Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 3:4
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.
4. there shall be a space ] Partly for the sake of reverence, partly that it might be observed and marked as it led the way.
two thousand cubits ] a Sabbath day’s journey (Act 1:12) = 3000 feet.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The ark, which was since the making of the covenant the special shrine and seat of Gods presence, went before to show the people that God, through its medium, was their leader. They were to follow at a distance that they might the better observe and mark how the miracle was accomplished. This they would do to the greatest advantage while coming down the heights, the ark going on before them into the ravine.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. About two thousand cubits] This distance they were to keep,
1. For the greater respect, because the presence of the ark was the symbol and pledge of the Divine presence.
2. That the ark, which was to be their pilot over these waters, might be the more conspicuous which it could not have been had the people crowded upon it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Two thousand cubits make a thousand yards, and at which distance from it the Israelites seem to have been encamped in the wilderness. And because they generally went from their tents to the ark to worship God, especially on the sabbath days, hence it hath been conceived that a sabbath days journey reached only to two thousand cubits. But that may be doubted; for those who encamped nearest the ark were at that distance from it, and came so far; but the most were farther from it, and their sabbath days journey was considerably longer.
Come not near unto it; partly from the reverent respect they should bear to the ark; and partly for the following reason.
That ye may know the way by which ye must go; that the ark marching so far before you into the river, and standing still there till you pass over, may give you the greater assurance of your safe passage.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Yet there shall be a space between you and it,…. The ark; the Keri or marginal reading is, “between you and them”; the priests that bear it: hence sprung a fiction among the Jews, that there were two arks, the ark of the Shechinah or divine Majesty, and the ark of Joseph, in which his bones were put, which went together q; which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel take notice of, but has no foundation in the text:
about two thousand cubits by measure; by a certain well known measure, that of a common cubit; for the “caph” we render “about” is a note of truth, reality, and certainty, and designs the exact precise measure here given: this difference was to be observed, partly in reverence to the ark, the symbol of the divine Presence; Christ is to be reverenced by his people, and so his word and ordinances; and there is a reverence and respect due to his ministers and priests that bear the ark; as also that they might the better see the ark and go after it, as Ben Gersom; or the way in which they should go, as is suggested in the following clause; and likewise have the better view of the greatness of the miracle, as Abarbinel; the dividing of the waters of Jordan as soon as the ark came to it, and while it was in it: the Jews conclude from hence that this was the measure of ground they may go on a sabbath day, and no further, called a sabbath day’s journey, Ac 1:12;
come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; over Jordan into Canaan’s land; for being at some distance from them they could better discern that and the way he directed them to walk in: Christ the antitype of the ark is the way to the heavenly Canaan, and his ministers point out the right way of salvation by him, in the ministration of the word, by attending to which the way is seen and known in which men must go:
for ye have not passed [this] way heretofore; a path indeed untrodden by any; neither they nor any other ever went into Canaan the way they were now going, through the river Jordan as on dry land: the way to heaven by Christ is only revealed in the Gospel, and only trodden by believers in him, and especially the way to glory through Jordan’s river; or death is an untrodden path, which, though the way of all flesh, is a trackless path, and gone through, but once, and those who pass it have never before gone that way.
q T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 13. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. Yet there shall be a space, etc As the younger Levites, whose province it was to carry the ark, (Num 4:15) were strictly forbidden to touch it, or even to look at it, when uncovered, it is not wonderful that the common people were not allowed to approach within a considerable distance of it. The dignity of the ark, therefore, is declared, when the people are ordered to attest their veneration by leaving a long interval between themselves and it. And we know what happened to Uzzah, (2Sa 6:0) when seeing it shaken by restive oxen, he with inconsiderate zeal put forth his hand to support it. For although God invites us familiarly to himself, yet faithful trust so far from begetting security and boldness, is, on the contrary, always coupled with fear. In this way the ark of the covenant was, indeed, a strong and pleasant pledge of the divine favor, but, at the same time, had an awful majesty, well fitted to subdue carnal pride. This humility and modesty, moreover, had the effect of exercising their faith by preventing them from confining the grace of God within too narrow limits, and reminding them, that though they were far distant from the ark, the divine power was ever near.
