The river Jordan is miraculously dried up for the passage of the children of Israel.
After three dayes abode by the bankes of Iordan, 3. the Priestes with the Arke of God entering first into the riuer, 15. the vpper part miraculously standeth and swelleth, the lower running away, they goe into the midde chanel, and there stay, whiles al the people passe ouer drie foote.
1And Josue rose before daylight, and removed the camp: and they departed from Setim, and came to the Jordan: he, and all the children of Israel, and they abode there for three days.Giosuè adunque alzatosi di notte tempo levò il campo: e partitisi da Setim arrivarono al Giordano egli, e tutti i figliuoli d'Israele; e ivi si fermarono per tre giorni.IOSVE therfore rysing vp in the night, remoued the campe: and departing from Setim, they came to Iordan, he, and al the children of Israel, and abode there for three dayes.Igitur Josue de nocte consurgens movit castra: egredientesque de Setim, venerunt ad Jordanem ipse et omnes filii Israël, et morati sunt ibi tres dies. 2After which, the heralds went through the midst of the camp,Passati i quali, gli araldi andarono in giro per mezzo agli alloggiamenti,Which being passed, the herauldes went through the middes of the campe,Quibus evolutis transierunt præcones per castrorum medium, 3And began to proclaim: When you shall see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the race of Levi carrying it, rise you up also, and follow them as they go before:E principiarono a gridare: Allorché voi vedrete l'arca dell'alleanza del Signore Dio vostro, e i sacerdoti della stirpe di Levi, i quali la portano, voi pure levate il campo, e andate lor dietro:and beganne to proclaime: When you shal see the arke of couenant of our Lord your God, and the priestes of the Leuitical stocke carying it, ryse you also, and folow them going before:et clamare cœperunt: Quando videritis arcam fœderis Domini Dei vestri, et sacerdotes stirpis Leviticæ portantes eam, vos quoque consurgite, et sequimini præcedentes: 4And let there be between you and the ark the space of two thousand cubits: that you may see it afar off, and know which way you must go: for you have not gone this way before: and take care you come not near the ark.E sia tra voi, e l'arca un intervallo di due mila cubiti: affinchè da lungi veder possiate, e distinguere la strada, per cui dobbiamo passare: perocché voi non l'avete mai fatta: e badate di non appressarvi all'arca.and let there be betwen you and the arke the space of two thousand cubites: that you may see it a farre of, and know which way you may goe: because you haue not walked by it before: and beware you approch not to the arke.sitque inter vos et arcam spatium cubitorum duum millium: ut procul videre possitis, et nosse per quam viam ingrediamini: quia prius non ambulastis per eam: et cavete ne appropinquetis ad arcam. 5And Josue said to the people: Be ye sanctified: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.E Giosuè disse al popolo: Santificatevi: perocché domane il Signore farà tra voi cose ammirabili.And Iosue said to the people: Be sanctified: for to morrow our Lord wil doe among you merueilous thinges.Dixitque Josue ad populum: Sanctificamini: cras enim faciet Dominus inter vos mirabilia.
6And he said to the priests: Take up the ark of the covenant, and go before the people. And they obeyed his commands, and took it up, and walked before them.E disse a' sacerdoti: Prendete l'arca del testamento, e andate innanzi al popolo. E questi obbedendo al comando la presero, e si misero in istrada avanti agli altri:And he said to the priestes: Take vp the arke of the couenant, & goe before the people. Who fulfilling his commandementes, tooke it, and walked before them.Et ait ad sacerdotes: Tollite arcam fœderis, et præcedite populum. Qui jussa complentes, tulerunt, et ambulaverunt ante eos. 7And the Lord said to Josue: This day will I begin to exalt thee before Israel: that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I am with thee also.E il Signore disse a Giosuè: Oggi io principierò a innalzarti dinanzi a tutto Israele, affinchè conoscano che siccome io fui con Mosè, così sono anche con te.And our Lord said to Iosue: This day wil I beginne to exalt thee before al Israel: that they may know as I was with Moyses, so am I with thee also.Dixitque Dominus ad Josue: Hodie incipiam exaltare te coram omni Israël: ut sciant quod sicut cum Moyse fui, ita et tecum sim. 8And do thou command the priests, that carry the ark of the covenant, and say to them: When you shall have entered into part of the water of the Jordan, stand in it.E tu ordina a' sacerdoti, che portan l'arca del testamento, e di' loro: Quando sarete entrati in parte nell'acqua del Giordano, fermatevi lì.And doe thou command the priestes, that carie the arke of the testament, and say to them: When you shal be entred into part of the water of Iordan, stand in it.Tu autem præcipe sacerdotibus, qui portant arcam fœderis, et dic eis: Cum ingressi fueritis partem aquæ Jordanis, state in ea. 9And Josue said to the children of Israel: Come hither, and hear the word of the Lord your God.E a' figliuoli d'Israele disse Giosuè: Fatevi dappresso, e udite la parola del Signore Dio vostro.And Iosue said to the children of Israel: Come hither, and heare the word of our Lord your God.Dixitque Josue ad filios Israël: Accedite huc, et audite verbum Domini Dei vestri. 10And again he said: By this you shall know, that the Lord, the living God, is in the midst of you, and that he shall destroy, before your sight, the Chanaanite and the Hethite, the Hevite and the Pherezite, the Gergesite also, and the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite.E soggiunse: Da questo conoscerete, come il Signore, il Dio vivo è in mezzo a voi, e sterminerà dinanzi a voi il Cananeo, e l'Heteo, l'Heveo, il Pherezeo, il Gergeseo ancora, e il Jebuseo, e l'Amorrheo:And againe he said: In this you shal know that our Lord the liuing God is in the middes of you, and shal destroy in your sight the Chananeite and Hetheite, the Heueite and Pherezeite, the Gergeseite also and the Iebuseire, and the Amorrheite.Et rursum: In hoc, inquit, scietis quod Dominus Deus vivens in medio vestri est, et disperdet in conspectu vestro Chananæum et Hethæum, Hevæum et Pherezæum, Gergesæum quoque et Jebusæum, et Amorrhæum.
