Joshua 4:1-11

Memorial Stones from Jordan

1 Now when all the nation had finished crossing the ¹Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

2 "²Take for yourselves twelve * men from the people, one man from each * tribe,

3 and command them, saying, 'Take up for yourselves twelve * stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in ³the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.' "

4 So Joshua called the twelve * men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each * tribe;

5 and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel.

6 "Let this be a sign among you, so that ⁴when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?'

7 then you shall say to them, 'Because the ⁵waters of the Jordan were cut off before * the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.' So these stones shall become a ⁶memorial to the sons of Israel forever *."

8 Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve * stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to ⁷the lodging place and put them down there.

9 Then Joshua set up twelve * ⁸stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place * where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.

10 For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed;

11 and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed before the people.

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Joshua 4:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 8

1. Deuteronomy 27:2; Joshua 3:17
2. Joshua 3:12
3. Joshua 4:20
4. Exodus 12:26; Exodus 13:14; Joshua 4:21
5. Joshua 3:13
6. Exodus 12:14; Numbers 16:40
7. Joshua 4:20
8. Genesis 28:18; Joshua 24:26; 1 Samuel 7:12

Footnotes 3

[a]. Lit "Cross before the ark"
[b]. Lit "That this may be"
[c]. Lit "tomorrow"