In the end of the verse it is shown how necessary it was for them to be divinely guided by an unknown way; that anxiety and fear might keep them under the protection of the ark.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
4. Space two thousand cubits The design of this space of a thousand yards more than half a mile was that the people might see the way to the opened passage through the Jordan. Some have supposed that this space was required on account of the sacredness of the ark. But it is not stated in the text, nor was such a space ever required during all their journeyings in the wilderness, nor ever afterwards. In this case the miraculous division of waters would be more impressive because the required space would render it visible to all.
For ye have not passed this way heretofore The Hebrews yesterday and the day before is equivalent to previously. The Greeks have a similar expression: . Homer’s Iliad, 2:303.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure, come not near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not crossed over this way up to now.”
This suggests that the Ark was uncovered, which was why it was being borne by the priests (see Numbers 4). Compare the similar sized gap around Levitical cities (Num 35:5). Note that the gap was between the Ark and the people. It would not have been empty for it would contain all the priests going ahead, followed by the Levites, marching ahead of the people. This was similar to the Tabernacle where the priests could enter the Holy Place, and the Levites the outer court, forbidden to the people.
The gap would have been maintained while crossing the Jordan with the people crossing on both sides, either one or two thousand cubits away from the Ark depending on whether we interpret the two thousand cubits as the total gap (one thousand on each side), or as two thousand in both sides. In the case of the Levitical cities the former appears to be the case.
The priests, and even possibly the Levites, formed a protective wall around the Ark. The standard cubit was about Jos 17:5 inches (just over half a metre). The purpose of the Ark going ahead was to show them the route to take over the Jordan. ‘Passed this way’ or ‘crossed over this way’ is a verb largely used in this narrative of crossing the Jordan (Jos 2:23; Jos 3:1; Jos 3:6; Jos 3:11; Jos 3:14; Jos 3:16-17). The point here is that they had never experienced YHWH’s unique power in the way that it would be revealed here as they crossed over into a land they had never seen.
In view of the fact that this gap is not mentioned in the Law, and is not mentioned elsewhere, we are justified in seeing it as a unique requirement only for this occasion. The reason for it would seem to be because of the unique revelation of His power to be given here. He wanted them to be aware that He was there, invisibly but certainly, thus rendering the area around the Ark ‘holy’. This was also one reason why they had to sanctify themselves before the event. He was about to reveal Himself as Lord of all the earth by His power expressed in the stopping of the Jordan. During this manifestation of power, this ‘doing of wonders’, this personal revelation of His presence, none must be near, except for the priests and the Levites. God wanted His people to remember this occasion vividly and to be aware that He had been there in numinous power.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 4. There shall be a space, &c. The ark here supplying, in some measure, the place of the miraculous cloud which had guided the Israelites in their several encampments, and which, for that purpose, had always marched before them; it was necessary that it should be carried at the head of the people. But, on the other hand, whereas in the common marches there was little space between the ark and the body of the army, God, on this occasion, required the Israelites to leave betwixt it and the head of their camp a distance of about 2000 cubits, i.e. 3500 feet, more or less; for, in a great army, the marshalling can hardly be perfect. But wherefore this disposition? Why this distance between the ark and the camp of the Israelites? The reason is evident from the words immediately following: it was in order that the Israelites might know the way, &c. in order that it might serve as a signal to the whole army, instead of the miraculous pillar, which then probably ceased to conduct the Israelites in their marches. We may also add two other reasons: First, That God was desirous it should appear in a sensible manner to all Israel, that the sacred symbol of his presence had no need of a guard; that it could run no risk from enemies, at what distance soever from the army; and, consequently, that the Israelites themselves had nothing to apprehend under so high a protection. Secondly, That, by this arrangement, God chose to remove from the Israelites every pretence for looking closely into this sacred ark, which, most probably, was uncovered in the passage over Jordan; whereas in common marches it was covered with several veils. Calmet observes, that the words, come not near unto it, are not in the Hebrew; and he confines the sense of the words addressed by Joshua to the Israelites to this: “Be cautious of approaching the ark; follow it afar off, without deviating from the way which it will shew you: for it goes before to open you a new and extraordinary road,” &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The