Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 4:19
And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth [day] of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
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” (Exo 13:4; Exo 23:15; Deu 16:1), and subsequently “Nisan” (Neh 2:1; Est 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 “Ghr” which lay between the town and the river. We find Gilgal mentioned again, ( a) in the time of Saul (1Sa 7:16; 1Sa 10:8), and ( b) some sixty years later in the history of David’s return to Jerusalem (2Sa 19:15). The name is here mentioned by anticipation, Jos 5:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gilgal, mentioned here by anticipation (compare Jos 5:9), the modern Jiljulieh (Conder), was on rising ground (compare Jos 5:3), and, according to Josephus, nearly five miles from the river, and consequently about two from the city itself. The site of the camp was no doubt fortified by Joshua, as it constituted for some time the abiding foothold in Canaan, from where he sallied forth to subdue the country. It was also the place of safety where the ark, and no doubt also the women, children, cattle, and other property of the people were left. Hence, the demolition of Jericho and Ai, strong fortresses in the neighborhood of Gilgal, was no doubt dictated by sound policy as well as by religious obligations.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. On the tenth day of the first month] As the Israelites left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month, A.M. 2513, (see Ex 14:1-31), and they entered into Canaan the tenth of the first month, A.M. 2553, it is evident that forty years, wanting five days, had elapsed from the time of their exodus from Egypt to their entrance into the promised inheritance.
Encamped in Gilgal] That is, in the place that was afterwards called Gilgal, see Jos 5:9; for here the name is given it by anticipation. In Hebrew, gal signifies to roll; and the doubling of the root, galgal or gilgal, signifies rolling round and round, or rolling off or away, because, in circumcising the children that had been born in the wilderness, Joshua rolled away, rolled off completely, the reproach of the people. From this time Gilgal became a place of considerable eminence in the sacred history.
1. It was the place where the Israelitish camp rested the first night of their entering into that land which had been promised to their fathers from the days of Abraham.
2. It was the place in which Joshua circumcised all the people who had been born in the wilderness, during the forty years of their wandering, after they left Egypt.
3. It was the place in which Joshua had what we might term his fortified camp, and to which he and his army constantly returned after each of their expeditions against the inhabitants of the land.
4. It appears to have been the place where all the women, children, cattle, and goods, &c., were lodged, probably during the whole of the Canaanitish war.
5. It was the place where they celebrated the first passover they kept in the promised land.
6. It was the place where Saul, the first king of Israel, was proclaimed.
7. There the manna ceased to fall. And,
8. There the ark was fixed till, after the conquest of the country, it was removed to Shiloh.
Gilgal was about ten furlongs from Jericho, and fifty from Jordan: Jericho being on the west, and Jordan on the east, Gilgal being between both. See Josephus, De Bello, &c., lib. v., c. 4, and Calmet on this place. Calmet supposes there was neither city nor town here before the arrival of the Israelites.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The first month, to wit, of Nisan, which wanted but five days of forty years from the time of their coming out of Egypt, which was on the fifteenth day of this month; so punctual is God in the performing of his word, whether promised or threatened. And this day was very seasonable for the taking up of the lambs, which were to be used four days after, according to the law, Exo 12:3,6.
Gilgal; a place so called hereafter upon a following occasion, Jos 5:9. So here it is an anticipation.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. the people came up out of Jordanon the tenth day of the first monththat is, the month Nisan,four days before the passover, and the very day when the paschal lambrequired to be set apart, the providence of God having arranged thatthe entrance into the promised land should be at the feast.
