediately after this the water, held back in its flow, rushed forward and filled all the banks of the Jordan as before, from which it became evident once again that from the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord proceeded the power that held back the normal flow of the river. And the biblical writer begins his account of this last event with an exposition of a special divine command, then follows its communication to the priests and the actual fulfillment of it by them.

Joshua 4:19. And the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped at Gilgal, on the east side of Jericho. Joshua 4:20. And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal The people came up from the Jordan on the 10th day of the first month, the very day on which their fathers began to prepare for the celebration of the Passover and likewise for the departure from Egypt (Exod 12:3). Their first encampment was in a locality that came to be called Gilgal and was located to the southeast of Jericho. The first act of Joshua son of Nun here was the erection of a memorial from the stones taken from the dried bed of the Jordan. At the present time, at a small distance from the village of Riha, which exists on the site of Jericho, three hills are pointed out which bear the name Jeljeljul, corresponding to the biblical Gilgal. Eusebius and Jerome (in Onomastica Sacra, according to de Lagarde’s edition, pp. 126 and 233) indicate this Gilgal as almost 2 Roman miles from Jericho. At approximately such a distance, namely in 45 minutes’ journey from Riha, there is a hill which is covered with large stones and bears among the local inhabitants the name Tell Jeljeljul. Near the hill are traces of a former wall made of unworked stones, and some 80 paces from it is another hill, also with remnants of a wall and fragments of mosaic. A German scholar (Trumbull) who examined this place recognized it as the Gilgal of Joshua son of Nun, and this opinion is accepted by some Western Bible scholars. According to the testimony of travelers of the 6th-7th centuries, at the site of this Gilgal in their time there existed a church, in the altar of which the Jordan stones were arranged.

Joshua 4:21. and said to the sons of Israel: “When your sons ask their fathers in the future: ‘What do these stones mean?’ Joshua 4:22. you shall let your sons know, saying: ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry ground,’ Joshua 4:23. for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up [before us,] for us, until we had crossed over, Joshua 4:24. that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and that you may fear the Lord your God always. They present, as a general conclusion to the account of the memorable event, an explanation of the significance of the erected memorial, which at the same time serves as an explanation of the principal purpose for which the Lord manifested His almightiness over the waters of the Jordan. This purpose is that “all peoples may know” the almightiness of the Lord and that the Israeli people be filled forever with reverence toward Him (“that you may revere the Lord your God,” according to the Greek-Slavonic translation). * * * “Take” is read in only some Greek lists; in the majority of them instead of this “taking” is read, but “command” is the usual reading of the most ancient Greek lists, the Vatican, Alexandrian, and others. In the Vatican, Alexandrian, Lucianic, and other Greek lists. The lists meant are: Vatican, Alexandrian, Lucianic, and others, as well as the Sixtine Greek Bible. Prof. A. A. Olesnitsky. The Holy Land, vol. 2, p. 33. Riehm. Handworterbuch, p. 518. Prof. A. A. Olesnitsky. Megalithic Monuments of the Holy Land. 1895, p. 88.