distance pointed out is striking. I do not think as some have supposed, that the distance ordered between the ark and the people, was that the multitude which followed might not crowd upon one another, so as to prevent the whole from seeing. But I rather think that there was somewhat typical and figurative in it. Under the old dispensation, the people were prohibited from coming nigh. And this was meant to shadow forth the difference between the law and the gospel. See Heb 12:18-19 . But in the gospel-state, we that were afar off are brought nigh by the blood of Jesus. Heb 10:21-22 . There is somewhat very striking in this command. Two thousand cubits was almost half a mile. The priests therefore in the face of an enemy ‘ s country were to pass over unarmed, and at a distance from the main body of the army. But then they had the ark of God’s presence with them. Yes, dearest Jesus! where thou art an host of foes cannot make us fear. I would have the Reader remark with me, how much the passing of Jordan represented the river of death. Of this it may be also said to every believer, “Ye have not passed this way heretofore.” Oh! for the ark of the covenant of God, or which is the same thing, Jesus whom that ark represented, to be with me when I pass the dark valley; for then shall I fear no ill while thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psa 23:4 ; Isa 43:2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 3:4 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.
Ver. 4. Yet there shall be a space. ] That you may know the distance, and show your reverence. See Exo 19:12 . As also,
That you may know the way by which you must go,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joshua
THE UNTRODDEN PATH AND THE GUIDING ARK
Jos 3:4
It was eminently true of Israel that they had ‘not passed this way heretofore,’ inasmuch as the path which was opening before them, through the oozy bed of the river, had never been seen by human eye, nor trodden by man’s foot. Their old leader was dead. There were only two of the whole host that had ever been out of the desert in their lives. They had a hard task before them. Jericho lay there, gleaming across the plain, among the palm-trees, backed by the savage cliffs, up the passes in which they would have to fight their way. So that we need not wonder that, over and over again, in these early chapters of this book, the advice in reiterated, ‘Be of good courage. Be strong and fear not!’ They needed special guidance, and they received very special guidance, and my text tells us what they had to do, in order to realise the full blessing and guidance that was given them. ‘Let there be a space of 2000 cubits by measure between you and the ark’-three-quarters of a mile or thereabouts-’do not press close upon the heels of the bearers, for you will not be able to see where they are going if you crowd on them. Be patient. Let the course of the ark disclose itself before you try to follow it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go, for ye have not passed this way heretofore.’
I. Note the untrodden path.
Some of us, perhaps, may be standing upon the verge of some new scenes in our lives. Some of you young people may have come up to a great city for the first time to carve out a position for yourselves, and are for the first time encompassed by the temptations of being unknown in a crowd. Some of you may be in new domestic circumstances, some with new sorrows, or tasks, or difficulties pressing upon you, calling for wisdom and patience. It is quite likely that there may be some who, in the most prosaic and literal sense of the words, are entering on a path altogether new and untrodden. But they will be in the minority, and for the most of us the days that were full of new possibilities are at an end, and we have to expect little more than the monotonous repetition of the habitual, humdrum duties of mature life. We have climbed the winding paths up the hill, and most of us are upon the long plateau that stretches unvaried, until it begins to dip at the further edge. And some of us are going down that other side of the hill.
But whatever may be the variety in regard to the mere externals of our lives, how true it is about us all that even the most familiar duties of to-day are not quite like the same duties when they had to be done yesterday; and that the path for each of us-though, as we go along, we find in it nothing new-is yet an untrodden path! For we are not quite the same as we were yesterday, though our work may be the same, and the difference in us makes it in some measure different.
But what mainly makes even the most well-beaten paths new at the thousandth time of traversing them is our ignorance of what may be waiting round the next turn of the road. The veil that hangs before and hides the future is a blessing, though we sometimes grumble at it, and sometimes petulantly try to make pinholes through it, and peep in to see a little of what is behind it. It brings freshness into our lives, and a possibility of anticipation, and even of wonder and expectation, that prevents us from stagnating. Even in the most habitual repetition of the same tasks ‘ye have not passed this way heretofore.’ And life for every one of us is still full of possibilities so great and so terrible that we may well feel that the mist that covers the future is a blessing and a source of strength for us all.