and encamped in GilgalThename is here given by anticipation (see on Jos5:9). It was a tract of land, according to JOSEPHUS,fifty stadia (six and one-half miles) from Jordan, and ten stadia(one and one-fourth miles) from Jericho, at the eastern outskirts ofthe palm forest, now supposed to be the spot occupied by the villageRiha.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the people came up out of Jordan,…. The channel of it, to the shore:
on the tenth [day] of the first month; the month Nisan or Abib, which from the time of Israel’s coming out of Egypt was appointed the first month of the year, Ex 12:2; on the fifteenth of which month they came out of Egypt, having kept the passover on the fourteenth at even; so that their coming out of Egypt, to their entrance into Canaan, was just forty years, wanting five days. This tenth day was the day in which the passover was taken from the flock, and kept till the fourteenth, on which day the children of Israel kept their first passover in Canaan, in the plains of Jericho, Jos 5:10;
and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho; it has its name here by anticipation, for it was so named after this for a reason given, Jos 5:9; It was, according to Josephus l, ten furlongs, or a mile and a quarter, from Jericho. Jerom says m, there was shown in his time a desert place two miles from Jericho, had in wonderful esteem by men of that country, which he suggests was this place; as it was had in great veneration, both by the worshippers of the true God, and by idolaters, for many ages.
l Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.) m De loc. Heb. fol. 91. M.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The crossing took place on the tenth day of the first month, that is to say, on the same day on which, forty years before, Israel had begun to prepare for going out of Egypt by setting apart the paschal lamb (Exo 12:3). After crossing the river, the people encamped at Gilgal, on the eastern border of the territory of Jericho. The place of encampment is called Gilgal proleptically in Jos 4:19 and Jos 4:20 (see at Jos 5:9).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
19. And the people came up, etc Why the day on which they entered the land, and first encamped in it, is marked, we shall see in next chapter. But the name of Gilgal is given to the first station by anticipation, for this new name was afterwards given to it by Joshua on the renewal of circumcision; its etymology will be explained in its own place. Moreover, the thing here principally treated of is the monument of twelve stones; for though it was formerly mentioned, a kind of solemn dedication is now related, namely, that Joshua not only erected a mound, but called the attention of the people to its use in enabling fathers to keep the memory of the divine goodness alive among their children. From his introducing the children asking, What mean these stones? we infer that they were arranged so as to attract the notice of spectators. For had they been heaped together at random without any order, it would never have come into the mind of posterity to inquire concerning their meaning. There must therefore have been something so remarkable in their position as not to allow the sight to be overlooked.
Moreover, because the covenant by which God had adopted the race of Abraham was firm in an uninterrupted succession for a thousand generations, the benefit which God had bestowed on the deceased fathers is, on account of the unity of the body, transferred in common to their children who were born long after. And the continuation must have more strongly awakened their attention, inasmuch as posterity were in this way reminded that what had long ago been given to their ancestors belonged to them also. The answer of the parents would have been coldly listened to had the divine favor been confined to a single day. But when the sons’ sons hear that the waters of Jordan were dried up many ages before they were born, they acknowledge themselves to be the very people towards whom that wonderful act of divine favor had been manifested. The same account is to be given of the drying up of the Red Sea, though the event was not very ancient. It is certain that of those who had come out of Egypt, Caleb and Joshua were the only survivors, and yet he addresses the whole people as if they had been eye-witnesses of the miracle. God dried up the Red Sea before our face; in other words, it was done in virtue of the adoption which passed without interruption from the fathers to the children. Moreover, it was worth while to call the passage of the Red Sea to remembrance, not only that the similarity of the miracle might cause belief, but that on hearing the story of the Jordan, that former miracle might be at the same time renewed, although no visible symbol of it was present to the eye.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
The Purpose of the Memorial Jos. 4:19-24
19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land,
23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.
15.
On what day did the people cross the Jordan? Jos. 4:19
The month Abib was the first month of the Jewish calendar. In latter times this month was called Nisan. It was in this month that the Passover fell as God had given directions for its institution (Exo. 12:18). This first month of the Jewish calendar corresponds to the March and April of the Julian calendar, being the latter part of the month of March and the first part of the month of April. The crossing occurred at the end of the forty years of wilderness wandering and would thus be in the forty-first year after the people left Egypt.
16.
