GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
“Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan!” When the priests who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had been lifted up to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
Joshua 4:16-18 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, “Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan!” When the priests who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had been lifted up to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before. The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.
“Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan!”
When the priests who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had been lifted up to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
'Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.'
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying: 'Come ye up out of the Jordan.'
And it came to pass, as the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the midst of the Jordan, as soon as the soles of the priests' feet were drawn up unto the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, and went over all its banks, as aforetime.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v16 16. Command the priests, etc Here it is shown…
16. Command the priests, etc Here it is shown more clearly how meekly and calmly the priests yielded implicit obedience to the divine command, for they did not move a foot until Joshua ordered the signal to retire. But as it was an instance of rare virtue to be thus modest and obedient, so the fatherly kindness of God is conspicuous in this, that he condescended to direct and govern almost every step in their progress by his own voice, lest any perplexity might occur to retard them.
Next follows a more conspicuous confirmation of the miracle; for as soon as they climbed the opposite bank, the Jordan began again to flow as usual. Had it not returned to its former state, and indeed, suddenly, many would have imagined the cause of the change to be hidden but fortuitous. But when God displays his power and favor at minute intervals of time all doubt is removed. The moment the feet of the priests were made wet the Jordan retired; now on their departure he recovers his free course, and that at the very instant when they reached the bank. For the term dry here means that part which was not covered by the overflow. Thus the river, though dumb, was the best of heralds, proclaiming with a loud voice that heaven and earth are subject to the God of Israel.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v16 Because the Ark testified God’s presence, and the Tables…
Because the Ark testified God’s presence, and the Tables of the Law contained therein, signified God’s will toward his people.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Jos 4:16 Command the priests that bear the ark…
Jos 4:16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
Ver. 16. Command the priests.] They would not stir out of their station till God called them off. It is good to do all by a warrant. To be out of God’s precincts is to be out of his protection.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv16–18 For being now in the middle, and lowest, and…
For being now in the middle, and lowest, and deepest place of the river, (of which See POOLE "Jos 3:17",) they are most properly said to ascend or go up to the land; which word is thrice used ill this and the two next following verses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Command the priests that bear the ark of the…
Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony,.... In all places before, in this history, the ark is called the ark of the covenant, here the ark of the testimony, which signifies the same thing, the law; which was both the covenant between God and the people, and a testimony of his will unto them; the Septuagint version has both words:
that they come up out of Jordan; where they stayed until all the people passed over, for the encouragement of them, and until they received this order.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Out of Jordan - For being now in the…
Out of Jordan - For being now in the middle, and deepest place of the river, they are most properly said to go up to the land.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v18 Verse 18. The waters of Jordan returned unto their…
Verse 18. The waters of Jordan returned unto their place] It is particularly remarked by the sacred historian, that as soon as the soles of the priests' feet touched the water, the stream of the Jordan was cut off, Jos 3:15, and the course of the river continued to be inverted all the time they continued in its channel; and that as soon as the soles of their feet had touched the dry land, on their return from the bed of the river, the waters immediately resumed their natural course. All this was done by the sovereign influence of that God whose presence was represented by the ark of the covenant.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v18 Jos 4:18. The waters of Jordan returned — They…
Jos 4:18. The waters of Jordan returned — They had stood on a heap while the ark was in the river, but came tumbling down when it was removed, which showed to a demonstration that it was to God’s presence with them, and to this only, that they owed this miraculous mercy. “Some have observed here, by way of allusion,” says Henry, “that when the ark, and the priests that bear it,” (the word and ordinance of God and his ministers,) “are removed from any place, the flood-gates are drawn up, the defence is departed, and an inundation of judgments is to be expected. Those that are unchurched will soon be undone: the glory is departed if the ark be taken.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v17 Ver 1. Over. Hebrew and Septuagint, "clean, or entirely;"…
CHAPTER IV.
Ver 1. Over. Hebrew and Septuagint, "clean, or entirely;" perhaps two million people, with all their possessions, had crossed the river on that day, the 10th of Nisan, leaving many of their brethren to cultivate and defend the eastern parts of the Jordan. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v18 it came to pass, when the priests that bare…
it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark . . . were come out of the midst of Jordan . . . that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place--Their crossing, which was the final act, completed the evidence of the miracle; for then, and not till then, the suspended laws of nature were restored, the waters returned to their place, and the river flowed with as full a current as before.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv16, 18 16. Ark of the testimony — This was so…
16. Ark of the testimony — This was so called because it contained the two tables of testimony. Deu_31:18; see note on Jos_3:3. Gesenius renders, ark of the law.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v18 18. the waters of Jordan returned] Thus the history…
18. the waters of Jordan returned] Thus the history of the crossing is related in sections: (a) first briefly, Jos_3:14-17; (b) then more completely, Jos_4:1-11; (c) some supplementary notices, Jos_4:12-17; (d) finally, the conclusion, concerning the return of the water, till Jordan “flowed over all his banks,” as it did before.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v16 (16) Command the priests . . . that they…
(16) Command the priests . . . that they come up out of Jordan.—Observe that the removal of the priests and the ark of the covenant from their station in Jordan is made the subject of a distinct section, and treated as a distinct event. It need not have been so for the purpose of the mere historical narrative. We might have taken it for granted. But the significance of the event is so marked as to receive a separate notice. We are not suffered to forget by what means Jordan was driven back, and held in check; and the check was not meant to be perpetual. We are reminded that the suspension of the power of death for men has its limits. When the day of grace is over, the waters will “return unto their place and flow over all the banks as before.” (Comp. Isa_28:16-18; Isa_28:20.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16, 18 The testimony. The word tWde though derived from the…
The testimony. The word tWde though derived from the same root as de witness, would seem rather to have the sense of precept, from the idea of repetition contained in the root. Compare the well known Hebrew particle dwO again. It must refer to the two tables of the law which (Heb_10:4) were placed in the ark. (see Deu_10:5, and comp. Exo_25:16, Exo_25:21, 40 Num_17:10, where this is said to be the testimony) Other things were placed in the ark, such as the manna, Aaron"s rod, and these, no doubt, were for a witness to the facts of the Mosaic record. The LXX, however, consistently render this word by arturia marturion . The Vulgate here has arcam foederis.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v17 General Information:
General Information:
The Author was making it clear that parting the Jordan River was no different than parting the Red Sea for the previous generation.
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waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed its banks
The Jordan River was overflowing its banks and flooding the area before and after Israel passed through on dry land.
four days
"4 days" (See: Numbers)
translationWords
Joshua
command
priest
Jordan River
ark of the covenant
Yahweh
water
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v18 4:18 After Israel crossed the river, the Jordan overflowed…
4:18 After Israel crossed the river, the Jordan overflowed its banks as before. These events could not occur without God’s intervention.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.