Our march through time is like that of men in a mist, in which things loom in strangely distorted shapes, unlike their real selves, until we get close up to them, and only then do we discover them.
So for us all the path is new and unknown by reason of the sudden surprises that may be sprung upon us, by reason of the sudden temptations that may start up at any moment in our course, by reason of the earthquakes that may shatter the most solid-seeming lives, by reason of the sudden calamities that may fall upon us. The sorrows that we anticipate seldom come, and those that do come are seldom anticipated. The most fatal bolts are generally from the blue. One flash, all unlooked for, is enough to blast the tree in all its leafy pride. Many of us, I have no doubt, can look back to times in our lives when, without anticipation on our parts, or warning from anything outside of us, a smiting hand fell upon some of our blessings. The morning dawned upon the gourd in full vigour of growth, and in the evening it was stretched yellow and wilted upon the turf. Dear brethren, anything may come out of that dark cloud through which our life’s course has to pass, and there are some things concerning which all that we know is that they must come.
These are very old threadbare thoughts; I dare say you think it was not worth your while to come to hear them, nor mine to speak them; but if we would lay them to heart, and realise how true it is about every step of our earthly course that ‘ye have not passed this way heretofore,’ we should complain less than we do of the weariness and prosaic character of our commonplace lives, and feel that all was mystical and great and awful; and yet most blessed in its possibilities and its uncertainties.
II. Note, again, the guiding ark.
For us a similar thing is true. Jesus Christ is the true Ark of God. For what was the ark? the symbol of the divine Presence; and Christ is the reality of the divine Presence with men. The whole content of that ark was the ‘law of the Lord,’ and Jesus Christ is the embodied law of the present God. The ark was the sign that God had entered into this covenant with these people, and that they had a right to say to Him, ‘Thou art our God, and we are Thy people,’ and the same double assurance of reciprocal possession and mutual delight in possession is granted to us in and through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So He becomes the guiding Ark, the Shepherd of Israel. His presence and will are our directors. The law, which is contained and incorporated in Him, is that by which we are to walk. The covenant which He has established in His own blood between God and man contains in itself not only the direction for conduct, but also the motives which will impel us to walk where and as He enjoins.
And so, every way we may say, by His providences which He appoints, by His example which He sets us, by His gracious word in which He sums up all human duties in the one sweet obligation, ‘Follow Me,’ and even more by His Spirit that dwells in us, and whispers in our ears, ‘This is the way; walk ye in it,’ and enlightens every perplexity, and strengthens all feebleness, and directs our footsteps into the way of peace; that living and personal Ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth is still the guide of waiting and docile hearts. Jesus Christ’s one word to us is, ‘If any man serve Me, let him follow Me. And where I am’-of course, seeing he is a follower-’there shall also My servant be.’
The one Pattern for us, the one Example that we need to follow, the one Strength in our perplexities, the true Director of our feet, is that dear Lord, if we will only listen to Him. And that direction will be given to us in regard to the trifles, as in regard to the great things of our lives.
III. And so the last thought that is here is the watchful following.
Now do not be in a hurry to act. ‘Raw haste’ is ‘half-sister to delay.’ We are all impatient of uncertainty, either in opinion or in conduct; but if you are not quite sure what God wants you to do, you may be quite sure that He does not at present want you to do anything. Wait till you see what He does wish you to do. Better, better far, to spend hours in silent-although people that know nothing about what we are doing may call it indolent-waiting for the clear declaration of God’s will, than to hurry on paths which, after we have gone on them far enough to make it a mortification and a weariness to turn back, we shall find out to have been not His at all, but only our own mistakes as to where the ark would have us go.
