Fords, or passages, i.e. the usual places where people used to pass over Jordan, whether by boats or bridges; or rather, because of the shallowness of the river, which a little after this swelled higher, as the history will tell us, and as it is very usual for rivers to do. They shut the gate of the city, partly for their security against their approaching enemies; and partly to prevent the escape of the spies, if peradventure Rahab was mistaken, and they yet lurked in the city.
Related Commentaries of Joshua 2:7
Joshua 2:7
7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.