Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 4:9
And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bore the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
9. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan ] “Alios quoque duodecim lapides,” Vulg. Another set of stones is here intended than that just mentioned. The latter were set up by the direct command of God to mark the spot where they passed the night; the former Joshua set up, apparently without the Divine suggestion, to mark the spot where the feet of the priests rested, while they bare upwards the Ark during the passage of the people. The expression “midst of Jordan” does not necessarily imply that the priests stood, and that the stones were built up, in the middle channel; but only that they were in the midst of the water when it flowed as it did before the occurrence of the miracle. Comp. Jos 3:8 with Jos 3:15.
unto this day ] This phrase recurs again and again in the Book of Joshua. Comp. Jos 5:9; Jos 6:25; Jos 7:26; Jos 8:28-29; Jos 9:27; Jos 10:27; Jos 13:13; Jos 14:14; Jos 15:63; Jos 16:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Another set of stones is intended than that before mentioned. The one set was erected by the command of God at the spot where they passed the night Jos 4:3; the other by Joshua on the spot where the priests feet rested while they bore up the ark during the passage of the people. This spot was near, or perhaps on, the eastern brink (compare Jos 3:8). These stones would therefore mark the spot at which the people crossed, as the others marked the place in which they lodged the night after the crossing; nor, as the stones would only be reached by the water in flood time, and then by the utmost edge of it, is there any reason why they could not both be seen, and continue in their place as the writer asserts they did up to the time when he wrote.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan] It seems from this chapter that there were two sets of stones erected as a memorial of this great event; twelve at Gilgal, Jos 4:20 and twelve in the bed of Jordan, Jos 4:9. The twelve stones in the bed of Jordan might have been so placed on a base of strong stone-work so high as always to be visible, and serve to mark the very spot where the priests stood with the ark. The twelve stones set up at Gilgal would stand as a monument of the place of the first encampment after this miraculous passage. Though this appears to me to be the meaning of this place, yet Dr. Kennicott’s criticism here should not be passed by. “It is well known,” says he, “that when Joshua led the Israelites over Jordan, he was commanded to take twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, to be a memorial that the ground in the very midst of that river had been made dry. But where was this memorial to be set up? The ninth verse says; Joshua set up these stones IN the midst of Jordan. But is it likely that the stones should be placed or set down where they were taken up; and that the memorial should be erected there where, when the river was again united, it would be concealed, and of course could be no memorial at all? This however flatly contradicts the rest of the chapter, which says these stones were pitched in Gilgal, where Israel lodged in Canaan for the first time. The solution of this difficulty is, that bethoch IN the midst, should be here mittoch, FROM the midst, as in Jos 4:3; Jos 4:8; Jos 4:20, and as the word is here also in the Syrian version. The true rendering therefore is, And Joshua set up the twelve stones (taken) FROM the midst of Jordan,” &c. I confess I see no need for this criticism, which is not supported by a single MS. either in his own or De Rossi’s collection, though they amount to four hundred and ninety-four in number. Twelve stones might be gathered in different parts of the bed of the Jordan, and be set up as a pillar in another, and be a continual visible memorial of this grand event. And if twelve were set up in Gilgal as a memorial of their first encampment in Canaan, it is still more likely that twelve would be set up in the bed of the river to show where it had been divided, and the place where the whole Israelitish host had passed over dry-shod. The reader may follow the opinion he judges most likely.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the midst of Jordan; properly so called; as Jos 3:17.
Quest. How could these stones be a monument of this work, when they were not seen, but generally covered with the waters of Jordan?
Answ. These stones are not the same with those which a man could carry upon his shoulders, Jos 4:5, and therefore might be very much larger; and being set up in two rows one above another, they might possibly be seen, at least sometimes when the water was low, and especially where the water was commonly more shallow, as it might be ordinarily in this place, though not at this time, when Jordan overflowed all its banks. Add to this, that the waters of Jordan are said to be very pure and clear; and therefore these stones, though they did not appear above it, might be seen in it, either by those who stood upon the shore, because that river was not broad; or at least by those that passed in boats upon the river, who could easily discern them by the peculiar noise and motion of the water occasioned by that heap of stones. And this was sufficient, especially considering that there was another more distinct and visible monument of this miracle set up in Gilgal.
