Yehoshua - Perek 3: Crossing the River
Part 1: Preparation and instructions to cross the Jordan (3:1-11)
Summary
Part 2: Preparation of twelve representatives and the Jordan splitting (3:12-17)
Summary
How exactly do miracles occur?
The commentaries use this first miracle in Nach as an opportunity to explore the notion of miracles in general. Some of the more rationalistic commentaries, such as the Ralbag, Hashem does not circumvent the natural law and order which He created. He created a system and order, and He chooses to operate within that construct. A miracle can rarely break that natural pattern. The examples he uses are that Hashem would not create a fire which is cold. Likewise, He would not create a triangle which does not have three vertices. These are antithetical constructs. So how do miracles occur? The Ralbag explains that miracles are the combination of natural set of events lining up in a rather unnatural way. When it comes to the Yarden river, if the wind blows at exactly the right speed and when you have a specific air and water pressure, it is possible for the water to stop flowing for a certain amount of time. The miracle is in the timing. The fact is that this all happened at just the right moment, when Hashem commanded so and when Yehoshua dictated it, and the people could cross the river.
The Malbim takes the Ralbag to task on this point. If Hashem created the system of natural law, then He could just as easily suspend it. We have no need to explain a miracle in natural terms. The Malbim goes on to prove his point that this miracle was completely supernatural. If this were not the case, the floor of the river would have wet, soggy and full of stones during this momentary stop of flow. And yet is seems that it was, in fact, smooth and dry. The Radak, in the same camp as the Malbim, points out that if the water was stopped momentarily as part of a natural process then how would it return peacefully. Were all the water to flow back in one moment, then it would be much like the bursting of a dam. The blocked flow would destroy full cities and countryside. And yet we do not here of such a description. Therefore, the Radak argues the water returned slowly. Therefore, there was certainly a supernatural element to what is being described.
Why did this miracle take place?
There two separate explanations that Hashem offers for this miracle in this chapter. The first is in verse 7, where Hashem quietly tells Yehoshua that it is for him. He wants Yehoshua to be great in the eyes of the nation like Moshe was great in their eyes. However, when Yehoshua actually conveys the message to the people in verse 10, he tells them that the reason the river is splitting is so that all the nations will fear Israel as a nation. In light of this, there are really two narratives as to what is taking place. Yehoshua has the inside track of why this is important, but crucially, he does not convey it to the rest of the nation. The fulfilment of this aspect would be a natural by-product from the miracle which he knows and appreciates.
Summary
- Yehoshua wakes up on the third morning and begins to instruct the people about crossing the Yarden river.
- The people are instructed to leave a space between them and the ark, which will be carried by the kohanim, they are to follow after.
- Hashem tells Yehoshua that He will perform a miracle on his behalf, in order to make him great in the eyes of the nation. In turn, the people will gain prestige and inspire fear among the nation of the land.
Part 2: Preparation of twelve representatives and the Jordan splitting (3:12-17)
Summary
- Yehoshua is instructed to ready twelve people, one from each tribe.
- The kohanim enter the East bank of the Yarden. As they do so, the river stops flowing.
- In contrast to the splitting of the sea where the water forms two walls, the splitting of the river differed in that, there was only one wall. The river stopped flowing upstream and that flow turned into this large pillar of water while the other side naturally dissipated.
How exactly do miracles occur?
The commentaries use this first miracle in Nach as an opportunity to explore the notion of miracles in general. Some of the more rationalistic commentaries, such as the Ralbag, Hashem does not circumvent the natural law and order which He created. He created a system and order, and He chooses to operate within that construct. A miracle can rarely break that natural pattern. The examples he uses are that Hashem would not create a fire which is cold. Likewise, He would not create a triangle which does not have three vertices. These are antithetical constructs. So how do miracles occur? The Ralbag explains that miracles are the combination of natural set of events lining up in a rather unnatural way. When it comes to the Yarden river, if the wind blows at exactly the right speed and when you have a specific air and water pressure, it is possible for the water to stop flowing for a certain amount of time. The miracle is in the timing. The fact is that this all happened at just the right moment, when Hashem commanded so and when Yehoshua dictated it, and the people could cross the river.
The Malbim takes the Ralbag to task on this point. If Hashem created the system of natural law, then He could just as easily suspend it. We have no need to explain a miracle in natural terms. The Malbim goes on to prove his point that this miracle was completely supernatural. If this were not the case, the floor of the river would have wet, soggy and full of stones during this momentary stop of flow. And yet is seems that it was, in fact, smooth and dry. The Radak, in the same camp as the Malbim, points out that if the water was stopped momentarily as part of a natural process then how would it return peacefully. Were all the water to flow back in one moment, then it would be much like the bursting of a dam. The blocked flow would destroy full cities and countryside. And yet we do not here of such a description. Therefore, the Radak argues the water returned slowly. Therefore, there was certainly a supernatural element to what is being described.
Why did this miracle take place?
There two separate explanations that Hashem offers for this miracle in this chapter. The first is in verse 7, where Hashem quietly tells Yehoshua that it is for him. He wants Yehoshua to be great in the eyes of the nation like Moshe was great in their eyes. However, when Yehoshua actually conveys the message to the people in verse 10, he tells them that the reason the river is splitting is so that all the nations will fear Israel as a nation. In light of this, there are really two narratives as to what is taking place. Yehoshua has the inside track of why this is important, but crucially, he does not convey it to the rest of the nation. The fulfilment of this aspect would be a natural by-product from the miracle which he knows and appreciates.