Joshua 3:13

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand up in a heap."

Joshua 3:13 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 3:13

And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet
of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord
Which they were bid to take up and carry, ( Joshua 3:6 ) ;

the Lord of all the earth;
this shows that not the ark, but the Lord, is called "the Lord of all the earth", (See Gill on Joshua 3:11):

shall rest in the waters of Jordan;
the meaning is, as soon as their feet should touch them, or they should set their feet in them, when they came to the brink of them:

[that] the waters of Jordan shall be cut off [from] the waters that
come down from above;
from above the place where the priests came, and the children of Israel after passed over:

and they shall stand upon an heap;
or one heap; stop and rise up high, as if piled up one upon another, and stand unmoved. This had been made known to Joshua by divine revelation, and is what he hints at, ( Joshua 3:5 ) ; and now plainly speaks out, and foretells before it came to pass; and which must serve to magnify Joshua, as in ( Joshua 3:7 ) ; and give him great credit and honour among the people.

Joshua 3:13 In-Context

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into the Jordan.
12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand up in a heap."
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to pass over the Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
15 and as those who bore the ark had come unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the water (for the Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest),
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.