Joshua 4

Joshua 4 continues the crossing narrative of Joshua 3, in which the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the priests bearing the ark of the covenant. This chapter focuses on the setting up of memorial stones to pass the account of that event on to later generations.

Outline

• Verses 1–8 The LORD has twelve men chosen, one from each tribe. They carry twelve stones from the place where the priests' feet stood and lay them down at the place where the people lodge. He commands that when their children later ask the meaning of the stones, they are to answer that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant.
• Verses 9–14 Joshua also sets up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan. The priests stand in the middle of the river until all the people have crossed. About forty thousand armed men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh cross ahead of the people and reach the plains of Jericho. On that day the LORD magnifies Joshua, and the people fear him as they had feared Moses.
• Verses 15–18 When the priests come up out of the river and the soles of their feet touch dry land, the waters of the Jordan return and overflow their banks.
• Verses 19–24 On the tenth day of the first month the people encamp at Gilgal, and Joshua sets up the twelve stones. He declares that the LORD's drying up of the Jordan was like His drying up of the Red Sea, and explains that this was done so that all the people might know the might of the LORD and fear Him forever.

Key Verses

• Joshua 4:6–7 The command to answer children who ask, "What mean ye by these stones?" It shows that memorials serve as a means of passing faith on to the next generation.
• Joshua 4:23 By setting the crossing of the Jordan alongside the crossing of the Red Sea, the verse joins the Exodus and the entry into Canaan as one continuous event.
• Joshua 4:24 Summarizes the purpose of the memorial: that the nations might know the power of the LORD and that Israel might fear Him.

People and Places

• Joshua: Moses' successor, whose leadership is established before the people in this chapter.
• Moses: Mentioned as the earlier leader who passed commands on to Joshua.
• Priests: They carried the ark of the covenant and remained standing in the middle of the river until the crossing was complete.
• Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: Although they had received land east of the Jordan, they crossed first, armed for battle, in keeping with their promise to Moses.
• Jordan River: The river Israel crossed on dry ground.
• Jericho: The city Israel faced after crossing the river; the people encamped on its eastern border.
• Gilgal: The first campsite, east of Jericho, where the twelve stones were set up.
• Red Sea: The sea crossed during the Exodus, which appears in verse 23 as a point of comparison.

Points for Reflection

Interpretations differ regarding the stones in verse 9. Many interpreters regard them as a second pile of stones set up in the middle of the river, separate from those at Gilgal, but some hold that the verse refers to the same stones. The phrase "they are there unto this day" is understood to refer to the time at which the book was written. Because the tenth day of the first month is, in Exodus, the day on which the Passover lamb was chosen, the chapter is sometimes read together with the Passover at Gilgal in Joshua 5. In Christian tradition the crossing of the Jordan has been read as a symbol of baptism, or of passing through death into the kingdom of God. This, however, is a later interpretation rather than something the text itself states.

In the Korean Church

The question "What mean ye by these stones?" is frequently used as a sermon text for the faith education of children, church anniversary services, and New Year's Eve watch-night services. In hymn lyrics, "crossing the Jordan" commonly serves as a figure for death and entry into heaven. In Sunday schools the chapter is taught alongside the crossing of the Red Sea as a story of God opening the way for His people.