Joshua 4 Study Notes

4:12 On these tribes, see note at 1:12-18.

4:13 The troops that crossed entered enemy territory, but they also had established a foothold in the promised land when they arrived west of the Jordan River. This forty thousand represented the best portion of the Transjordanian fighting force that crossed with their kinsmen. According to Nm 26:7,18,34 the total of these two and a half tribes would have been over a hundred thousand (see note at Nm 1:44-46). Perhaps the rest were protecting their land and families.

4:14 That the Lord exalted Joshua indicates the fulfillment of 3:8. The connection with Moses is reaffirmed.

4:15-17 The time of the exit from the Jordan River, like the time of the entrance into the river, is determined by God.

4:18 The priests’ ascent from the riverbed brings the miracle to an end. They reversed the procedure by which the parting of the waters began in 3:13-16.

4:19 The tenth day of the first month was the day that preparations for the Passover were to be made (Ex 12:2-3). This signals the celebration of Jos 5. Gilgal, meaning “circle,” could describe any of a variety of sites.

4:20-23 The purpose of the twelve stones is found in the questions that the children would ask. The question and the instruction of the next generation about the divine miracles resembles Dt 6:6-9. Questions asked by sons about the significance of the Passover and the exodus are found in the Jewish Passover Seder or liturgy. Their mention here connects this Passover with the events of the crossing of the Jordan just as the earlier Passover remembered the crossing of the Red Sea.

4:24 The purpose of this miracle is to declare God’s might to all the peoples of the earth and to encourage Israel to always fear the Lord. Faith and commitment to God is the goal, just as with the miracles of Jesus (Jn 20:30-31).