11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you into the Jordan.Ecco che l'arca del testamento del Signore di tutta la terra andrà innanzi a voi per mezzo al Giordano.Behold the arke of the couenant of the Lord of al the earth shal goe before you into Iordan.Ecce arca fœderis Domini omnis terræ antecedet vos per Jordanem. 12Prepare ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel, one of every tribe.Scegliete dodici uomini delle tribù d'Israele, uno per ogni tribù.Prepare twelue men of the tribes of Israel, one of euerie tribe.Parate duodecim viros de tribubus Israël, singulos per singulas tribus. 13And when the priests, that carry the ark of the Lord the God of the whole earth, shall set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are beneath shall run down and go off: and those that come from above, shall stand together upon a heap.E quando i sacerdoti, che portan l'arca del Signore Dio di tutta la terra, avran messi i piedi nelle acque del Giordano, le acque di sotto scorreranno, e se n'andranno: ma quelle che vengono d'insù, si fermeranno ammassate.And when the priestes that carie the arke of the Lord of the whole earth shal sette the steppes of their feete in the waters of Iordan, the waters, that are beneath, shal runne downe and decay: and those that come from aboue, shal stand together in one heape.Et cum posuerint vestigia pedum suorum sacerdotes qui portant arcam Domini Dei universæ terræ in aquis Jordanis, aquæ quæ inferiores sunt, decurrent atque deficient: quæ autem desuper veniunt, in una mole consistent. 14So the people went out of their tents, to pass over the Jordan: and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant, went on before them.Il popolo adunque uscì dalle sue tende per passare il Giordano: e i sacerdoti, che portavan l'arca del testamento, andavano innanzi, a lui.Therfore the people went out of their tabernacles, to passe ouer Iordan: and the priestes, that caried the arke of the couenant, went on before them.Igitur egressus est populus de tabernaculis suis, ut transiret Jordanem: et sacerdotes, qui portabant arcam fœderis, pergebant ante eum. 15And as soon as they came into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in part of the water, (now the Jordan, it being harvest time, had filled the banks of its channel,)E quando questi furono entrati nel Giordano, e i loro piedi erano in parte bagnati dall'acqua (ora il Giordano era pieno sino all'orlo delle ripe, essendo il tempo della messe),And they being entered into Iordan, and their feete dipped in part of the water (and Iordan in the haruest time had filled the bankes of his chanel)Ingressisque eis Jordanem, et pedibus eorum in parte aquæ tinctis (Jordanis autem ripas alvei sui tempore messis impleverat), 16The waters that came down from above stood in one place, and swelling up like a mountain, were seen afar off, from the city that is called Adom, to the place of Sarthan: but those that were beneath, ran down into the sea of the wilderness, (which now is called the Dead Sea) until they wholly failed.Si fermarono le acque di sopra in un sol luogo, e gonfiandosi come un monte apparivan da lungi dalla città detta Adom sino al luogo di Sarthan: e quelle di sotto scolarono nel mare della solitudine (detto ora mar Morto), finchè mancarono totalmente.the waters that came downeward stoode in one place, and like a mountaine swelling vp appeared farre from the citie, that is called Adom to the place of Sarthan: but those that were beneth, ranne downe into the Sea of the wildernes (which now is called the dead sea) vntil they wholy decayed.steterunt aquæ descendentes in loco uno, et ad instar montis intumescentes apparebant procul, ab urbe quæ vocatur Adom usque ad locum Sarthan: quæ autem inferiores erant, in mare Solitudinis (quod nunc vocatur Mortuum) descenderunt, usquequo omnino deficerent.
17And the people marched over against Jericho: and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood girded upon the dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all the people passed over, through the channel that was dried up.Il popolo frattanto camminava verso Gerico, e i sacerdoti che portavan l'arca del testamento del Signore, stavano in ordine sopra l'asciutta terra nel mezzo del Giordano, e tutto il popolo passava pel letto che era a secco.And the people went against Iericho: and the priestes that caried the arke of the couenant of our Lord, stoode girded vpon the drie ground in the middes of Iordan, and al the people passed ouer through the drie chanel.Populus autem incedebat contra Jericho: et sacerdotes qui portabant arcam fœderis Domini, stabant super siccam humum in medio Jordanis accincti, omnisque populus per arentem alveum transibat.
3:1
Year of the World 2553.
Days, in part, as they arrived on the 8th of Nisan, staid there the following day, and crossed the Jordan on the 10th, on Friday the 30th of our April. Thus Christ is said to have remained three days in the tomb, (Calmet) though he was there only a small part of Friday and of Sunday, and the whole of Saturday. Hebrew, "they lodged there before they passed over, (2) and it came to pass after three days that the," etc.
3:2
Haydock
Heralds. Shoterim, Josue 1:10. Protestants, "the officers went through the host." (Haydock)
3:3
Calmet
Levi. Sigonius thinks that the Caathites performed this office on this as on other occasions. But the Vulgate shews that the priests sometimes carried the ark, perhaps because it was uncovered, Josue 6:6., and 2 Kings 15:25. At this period the number of priests was but small. Some of the sons of Eleazar and of Ithamar might be old enough to assist their parents: only two would be necessary at a time, though the Rabbins assign four, (which is not improbable. Theodoret) and pretend that the two who went first were obliged to go backwards, in order that their faces might be turned towards the ark, out of respect. The ark now marked the way for the people, as the cloud had disappeared on the death of Moses. (St. Augustine, q. 3.; Masius.) (Calmet)
Haydock
It had been carried at the head of the army in the desert. (Haydock)
3:4
Space of. Hebrew adds, "about...by measure." It was not easy to observe the exact distance in the march. This was prescribed both to keep the people at a respectful distance, and also to enable them to see which way they were to proceed. When the priests stood in the bed of the river, the waters rose up like a firm wall on the north side, while those to the south flowed away into the lake of Sodom, leaving about 16 miles open for the army of Israel to pass on dry land. The soldiers did not approach within 600 paces of the ark.
Before. This insinuated that they would pass over in a miraculous manner; though perhaps Josue did not know by what means God would enable them to cross (Calmet) the overflowing waters. Josephus only seems to intimate that they abated suddenly, so that they might be forded, etc. He also greatly diminishes or destroys the miracle performed at the passage of the Red Sea. Yet here he acknowledges a sort of "prodigy in the waters being restrained," and resuming their usual course as soon as the priests had left the channel of the river.
Haydock
And take, etc. Hebrew places these words at the beginning of the sentence, after cubits. (Haydock)
3:5
Sanctified, as Moses had required at Mount Sinai, (Exodus 19:10, 15,) ordering the people to wash their garments, and to abstain from their wives, that by this exterior purity, they might be reminded not to neglect that of the soul, without which they would derive but small benefit or instruction from the greatest miracles.
