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Joshua 3:9-17

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9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God."
10 And Joshua said, "Here is how you shall know that 1the living God is among you and that he will without fail 2drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of 3the Lord of all the earth[a]4 is passing over before you into the Jordan.
12 Now therefore 5take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, 6from each tribe a man.
13 And 7when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, 8the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall 9stand in one heap."
14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing 10the ark of the covenant before the people,
15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and 11the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now 12the Jordan overflows all its banks 13throughout the time of harvest),
16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside 14Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of 15the Arabah, 16the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.
17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, 17and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
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Joshua 3:9-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 3

Joshua removed from Shittim to Jordan, where he stayed three days, Jos 3:1,2; the people are directed to move when they saw the ark bore by the priests, and what distance they should keep from it, Jos 3:3,4; are bid to sanctify themselves against the morrow, when wonders would be wrought, Jos 3:5; and the priests are ordered to take up the ark, Jos 3:6; Joshua is encouraged by the Lord, and instructed to command the priests when they come to Jordan to stand still in it, Jos 3:7,8; and he declares to all the people, as a token that God would drive the Canaanites from before them, that as soon as the feet of the priests bearing the ark should rest in the waters of Jordan, they should be parted, and make way for them to pass through, Jos 3:9-13; which accordingly came to pass, so that all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, Jos 3:14-17.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 17

  • 1. Deuteronomy 5:26; 1 Samuel 17:26
  • 2. Exodus 33:2; Deuteronomy 7:1; Psalms 44:2; [Exodus 13:5]
  • 3. Micah 4:13; Zechariah 4:14; Zechariah 6:5
  • 4. [Deuteronomy 9:3]
  • 5. Joshua 4:2, 4
  • 6. [Numbers 13:2]
  • 7. ver. 15, 16
  • 8. [See ver. 11 above]
  • 9. Psalms 114:3; [Exodus 15:8; Psalms 78:13]
  • 10. Acts 7:44, 45
  • 11. ver. 13
  • 12. 1 Chronicles 12:15; Jeremiah 12:5; Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:44
  • 13. [Joshua 4:18; Joshua 5:10, 12]
  • 14. 1 Kings 4:12; 1 Kings 7:46
  • 15. See Deuteronomy 1:1
  • 16. Genesis 14:3; Numbers 34:3
  • 17. Joshua 4:22; [Exodus 14:29]

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Hebrew the ark of the covenant, the Lord of all the earth
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.