Joshua 4

Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan

1 When all the nation had finished passing ¹over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,

2 ²"Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,

3 and command them, saying, 'Take ³twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place ⁴where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in ⁵the place where you lodge tonight.'"

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe.

5 And Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel,

6 that this may be a sign among you. ⁶When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?'

7 then you shall tell them that ⁷the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel ⁸a memorial forever."

8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the LORD told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down^[a] there.

9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, ⁹in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.

10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people passed over in haste.

11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the LORD and the priests passed over before the people.

12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh ¹⁰passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them.

13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho.

14 On that day the LORD ¹¹exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.

15 And the LORD said to Joshua,

16 "Command the priests bearing ¹²the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan."

17 So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan."

18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, ¹³as before.

19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at ¹⁴Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

20 And ¹⁵those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.

21 And he said to the people of Israel, ¹⁶"When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?'

22 then you shall let your children know, ¹⁷'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.'

23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, ¹⁸which he dried up for us until we passed over,

24 ¹⁹so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is ²⁰mighty, that you may ²¹fear the LORD your God forever."^[b]

Joshua 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

Stones taken out of Jordan. (1-9) The people pass through Jordan. (10-19) The twelve stones placed in Gilgal. (20-24)

Verses 1-9 The works of the Lord are so worthy of rememberance, and the heart of man is so prone to forget them, that various methods are needful to refresh our memories, for the glory of God, our advantage, and that of our children. God gave orders for preparing this memorial.

Verses 10-19 The priests with the ark did not stir till ordered to move. Let none be weary of waiting, while they have the tokens of God's presence with them, even the ark of the covenant, though it be in the depths of adversity. Notice is taken of the honour put upon Joshua. Those are feared in the best manner, and to the best purpose, who make it appear that God is with them, and that they set him before them.

Verses 20-24 It is the duty of parents to tell their children betimes of the words and works of God, that they may be trained up in the way they should go. In all the instruction parents give their children, they should teach them to fear God. Serious godliness is the best learning. Are we not called, as much as the Israelites, to praise the loving-kindness of our God? Shall we not raise a pillar to our God, who has brought us through dangers and distresses in so wonderful a way? For hitherto the Lord hath helped us, as much as he did his saints of old. How great the stupidity and ingratitude of men, who perceive not His hand, and will not acknowledge his goodness, in their frequent deliverances!

Cross References

• 1. Joshua 3:17
• 2. Joshua 3:12
• 3. Deuteronomy 27:2; [1 Kings 18:31]
• 4. Joshua 3:13, 15
• 5. ver. 8, 19, 20
• 6. ver. 21; [Exodus 12:26; Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 6:20]
• 7. Joshua 3:16
• 8. Exodus 12:14; Numbers 16:40
• 9. ver. 3
• 10. Joshua 6:7, 9, 13; Numbers 32:20, 21, 27
• 11. See Joshua 3:7
• 12. Ex. 25:16, 21, 22
• 13. Joshua 3:15
• 14. Joshua 5:9
• 15. ver. 3, 9
• 16. ver. 6
• 17. Joshua 3:17
• 18. Joshua 2:10; Exodus 14:21
• 19. 1 Kings 8:42, 43
• 20. Deuteronomy 3:24; Psalms 89:13
• 21. Exodus 14:31; Deuteronomy 6:2

Footnotes

• [a]. Or to rest
• [b]. Or all the days

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 4

This chapter relates an order, that is men, should take twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, and carry them to the first place they lodged at as a memorial of their passage over it, Jos 4:1-8; and how Joshua set up twelve other stones in the river itself, Jos 4:9; and how many of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, went before the Israelites when they passed over, Jos 4:10-14; which being done, the priests were ordered to come out of Jordan, when the waters returned to their place, Jos 4:15-18; The time when this miracle was wrought is observed, Jos 4:19; and an account is given of Joshua's pitching the twelve stones taken out of Jordan in Gilgal, and the use they were to be of in future time, Jos 4:20-24.