Joshua 3:8

The brink. Literally, “the extremity” — not merely to the bank of Jordan, but to the water itself. The river overflowed its banks at this time of the year (verse 15). The priests were to enter the shallow water at the edge. When the water had ceased flowing, they were to proceed to the middle of the river and remain there until all Israel had passed over. The waters flowed on and left the whole river bed dry, from a point above the ark down to the Dead Sea. This was a distance of several miles, and provided ample room for the multitude of people, with their cattle, to pass over quickly (see on verse 16).