They are there unto this day: this might be written, either,
1. By Joshua, who wrote this book near twenty years after this was done; or,
2. By some other holy man, divinely inspired and approved of by the whole Jewish church, who inserted this and some such passages, both in this book, and in the writings of Moses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. Joshua set up twelve stones . . .in the place where the feet of the priests . . . stoodInaddition to the memorial just described, there was another memento ofthe miraculous event, a duplicate of the former, set up in the riveritself, on the very spot where the ark had rested. This heap ofstones might have been a large and compactly built one and visible inthe ordinary state of the river. As nothing is said where thesestones were obtained, some have imagined that they might have beengathered in the adjoining fields and deposited by the people as theypassed the appointed spot.
they are there unto thisdayat least twenty years after the event, if we reckon by thedate of this history (Jos 24:26),and much later, if the words in the latter clause were inserted bySamuel or Ezra.
Jos4:10-13. THE PEOPLEPASS OVER.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan,…. Twelve other stones, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and so Jarchi; which he set one upon another, so that they might be seen above the water; or however the water of Jordan being clear, they might easily be discerned by those who either passed over the river, or walked by the side of it, where they were; and perhaps may be the very stones John the Baptist pointed at in Mt 3:9; since it was at Bethabara he was baptizing, supposed to be the very place of the passage of the children of Israel over Jordan, and had its name from thence, Joh 1:28;
in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood; and which was done in commemoration of it: the words will bear to be read “under the station” of the feet of the priests: hence Jarchi fancies these were set, that their feet might not sink in the mud at the bottom of the river; but this, though here recorded, might be done by Joshua immediately after the priests were come out of Jordan, or as they were coming up: hence some think Joshua was the last that came up from it; but Abarbinel observes, that the word signifies “in the room” or “stead of”, [See comments on Ex 21:24]; so that these stones were placed in the room and stead of the station of the priests, in the midst of the river, and in memory of it:
and they are there unto this day; to the time of the writing of this book, which is no objection to Joshua being the writer of it, though it is by some made one; since it might be wrote by him, as doubtless it was, when such an observation could not be impertinent; and if what has been before observed is true, these stones were in the same place in the times of John the Baptist; and that they were in the order in which they were first set; for that they were in the waters of Jordan, there could scarce be any question of it. This was done to perpetuate the memory of this remarkable event: so Alexander the great set up twelve altars on the borders of India, by the river Oraxes, in commemoration of his exploits k.
k Arrian. Expedit. Alex. l. 5. Curtius, l. 9. sect. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
9. And Joshua set up twelve stones, etc Apparently there was no use of stones under the water, and it may therefore seem to have been absurd to bury stones at a depth. The others which were placed in Gilgal being publicly visible, furnished occasion for inquiry; but stones hidden from the eyes of men at the bottom of the water could have no effect in inciting their minds. I admit that a monument altogether buried in silence would have been useless. (51) But when they talked among themselves of the evidence of the passage left there, the hearing even of what they did not see, strongly tended to confirm their faith. The ark of the covenant was shut up in the sanctuary and covered by a veil placed over against it, and yet its hidden splendor was not without benefit, when they learned from the Law that the covenant of God was deposited in it. It might also happen, that when the river was low, the tops of the heap would sometimes appear. But what I have already said is more probable, that though Joshua buried the stones in the middle of the stream, he did a useful act by establishing a testimony in presence of the people, which would afterwards become the subject of general conversation.
