Commentary On The Book of Joshua Chapter s 1-4.
Israel prepare to enter the land of Canaan, and experience the miraculous power of YHWH in opening up the River Jordan so that they can pass over. Meanwhile two military scouts have reconnoitred Jericho, being saved from capture by a prostitute innkeeper Rahab who is promised that when Jericho is taken she and all her close family will be spared. The crossing of the Jordan is safely accomplished and twelve stones set up as a memorial of the event.
Chapter 4. Setting Up A Memorial.
This chapter describes how God commanded that the men of Israel should take twelve stones out of the middle of Jordan, and carry them to the first place they lodged at as a memorial of their passage over it. It also describes how Joshua set up twelve other stones in the river itself, and how many men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, went before the Israelites when they crossed over. Once this was done, the priests were ordered to come out of Jordan, and the waters then returned to their place. The time when this miracle was wrought is noted, and an account given of Joshua's placing the twelve stones taken out of Jordan in Gilgal, and the use that they would have in the future time.
The importance of this episode comes out especially in the deliberate repetition and tracking back that takes place which has confused many scholars. They overlook the fact that this was intended to be read to the people, and that the repetition and tracking back enabled the listeners not only to grasp the story but to take part in it and to grasp it fully so as to remember it. It helped to ram the significance of the story home to them, together with each important detail, so that they would not overlook it or forget it. They could not glance back at the previous page to remind themselves what had happened, so the account repeats it to ensure that they have grasped and absorbed it. A reading of many ancient narratives will bring home how this was an important method used by ancient writers.