Chapter 4
Memorial Stones
4:1 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
After everyone was in the Promised Land, God told Joshua to take twelve men, one from each tribe and command them to remove twelve stones from the Jordan near where the priests were standing and bring them with them to where they will be lodging that night. Verse two should sound familiar since it was first seen as verse twelve in the previous chapter likely by error, this now is the verse’s correct location.
4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” 8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the LORD told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there.
Joshua does as God instructed and twelve men, one from each tribe, picked up a stone and took it with them to where they stayed that night. Joshua tells the men that “this may be a sign among you” something that will remind them of that day. He further explains that when their children ask at some point in the future, what do these stones mean to them, they can tell them how the Jordan River stopped flowing when the ark of the covenant touched the water allowing everyone to cross the river on this day. He adds that these stones are to be a memorial for the people of Israel.
4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.
This verse is the source of much consternation among theologians as there is no article on the word ‘stones’. The main issue centers around the question, “Are these the same twelve stones the men picked up or a different set?” The Septuagint reads, “Now Iesous also set up another twelve stones in the Jordan itself, in the place that was under the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and they are there until this very day.” (Joshua 4:9, NETS,[1] Iesous = Joshua) Note that it refers to ‘another’ twelve stones (as also found in CSB, NLT, and TLV). This second set was placed where the feet of the priests stood holding the ark. We are told that they were still there at the time this book was written.
4:10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people passed over in haste.
The priests stood in the river bed holding onto the ark the entire time. We are informed that the people passed in haste, which considering the number of people (in the last census recorded the number of men twenty years old and older to be 601,730 making the total number of the Israelites estimated to being over two million, see Numbers 26:51), this crossing could have taken most of the day, so moving quickly makes sense, especially if you were one of the priests! We are also told that everything was done as commanded by God to Joshua, but we are also told that it was done according to all that Moses commanded Joshua (reminding us that Joshua’s ministry was in a sense subservient to Moses). It is interesting to note that there is nothing in Scripture that records Moses giving Joshua specific instructions for crossing the Jordan River (some commentators reference Deuteronomy 31:7, but that verse is more generic than specific).
4:11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the LORD and the priests passed over before the people.
Once everyone had crossed the river, the priests carrying the ark proceeded to cross over while the people watched. They apparently stop at the river’s edge (see verse fifteen), some believe the chronology is incorrect that this verse either belongs after verse sixteen or that verses 15-18 belong here.
4:12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
The men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the procession as Moses instructed them to do (see Numbers 32:20-27). We are told that approximately 40,000 of them had crossed over before God, ready for battle into the plains of Jericho. Moses granted their request to occupy the land east of the Jordan with the stipulation that their men of war be the front line in battle. Here they led the way perhaps thinking they would encounter resistance entering the land or persuade any enemy to think twice before advancing against them.
4:14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
Similar to when Moses was finally accepted as Israel’s leader after the Red Sea crossing and the subsequent annihilation of the Egyptian army (see Exodus 14:31), Joshua is now recognized as God’s chosen leader by the people.
4:15 And the LORD said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before.
Likely still on Jordan’s banks, the priests carrying the ark are ordered by God to come out and away from the river. Joshua relays the message to the priests, and as they reached dry ground, the Jordan River water began to flow again, which proceeded to overflow the banks just as it did before their arrival.
4:19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
The Israelites left the Jordan River area and encamped at Gilgal, typically considered a location, although the exact location is unknown. Archaeologists believe since the word in Hebrew (found 40 times in the Old Testament) can mean “circle of stones,” that it may refer to some type of structure pointing out that the word is often used in conjunction with additional descriptors such as “opposite Gilgal, beside the oak of Moreh” (see Deuteronomy 11:30) or as it is used here “at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.” However, in the next chapter we will read about God telling Joshua that on that day He, “rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (see Joshua 5:9), and that the word Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew word for roll, to roll, or rolling, that the name relates to what God said (see commentary for Joshua 5:8-9).
4:20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
Returning to the subject of the twelve stones that were removed from the Jordan River by the men of the twelve tribes, we are told that they were “set up” (Hebrew hē·qîm’, to arise, to stand, to stand up) by Joshua at Gilgal. He told the people that these stones would serve as a reminder (and as a tool to help them teach their children) for them to know that God was with them that day as they entered the Promised Land. He adds that this supernatural event will also demonstrate to the peoples of the earth that God is mighty and that they (the Israelites) may fear God, their God forever.
Considerations
In the Midst
In this chapter we read the words “In the midst of the Jordan” several times. The Hebrew word ‘ṯôḵ’ does mean being in the middle, but it is not a precise word, it is often translated ‘among’. In this application it can mean somewhere in between the two river banks. Some believe that the ark was walked around on both sides (north and south) by some distance (see Joshua 3:4), which if viewed from above would look like the ark was in the middle.
The Tenth Day of the Year
The tenth day of the first month is also the day that “every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household” (Exodus 12:3b, ESV) The time for Passover was only four days away. When God instituted the first Passover He also rearranged the calendar, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:2, ESV) The first month (Tishri) became the seventh month and the seventh month (Abib, later known as Nisan) became the first month. God is always precise in His timing, entering the Promised Land to begin a new start at the beginning of a new year.
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[1] Pietersma, A., & Wright, B. G., eds. (2007). Iesous. In L. J. Greenspoon (Trans.), A New English Translation of the Septuagint (Primary Texts) (Jos 4:9). Oxford University Press.