(51) French, “ Or je confesse bien que c’eust este un tesmoignage du tout inutile, si on l’eust laisse la comme enseveli sans en parler;” “Now, I confess, that it would have been an entirely useless testimony had they left it there, as it were, buried without speaking of it.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
9. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan [The and at the beginning of this verse, and twelve stones, without the article, indicate with sufficient clearness that these twelve stones were different from those just mentioned in Jos 4:8. This is still more evident from the fact that these were set up in the midst of Jordan, those in Gilgal. Jos 4:20. The fact that we find no record of any command from God to Joshua to erect this monument in the river does not disprove the existence of such a command, which a concise writer may omit, and yet describe its execution. See note on Jos 3:6. Or we may suppose that Joshua and the elders erected this river monument for their own satisfaction, and not by divine command.] But if these stones were set up in the midst of the river they must have been covered by the returning waters and probably swept away; how, then, could our author have known that they were there in his day? We reply that even if the pile was always below the surface of the water it might be seen or felt by careful examination, and be a thing of deep interest, especially to the men of that generation. But it is probable that these stones were not limited in size to the carrying capacity of one man; and they may have been placed upon an elevated base of rocks, so that they would ordinarily rise above the top of the water. It is very certain that our author, perhaps himself an eye-witness of the crossing of the Jordan, had more means of ascertaining the truth of his statements than we of the present day can possibly have to contradict his testimony. The word for set up signifies rear up, erect, and implies that the monument was of considerable height. As the memorial at Gilgal indicated very definitely the place of the passage, the monument to show the spot where the priests stood with the ark on their shoulders needed not to be very conspicuous.
And they are there unto this day This implies that the stones were for years visible either beneath or above the waters; otherwise the presence of the monument at a later day could not be asserted. On the theory that Joshua is the author of this book in its present form, having written it in his last years, it was about twenty years after these events that this memorial was existing. But if these words were added by a later hand they show the still longer continuance of the monument.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the Ark of the covenant stood, and they are there to this day.’
As well as setting twelve stones from the river on the land, Joshua also arranged for the placing of twelve stones in the river from the land. This was a wise move. The twelve stones on the land could be vandalised or removed by enemies but those in the river, placed so as to be obvious from the shore, would not be likely to be so treated. They may have been placed by the ford so as to be in shallowish water, which may well have been where the priests crossed and stood. The stones were there as replacing the priests. There may well have been twelve priests bearing the Ark as representing the tribes. But every time an Israelite crossed the ford at that point he would see the stones in the water and remember how the priests had stood in the Jordan riverbed with the Ark of YHWH their God, Lord of the whole earth, and how it had been dry.
“They are there to this day.” This could have been said a few years later. It is not necessarily an indication of a long gap. Could this suggest that the stones placed on the land were not in fact there to that day?
Alternatively we could read the whole verse as meaning (to paraphrase and amplify) ‘and Joshua set up the twelve stones which had been laid down (per Jos 4:8). These were twelve stones which were previously in the midst of Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests which bore the Ark of the covenant stood (as mentioned in Jos 4:3), until he arranged for them to be taken up and set in their night’s lodging place, and they are there to this day’. So ‘in the midst — stood’ is seen as explaining which stones were in mind and where they came from. NIV reads it this way. But if it is so it reads very awkwardly.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 9. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan Beside the monument which was erected in the lodging-place or camp, Joshua caused other twelve large stones to be placed in the channel of the river, exactly on the spot where the ark had stopped while the people crossed over; and the design of this was the same as of that in the camp. It may be asked, To what purpose was this invisible monument, for ever concealed under the waters of Jordan? We answer, perhaps these twelve stones were larger than the twelve former. It is no where said of these last, that they were carried upon men’s shoulders. Perhaps they were heaped one upon the other, and thus formed a monument, visible when the waters were very low; though it may be a question, whether the rapidity of the flood would allow them to remain long in that position. Perhaps, too, these waters were so transparent, that the stones might be discerned, if not on the shore, at least in crossing the river by boat. And, lastly, it was not absolutely necessary that this monument should be visible. See Houbigant’s note on the place.
