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Texts -- Joshua 4:1-22 (NET)

Context
Israel Commemorates the Crossing
4:1 When the entire nation was on the other side , the Lord told Joshua , 4:2 “Select for yourselves twelve men from the people , one per tribe . 4:3 Instruct them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan , from the very place where the priests stand firmly, and carry them over with you and put them in the place where you camp tonight .’” 4:4 Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites , one per tribe . 4:5 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 will be a reminder to you. When your children ask someday , ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ 4:7 tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing before the ark of the covenant of the Lord . When it crossed the Jordan , the water of the Jordan stopped flowing . 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 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 . 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 marched past the Lord to fight on the plains of Jericho . 4:14 That day the Lord brought honor to Joshua before all Israel . They respected him all his life , just as they had respected Moses . 4:15 The Lord told Joshua , 4:16 “Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenantal laws 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 , the water of the Jordan flowed again and returned to flood stage . 4:19 The people went up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped in Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho . 4:20 Now Joshua set up in Gilgal the 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?’ 4:22 explain to your children , ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground .’

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Jordan

    [smith] (the descender), the one river of Palestine, has a course of little more than 200 miles, from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the head of the Dead Sea. (136 miles in a straight line. --Schaff.) It is the river of the "great plai...
    [nave] JORDAN A river in Palestine. Empties into the Dead Sea, Josh. 15:5. Fords of, Gen. 32:10; Josh. 2:7; Judg. 3:28; 7:24; 8:4; 10:9; 12:5, 6; 2 Sam. 2:29; 17:22, 24; 19:15, 31; 1 Chr. 19:17. Swelling of, at harvest time, Josh...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Instruction

    [nave] INSTRUCTION From nature, Prov. 24:30-34; Eccl. 1:13-18; 3; 4:1; Matt. 6:25-30. See: Parables. From the study of human nature, Eccl. 3-12. By Object Lessons: The pot of maa, Ex. 16:32. The pillar of twelve stones at the f...

  • Stones

    [smith] Besides the ordinary uses to which stones were applied, we may mention that large stones were set up to commemorate any remarkable event. (Genesis 28:18; 35:14; 31:45; Joshua 4:9; 1 Samuel 7:12) Such stones were occasional...
    [nave] STONES Commandments engraved upon, Ex. 24:12; 31:18; 34:1-4; Deut. 4:13; 5:22; 9:9-11; 10:1-3. The law of Moses written upon, Josh. 8:32. Houses built of, Isa. 9:10; Amos 5:11. Temple built of, 1 Kin. 5:17, 18; 7:9-12; Ma...

  • SIGN

    [isbe] SIGN - sin ('oth "a sign" "mark" mopheth, "wonder"' semeion, "a sign," "signal," "mark"): A mark by which persons or things are distinguished and made known. In Scripture used generally of an address to the senses to attest ...

  • Pillar

    [nave] PILLAR Of Solomon's temple, 1 Kin. 7:13-22; 2 Kin. 25:17. Broken and carried to Babylon, 2 Kin. 25:13; Jer. 52:17, 20, 21. Of Solomon's palaces, 1 Kin. 7:6. Used to mark roads, Jer. 31:21. Pillar of salt, Lot's wife turn...

  • Stone

    [ebd] Stones were commonly used for buildings, also as memorials of important events (Gen. 28:18; Josh. 24:26, 27; 1 Sam. 7:12, etc.). They were gathered out of cultivated fields (Isa. 5:2; comp. 2 Kings 3:19). This word is also u...

  • Gilgal

    [ebd] rolling. (1.) From the solemn transaction of the reading of the law in the valley of Shechem between Ebal and Gerizim the Israelites moved forward to Gilgal, and there made a permanent camp (Josh. 9:6; 10:6). It was "beside ...
    [isbe] GILGAL - gil'-gal (gilgal, "circle"; Galgala): The article is always with the name except in Josh 5:9. There are three places to which the name is attached: (1) The first camp of Israel after crossing the Jordan (Josh 4:19; ...
    [smith] (a wheel; rolling). The site of the first camp of the Israelites on the west of the Jordan, the place at which they passed the first night after crossing the river, and where the twelve stones were set up which had been take...
    [nave] GILGAL 1. Place of the first encampment of the Israelites W. of the Jordan, Josh. 4:19; 9:6; 10:6, 43; 14:6. Monument erected in, to commemorate the passage of the Jordan by the children of Israel, Josh. 4:19-24. Circumcis...

