“And Joshua rose up early in the morning…And it came to pass after three days,
that the officers went through the midst of the camp. And they commanded the
people saying: When you see the ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God, and
the priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall leave your place, and go after it.
And Joshua said unto the people: Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD
will do wonders among you.”
For the Hebrews, a long and grueling ordeal would be a thing of the past. Joshua bid his
brethren to prepare for crossing the Jordan River. At a respectable distance, they were to
follow the priests who were walking in the vanguard, carrying the holy ark. “Sanctify yourselves,
for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
Abravanel asks: How did Joshua know that miracles were in the offing, including the splitting of
the Jordan River? Yet, Don Isaac continues, we don’t find God apprising him of such a wonder.
Commentators who assume that there, in fact, had been a divine communiqué, though omitted
from Scripture, stand on shaky ground. Why, Abravanel challenges, would a prophecy of that
caliber be left out of a narrative? His answers follow.
Joshua applied deductive logic, albeit a heavenly-inspired application. “And the LORD said unto
Joshua: This day will I begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as
I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” The words, for Joshua, foretold the splitting of the
Jordan’s waters. There could be no other interpretation of “This day will I begin to magnify
you…” For if the Hebrews forded a Jordan River flowing with water – regardless if it was toe-
high or waist-high – what kind of “magnification” is that?
“That they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” Again, Joshua deciphered
Heaven’s words. Just as the Maker split the Red Sea for Moses, so too would He perform
watery wonders for Moses’ disciple. The result of water-splitting galvanized people’s fealty and
awe of their leader: “And Israel saw the great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians, and
the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD, and in His servant Moses” (Exodus
14). In that regard, God sought to bring parity between Moses and Joshua.
Clarifying, Abravanel adds this. Parity between the Moses and Joshua did not extend to all
areas. For one, Joshua’s level of prophecy never equaled that of Moses. Also, at this juncture,
Joshua’s military prowess would not be comparable to that of Moses’. Down the road, the war
for the liberation of the Holy Land would come, but not at present – “This day will I begin to
magnify you…”
Abravanel makes another observation, based on God’s request of Joshua. “And you shall
command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying: When you come to the brink of
the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.” If really, Joshua determined, God
intended the Hebrews to traverse the running Jordan river – sans miracle – why would the
Maker bid “the priests that bear the ark…to come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan?”
Joshua understood that when the priests carrying the ark had waded into the river waters, a
miracle would unfold. The Jordan’s waters would split.
In sum, Abravanel teaches that by dint of Joshua’s logic, and not prophecy, he deduced what
lay in store.