And they are there unto this day Hobbes, and those who think like him, are not the only persons who have concluded from these words, that Joshua was not the author of this book, but that it was written long after his time;
Masius and Grotius have thought the same. We do not see, however, why Joshua might not have added these words, on revising his book in the latter part of his life; which he probably did (see on Deu 10:5; Deu 11:4 and the learned Huet’s Demonstr. Evang. prop. iv. c. 24.; or, indeed, the words in question might have been added by some author equally inspired by God. With respect to the fact itself, both the monuments set up by Joshua in memory of the passage through Jordan, if we may believe Eusebius and others, existed for many centuries after their erection.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The erection of the memorial both on the river and on the land, might be intended to show the salvation of Jesus both by land and by water. Psa 77:16-20 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
Ver. 9. And Joshua set up twelve stones. ] Besides the first twelve: Gaudet produci haec solennitas, as Augustine said at the feast of Pentecost. So Hezekiah and the people kept other seven days. 2Ch 30:23
And they are there unto this day.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joshua
STONES CRYING OUT
Jos 4:10 – Jos 4:24
This chapter is divided into two sections. The first from Jos 4:1 – Jos 4:14 has as its main subject the bringing up of the twelve memorial stones from the bed of Jordan; the second Jos 4:15 – Jos 4:24 gives the conclusion of the whole incident. The plan of arrangement, already pointed out in a former chapter, is very plain in this. Each section has God’s commands to Joshua, Joshua’s to the people, and the execution of these. To each is appended a summary, which anticipates the more detailed particulars that follow. Our text begins in the middle of the first section, but we must glance at the preceding verses. These tell how, when the people were all across, Joshua, who had apparently remained on the eastern bank with the twelve representatives of the tribes, received God’s command to tell these the purpose for which they had been chosen, and to set them to execute it. This additional instruction is the explanation of the apparent discrepancy between Jos 3:12 and Jos 4:2 . Jos 4:4 – Jos 4:8 tell Joshua’s communication of the instructions to the men; Jos 4:8 narrates the execution of them by each man’s wrenching up from the river’s bed a great stone, with which he toiled through the muddy ooze to the western shore, and thence over the hot plain to Gilgal, where the host camped; Jos 4:9 tells that twelve other stones were set up where the priests had stood, and were visible at some time after date, when it was written; but when that was, or whether the verse is part of the original or a later note, we cannot say. At any rate, there were two memorials, one on the bank, one in the stream-’a grand jury of great stones,’ as Thomas Fuller calls them. There is no difficulty in supposing that the monument in the river was firm enough to resist its current, and high enough to be visible either above the surface or beneath the ordinarily shallow water.
I. The first picture here brought before us is that of the motionless ark in the midst of what had been Jordan. There is an obvious intention to contrast the stillness of the priests, bearing it on their shoulders, and standing rooted in that strange place all these long hours, with the hurry around. ‘The priests stood . . . and the people hasted.’ However broad the front and swift the march, the crossing must have taken many hours. The haste was not from fear, but eagerness. It was ‘an industrious speed and mannerly quickness, as not willing to make God wait upon them, in continuing a miracle longer than necessity did require.’ When all were over, then came the twelve and Joshua, who would spend some time in gathering the stones and rearing the memorial in the river-bed. Through all the stir the ark was still. Over all the march it watched. So long as one Israelite was in the channel it remained, a silent presence, to ensure his safety. It let their rate of speed determine the length of its standing there. It waited for the slowest foot and the weariest laggard. God makes His ‘very present help’ of the same length as our necessities, and lets us beat the time to which He conforms. Not till the last loiterer has struggled to the farther shore does He cease by His presence to keep His people safe on the strange road which by His presence He has opened for them.
The silent presence of the ark is enough to dam up the stream. There is vehement action around, but the cause of it all is in absolute repose. God moves all things, Himself unmoved. He ‘worketh hitherto,’ and no intensity of energy breaks the depth of His perfect rest. His activity implies no effort, and is followed by no exhaustion. The ark is still, while it holds back a swollen river for hours. The centre of the swiftest revolution is a point of rest.
