Discovery BoxJoshua 4:1 
Context4:1 When the entire nation was on the other side, 1 the Lord told Joshua,
Joshua 4:5-24
Context4:5 Joshua told them, “Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes. 4:6 The stones 2 will be a reminder to you. 3 When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ 4:7 tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing 4 before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. 5 These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.”
4:8 The Israelites did just as Joshua commanded. They picked up twelve stones, according to the number of the Israelite tribes, from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried them over with them to the camp and put them there. 4:9 Joshua also set up twelve stones 6 in the middle of the Jordan in the very place where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this very day.
4:10 Now the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people was accomplished, in accordance with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people went across quickly, 4:11 and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed as the people looked on. 7 4:12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed for battle ahead of the Israelites, just as Moses had instructed them. 4:13 About forty thousand battle-ready troops 8 marched past the Lord to fight 9 on the plains of Jericho. 10 4:14 That day the Lord brought honor to Joshua before all Israel. They respected 11 him all his life, 12 just as they had respected 13 Moses.
4:15 The Lord told Joshua, 4:16 “Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenantal laws 14 to come up from the Jordan.” 4:17 So Joshua instructed the priests, “Come up from the Jordan!” 4:18 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, and as soon as they set foot on dry land, 15 the water of the Jordan flowed again and returned to flood stage. 16
4:19 The people went up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month 17 and camped in Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 18 4:20 Now Joshua set up in Gilgal the 19 twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. 4:21 He told the Israelites, “When your children someday ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones represent?’ 20 4:22 explain 21 to your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River 22 on dry ground.’ 4:23 For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you while you crossed over. It was just like when the Lord your God dried up the Red Sea before us while we crossed it. 23 4:24 He has done this so 24 all the nations 25 of the earth might recognize the Lord’s power 26 and so you might always obey 27 the Lord your God.”
1 tn Heb “And when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
2 tn Heb “that this may be”; the referent of “this” (the twelve stones) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “in order that this might be a sign among you.”
4 tn Heb “were cut off from before.”
5 tn Heb “how the waters descending from above stood still.”
6 tn Here “also” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear (as indicated by v. 20) that these are not the same stones the men took from the river bed.
7 tn Heb “in the presence of the people.”
8 tn Heb “men equipped for battle.”
9 tn Heb “for war.”
10 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
11 tn Heb “feared.”
12 tn Heb “all the days of his life.”
13 tn Heb “had feared.”
14 tn Traditionally, “the ark of the testimony,” another name for the ark of the covenant. The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut, “testimony” or “witness”) here refers to the Mosaic covenant and the body of stipulations contained within it (see HALOT 2:791).
15 tn Heb “and the soles of the feet of the priests were brought up to the dry land.”
16 tn Heb “and the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went as formerly over their banks.”
sn Verses 15-18 give a more detailed account of the priests’ crossing that had been briefly described in v. 11.
17 sn The first month was the month Abib (= late March-early April in the modern calendar). The Passover in Egypt also occurred on the tenth day of the first month (Exod 12:2; 13:4).
18 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
19 tn Heb “these,” referring specifically to the twelve stones mentioned in vv. 3-7.
20 tn Heb “What are these stones?”
21 tn Heb “make known.”
22 tn Heb “crossed this Jordan”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
23 tn Heb “just as the
24 tn Heb “in order that.”
25 tn Or “peoples.”
26 tn Heb “know the hand of the
27 tn Heb “fear.”
