Table of Contents
Joshua 4
Joshua 4
1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14 On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 2
<html><b>Twelve men.</b> These were the men mentioned previously,1<i class=“footnote”>See Rashi 3:12.</i> who were told to be prepared.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>And cross them over with you.</b> To fulfil the command of Moshe to build with them an Altar on Mt. Eivel, and to write upon them the words of Torah. On that same day they came to Mt. Eivel and built with them the Altar. They offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and they ate and drank. They then scraped the stones, and came and lodged in Gilgal.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>Pass before the Ark.</b> Enter into the Jordan now and cross over until you are in front of the <i>Kohanim.</i></html>
Verse 7
<html><b>And these stones will be</b> in Gilgal as a commemoration of this.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>Twelve stones.</b> These were different stones2<i class=“footnote”>Obviously these were not the stones mentioned in the previous verse.</i> that Yehoshua set up in the midst of the Jordan.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>Until the the completion of everything.</b> This is as we learn in <i>Masches Sotah,</i> 34a: While they were standing in the Jordan, Yehoshua said to them, “You must know the purpose for which you are crossing the Jordan. It is on the condition that you drive away all the inhabitants of the land.”</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>And it was when all the people had finished crossing and the Ark crossed.</b> The Ark did not cross as the others did, but in the manner explained below:3<i class=“footnote”>Verse 18.</i> ‘The soles of the feet of the <i>Kohanim</i> were lifted and they were moved back to the dry land, on the bank from which they initially entered. They were standing next to it and the waters were returned to their course to flow as they did before. The result of all this was that the Ark and its bearers were on this side and all the Bnei Yisroel were on the other (lit. this) side. The Ark then lifted its bearers and crossed over.’ <b>In the people’s presence.</b> Before the eyes of the people.</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>Command the <i>Kohanim.</i></b> Here is where Scripture explains what was mentioned before4<i class=“footnote”>Verse 11.</i> how the Ark of Adonoy and the <i>Kohanim</i> crossed in the people’s presence. <b>Have them come up out of the Jordan.</b> It is not written, ‘have them cross’ but rather ‘have them come up.’ From this we learn that from the bank upon which they were standing did they come up. And it is impossible to claim that they were standing beside the western bank of the Jordan, for it is said previously, ‘that the feet of the <i>Kohanim</i> were immersed in the edge of the water.’5<i class=“footnote”>Chapter 3:15.</i> And there it is said, ‘And the <i>Kohanim</i> remained standing— and all the Bnei Yisroel crossed over.’6<i class=“footnote”>Ibid 16. Obviously since the Bnei Yisroel crossed the Jordan from East to West, and the <i>Kohanim</i> remained standing at the point of entrance, they were on the Eastern bank of the Jordan.</i></html>
Verse 18
<html><b>The soles of the feet of the <i>Kohanim</i> were lifted.</b> [They were lifted] from the water to the dry land next to them, and the water returned to their place. The result of this was that the Ark was on this [eastern] side and the Bnei Yisroel were on this [the western] side. Thus the Ark lifted its carriers and crossed over. It was regarding this that Uzzah was punished ‘when he took hold of the Ark,’7<i class=“footnote”>II Shmuel, VI: 6,7.</i> for if the Ark carried its carriers, it certainly was able to carry itself.8<i class=“footnote”>Thus by taking hold of the Ark, Uzzah manifested his fear that the Ark was going to fall off the wagon.</i></html>
Verse 20
<html><b>Yehoshua set up in Gilgal.</b> This was the lodging place where they spent that night.</html>