Joshua Chapter 3

“And Joshua rose early in the morning, etc.] The morning after the spies had returned and made their report; which, as Kimchi rightly observes, was the ninth of Nisan; for on the morrow, which was the tenth, the people passed over Jordan, (see <060305>Joshua 3:5 4:19). Moses, according to the Jewish writers, died on the seventh of Adar or February; the thirty days of his mourning ended the seventh of Nisan or March; two days before they were ended the spies were sent, who returned on the eighth day of the month; and the morning following Joshua rose early, which shows his readiness and alacrity to proceed in the…”

“JOSHUA COMES TO JORDAN. (Jos 3:1-6) Joshua rose early in the morning--On the day following that on which the spies had returned with their encouraging report. The camp was broken up in "Shittim" (the acacia groves), and removed to the eastern bank of the Jordan. The duration of their stay is indicated (Jos 3:2), being, according to Hebrew reckoning, only one entire day, including the evening of arrival and the morning of the passage; and such a time would be absolutely necessary for so motley an assemblage of men, women, and children, with all their gear and cattle to make ready for going into an enemy's country.”

““The acacia groves” (Exodus 25:5 note) of Shittim on both sides of Jordan line the upper terraces of the valley (compare 2 Kings 6:4). They would be in this part at some six miles distance from the river itself. return to 'Top of Page'”

“In the morning - Not after the return of the spies, but after the three days, Jos 1:11, as it follows, Jos 3:2. Lodge there - That night, that they might go over in the day time, that the miracle might be more evident and unquestionable, and strike the greater terror into their enemies. Joshua 3:2”

“3:1 Israel had camped at Acacia Grove since before Balaam’s oracles (Num 22–24).”

“rose early: Archbishop Usher supposes, that this was upon Wednesday, the 28th of April, am 2553, the fortieth year of the Exodus from Egypt. From Shittim, where the israelites had been encamped for about two months ( Deu 1:3), to the Jordan, was, according to Josephus, about sixty stadia; that is, between seven and eight English miles. Gen 22:3; Psa 119:60; Jer 7:13, Jer 25:3, Jer 26:5; Mar 1:35 Shittim: Jos 2:1; Num 25:1; Mic 6:5 Jordan: Jordan, called by the Arabs El Sharia, takes its rise in Anti-Libanus, about twelve miles north of Cesarea Philippi, now Banias; and, having run about twelve miles southward, it…”

“Jos 3:1-4 "Arrangements for the Passage through the Jordan. - When they reached the Jordan, the Israelites rested till they passed over. לוּן, to pass the night; then in a wider sense to tarry, Pro 15:31; here it means to rest. According to Jos 3:2, they stayed there three days. "At the end (after the expiration) of three days" cannot refer to the three days mentioned in Jos 1:11, if only because of the omission of the article, apart from the reasons given in the note upon Jos 1:11, which preclude the supposition that the two are identical. The reasons why the Israelites stayed three days by the side of the…”