3:6
Calmet
Commands. Josue was only the organ of God, (Calmet) whose orders he announces to the sacred ministers; (ver. 8.; Menochius) though as a civil magistrate, he was bound to hear and to obey them in matters of religion. (Calmet)
Worthington
When he ordered circumcision to be administered, when he blessed the multitude, and ratified the covenant between God and the people, (chap. 5.; chap 24.) he did nothing but what a virtuous governor ought to do; yet he did not these things by virtue of his civil jurisdiction, or in opposition to the spiritual authority of Eleazar. Moses had been the supreme head, being both priest and king. But only part of his glory was communicated to Josue, while Eleazar was directed to consult the Lord for him, (Numbers 27:21.; Theodoret, q. 48. in Numbers) Josue was to govern at his word, so that he was bound to consider the high priest as his superior. What he therefore did, was in subordination and conformity to the will of Eleazar and of God, and not designed to shew that the priestly authority belonged to himself, as English Protestants would hence infer. The best of princes, both in the Old and New Testament, have always looked upon it as a part of their duty to promote the true religion. (Worthington)
Haydock
Isaias (xlix) foretold that kings and queens would esteem it their glory to guard and to advance the prosperity of the Church. (Haydock)
Haydock
Hence they may enact laws for this purpose. (St. Augustine, contra Crescon. 3:51.) Constantine ratified the judgment passed already by the bishops in the cause of Cecilian, though he confessed at the same time that the determination did not belong to his tribunal; (Worthington) and he greatly disapproved of the conduct of the Donatists, who appealed to him, as the heathens might have done to an emperor, who was at the same time one of their high priests. (Haydock)
Haydock
O rabida furoris audacia, said he, sicut in causis gentilium fieri solet, appellationem interposuerunt. (1. Optat. c. Parm. I.; St. Augustine, ep. 166.) Other emperors and kings have acquired great fame, on account of their labours and zeal in defence of the Church. Thus the kings of Spain and of France have obtained the titles of Catholic and Most Christian, and our Henry VIII was honoured by Pope Leo X with the title of Defender of the Faith, in 1521, (Worthington) on account of the book which he presented to that pontiff, while he was yet an obedient son of the Catholic Church, and undertook to defend her faith on the sacraments, against the objections of Luther. Is this the faith which the kings of England defend at present? Whatever the princes might do in the old law in spiritual matters, no inference can be drawn for the same right being now exercised by civil magistrates, how supreme soever in their own sphere. Those princes, Josue, etc. might be considered not only in the light of civil governors, but also in that of prophets, who had a great share in the administration of affairs under the Jewish theocracy. If God chose to make known his will by the mouth of a king, or by that of a shepherd, his mandates were to be put in execution with equal exactitude. But now the distinctive limits of the ecclesiastical and of the civil power are more clearly ascertained. Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (Matthew 22:21.) The kingdom of Christ is not of this world; neither did he appoint kings to be the pastors of his Church. (Haydock)
3:7
3:8
Masius
It. Hebrew, "when you shall have come to the brink (or extremity) of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan," (Haydock) which some explain by saying that they were to stop on the eastern bank, as soon as they had wet their feet, (Serarius) while others say they crossed quite over, and stood at the other side. (Masius)
Bonfrere
But it is more probable, that as soon as they had touched the waters, the priests halted till the bed of the river was presently dried up, and then they placed themselves in the middle of it, close to the raging billows, which, rising up like mountains, were stopped in their career, (Haydock) and forced to retire backwards to their source, ver. 15, 17, and Josue 4:9. (Bonfrere; Cornelius a Lapide)
Calmet
Some translate, "into the division," instead of part, or extremity. (Calmet)
3:9
Hither, probably to the door of the tabernacle, where the assemblies were held.
3:10
Calmet
Living God, in opposition to the idols of the Gentiles, who were dead men, or at least incapable of affording any assistance to their votaries. Josue gives the people two signs of the divine protection, the destruction of the devoted nations, and the miraculous division of the Jordan, or rather the latter prodigy would be an earnest of the former event; and all, both friends and enemies, might be convinced, that the Lord was with his people, and their present leader, as he had been with Moses. No miracle could have been more suitable for the occasion, none more convincing or useful. (Calmet)
Haydock
It would naturally inspire the Israelites with confidence, at the revival of the miracles wrought 40 years before, when their fathers and some of themselves had passed the Red Sea, in a similar manner. At the same time, it would fill the Chanaanites with still greater dismay and teach them that all resistance would prove fruitless. Some have wondered that they did not oppose the passage of the Israelites on this occasion. But it is a greater matter of surprise that they should have ventured on the dangerous expedient of encountering them in war, after what they had seen and heard. It can be attributed to nothing but their infatuation, and that blindness with which God punished them, that they might draw on a more speedy and merited destruction for their crimes. (Haydock)
Calmet
Destroy. Hebrew. "dispossess, or drive out before you the Chanaanite," etc. These seven nations comprised the ten which are mentioned, Genesis 15:19. The Chanaanite occupied the countries chiefly about Tyre, while the Hethite dwelt in the southern part of Palestine. The Hevite possessed Mount Hermon, Garizim, etc. The Pherezite were not perhaps a separate people, but employed in cultivating the country. The Gergesite were fixed to the east of the lake of Genesareth, the Jebusite at Jerusalem, and the Amorrhite about the Dead Sea. (Calmet)
Haydock
But they were often mixed with one another, so that their limits cannot be ascertained with any degree of precision. (Haydock)
3:12
Menochius
Prepare. Hebrew, "take." But they must have been selected from the tribes, either to carry twelve stones out of the bed of the Jordan, and to place twelve others in their stead, as monuments of this stupendous miracle; (Calmet) or to accompany the priests and the ark, out of respect. (Cajetan) (Menochius)
3:13
Heap. Hebrew, "the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off: the waters that come down from above, even they shall stand as upon a heap," like mountains of ice. The Vulgate informs us what became of the waters (Haydock) below this division. Where it took place we do not find recorded, so that we cannot know exactly how large a space would be left dry. Calmet allows, "near six leagues," ver. 4, and 16. But here, supposing that the Jordan was divided over-against Jericho, he says, that "the waters running off into the Dead Sea, would, in all probability, leave not less than two or three thousand paces of the channel dry." Interruptus aquis fluxit prior amnis in aequor; Ad molem stetit unda fluens. -----Lucan, Phar. ii.
3:15
Calmet
Water. Thus they manifested the strength of their faith. (Calmet)
Haydock
Immediately the obedient waters divided, and the gravel or sand was left dry, ver. 17. (Haydock)
Channel. The barley harvest was ready about the 30th of April, Leviticus 23:10. On other occasions this overflowing of the Jordan is noticed, 1 Paralipomenon 12:15., and Ecclesiasticus 24:36. Doubdan says that when he visited these parts, at the same season of the year, the Jordan was quite full, on account of the melted snow, and ready to leave its banks. It was about a stone throw across, and very rapid. See Josue 1:2. The rains which fall in spring, serve to increase the inundation, (Deuteronomy 11:14,) as well as the snow which melts at that time on Libanus, though a great part resists the violent heats. Mirum dictu, says Tacitus v., tantos inter ardores opacum fidumque nivibus. (Jeremias 18:14., and 49:19.
3:16
Mountain. Hebrew, "heap or bottle." The billows were forced to roll back almost as far as the lake of Genesareth, where Sarthan stands, about twenty leagues above Jericho.