The form of the miracle was a condescension to weak faith, to which help was ministered by giving sense something to grasp. It was easier to believe that the torrent would not rush down on them when they could look at the priests standing there motionless, with the visible symbol of God’s presence on their shoulders. The ark was no more the cause of the miracle than were its carriers; but, just as Jesus helped one blind man by laying moistened earth on his eyes, and another by sending him to Siloam to wash, so God did here. Children learn best when they have something to look at. Sight is sometimes the servant of faith.
We need not dwell on the summary, beginning with Jos 4:11 , which anticipates the subject of the next section, and adds that the fighting men of the tribes who had already received their inheritance on the east bank of Jordan, loyally kept their promise, and marched with their brethren to the campaign.
II. Jos 4:15 – Jos 4:18 finish the story with the return of the waters to their bed. The triple division appears again. First God commands Joshua, who then transmits the command to the people, who, in turn, then obey. And thus at each stage the divine causality, Joshua’s delegated but absolute authority, and the people’s prompt obedience, are signalised; and the whole incident, in all its parts, is set forth as on the one hand a conspicuous instance of God’s interposition, and, on the other, of Israel’s willing service.
We can fancy how the people who had reached the western shore lined the bank, gazing on the group in the channel, who still stood waiting God’s command to relieve them at their post. The word comes at last, and is immediately obeyed. May we not learn the lesson to stand fixed and patient wherever God sets us, as long as He does not call us thence? God’s priests should be like the legionary on guard in Pompeii, who stuck to his post while the ashes were falling thick, and was smothered by them, rather than leave his charge without his commander’s orders. One graphic word pictures the priests lifting, or, as it might be translated, ‘plucking,’ the soles of their feet from the slimy bottom into which they had settled down by reason of long standing still. They reach the bank, marching as steadily with their sacred burden as might be over so rough and slippery a road. The first to enter were the last to leave the river’s bed. God’s ark ‘goes before us,’ and ‘is our rearward.’ He besets us behind and before, and all dangerous service is safe if begun and ended in Him. The one point made prominent is the instantaneous rush back of the impatient torrent as soon as the curb was taken off. Like some horse rejoicing to be free, the tawny flood pours down, and soon everything looks ‘as aforetime,’ except for the new rock, piled by human hands, round which the waters chafed. The dullest would understand what had wrought the miracle when they saw the immediate consequence of the ark’s leaving its place. Cause and effect seldom come thus close together in God’s dealings; but sometimes He lets us see them as near each other as the lightning and the thunder, that we may learn to trace them in faith, when centuries part them. How the people would gaze as the hurrying stream covered up their path, and would look across to the further shore, almost doubting if they had really stood there that morning! They were indeed ‘Hebrews’-men from the other side-now, and would set themselves to the dangerous task before them with courage. ‘Well begun is half done’; and God would not divide the river for them to thrust them into a tiger’s den, where they would be torn to pieces. Retreat was impossible now. A new page in their history was turned. The desert was as unreachable as Egypt, The passage of the Jordan rounded off the epoch which the passage of the Bed Sea introduced, and began a new era.
That parallelism of the two crossings is suggested by the notice of date in Jos 4:19 . ‘The tenth day of the first month’ was just forty years to a day since the first Paschal lamb had been chosen, and four days short of the Passover, which was solemnised at Gilgal Jos 5:10 where they encamped that night. It was a short march from the point of crossing, and a still shorter from Jericho. It would have been easy to fall upon the invaders as they straggled across the river, but no attempt was made to dispute the passage, though, no doubt, many a keen pair of eyes watched it from the neighbouring hills. In the beginning of the next chapter we are told why there was this singular supineness. ‘Their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more,’ or, in more modern language, panic laid hold of the enemy, and they could not pluck up courage to oppose the advance of Israel. If we add this result to those mentioned in chapter in., we find sufficient motive for the miracle to take it out of the class of purposeless, legendary wonders. Given the importance of Israel as the depositaries of revelation, there is nothing unreasonable in a miracle which so powerfully contributed to their conquest of Canaan, and we have yet to learn that there is anything unreasonable in the belief that they were the depositaries of revelation. The fundamental postulate of the Old Testament is a supernatural revelation, and that opens the door for any miracle needful for its accomplishment. It is folly to seek to conciliate by minimising the miraculous element. However much may be thrown out to the wolves, they will not cease to pursue and show their teeth. We should be very slow to pronounce on what is worthy of God; but any man who believes in a divine revelation, given to the world through Israel, may well believe in such a miracle as this at such a moment of their history.
