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Joshua 4

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The Command to Build a Memorial 1–9

1
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
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Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
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And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. ​
4
Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
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And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
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That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? ​
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Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. ​
8
And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9
And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. ​

Completion of the Crossing 10–14

10
For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. ​
11
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
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And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: ​
13
About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
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On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. ​

The Waters Return 15–18

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And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
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Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
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Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
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And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. ​

The Memorial at Gilgal 19–24

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And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. ​
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And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
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And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
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Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
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For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: ​
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That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Joshua 4

Verse 3

twelve stones — Taken from 'the place where the priests' feet stood firm' (matstsab, a fixed station), carried over and left in 'the lodging place' (malon), which v.19 names as Gilgal. The command recalls Deut 27:2, to set up stones 'on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan'.

Verse 6

a sign among you — Oth, a sign or monument. 'In time to come' is machar, literally 'tomorrow': the children's question is looked for. The pattern is that of Ex 13:14, 'when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this?'; v.21 repeats the charge.

Verse 7

were cut off — Karath, to cut, the verb used of making a covenant, and the ark is 'of the covenant' (berith). The verse says it twice: the waters were cut off before the ark. The stones are a 'memorial' (zikkaron) 'for ever' (olam), a lasting record of that.

Verse 9

twelve stones in the midst of Jordan — A second set of twelve, set 'in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood' (matstsab), distinct from the twelve carried to the lodging place (v.8) and pitched in Gilgal (v.20). 'Unto this day' marks them as still standing when this was written.

Verse 10

hasted — Mahar, to hurry. The priests stood in the Jordan 'until every thing was finished' (tamam, the verb behind 'clean passed over' in vv.1, 11) that the LORD told Joshua to speak. 'According to all that Moses commanded Joshua' recalls the charge Moses laid on him (Num 27:23).

Verse 12

passed over armed — Chamush, equipped for war. Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh keep the pledge, 'We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan' (Num 32:32), which Joshua had called to mind in Josh 1:14. Their number is given in v.13.

Verse 14

magnified Joshua — Gadal, to make great. It fulfils the LORD's word, 'This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel' (Josh 3:7). The people 'feared' (yare) him as they had feared Moses, honouring the leader the LORD had appointed.

Verse 18

returned unto their place — Shub, to turn back. The waters came back when the priests' soles were 'lifted up unto the dry land' (nathaq, plucked up), and 'flowed over all his banks' as before, the overflow described in Josh 3:15. The river stood as long as the ark stood in it.

Verse 19

the tenth day of the first month — The day on which each household was to take a lamb (Ex 12:3); the Passover followed at Gilgal on the fourteenth (Josh 5:10). Gilgal lay 'in the east border of Jericho' (mizrach, the sunrise side), and stones and camp were set there (v.20).

Verse 23

dried up — Yabesh, to dry up, used twice: the Jordan 'from before you' and the Red sea 'from before us'. The sea's Hebrew name is Yam Suph, sea of reeds. The LORD who 'made the sea dry land' (Ex 14:21) did the same here, and the speaker says 'us', joining the generations.

Verse 24

the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty — Yad (hand) and chazaq (strong). The purpose is twofold: 'all the people of the earth' are to know, and Israel is to 'fear' (yare) the LORD, the verb used of the people's fear of Joshua in v.14. Compare 1 Kings 8:43.