Joshua 3:2
in Joshua 3After three days the officers went through the camp
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp;
KJV
And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
⋯
This verse in Joshua 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAfter three days - These three days are probably to be thus understood: As soon as Joshua took the command of the army, he sent the spies to ascertain the state of Jericho; as we have seen Jos 1:12. They returned at the end of three days, or rather on the third day, and made their report. It was at this time, immediately on the return of the spies, that he made the proclamation mentioned here; in consequence of which the people immediately struck their tents, and marched forward to Jordan.
This site's exposition
left Shittim with all the Israelites
on Joshua 3:1-2
Shittim is the camp of Numbers 25:1 and the place the spies set out from at 2:1. The nation lodges at the river and waits three days, the interval named at 1:11. Micah 6:5 later remembers the whole move, from Shittim to Gilgal, as one act of God.
This site's exposition
the officers went through the camp
Gill takes them to be the officers of 1:10. Barnes fills the three days with preparation, since the host included women and children as well as soldiers. Moving a whole people into hostile country needed arrangements that took time.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it came to pass after three days,.... At the end of the three days they were bid to prepare food for their expedition, and to go over Jordan, Jos 1:11, that the officers went through the host; the camp of Israel; very probably the same as in Jos 1:10; this was, no doubt, by the order of Joshua, and who was directed to it by the Lord.
It is called here the ark of the covenant of the Lord their God. What greater encouragement could they have than this, that the Lord was their God, a God in covenant with them? Here was the ark of the covenant; if God be ours, we need not fear any evil.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When ye see the ark . . ., and the priests the Levites bearing it--The usual position of the ark, when at rest, was in the center of the camp; and, during a march, in the middle of the procession. On this occasion it was to occupy the van, and be borne, not by the Kohathite Levites, but the priests, as on all solemn and extraordinary occasions (compare Nu 4:15;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
These days (Jos 1:11 note) were no doubt occupied in preparations of various kinds. The host consisted not of armed men only, but of women and children also; and many arrangements would be necessary before they actually advanced into a hostile country.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִקְצֵ֖ה | miktzeh | from [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת | sheloshet | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| יָמִ֑ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיַּעַבְר֥וּ | vaiyaavru | and they passed | H5674 → | 556 times |
| הַשֹּׁטְרִ֖ים | hashoterim | the officers | H7860 → | 25 times |
| בְּקֶ֥רֶב | bekerev | in [the] midst of | H7130 → | 227 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃ | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
וַיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִקְצֵ֖הfrom [the] end of
miktzehH7097 →97 times
שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁתthree
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
יָמִ֑יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
וַיַּעַבְר֥וּand they passed
vaiyaavruH5674 →556 times
הַשֹּׁטְרִ֖יםthe officers
hashoterimH7860 →25 times
בְּקֶ֥רֶבin [the] midst of
bekerevH7130 →227 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃the camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.