Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Joshua 3:16
16. the waters which came down from above—that is, the Sea of Galilee stood and rose up upon a heap—"in a heap," a firm, compact barrier (Exodus 15:8; Psalms 78:13); very far—high up the stream; from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan—near mount Sartabeh, in the northern part of the Ghor (1 Kings 7:46); that is, a distance of thirty miles from the Israelitish encampment; and those that came down toward the sea of the desert—the Dead Sea—were cut off (Psalms 114:2; Psalms 114:3). The river... read more
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Joshua 3:14
14-16. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, c.—To understand the scene described we must imagine the band of priests with the ark on their shoulders, standing on the depressed edge of the river, while the mass of the people were at a mile's distance. Suddenly the whole bed of the river was dried up a spectacle the more extraordinary in that it took place in the time of harvest, corresponding to our April or May—when "the Jordan overfloweth all its banks." The original... read more