Joshua 4:4-14

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 1when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?'
7 then you shall say to them, 'Because the 2waters 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 3memorial 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 4the lodging place and put them down there.
9 Then Joshua set up twelve * 5stones 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.
12 6The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe * of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them;
13 about 40,000 * equipped for war, crossed for battle before the LORD to the desert plains of Jericho.
14 7On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.

Joshua 4:4-14 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.

Cross References 7

  • 1. Exodus 12:26; Exodus 13:14; Joshua 4:21
  • 2. Joshua 3:13
  • 3. Exodus 12:14; Numbers 16:40
  • 4. Joshua 4:20
  • 5. Genesis 28:18; Joshua 24:26; 1 Samuel 7:12
  • 6. Numbers 32:17
  • 7. Joshua 3:7

Footnotes 5

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