  • Token

    [nave] TOKEN A sign, Ex. 3:12. Sun and moon for time and seasons, Gen. 1:14. The mark of Cain, Gen. 4:15. Rainbow, that the world might no more be destroyed by a flood, Gen. 9:12-17. Circumcision, of the covenant of Abraham, Ge...

  • Ark

    [ebd] Noah's ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side and a window in the roof....
    [nave] ARK 1. Noah's. Directions for building of, Gen. 6:14-16. Noah and family preserved in, Gen. 6:18; 7:8; Matt. 24:38; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20. Animals saved in, Gen. 6:19, 20; 7:1-16. 2. Of Bulrushes, Ex. 2:3. 3. In the Tab...

  • IMAGES

    [isbe] IMAGES - im'-aj-iz (tselem; eikon): 1. Definition 2. Origin 3. Historical Beginnings and Early Developments 4. Bible References and Palestinian Customs 5. Most Important Technical Terms (1) Matstsebhah ("pillar") (2) 'Ashera...

  • Tabernacle

    [ebd] (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., "Siccuth"). (3.) The human body (2 Cor. 5:1, 4); a tent, as opposed ...
    [smith] The tabernacle was the tent of Jehovah, called by the same name as the tents of the people in the midst of which it stood. It was also called the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the congregation. The first ordinance given to ...
    [nave] TABERNACLE One existed before Moses received the pattern authorized on Mount Sinai, Ex. 33:7-11. The one instituted by Moses was called Sanctuary, Ex. 25:8; Tabernacle, Ex. 27:21; 33:7; 2 Chr. 5:5; of Testimony, Ex. 38:21; ...

  • Priest

    [nave] PRIEST. Before Moses Melchizedek, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6, 10, 11; 6:20; 7:1-21. Jethro, Ex. 2:16. Priests in Israel before the giving of the law, Ex. 19:22, 24. Called angel, Eccl. 5:6. Mosaic Ex. 28:1-4; 29:9, 44; Num....

  • Miracles

    [nave] MIRACLES. Index of Sub-topics Catalog of, and Supernatural Events, Of Jesus, in Chronological Order, Of the Disciples of Jesus; Convincing Effect of; Design of; Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Miscellany of Minor Sub-...

  • Shechem

    [ebd] shoulder. (1.) The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19; 34). (2.) A descendant of Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2). (3.) A city in Samaria (Gen. 33:18), called also Sichem (12:6), Sychem (Acts 7:16). It stood in the narrow ...

  • NUMBER

    [isbe] NUMBER - num'-ber: I. NUMBER AND ARITHMETIC II. NOTATION OF NUMBERS 1. By Words 2. By Signs 3. By Letters III. NUMBERS IN OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY IV. ROUND NUMBERS V. SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS 1. Seven and Its Multiples (1) Ritual U...

  • ARK OF THE COVENANT

    [isbe] ARK OF THE COVENANT - kuv'-e-nant ('aron ha-berith): I. The Statements of the Old Testament Concerning the Ark of the Covenant. 1. Pentateuch: In Ex 25:10 ff, Moses receives the command to build an ark of acacia wood. Within...

  • Manasseh

    [nave] MANASSEH 1. Son of Joseph and Asenath, Gen. 41:50, 51; 46:20; adopted by Jacob on his deathbed, Gen. 48:1, 5-20. Called Manasses, Rev. 7:6. 2. Tribe of. Descendants of Joseph. The two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, ...

  • INN

    [isbe] INN - (malon; pandocheion, kataluma): 1. Earliest Night Resting-Places: The Hebrew word malon means literally, a "night resting-place," and might be applied to any spot where caravans (Gen 42:27; 43:21 the King James Version...

  • Palestine

    [ebd] originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan inhabited by the Philistines (Ex. 15:14; Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4), and in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered "Philistia" in Ps. 60:8; 83:7;...
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Arts

Questions

  • The Ark of the Covenant was definitely real and was a part of the tabernacle, being placed in the Holy of Holies behind the curtain. I will include articles below from three Bible Dictionaries that will give you some informat...