III. The memorial stones Jos 4:20 – Jos 4:24. Gilgal, the first encampment, lay defenceless in the open plain, and the first thing to be done would be to throw up some earthwork round the camp. It seems to have been the resting-place of the ark and probably of the non-combatants, during the conquest, and to have derived thence a sacredness which long clung to it, and finally led, singularly enough, to its becoming a centre of idolatrous worship. The rude circle of unhewn stones without inscription was, no doubt, exactly like the many prehistoric monuments found all over the world, which forgotten races have raised to keep in everlasting remembrance forgotten fights and heroes. It was a comparatively small thing; for each stone was but a load for one man, and it would seem mean enough by the side of Stonehenge or Carnac, just as Israel’s history is on a small scale, as compared with the world-embracing empires of old. Size is not greatness; and Joshua’s little circle told a more wonderful story than its taller kindred, or Egyptian obelisks or colossi.
These grey stones preached at once the duty of remembering, and the danger of forgetting, the past mercies of God. When they were reared, they would seem needless; but the deepest impressions get filled up by degrees, as the river of time deposits its sands on them. We do not forget pain so quickly as joy, and most men have a longer and keener remembrance of their injurers than of their benefactors, human or divine. The stones were set up because Israel remembered, but also lest Israel should forget. We often think of the Jews as monsters of ingratitude; but we should more truly learn the lesson of their history, if we regarded them as fair, average men, and asked ourselves whether our recollection of God’s goodness to us is much more vivid than theirs. Unless we make distinct and frequent efforts to recall, we shall certainly forget ‘all His benefits.’ The cultivation of thankful remembrance is a very large part of practical religion; and it is not by accident that the Psalmist puts it in the middle, between hope and obedience, when he says ‘that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments’ Psa 78:7.
The memorial stones further proclaimed the duty of parental instruction in God’s mercies. They speak of a time when tradition was the vehicle of history; when books were rare, and monuments were relied upon to awaken curiosity which a father’s words would satisfy. Notwithstanding all differences in means of obtaining knowledge, the old law remains in full force, that the parent is the natural and most powerful instructor in the ways of God. The Jewish father was not to send his child to some Levite or other to get his question answered, but was to answer it himself. I am afraid that a good many English parents, who call themselves Christians, are too apt to say, ‘Ask your Sunday-school teacher,’ when such questions are put to them. The decay of parental religious teaching is working enormous mischief in Christian households; and the happiest results would follow if Joshua’s homely advice were attended to, ‘ Ye shall let your children know.’
The same principle which led to the erection of this simple monument reaches its highest and sacredest instance in the institution of the Lord’s Supper, in which Jesus, with wonderful lowliness, condescends to avail Himself of material symbols in order to secure a firmer place in treacherous memories. He might well have expected that such stupendous love could never be forgotten; but He ‘knoweth our frame,’ and trusts some share in keeping His death vividly in the hearts of His people to the humble ministry of bread and wine, Strange that we should need to be reminded of the death which it is life to remember! Blessed that, needing it, we have the need so tenderly met, and that He does not disdain to accept loving memories which slumber till stirred by such poor reminders of His unspeakable love!