And that there may be this patience the one thing needful-as, indeed, it is the one thing needful for all strength of all kinds in the Christian life-is the rigid suppression of our own wills. That is the secret of goodness, and its opposite is the secret of evil. To live by my own will is to die. Nothing but blunders, nothing but miseries, nothing but failures, nothing but remorse, will be the fruit of such a life. And a great many of us who call ourselves Christians are not Christians in the sense of having Christ’s will for our absolute law, and keeping our own will entirely in subordination thereto. As is the will, so is the man, and whoever does not bow himself absolutely, and hush all the babble of his own inclinations and tastes and decisions, in order that that great Voice may speak, has small chance of ever walking in the paths of righteousness, or finding that his ways please the Lord.
Suppress your own wills, dwell near God, that you may hear His lightest whisper. ‘I will guide thee with Mine eye.’ What is the use of the glance of an eye if the man for whom it is meant is half a mile off, and staring about him at everything except the eye that would guide? And that is what some of us that call ourselves Christian people are. God might look guidance at us for a week, and we should never know that He was doing it; we have so many other things to look after. And we are so far away from Him that it would need a telescope for us to see His face. ‘I will guide thee with Mine eye.’ Keep near Him, and you will not lack direction.
And so, dear brethren, if we stay ourselves on, and wait patiently for, Him, and are content to do what He wishes, and never to run without a clear commission, nor to act without a full conviction of duty, then the old story of my text will repeat itself in our daily life, as well as in the noblest form in the last act of life, which is death. The Lord will move before us and open a safe, dry path for us between the heaped waters; and where the feet of our great High Priest, bearing the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, stood, amidst the slime and the mud, we may plant our firm feet on the stones that He has left there. And so the stream of life, like the river of death, will be parted for Christ’s followers, and they will pass over on dry ground, ‘until all the people are passed clean over Jordan.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
a space. This is very significant. Compare Exo 19:12, Exo 13:22. Lev 10:3.
cubits. See App-51. About Jos 1:5 miles.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a space: Exo 3:5, Exo 19:12, Psa 89:7, Heb 12:28, Heb 12:29
heretofore: Heb. since yesterday and the third day, Gen 31:2, Exo 4:10, 1Ch 11:2, Isa 30:33, *marg.
Reciprocal: Exo 19:23 – Set bounds Num 2:2 – far off Deu 19:4 – in time past Isa 42:16 – lead
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 3:4. There shall be a space between you and it Thus it was made to appear that the ark needed not to be guarded by the men of war, but was itself a guard to them. With what a noble defiance of the enemy did it leave all its friends far behind, save the unarmed priests that carried it, as perfectly sufficient for its own safety and theirs that followed it. Two thousand cubits A thousand yards, at which distance from it the Israelites seem to have been encamped in the wilderness. And because they generally went from their tents to the ark to worship God, especially on the sabbath days, hence it hath been conceived that a sabbath days journey reached only to two thousand cubits. But that may be doubted; for those who encamped nearest the ark were at that distance from it, and came so far; but the rest were farther from it, and their sabbath days journey was considerably longer. Come not near unto it Partly from the respect they should bear to the ark; but chiefly, that the ark, marching so far before them into the river, and standing still there till they passed over, might give them the greater assurance of a safe passage. Thus also the faith of the priests would be tried, and their confidence and courage displayed for an example to the people. That ye may know the way by which you must go May see it, as it were, chalked out, or traced by the ark. For had they been allowed to come near, and surround it, none could have had a sight of it but those that were close to it; but as it was at such a distance before them, they would all have the satisfaction of seeing it when it entered the river, and would be animated by the sight, especially if the pillar of cloud and fire still hovered over it, which some think it did; although others judge it to be more probable that it was now removed. For ye have not passed this way heretofore Therefore there was the more reason that this provision should be made for their encouragement. This, however, had been the character of it all their way through the wilderness: it was a way they had not passed before; but this through Jordan was especially such. While we are in this world we must expect and prepare for unusual events, to pass ways we have not passed before. And much more when we go hence, when we pass through the valley of the shadow of death. But if we have the assurance of Gods presence with us we need not fear; that will furnish us with protection and strength such as we never had, when we come to pass a way we never passed, and to do a work we never did.