Calmet
Sarthan. Hebrew, "rose up on a heap, very far from (or to) the city of Adom, that is beside Sarthan." The situation of Adom can only be ascertained by that of Sarthan, which was near Bethsan, or Scythopolis, (3 Kings 4:12,) in the vale of Jezrahel, on the Jordan. Many copies of the Septuagint read Cariathiarim, though it was six or seven leagues up the country, west of Jericho. (Calmet)
Haydock
The swelling billows might perhaps be seen from this place. (Haydock)
Calmet
But it could not properly determine how far the waters rolled back. (Calmet)
Pliny
Failed. Hebrew, "and those that came down towards the sea of the plain, (or of Araba, which means a desert, fit only for pasturage) the salt sea, failed, were cut off" from the waters above Jericho. The Jordan after running three miles in the lake of Sodom, without mixing its waters, becomes at last reluctantly confounded with it. Velut invitus...postremo ebibitur, aquasque laudatas perdit, pestilentibus mixtus. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 5:15.)
3:17
Calmet
Jericho, at Bethabara, which was five or six leagues from the Dead Sea, all which space was left dry. Jericho was three leagues from the Jordan. (Calmet)
Haydock
Girded. Septuagint, "ready," preparing the way for all the army. Hebrew, "firm," and undaunted. (Haydock)
Menochius
A great part of the day must have been spent in crossing the river, and erecting the two monuments. (Menochius)
3:3
In place of the cloud, and piller of fire, the arke is now caried for their guid and direction.
It perteined to the Leuites office to carie the arke. Num. 4 but in this special seruice & miraculous passage the Priestes did carie it: so the greater may do the office of the lesse, not contrariwise.
3:7
God shewed by this miracle, that Iosue had special commission from him, and that vnder his gouernment the people should prosper.
3:8
8. Command the priestes.] Because Iosue commanded the priestes to take An obiection for laiheadship of the Church. the arke, and stand with it in Iordan; for that also (chap. 5) he ministred, or appointed others to minister, the Sacrament of Circūcision; Likewise (chap. 8.) blessed the people; and (chap. 24.) renewed Gods couenant with them; English Protestantes inferre, that he was chief superior in spiritual causes; and therfore lay princes are supreme heades, & gouerners of the Church immediatly vnder God. But none of these actions, nor al put together do proue their purpose. Answer. For notwithstanding he very lawfully did these, and other like thinges, yet he had a spiritual superior in earth, which was Eleazar the high priest For Moyses Moyses chief both in spiritual and temporal authoritie. which was after diuided betwen the high Priest & temporal Prince. The high priest superiour. Iosue executed Gods wil, not by spiritual iurisdictiō, but with subordination to the high priest. being extraordinarie superior of al, both in spiritual and temporal causes, the ordinarie priesthood, and spiritual supremacie was established in Aaron and his sonnes, as appeareth Leuit. 8. Num. 20. and other places: and the temporal gouernment after Moyses was geuen to Iosue, succeding to him (Num. 27.) Exod. 4. 5. 6. &c. Deut. 17. not in al, but in part of his glorie (or authoritie) his whole honour (or power) being destributed betwen the high Priest, and the temporal Prince, as learned Theodoret (q. 48 in Num.) noteth vpon the sacred text; expresly distinguishing their offices (v. 21.) that Eleazar the priest should consult our Lord for him (and so receiue answer in doctrin and veritie, Exod. 28. Leuit. 8.) and that Iosue should goe out and goe in, and al the children of Israel vvith him (that is, lead and gouerne the people) at Eleazars vvord. VVhere it is manifest that Iosue was not set ouer Eleazar, but Eleazar ouer him. That therfore which Iosue did in spiritual affaires, was in subordination to the high priest; by whose direction, approbation, or ratihabition, he commanded some of the priestes to carie the arke, and with it to goe into Iordan, and coming into the madde chanel to stand there, whiles al the armie and people passed ouer: also gaue order that al should be Chap. 5. 8. 22. 23. 24. circumcised; blessed the people; read the law; and after godlie exhortations, renewed the couenant betwen God and them; al in way of execution of Gods wil & cōmandementes, not by anie pretended iurisdiction in spiritual thinges.
In like sorte manie other good temporal Princes, as wel in the old as the new Testament, haue disposed and executed diuers thinges perteining to Gods seruice: their office requiring that they should set forward, maintaine and defend Other good princes haue also much aduanced religion, but not taken supramacie in spiritual causes. true faith and religion. Especially Christian Princes, of whom Esai propheciced (chap. 49.) that Kinges should be softer fathers, and Queenes the nources of the Church.
Conformably wherto S Augustin teacheth (li. 3 c. 51. cont. Crescon) that Kinges, in that they are Kinges, serue God by commanding good thinges, and forbidding euel, not only perteining to humaine societie, but also belonging to Gods religion. To this effect Constantin the great did manie religious actes: yea euen those thinges which our aduersaries wrest to their owne sense, shew euidently his due submission to his spiritual pastors. As when vrged by the Donatistes peruerse importunitie, and being desirous (as S. Augustin testifieth, Epist 166.) to bridle so great impudencie, he heard and iudged Bishop Cecilians cause, after other Bishops sentence for him against the heretikes; where he both gaue iudgement agreable to the Bishops, and yet pleading parden, excused himself for this fact. VVhich had not neded, if he had bene the ordinarie Veniam •etiturus For maintaining Catholique religion against heretikes, the kings of Spaine haue the title Catholique. The French Kinges, most. Christian. Kinges of England, Defenders of the saith. or competent iudge. Optatus also writeth (li. 1. cont. Parmen.) that the same Emperour Constantin exclamed against the appellantes in these wordes: O ra•ida furoris audacia! sicut in causis Gentilium s••ri solet, appellationem interposuerunt. O outragious boldnes of furie! like as in causes of Gentiles is wont, they haue interposed an appeal. The like good offices did Iustinian, and Charles the great, and manie other Christian Emperours and Kinges; for which they are much renowmed in the whole Church; and some haue benne honoured for their religious zele, with glorious titles geuen to them and their successors. To the Kinges of Spaine, from the time of Al•onsus King of Castil, aboue eight hundred yeares agone, for expelling the Arians, was geuen the title of Cathoque as Michael Ritins a Neapolit•n writeth. To the French Kinges the title of most Christian, from the time of Philip the Emperour, about 400. yeares since, for expelling the Albigenses, as recordeth Nicholaus Gillius. To our King Henrie the eight of England, for his booke of the Sacramentes against Luther, •n. Do. 1521. Pope Leo the tenth gaue the title: Defender of the saith.