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
twelve. Septuagint has “other twelve”. There were two twelves.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
set up twelve: Exo 24:12, Exo 28:21, 1Ki 18:31, Psa 111:2-4
and they are there: These words might be written by Joshua at the close of his life, or perhaps be added by some later prophet. It seems from this verse, that there were two sorts of stones erected as a memorial of this great event: twelve at Gilgal – Jos 4:20, and twelve in the bed of the Jordan; which last might have been placed on a base of strong stone work, so high as always to be visible, and serve to mark the very spot where the priests stood with the ark. Drs. Kennicott and Shuckford, however, would read here with the Syriac, mittoch, “from the midst,” instead of bethoch, “in the midst;” and render, “And Joshua took up the twelve stones – taken from the midst of Jordan,” etc. But this reading is unsupported by any manuscript yet collated; and it appears wholly unnecessary. Gen 26:33, Deu 34:6, Jdg 1:26, 1Sa 30:25, 2Sa 4:3, 2Ch 5:9, Mat 27:8, Mat 28:15
Reciprocal: Exo 24:4 – according Deu 10:5 – there they Jos 3:12 – General Jos 6:25 – unto Jos 8:28 – unto this day Jos 10:27 – until this very day 1Sa 7:12 – took a stone 1Sa 15:12 – he set him 1Ki 8:3 – the priests took up 1Ki 8:8 – unto this day 1Ki 12:19 – unto this day 1Ch 13:11 – to this day 2Ch 10:19 – unto this day
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
MEMORIAL STONES
Twelve stones in the midst of Jordan. Twelve stones which they took out of Jordan.
Jos 4:9; Jos 4:20
There were two sets of stones raised in commemoration of the passage of the Jordan.
I. Those on the bank.From the place where the priests feet had stood in Jordan, twelve chosen men took each one a stone; and these were piled together in a heap before the eyes of all men. As they stood there, with the certainty to all men that they had once been in the river bed, they were a proof to the senses of what otherwise might have been disputed, that the river had actually been dried up. But there is a deeper lesson for us. As in the passage of the Jordan, all Israel stood in the river, and then came up on to the rivers bank, so in the death and resurrection of our Lord, the whole Church lay with Him in His grave, all rose with Him on the Easter morning, all passed with Him in the Divine intention to His throne. Those twelve stones represented the entire people, and commemorated their marvellous transportation from the one side of Jordan to the other. So each recurring Lords Day and Eastertide should remind us that the river of death rolls between us and the world, and that we have been raised together with Christ, and made to sit together with Him in the heavenlies.
II. Those in the bed of the stream.Not content with pitching a cairn of stones on the rivers bank, Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, where the feet of the priests had stood. It was to remind Israel from whence they had come, and the hole of the pit from which they had been digged. Ah! it is well to remember what the grace of God has done for us. Such were some of you
Illustrations
(1) The rude circle of unhewn stones without inscription was, no doubt, exactly like the many prehistoric monuments found all over the world, which forgotten races have raised to keep in everlasting remembrance forgotten fights and heroes. It was a comparatively small thing; for each stone was but a load for one man, and it would seem mean enough by the side of Stonehenge or Carnac, just as Israels history is on a small scale, as compared with the world-embracing empires of old. Size is not greatness; and Joshuas little circle told a more wonderful story than its taller kindred, or Egyptian obelisks or colossi.
(2) The stones were set up because Israel remembered, but also lest Israel should forget. We often think of the Jews as monsters of ingratitude; but we should more truly learn the lesson of their history, if we regarded them as fair, average men, and asked ourselves whether our recollection of Gods goodness to us is much more vivid than theirs. Unless we make distinct and frequent efforts to recall, we shall certainly forget Gods goodness. The cultivation of thankful remembrance is a very great part of practical religion.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Jos 4:9. Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan These stones are not the same with those mentioned Jos 4:5, which a man might carry upon his shoulder. They were undoubtedly very much larger, and probably appeared above the surface of the water, when it was low; or, if not, might be seen in it, either from the shore, the river not being broad, or in crossing it by boats, the waters of Jordan being generally very clear. At least they were so placed as to show that they were some monument of art, and erected there when the channel of the river was dry. They are there unto this day That is, unto the time when this history was written, which might not be till many years after the facts were done, recorded in it. Or, it might be added by Joshua himself in his old age, or by some other holy and divinely-inspired man, who inserted this and some such passages, both in this book and in the writings of Moses.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:9 And Joshua set up {d} twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
(d) Besides the twelve stones that were carried by the tribes and set up in Gilgal.