יהושע ד׳:ט״ו-כ״ד

צוה את הכהנים. כאן פירש הכתוב את האמור למעלה, היאך עבר ארון ה' והכהנים לפני העם וגו':

Command the Kohanim. Here is where Scripture explains what was mentioned before⁴Verse 11. how the Ark of Adonoy and the Kohanim crossed in the people’s presence.

ויעלו מן הירדן. 'ויעברו' אין כתיב כאן, אלא 'ויעלו', למדנו שעל השפה שהיו עומדין אצלה עלו, ואי אפשר לומר שהיו עומדין אצל שפת הירדן שבמערב, שהרי נאמר למעלה (ג טו): נטבלו רגלי הכהנים בקצה המים, ושם נאמר ויעמדו הכהנים וכל ישראל עוברים:

Have them come up out of the Jordan. It is not written, ‘have them cross’ but rather ‘have them come up.’ From this we learn that from the bank upon which they were standing did they come up. And it is impossible to claim that they were standing beside the western bank of the Jordan, for it is said previously, ‘that the feet of the Kohanim were immersed in the edge of the water.’⁵Chapter 3:15. And there it is said, ‘And the Kohanim remained standing— and all the Bnei Yisroel crossed over.’⁶Ibid 16. Obviously since the Bnei Yisroel crossed the Jordan from East to West, and the Kohanim remained standing at the point of entrance, they were on the Eastern bank of the Jordan.

נתקו כפות רגלי הכהנים. מן המים אל החרבה שאצלם, וישובו המים למקומם, נמצא ארון מצד זה, וישראל מצד זה, נשא ארון את נושאיו ועבר ועל דבר זה נענש עוזא (שמואל ב ו ז) כשאחז בארון, נושאיו נשא, עצמו לא כל שכן:

The soles of the feet of the Kohanim were lifted. [They were lifted] from the water to the dry land next to them, and the water returned to their place. The result of this was that the Ark was on this [eastern] side and the Bnei Yisroel were on this [the western] side. Thus the Ark lifted its carriers and crossed over. It was regarding this that Uzzah was punished ‘when he took hold of the Ark,’⁷II Shmuel, VI: 6,7. for if the Ark carried its carriers, it certainly was able to carry itself.⁸Thus by taking hold of the Ark, Uzzah manifested his fear that the Ark was going to fall off the wagon.

הקים יהושע בגלגל. הוא המלון אשר לנו בו הלילה:

Yehoshua set up in Gilgal. This was the lodging place where they spent that night.