John Calvin Commentary Joshua 4:7

"then ye shall say unto them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever." — Joshua 4:7 (ASV)

And it came to pass, and so forth. He now explains in more detail the brief and obscure allusion he previously made concerning the twelve men. He had said that they were chosen by God's command, one from each tribe; but, interrupting his discussion, he had not mentioned their purpose.

He now says that by Joshua's command they took up twelve stones and placed them in Gilgal, so that a distinct memorial might exist for future generations. Moreover, since he only relates what was done after the people's crossing, what is inserted should be interpreted in the pluperfect tense.

It is also very obvious that the copula (a linking word) is used instead of a rational particle (a word indicating reason). The main point is that before the priests moved from the middle of the river where they stood, the stones at their feet were taken and placed in Gilgal to be perpetual witnesses of the miracle, and that Joshua thus faithfully carried out what God had commanded.

Joshua, therefore, called the men whom he had previously chosen—though not without God's command—so that through this divine instruction he might have a stronger validation of his authority. For if Joshua had erected such a trophy on his own initiative, the piety that motivated it might indeed have been praiseworthy; however, an instruction based only on human will might perhaps have been despised.

But now, when God Himself raises the sign, it is irreverent to disregard it. He suggests, accordingly, that it was a monument deserving the greatest attention when he introduces the children asking, what mean these stones?

Then you shall answer them, and so forth. Although the stones themselves cannot speak, the monument nevertheless provided the parents with material for speaking and for making God's kindness known to their children.

And here, zealous efforts to cultivate piety are required of the elderly, and they are commanded to exert themselves in instructing their children. For it was God's will that this teaching should be handed down through every age, so that those not yet born, being afterwards instructed by their parents, might become witnesses to it from hearing, though they had not seen it with their eyes.

The stones were placed according to the number of the tribes, so that each might be moved to gratitude by its own symbol. It is true that the two and a half tribes who had obtained their inheritance beyond the Jordan did not, when considered apart from the others, have any personal need to make that crossing.

But since the land of Canaan was possessed by the others for the common good of all Abraham's descendants, it was fitting that those who were all engaged in the same or a common cause should not be separated from each other.

And although until now mention had been made only of twelve men, it is obvious from a short phrase that the divine command had been declared to the whole people, for it is said that the children of Israel obeyed Joshua's words. Indeed, it is even probable that representatives were elected by common consent to carry the stones in the name of the whole people.