Joshua 6:9

Jos 6:9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, [the priests] going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

Ver. 9. And the rereward came after the ark.] Heb., The gathering host, that in their march through the wilderness was wont to arise at the fourth alarm, and their charge was to look that nothing was left behind. {Num 10:25} {See Trapp on "Psa 27:10"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Meaning, the rearward, wherein was the standard of the tribe of Dan, Num. 10:25.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 9. The rereward came after the ark] The word מאסף measseph, from אסף asaph, to collect or gather up, may signify either the rereward, as our translation understands it, or the people who carried the baggage of the army; for on the seventh day this was necessary, as much fighting might be naturally expected in the assault, and they would need a supply of arms, darts, &c., as well as conveniences for those who might happen to be wounded: or the persons here intended might be such as carried the sacred articles belonging to the ark, or merely such people as might follow in the procession, without observing any particular order. The Jews think the division of Dan is meant, which always brought up the rear. See Nu 10:25.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. the rereward] The remaining warriors were to act as a rearguard. During the march through the wilderness this duty devolved on the tribe of Dan (see Num_10:25). “Rereward” means the “rearguard” of an army; guard and ward being related as guise and wise, Fr. guerre, and E. war. It is a corruption of the Fr. arrière-garde, as vanguard for avant-garde; or rather the first part of the word is formed from the O. Fr. riere (Lat. retro). Comp. 1Sa_29:2, “but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish;” Isa_52:12, “the God of Israel will be your rereward;” Isa_58:8, “the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward;” Shakespeare, Ι.Hen. 6. 3. 3,

“Now in the rearward comes the duke, and his;”

Rom. and Jul. 3.2,

“But with a rearward following Tybalt’s death,

Romeo is banished.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets,.... Whom Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, interpret of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; that is, as many of them as Joshua took with him over Jordan; though rather all the armed men in the camp are meant; at least along with those mentioned went the standards of Judah and Ephraim:

and the rereward came after the ark; because the tribe of Dan was the rereward in journeying, Num 2:31; hence the Targum paraphrases the words,"and the tribe of the house of Dan went after the ark;''and so both Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it: but rather the body of the people unarmed are designed; at least these were brought up by the standard of Dan; or otherwise no place in this procession is appointed for them, whose business it was to make the great shout on the seventh day with the rest:

the priests going on and blowing with the trumpets; the word "priests" is not in the text, but is rightly supplied; for, as Kimchi and Abarbinel observe, this is not said of the rereward, but of the priests, for they only bore and blew the trumpets; and so the Targum reads,"the priests going on, &c.''

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The

rereward being opposed to the armed men, may seem to note the unarmed people, who were desirous to be spectators of this wonderful work.

The priests; which is rightly supplied here from Jos 6:4.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. The rearward — Margin, the gathering host; that part of the army which occupies the last place on the march, protecting the front columns, and gathering up the faint and sick. The tribe of Dan had this position in the wilderness. Num_10:25. Had the ark been at the head of the column, its usual place, it would have been more exposed to capture by a sudden sally of the enemy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The rereward - Which being opposed to the armed men, may seem to note the unarmed people, who were desirous to be spectators of this wonderful work.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And the warriors. These were the men of the tribes of Reuvein and Gad who went before them, because the men of Gad were mighty warriors and they would smite with a strong arm, as it is said, ‘And he rips off the shoulder and the head.’

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.