Where was Gilgal? Jos. 4:19
Gilgal was the first camp established by the Israelites on the west side of the Jordan River in the land of Canaan. The place received its name from the events which are recorded in chapter 5 of Joshua. The spot must not have been far from Jericho, and it is called by the name of Geliloth in Jos. 18:17. This was one of the points on Samuels circuit as he moved about when he judged Israel (1Sa. 7:16). It was here that Agag, the king of the Amalekites, was slain (1Sa. 15:33). At least two other places in Israel bear this same name. One was some four miles from Bethel and Shiloh (2Ki. 2:1-2; 2Ki. 4:38). Another is often referred to as a regal Gilgal since a king lived there. This one is mentioned in Jos. 12:23.
17.
What was the chief end of the miracle? Jos. 4:22
The miracle effectually confirmed the authority of Joshua in the eyes of Israel. The people feared him all the days of his life as they had feared Moses. The immediate end of the miracle, however, was to enable the people to cross the Jordan quickly and easily. The indirect benefit was that the government of Joshua was established. Another benefit also revealed to the Canaanites the omnipotence of the God of Israel. The miracle also would serve as an impulse to the Israelites to fear the Lord their God always (Exo. 14:4; Exo. 14:18; Exo. 6:6; see also Exo. 3:19; Exo. 6:1; Exo. 14:31).
18.
What was the purpose of the memorial? Jos. 4:24
The twelve stones were to be a sign in Israel. They were to serve as a memorial of the miraculous crossing of the Jordan to all succeeding generations.
The purpose of the memorial was really twofold:
1.
That the people of the earth might know God
2.
That Israel might fear God and know these truths:
a.
The Lords power is unlimited
b.
The Lords power would be used for them
c.
Their leader, Joshua, was working under God
Although Israel was not commissioned as a nation of evangelists, they were to be concerned for foreign people; and this memorial not only was to remind the Israelites of Gods power but also to help other nations to know God.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
EVENTS AT GILGAL (Jos. 4:19 to Jos. 5:12, inclusive).
(19) On the tenth day of the first month.Of the forty-first year after they left Egypt. Exactly forty years before, on the tenth day of the first month, (Exo. 12:5), they had been commanded to take them a lamb for an house, that they might keep the Passover. The forty years of the Exodus were now complete, and on the self-same day they passed over the last barrier, and entered the Promised Land.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. The tenth day of the first month In Jos 5:10, we learn that the passover, the anniversary of the Exodus, occurred on the fourteenth of the same month, so that there were forty years, wanting four days, between the departure from Egypt and the entrance into Canaan. They did not enter earlier because of their unbelief. Heb 3:19.
Gilgal On the significance which the Israelites afterwards attached to this name, see note on Jos 5:9. According to Josephus, Gilgal was fifty stadia, about six miles, from the Jordan, and ten stadia, exceeding a mile, from Jericho. No trace of the name or site now remains. This Gilgal must be carefully distinguished from another Gilgal in Central Palestine, known by the modern name Jiljilia. See note on Jos 9:6. Gilgal is noted as the first encampment of Israel in Canaan. Here was the scene of the circumcision, here the first passover was celebrated in the land, and here the manna ceased to fall.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho.’
This time note is reminiscent of time notes in the account of the flood (Gen 8:14), the account of the Exodus (Exo 16:1) and of similar time notes in the Babylonian flood story. They were clearly ancient practise in such narratives. The tenth day of the first month was the day when Passover lambs had to be set aside (see Jos 5:10; Exo 12:3). It was indicating that YHWH had again protected His people. Israel had two dates which were seen as inaugurating a new year, one which began in September/October (Exo 23:16), the agricultural year, and one which began in March/April. The latter was instituted at the Exodus (Exo 12:2), a memorial of the great deliverance from Egypt, while the former went back into time immemorial.
