Crossing of the Jordan

Biblical Account

The crossing of the Jordan is the event in which the Israelites, led by Joshua, crossed the Jordan River and entered Canaan. It is recorded in Joshua 3–4. The priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant went first, and the people followed at a distance of about two thousand cubits (Joshua 3:4). A cubit is the length from the elbow to the fingertips. Because it was the time of harvest, the river was overflowing its banks. Yet when the priests' feet touched the water, the waters flowing down from upstream stopped and rose up in a heap far away, at the city of Adam beside Zaretan. The people crossed over on dry ground opposite Jericho (Joshua 3:15-17).

Twelve men, one chosen from each tribe, took twelve stones from the middle of the river and set them up at Gilgal (Joshua 4:1-8, 4:20). The text presents these stones as a memorial that would make known the works of God when later generations asked what they meant (Joshua 4:21-24). The people crossed on the tenth day of the first month (Joshua 4:19). Afterward, at Gilgal, the people were circumcised and kept the Passover, after which the manna ceased (Joshua 5).

Background

The text places this event alongside the crossing of the Red Sea (Joshua 4:23). It is also the scene in which God fulfills His promise, given after the death of Moses, to magnify Joshua as He had magnified Moses (Joshua 3:7; 4:14). Scholars differ on the location of the city of Adam and on the date of the event, so firm conclusions are difficult.

Significance in the Whole Bible

• Psalm 114:3, 5 celebrates this event together with the Red Sea crossing, declaring that "Jordan was driven back."
• Elijah and Elisha likewise struck the waters of the Jordan with a mantle, parting them and crossing over (2 Kings 2:8, 2:14).
• Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17). Some interpreters connect this with Israel's crossing of the Jordan.
• Hebrews 4:8 states that the rest Joshua gave was not the final rest. In the Greek Bible, the names Joshua and Jesus are written with the same word.

Interpretations and Issues

• As a picture of death and heaven: Christian literature and hymnody have often likened the Jordan River to death and Canaan to heaven. A well-known example is the scene in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress in which the pilgrim crosses the river to enter the Celestial City.
• As a picture of the Christian life: Noting that warfare continued even after Israel entered Canaan, some interpreters read Canaan not as heaven but as a victorious life of faith on earth. Some within Wesleyan theology and the Holiness tradition have reportedly likened it to the experience of entire sanctification.
• Questions of historicity: Some scholars connect the event to natural phenomena, citing modern records of riverbanks collapsing upstream and damming the river. The text, however, emphasizes as the work of God that the waters stopped at the very moment the priests' feet touched the water.
• Distinguishing the text from later interpretation: Sermons often emphasize "the decision of faith to step into the water first." The focus of the text, however, is that "the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth" goes before the people (Joshua 3:11). Some interpreters attach spiritual meaning to the two thousand cubits, but the reason the text itself gives is that the people might know the way they must go, "for ye have not passed this way heretofore" (Joshua 3:4).

In the Korean Church

In Korea, the phrase "to cross the Jordan River" is used in everyday speech as a euphemism for death. It also frequently appears in songs expressing the hope of heaven, as in the hymn lyric "We shall meet across the Jordan." The account is also commonly used as a sermon text at the New Year or before a new beginning in the life of a church.