Sermon Illustrations

Qualities Needed in Parenting; Deuteronomy 6; Leo Tolstoy

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Another instance of incomplete obedience followed the great victory God gave His people and the military commanders' sacrificial, voluntary worship of Yahweh.32:1-19 Maybe the leaders of Reuben and Gad concluded that their br...
  • The Book of Joshua evidently came into being several years after the events recorded in the book took place. A number of statements point to a time of composition beyond the conquest and perhaps beyond the lifetime of Joshua....
  • As I have explained previously, the date of the Exodus was about 1446 B.C. (cf. 1 Kings 6:1).7Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33-34). Thus Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land abo...
  • I. The conquest of the land chs. 1-12A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-21. God's charge to Joshua 1:1-92. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-183. The spying out of Jericho ch. 2B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:121. Passag...
  • In one sense verses 1-9 are a preamble to the whole book. They contain the basic principles that were to guide Joshua and Israel so they could obtain all that God had promised their forefathers.1:1 The first word of the book ...
  • Having received his marching orders from Yahweh, Joshua prepared to mobilize the nation.1:10-11 Joshua expected to be able to cross the Jordan within three days."The Jordan River wanders about two hundred miles to cover the s...
  • The entrance into the land was an extremely important event in the life of Israel. The writer marked it off in three major movements. Each one begins with a command of God to Joshua (3:7-8; 4:1-3; and 4:15-16) followed by the...
  • 3:1-6 Joshua may have moved the nation from Shittim to the Jordan's edge at approximately the same time he sent the spies on their mission (cf. vv. 1-2 and 1:11; 2:22). However the sequence of events was probably as it appear...
  • The main point in the story of the crossing recorded in this chapter is the removal of the stones from the river bed. They served as a memorial of this event for generations to come (vv. 6-7).524:1-14 The piling up of stones ...
  • 5:13-15 "Despite Joshua's long military experience he had never led an attack on a fortified city that was prepared for a long siege. In fact, of all the walled cities in Palestine, Jericho was probably the most invincible. T...
  • The writer identified 31 kings in the order in which Joshua defeated them."Many of the same names appear in the Amarna letters, thus confirming the historicity of our text."158"The description was not complete. Shechem is not...
  • This portion of the Promised Land went to the two and one-half tribes that had requested it previously (Num. 32).13:8-14 This pericope of verses records the boundaries of Israel's whole transjordanian territory. The peoples t...
  • The main part of the second half of the Book of Joshua dealing with the division of the land ends with the appointment of the Levitical cities (chs. 13-21). The rest of the book deals with settlement in the land (chs. 22-24)....
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. "The Province-List of Judah."Vetus Testamentum9 (1959):225-46.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwel...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • Mizpah (lit. watchtower, signifying an elevated site) was about two miles northwest of Samuel's hometown, Ramah, on the central Benjamin plateau. Pouring out water symbolized the people's feeling of total inability to make an...
  • Admirably Saul sought no personal revenge on those who initially had failed to support him (10:27; cf. Judg. 20:13; Luke 19:27). Furthermore he gave God the glory for his victory (cf. Jon. 2:9; Ps. 20:7; Prov. 21:31). He was ...
  • "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
  • Ahab had a problem of perception similar to Obadiah's (v. 17; cf. v. 7). The real source of Israel's troubles was Ahab and Omri's disregard of the Mosaic Covenant and their preference for idolatry (Deut. 6:5)."This was a crim...
  • 4:4 Ironically the Lord told these sinful Israelites to go to Bethel but to transgress, not to worship. Such a call parodied the summons of Israel's priests to come to the sanctuary to worship (cf. Ps. 95:6; 96:8-9; 100:2-4)....
  • 6:1-2 Micah called his audience to hear what Yahweh had told him to say. Yahweh had a case (lawsuit, Heb. rib) to bring against His people. The Lord was summoning Israel to defend herself in a courtroom setting. He addressed ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Joshua 3:5-17The arrangement of the narrative of the passage of Jordan, which occupies Joshua 3. and Joshua 4., is remarkable, and has led to suggestions of interpolation and blending of two accounts, which are quite unnecess...
  • Joshua 4:10-24This chapter is divided into two sections. The first (from Joshua 4:5, 6 of the chapter belong to the section which deals with the preparation. General instructions had been already issued that the host was to f...
  • The first picture here brought before us is that of the motionless ark in the midst of what had been Jordan. There is an obvious intention to contrast the stillness of the priests, bearing it on their shoulders, and standing ...
  • The triple division appears again. First God commands Joshua, who then transmits the command to the people, who, in turn, then obey. And thus at each stage the divine causality, Joshua's delegated but absolute authority, and ...
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