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 10.11
… For Christ is a High Priest like Aaron; since He glorified not Himself to be made a High Priest, but He that spake unto Him, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek . And Jesus the son of Nave was in many things a type of Him. For when he began to rule over the people, he began from Jordan
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.26
… For the ark of the covenant of the Lord our God is carried in procession by the priests and levites, the people following the ministers of God, it, also, accepting the law of holiness. For Joshua says to the people,
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Refutation of All Heresies 5.2
… But what (is born) below is carnal, that is, he says, what is written. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.” This, according to them, is the spiritual generation. This, he says, is the great Jordan
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.26
… “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This is pointed out by what we find in the book called Joshua,
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.20
… To that consummation the very winds subserved! Read, too, how that the Jordan was as a sword, to hinder the emigrant nation in their passage across its stream; how that its waters from above stood still, and its current below wholly ceased to run at the bidding of Joshua,
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.26
… things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This is pointed out by what we find in the book called Joshua, “In that day I will begin to exalt thee before the children of Israel.” And we hear our Lord Jesus saying to the children of Israel,
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 1.18.4
… twelve sons of Jacob, from whom also sprung twelve tribes,— the breastplate of the high priest, which bore twelve precious stones and twelve little bells, —the twelve stones which were placed by Moses at the foot of the mountain, —the same number which was placed by Joshua in the river, and again, on the other side, the bearers of the ark of the covenant,
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 45
… Pharaoh shall be drowned; bread shall be rained down: the rock shall become a fountain; Amalek shall be conquered, not with arms alone, but with the hostile hand of the righteous forming both prayers and the invincible trophy of the Cross; the River shall be cut off; the sun shall stand still; and the moon be restrained;
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.20
99. Everywhere, therefore, he alone kept close to holy Moses amid all these wondrous works and dread secrets. Wherefore it happens that he who had been his companion in this intercourse with God succeeded to his power. Worthy surely was he to stand forth as a man who might stay the course of the river,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 114.1
1. The river Jordan, when they were entering across it into the land of promise, when touched by the feet of the priests who bore the Ark, stood still from above with bridled stream, while it flowed down from below, where it ran on into the sea, until the whole people passed over, the priests standing on the dry ground.
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 43.7
… For why, said they, is it incredible that the God of wonders, who bountifully fed in the wilderness his homeless and fugitive people, raining bread upon them, and abounding in quails, nourishing them not only with necessaries, but even with luxuries: that He, Who divided the sea, and stayed the sun,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Mysteries 9
… The people of the Hebrews were shut in on every side, hemmed in on the one hand by the Egyptians, on the other by the sea; Moses lifted up his rod, the water divided and hardened like walls, and a way for the feet appeared between the waves. Jordan being turned back, returned, contrary to nature, to the source of its stream.
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Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 1.16
… Furthermore when the people crossed over in the days of Joshua the son of Nun (it was there), for thus it is written:— The people passed over, over against Jericho .
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.12
… Scarcely had the night passed away when burning with eagerness she hastened to the Jordan, stood by the brink of the river, and as the sun rose recalled to mind the rising of the sun of righteousness; how the priest’s feet stood firm in the middle of the river-bed;
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1. Therefore Joshua rising up in the night moved the camp, — namely at the end, that is in the early dawn, for in Hebrew it is, he rose early in the morning. Thus the Septuagint; or, as the Chaldean, at dawn. Thus our translator also understands it in chapter vi, verse 12. For not the dark night, but the bright dawn is suited for moving camps and military expeditions. Let the prince and military commander learn here not to sleep heavily until late in the day, but to rise before the sun at dawn, according to that saying of Homer: "It is not fitting for a counseling man to sleep the whole night." The Hebrews hold that this night or dawn was the ninth day of Nisan, or March. For they assert that Moses died on the seventh day of February, and on the seventh day of March following, namely at the end of thirty days of mourning, the Lord spoke to Joshua, and on the same day a proclamation was made to the people concerning the preparation of food; but on the fifth day of the same month scouts were sent, and on the eighth day they themselves returned; but on the ninth day the children of Israel departed from Shittim and came to the bank of the Jordan, and on the tenth day they crossed the Jordan. But a more fitting order is, if we say that Moses died on the third day of February; then after thirty days of mourning, on the third day of March, God stirred up Joshua to invade Canaan. Wherefore Joshua on the same day sent scouts, who after three days, on the sixth day of March, returning in the evening to Joshua, encouraged him to attack the Canaanites who were struck down. Joshua therefore on the morning of the seventh day moved the camp to the Jordan, and by a herald commanded that all should prepare themselves for the crossing of the Jordan, which was to take place after three days. They prepared themselves therefore for three days, namely the seventh, eighth and ninth, and on the tenth day they crossed the Jordan, as I said in chapter 1, verse 11. And they remained there three days — already mentioned, preparing themselves for the crossing. These words are not in the Hebrew, Septuagint and Chaldean in this verse, but in the following one, from which our translator transferred them here for the sake of clarity.
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2. Which being finished, — that is, drawing to an end, namely toward the evening of the ninth day.
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3. When you shall see the ark of the covenant, — in which God dwelt upon the mercy seat and the Cherubim, and from there gave oracles, Exodus, xxv, 10. God therefore here dwelling in the ark went before the camp, and divided the Jordan, and led the people through it with dry feet. And the priests of the Levitical tribe (descended from Levi the patriarch) carrying it. — For although during the wandering through the desert the Levites carried the ark, namely the Caathites, as God had commanded in Numbers iv, 15, nevertheless in a grave and miraculous matter they carried it, the priests, as here to divide the Jordan, and in chapter vi, to overthrow the walls of Jericho, and to bring it with majesty into the magnificent temple of Solomon recently built by him, III Kings viii. Therefore Sigonius errs, in book V of De Repub. Hebr. chapter IV, when he understands by priests of the Levitical tribe here the Levites. Also the Chaldean translates less correctly, Priests and Levites. You also rise up, and follow those going before. — The Hebrew, Chaldean, Septuagint, you shall go after it, namely the ark; but the ark was carried by the priests; therefore following them they likewise followed the ark.
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4. And let there be between you and the ark a space of two thousand cubits, — or three thousand feet, which make five stadia, that is half an Italian mile, and moreover one hundred twenty-five paces, which is the Sabbath day's journey, as Josephus says, lib. XX Antiq. cap. vi; for a stadium is the eighth part of a mile: but a mile makes a thousand paces; wherefore five stadia contain six hundred twenty-five paces. You may ask, why did God command such a great interval between the ark and the people? I answer first, for the sake of religion and reverence; for the ark represented God, indeed it bore him as it were, who was opening the way into the promised land for the Hebrews, and was going before them as it were as a leader. Second, so that all might more conveniently see the ark from afar, and the miracle of the Jordan divided by it, glorifying God with admiration, exultation and thanksgiving, how namely the waters would flee from the priestly feet, the riverbed would dry up, a way would be spread through the midst of the waves, as Serarius says; and, as St. Augustine says, Quaest. III, lest if so great a multitude of people went immediately after the ark, not all would see it going before them, nor would they know by which way to follow. Joshua assigns both these reasons, when he immediately adds, "That you may see from afar, and know by what way you are to go, etc. And beware lest you come near to the ark." From this precept and deed it is to be understood that the column of cloud, which used to give a sign for moving the camps, and by its motion used to go before and show the way, had now vanished and no longer appeared: otherwise indeed it would have gone before the camps here in its usual manner, not the ark. Thus St. Augustine, Abulensis, Hugo, Lyra, Cajetan, Arias, Dionysius and others. Mystically in Joshua, that is in the leadership of Jesus Christ, there is no cloud, no shadowy darkness, but openly the truth, which the ark of the covenant brought, that is, the new law. Masius adds other reasons, namely that the riverbed of the Jordan was two thousand cubits, so that the ark would leave this riverbed on the far bank, while the Jews would enter it on the near bank. But the Geographers of the Holy Land assert that the Jordan contains only about thirty cubits in width. Again, so that it might be signified that two thousand years would elapse from this crossing of the Jordan until the birth of Christ; but they err in the calculation: for only 1456 years elapsed, as is evident from the Chronographic Table which I prefixed to Genesis. Furthermore, R. Solomon thinks there were two arks here, namely the ark of the covenant and the ark containing the bones of Joseph, because the Hebrew is benau in the plural; but he errs, both because in Hebrew it should be read with another pointing beno, in the singular, that is between it, namely the ark, as Our text, the Septuagint and the Chaldean read it; and because even if you read benau, that indeed is affixed to the plural noun, but signifying a singular thing; otherwise it would have had to be said benchem, that is between them, namely the arks, as the Hebrews know. Mystically the ark signifies the humanity of Christ, from whose excellence and perfection we sinners are at the greatest distance.