The fact that the latter did not fully take over from the former demonstrates the strength of custom. They would always through the centuries think of the agricultural year as beginning in September/October and the redemptive year as beginning in March/April. Until their lives became more regulated by the establishing of a sophisticated royal court it mattered little. As a whole they thought more in terms of seasons than of months. The Canaanites at Ugarit used totally different names for the months of the year, although we only know four names of months in early Hebrew, Abib (Exo 13:4), Ziv (1Ki 6:1; 1Ki 6:37), Ethanim (1Ki 8:2), and Bul (1Ki 6:38), three of those coming from the time of Solomon. Usually months were identified by numbers (Gen 7:11; Gen 8:4-5; Exo 12:2; Exo 19:1; Num 33:8; Deu 1:3).
“They encamped in Gilgal.” Gilgal means ‘a rolling’, therefore ‘that with which one rolls, a cartwheel’. The Israelites were a practical people and thought of wheels as ‘rollers’ rather than as ‘round’. However, from its use scholars have suggested ‘a circle’ and relate it to the stones set up by Joshua, but there is no reason for thinking that Gilgal referred to a circle of stones other than speculation. The stones were in fact probably put in a heap. The description ‘Gilgal’, if it was Canaanite, probably relates to some local phenomenon such as a place where stones were rolled for the purpose of offering sacrifices. It was on the eastern side of Jericho. The watchmen in Jericho must have been terrified as they saw this great army camping there. (There were other Gilgals elsewhere in Canaan (Jos 12:23; Jos 15:7) which supports a Canaanite origin for the name).
The site of Gilgal is considered by many to be Khirbet el-Mefjir where evidence of early iron-age occupation has been discovered, and it fits in with the topographical data, as indeed does the whole account. It became a permanent camp for Joshua during his activities in Canaan (Jos 5:10; Jos 9:6; Jos 10:6; Jos 10:15; Jos 10:43; Jos 14:6). No doubt he found great strength from returning to the site of YHWH’s great work, and it was relatively secure form attack, with the east bank possessed by Israel.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 19. And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day, &c. On the fifteenth of this same month the people had departed from Egypt; so that forty years, wanting five days, had elapsed from the first of these events to the second. Gilgal was situate between Jordan and Jericho, ten furlongs from the city, and fifty from the river, according to Josephus’s calculation. We shall see in the subsequent chapter, ver. 9 what occasioned the giving the name of Gilgal to this first encampment of the Israelites in the land of Canaan, and consequently to the city afterwards built there. Joshua had there his camp, or, as we now express it, his quarters, during all the time that the war lasted, and till the division of the country among the tribes. There the Israelites were circumcised; there they celebrated, for the first time, in the land of Canaan, the passover; and there the tabernacle was fixed and erected, till, Palestine being subdued by the victorious arms of the Hebrews, they placed it at Shilo. Gilgal, however, always continued to be a town of importance, as we may see from divers passages of Scripture, particularly Jdg 2:1. 1Sa 11:14-15; 1Sa 13:12; 1Sa 13:23.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The Holy Ghost is pleased to have the very day recorded for the information of the church in all ages, in which this grand event was accomplished. And if the Reader is curious to make the calculation, he will find that it was the exact time, (wanting only five days) of forty years, which the Lord had said Israel should wander in the wilderness. Reader! as we learn from hence that God records his mercies, ought not you and I to record them also? And can we look back to the time, have we the memorandum always to have recourse to, when the Lord brought us over the spiritual Jordan towards the conquest of the Canaanite yet in the land? If not, is the work yet not begun? These are solemn enquiries: Lord, by thy Holy Spirit write them on our hearts.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth [day] of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
Ver. 19. On the tenth day of the first month. ] See Trapp on “ Exo 12:3 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 4:19-24
19Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. :20Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21He said to the sons of Israel, When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.
Jos 4:19 on the tenth of the first month The first month would be Nisan. This refers to the early spring time. This was exactly the anniversary of the deliverance from Egypt (cf. Exo 12:3). There is a purposeful parallel! See chart below.
ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CALENDARS
Canaanite (1Ki 6:1; 1Ki 6:37-38; 1Ki 8:2)Sumerian-Babylonian (Nippur Calendar)Hebrew (Geezer Calendar)Modern Equivalents
Abib (green heads of barley)NisanuNisanMarch-April
Zin (spring brilliance)AyaruIyyarApril-May
SimanuSivanMay-June
Du-uzuTammuzJune-July
AbuAbJuly-August
UluluElulAugust-September
Ethanim (permanent water source)TeshrituTishriSeptember-October
Bul (rains on produce)Arah-samnaMarcheshvanOctober-November
KislimuChislevNovember-December
TebituTebethDecember-January
ShabatuShebatJanuary-February
AdaruAdarFebruary-March
and camped at Gilgal The word Gilgal (BDB 166) means circle and seems to imply that the twelve stones that Joshua will set up may have been in a circle. It is very hard to locate Gilgal because there were no permanent buildings there, just a campsite. However, it became a very holy place to Israel. Josephus tells us that it is five miles from the river and about a mile and a quarter from Jericho.
Jos 4:21-22 See note at Jos 4:3; Jos 4:6.
Jos 4:23 just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea As God had miraculously brought His people out of Egypt, now He miraculously brings the people into the promised land.
For a discussion of the Red Sea, see Special Topic at Jos 2:10.
Jos 4:24 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty Again the purpose of God choosing Israel was to choose the world (see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan ). This is one of the many universal implications and specific statements to show that God wants all of the world to know and respect Him (cf. 1Sa 17:46; 1Ki 8:41-43; 1Ki 8:60; 2Ki 19:19; Psa 46:10; Psa 105:1; Psa 145:12; Isa 12:4-5; Isa 32:20; Eze 36:23). See Special Topic at Jos 1:7.
The hand of the LORD (see Special Topic: Hand and Special Topic: God Described As Human [anthropomorphism] ) is an anthropomorphic idiom of YHWH’s power and sovereignty (cf. Deu 4:34; Deu 5:15; Deu 7:19; Deu 11:2; Deu 26:8). This may have been a way of referring to God’s power seen in the staff in Moses’ hand (e.g., Exo 7:5; Exo 7:19; Exo 8:5-6; Exo 8:16-17; Exo 9:22-23; Exo 10:12-13; Exo 10:21-22; Exo 14:16; Exo 14:21; Exo 14:26-27). God uses human instrumentality to accomplish His will among humans (e.g., Exo 3:7-9 Jos 4:10-12).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How many groups of memorial stones are there and why?
2. Why does the term middle of the Jordan need to be translated brink of the Jordan?
3. Why is chapter 4 so helpful in our discussion of training our children in the matters of faith?
4. How do these two chapters show us that God cares about all the world and not just Israel?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
first month
i.e. April.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
first month: Exo 12:2, Exo 12:3
Gilgal: That is, the place afterwards called Gilgal; for it is so called here by anticipation. It was about ten furlongs east from Jericho, and fifty west from the Jordan. See Josephus and Calmet. Jos 5:9, Jos 10:6, Jos 10:43, Jos 15:7, 1Sa 11:14, 1Sa 11:15, 1Sa 15:33, Amo 4:4, Amo 5:5, Mic 6:5
Reciprocal: Deu 9:1 – to pass Jos 4:3 – leave them Jos 12:23 – Gilgal Jos 14:6 – Gilgal 2Ki 2:1 – Gilgal Hos 9:15 – is in
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 4:19. On the tenth day of the first month Namely, of Nisan, which wanted but five days of forty years from the time of their coming out of Egypt, which was on the fifteenth day of this month. So punctual is God in the performing of his word, whether promised or threatened. And this day was very seasonable for the taking up of the lambs which were to be used four days after, according to the law, Exo 12:3; Exo 12:6. Gilgal A place afterward so called, Jos 5:9.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth [day] of the {h} first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
(h) Called Abib or Nisan, containing part of March and part of April.