Bible Strands
Joshua 4:16
“Command the priests who carry the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks to Joshua at the Jordan River after the waters have parted and the nation has crossed. The directive instructs Joshua to tell the priests carrying the ark to exit the riverbed.
The words — צַוֵּה (tza.Veh) translates literally as "command," and וְ/יַעֲל֖וּ (ve./ya.'a.Lu) means "so they may come up." These verbs establish the sequence of withdrawal that follows the crossing.
The thread — The ark of the Testimony is first identified in Exodus 25:16 as the vessel holding God's law and later appears in Revelation 11:19 as a heavenly manifestation. Joshua 3:3 also records the Levitical priests carrying this same ark during the initial river crossing.
Why it lands — The text requires Joshua to execute a precise divine instruction before the memorial stones are set. It asks readers to observe that obedience to the commanded timing is the necessary precondition for the subsequent commemorative act.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
Cross-references
- Exodus 25:16 And place inside the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
- Joshua 3:3 and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
- Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.