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5. And Joshua said to the people: Sanctify yourselves, — by washing your garments and by continence, that is to say, By washing your clothes and abstaining from your wives purify yourselves, and prepare yourselves religiously for the crossing of the Jordan so admirable and divine. For this sanctification, or bodily lustration, was of that rude age and ancient people, which was a type of the spiritual lustration through contrition and penance to be brought in by Christ. Hence the same lustration was commanded to the Hebrews, when God was about to give them the law on Sinai, Exodus cap. xix, 10, and when he was about to cast down the walls of Jericho here cap. vi, vers. 13, and when David was to be chosen by Samuel as king, I Kings xvi, 5, and elsewhere. But inwardly "sanctify yourselves," by stirring up firm faith, and hope of obtaining from God those things which he himself had promised. Whence he adds: "For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders." Learn here that continence and chastity are called holiness, because they purify the soul and body. Hence the Apostle says, I Thess. IV, 4: "That you should abstain from fornication, that each of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification." And I Corinth. vii, he says of a virgin: "That she may be holy both in body and in spirit." For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders, — namely he will divide the Jordan, dry it up, stop it, lift it up, so that he may lead you across. Joshua speaks equally as Moses by the instinct and command of God, not as a prince, but as a Prophet, and as such authorized by God he commands the priests concerning sacred things vers. seq., namely that they carry the ark with such a rite, which as a mere prince he could not have done lawfully. For, as St. Ambrose teaches epist. 13 to his sister Marcellina, the care of walls is committed to the Emperor, the care of sacred things to the Bishop by God. But hear him thundering generously to the Emperor Valentinian, when he sought the church for the Arians: "Do not trouble yourself, Emperor, to think that you have any imperial right in those things which are divine. Do not exalt yourself, but if you wish to reign long, be subject to God. It is written: Render to God the things that are God's, and to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Palaces belong to the Emperor, the Church to the priest. The right over public walls is committed to you, not over sacred things."
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8. When you shall have entered into the part of the water of the Jordan, stand in it. — For part in Hebrew is קצה katse, that is, end, extremity, by which Masius understands the farther bank, as if to say: When you shall have crossed the Jordan, stand in its extremity according to the opposite bank, until the people pass, and the elders take stones from the Jordan and place them in a monument of this crossing. Whence also Pagninus translates it, when you shall have come to the end of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan. Serarius, however, takes it to mean the nearer bank (for this is what קצ kets signifies, verse 12), as if to say: When you shall first have touched the waters of the Jordan, stand there, until the Jordan being divided the water gradually flows away, and leaves the bed dry, through which you may cross to the opposite bank, as is said in verse 13. I myself walk between both, and with Serarius I indeed take the nearer bank, yet so that the priests are commanded to stand not in it, but in the middle of the Jordan. For the priests are expressly asserted to have stood not on the bank, but in the middle of the Jordan in the last verse, and in chapter IV, verse 10. For the Hebrew katse properly signifies a section and a part cut off from the whole; for this is now the end and extremity of the whole, and for this reason Our Version and the Septuagint always translate katse here as part: for the root קצה katsa signifies to cut, to cut off, to cut down, to cut away the extremities. The sense therefore is, as if to say: When you shall have come to katse, that is, to the section of the Jordan, where namely the Jordan already cut is finished, and on both sides by its extremity already cut is terminated, enter this its section, or part already cut, and stand in the middle of it, both so that the people may cross confidently, seeing the ark and the priests in the middle of the Jordan already split and dry standing fearlessly, and may not fear the return of the waters into their bed after the passage of the ark and their revolution; and also so that twelve stones may be erected there, and twelve others taken to be erected in Gilgal, as a perpetual monument of this miraculous crossing. Whence in Hebrew word for word it is: When you shall have come to the section of the Jordan, stand in the Jordan (in the middle). Our Serarius gives the reason: It was fitting, he says, that the ark should stand in that place where the danger was greatest, so that the whole people might cross with so much greater confidence. For if the ark had stood on one bank or the other, the more timid might have feared lest, with the ark safe, they themselves in the middle of the bed would be overwhelmed by the waters returning to their place. Here therefore was the order of the deed: The priests with the ark preceded the army of the people by two thousand cubits toward the Jordan; and when they themselves had reached it, and touched the waters with their feet, immediately the waters, as if reverencing the ark, or rather God dwelling in the ark, fled; for an Angel immediately divided them, and dried up the bed: through it therefore the priests went as far as the middle of the bed now dried, and there stood, until the whole people had crossed, and the aforesaid stones had been taken, and erected as a monument: for the people crossed through the bed safely and securely, not doubting that they would be safe from the waters, where they saw the priests and the ark to be safe from the same. The division therefore of the Jordan made through Joshua was in part similar to the division of the Red Sea made through Moses, Exodus xiv, 22, as I have shown there; in part dissimilar and greater: for first, that was made by the rod of Moses extended over the sea, this however by the ark bearing God, which was therefore more noble than the rod of Moses. Second, there an Angel divided the sea at the beginning of night, but a wind induced by the same, drying the bed of that already divided sea the whole night by blowing, so that at dawn the Hebrews might cross it with dry foot: here however the Angel dividing the Jordan, immediately dried it, especially because it was small and sandy. Third, there the waters of the sea divided by the Angel stood as if erected into mountains immobile, because the sea itself does not flow, but remains immobile in the same place: here however the Jordan flowing continually flowed its waters into the divided Jordan; wherefore the Angel had to gather them, and erect them into higher mountains, lest they invade and overwhelm the bed now dried. Stand in it, — fearlessly, because you have God present in the ark as your protector, so that by this courage you may encourage and strengthen the rest of the people for the crossing: stand therefore, because God stands with you.
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10. In this you shall know that the Lord God living (in Hebrew אל חי el chai, that is, mighty living) in the midst of you is. — Who namely, living, active, vigorous, vivifying, strengthening and invigorating all things, by His divine industry, providence and omnipotence, shall carry you through the Jordan, and lead you across unharmed, safe and uninjured.
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13. And when the priests that carried the ark of the Lord God of all the earth had set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that were below ran down and failed (Heb. יכרתון iiccaretun, that is, shall be cut off, that is, thus shall flow away and fail, as if they were utterly cut off). But those that came from above (shall flow anew), shall stand in one heap. — In Hebrew, shall stand in one heap, that is, in a new heap, and as it were into a mountain gradually growing and swelling from the continual influx of new water, shall be lifted up. Hence it is clear that by the feet of the priests the waters of the Jordan were as it were repelled and divided, so that they might open a passage for them. But this power was given to the priests by God, on account of the ark which they carried: for the ark was the footstool of the feet of God sitting upon the Cherubim and the mercy seat, which was as it were a cover of the ark, spread over it in the manner of a seat and throne, so that the ark was subject as it were as the footstool of His feet, according to that: "Adore the footstool of His feet," that is, adore and venerate the ark, Ps. xcvii, vers. 5. See what is said in Exodus xxv, 10, where I said that the ark allegorically signified the humanity of Christ, but the mercy seat signified His divinity; symbolically moreover the ark represented the Blessed Virgin and the Saints. For these are as it were an ark containing God in themselves, and therefore from them flee the waters both of the delights and of the tribulations of this world.
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15. Now the Jordan had filled the banks of its channel at the time of harvest. — In Hebrew, at the time of new fruits. For it was then the tenth day of the first month Nisan, which corresponds partly to March, partly to April, at which time in Palestine, as a warm region, some crops ripen, especially barley, and so it is evident that the time of harvest there begins from Nisan, Lev. xxiii, 10; Exod. xiii, 4; Deut. xvi, 1; Joshua cap. v, vers. 11. Had filled its banks. — The Septuagint, And the Jordan was filled according to all its banks. But because the Hebrew על al means both "according to" and "above," hence secondly you may translate: And the Jordan was filled, that is, overflowed above all its banks, as Masius and Vatablus translated, and thus our author translated in I Paral. xxii, 13, as if to say the Jordan then was at its greatest, nor could it be contained in its channel. For the Jordan is wont to overflow at the time of harvest, either because such is the singular nature of that river, or because, as the common opinion holds, the snows liquefied by the heat of the sun from the mountains near the Jordan pour abundant water into it. Thus Abulensis, Masius, Arias. The same thing happens to the Tigris as well as to the Nile, as Ecclesiasticus cap. xxiv, vers. 35 teaches. God chose this time of the overflowing of the Jordan for this crossing of the Hebrews, so that the benefit might be so much more singular, as the miracle was more admirable.
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16. The waters standing in one place. — Hebrew: in one heap; Chaldean: in one skin; Septuagint: in one congealing or freezing (for the waters stood as if congealed like a crystalline mountain), and appearing swollen like a mountain from afar from the city which is called Adam (thus Hebrew, Septuagint, Roman. Therefore the Complutensians and others wrongly read Edom), as far as Zartan — that is, from Adam (which extends as far as Zartan, namely, and stretches its boundaries) as far as Bethabara, where the Hebrews crossed the Jordan. For in Hebrew it is from Adam, or in Adam (for some Hebrew texts read בארום beadom, that is in Adam, some מארום meadom, that is from Adam) a city, which is at the side, or beside Zartan. Thus also the Septuagint in the Kingdoms and Complutensian. Whence it is remarkable that in the Roman texts Cariathiarim, that is, the city of forests, is read for Zartan; unless you say that Zartan was also called thus on account of the nearby forests. The sense therefore is, as if to say: The waters of the Jordan, repelled by the presence of the ark of God, since new waters continually flowed in, swelled up so much and grew as if into a mountain, so that that mountain lifted up on high from the place of crossing, which was therefore called Bethabara, that is, the house, that is the place, of crossing, appeared from afar and far off to the inhabitants of those regions as far as the city Adam, ignoble, or as far as the place Zartan so celebrated (for Zartan is beside the city Adam), that is as far as the lake of Genesareth, or the sea of Galilee, which is also called Tiberias, as Masius proves at length here from III Kings IV, 12, where Zartan is said to be opposite Jezreel, which was near the city Bethshan, or Scythopolis: but the sea of Galilee bordered Scythopolis. There appeared therefore here a mountain of waters from Bethabara as far as Zartan and the sea of Galilee, which is a distance of twenty leagues or hours. Indeed from the Hebrew it seems that the sense here is, that these waters of the Jordan swelling up not only appeared, but also swelled up in continuous succession from Bethabara as far as Zartan, as if to say: The waters of the Jordan, repelled by the sight of the ark of God, since new waters continually flowed in, and these in turn were soon driven back by the Angel, by this repulsion they flowed back, and by this reflux of theirs over so long a tract they swelled up, as great as is from Bethabara as far as Zartan, namely through twenty leagues, or as great as is almost from the Dead Sea, that is from the lake Asphaltite (for Bethabara is near it), as far as the sea of Tiberias. Whence the Hebrew and Chaldean have, the waters stood as far as Zartan: thus Masius. Assuredly God, the maker of all things, who sets a boundary to the waters, held them here with a wall stronger than adamant. Adrichomius less correctly feigns here another Zartan near Bethabara, in which namely the Hebrews crossed the Jordan, and from there that mountain of the waters of the Jordan was seen to swell as far as Adam. Symbolically, Rupertus thinks that here is represented the space of time in which the Hebrews were about to possess the promised land, namely from the crossing of the Jordan under Joshua at Bethabara, as far as Adam and Zartan, that is, as far as Titus and the Romans, who slew them, afflicted them, and drove them out on account of the slain Jesus Christ: for Adam in Hebrew is the same as red, but Zartan is the same as their tribulation. Tropologically, the faithful from the crossing of the Jordan, that is, from baptism, ought to swell, that is, to grow in patience and virtue as far as Adam, that is, the shedding of blood and martyrdom, and Zartan, that is, the narrowing and extreme tribulation. When therefore you are troubled, O Christian, take courage and expand; for you have not yet resisted as far as Adam, that is, as far as blood, as Christ and the Martyrs did. Consider how much St. Lawrence, St. Vincent, St. Euphemia, St. Febronia and the other Martyrs suffered, and whatever you endure will seem little to you. But those waters which were lower, into the sea of solitude — into the lake Asphaltite, into which Sodom and the Pentapolis were turned after the heavenly fire —, which is now called Dead (because it sustains no living animal, but all living things brought into it die immediately), descended. — For the Jordan rightly flows into this sea, and is absorbed by it and as if vanishes.
3:17
17. And the people went against Jericho, — (some read badly, against the Jordan: for "against Jericho" the Hebrew, Chaldean, Septuagint and Roman texts have). This place, in which the Hebrews crossed the Jordan on dry ground, divided by God, was called in Hebrew Bethabara, that is, house, that is, place, of passage, where St. John the Baptist baptized, and there Christ was baptized by him, John cap. 1, vers. 28 (see what is said there): namely, so that in that place where baptism was first prefigured by this passage of the Hebrews, there also it would first be perfected by John. For St. Augustine teaches that the crossing of the Jordan prefigured baptism, serm. 106 De Tempore: for just as Joshua led the Hebrews through the Jordan into the promised land, so Jesus led his faithful through baptism into heaven. Hence also St. Jerome in Locis Hebr. litt. B: "Bethabara," he says, "where John baptized unto penance: whence even to this day many of the brethren, that is, of the number of believers, desiring to be born again there, are baptized in the vital waters," as St. Basil, having set out from Cappadocia, went to the Jordan and was baptized in it. Furthermore Arias, pag. 265, holds that Bethabara is the same place as Bethbera of which Judg. vii, 24, that is, house of grain or food, that is, a fertile place on account of the vicinity and irrigation of the waters of the Jordan; whence according to him the Hebrews ate the fruits of the land when the manna ceased, Joshua v, 11 and 12. And the priests, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood upon the dry ground in the midst of the Jordan girded, — until all the people should pass over safely and without fear, so that this miracle of the passage might be shown to the people to be done by the power of God, who was Lord and prince of the covenant (the two tables of the Decalogue) contained in the ark, of which covenant the people, being partakers, would use not only a passable, but entirely dry bed of the Jordan. This is what the Psalmist sings, Psalm cxiv, 7: "What ailed thee, O sea, that thou didst flee? and thou, O Jordan, that thou wast turned backward? At the presence of the Lord (sitting upon the ark) the earth was moved, at the presence of the God of Jacob." Morally Origen, homil. 4: "By the ministry of priests," he says, "the people is led to the promised land. And who today among priests is so great and such as to deserve to be enrolled in that order? For if there be any such, the waters of the Jordan will yield to him, and the very elements will fear; part of the waters of the river will spring back, part indeed will flee into the salt sea with rapid course." And below: "Blessed are they who draw near to the ark, that is, to God; but remember what is written: They that draw near to me, draw near to fire, illuminating the pious, burning up the impious." Girded. — In Hebrew הכן hachen, that is, by strengthening, namely themselves in the same footstep, that is, firmly, with foot fixed. In Chaldean fixe, or rightly, and thus they began. Thus Arias; Tigurina, deliberately: the Septuagint, Aquila and Symmachus, prepare, for crossing; Masius, preparing, namely the passage for the people: although hachen is a verb of the infinitive hiphil, yet among the Hebrews these words are often taken for adverbs, as is evident Hosea cap. v. 2, and cap. IX, 9; Jonah cap. IV, 4; Isaiah cap. XXXI, 6, in the Hebrew. And all the people passed through the dry bed. — In Hebrew, and all Israel passed through the dry, until all the people had finished passing over the Jordan. Thus also the Septuagint, Chaldean, Vatablus, Masius and others.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
3:1
Abel (Hebrew 'Abhēl 'meadow'; possibly Aramaic from Canaanite 'Abil 'channel')
… Camp of the Israelites before crossing the Jordan (Num. 25:1; 33:49; Josh. 2:1; 3:1; Mic. 6:5); today Tell Kefrein, 11 km east of the Jordan, in the direction of Jericho (according to a few, Wadi es-Sejale, 5 km farther south).
Jordan (Heb. Yardēn; Arabic al-Urdunn)
In the lower part, opposite Jericho, the J. is associated with the memory of the miraculous crossing of the Israelites (Josh. 3:1), with the prophets Elijah and Elisha (II Kings 2), with the ministry of St. John the Baptist (John 1:28) and with the Baptism of Jesus. …
… called Abel (v.) S. "in the plains of Moab" (ibid. 33, 49; Septuagint Βέλων cod. B, βελοκτίμ cod. A). From there the spies were sent to Jericho, which stood opposite; from there, after a prolonged stay, Israel set out to cross the Jordan (Ios. 2, 1; 3, 1; Vulg. Setim). …
3:7
Jordan (Heb. Yardēn; Arabic al-Urdunn)
… heaven (II Kings 2:1 ff.; Ecclus. 48:1-13): it appears moreover in the Werden casket and in the "Joshua roll," preserved in the Vatican Library, and precisely in the episode of the crossing of the river by the Hebrew people led by the successor of Moses (Josh. 3:7; 4:14, 23).
3:10
… It is always included by the Bible in the enumeration of the pre-Israelite peoples (Gen. 15:21; Ex. 3:8; 13:5; 23:23; 32:2; 34:11; Deut. 7:1; 20:17; Josh. 3:10; 5:1; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8; 24:11; etc.), sometimes as the chief nucleus of the ethnic group alongside the Hittites (Num. 13:30), so that it also represents the whole complex of the pre-Israelite …
Girgashites (Hebrew Girgāshī; Septuagint Germachai, Latinized as Gergesites)
… In the Bible the G. are mentioned very few times (Gen. 10:19; 15:21; Deut. 7:1; Ios. 3:10; 24:11; Neh. 9:8) and always with a stereotyped phraseology, which lists the various clans or tribes of pre-Israelite Palestine. …
… Septuagint ὁ Εὐαῖος, sometimes οἱ Εὐαῖοι). - A people settled in the land of Canaan and always included in the list of the whole group of peoples dwelling in the land before the Israelite conquest (Ex. 2, 11; 3, 8; 13, 5; 23, 28; Deut. 7, 1; 20, 17; Josh. 3, 10; 9, 1; 12, 8; 24, 11; Judg. 3, 5; 2 Kings 9, 29; 2 Chron. 8, 7; v. CANAAN).
3:16
The parts of the A. named in the Old Testament are: the Dead Sea (v.) jām ha-'arābhāh, "sea of the A." (Deut. 3:17; 4:49; Josh. 3:16; 12:3; 2 Kings 14:25; Vulgate: "mare solitudinis"), 'arbhāth Jērīhā (Vulgate: "campestria urbis Iericho"; Josh. 4:13; 5:10) and 'arbhāth Mō'āh (Vulg.: "campestria Moab"; Num. 22:1; …
… From the 2nd century the name Dead Sea prevailed (Pausanias, 173), which St. Jerome adopted in glossing "mare salis" in Josh. 3:16. In the Talmud and among present-day Jews it is called "Sea of Sodom," with reference to the catastrophe of the Pentapolis, of which a memory remains in the name Çebel Usdum (Gen. …
… Thus, for example, in the Vulgate, Gen. 31, 47 ff. Jerome added, to explain how the heap of stones erected by Laban and Jacob had been called by different words: "uterque iuxta proprietatem linguae suae," and Jos. 3, 16b, to explain the words "mare solitudinis," he added: "quod nunc vocatur mortuum." As for the Hebrew text, the masorah (v.) itself is for the most part a glossary, as is also a large …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.