Bible Strands
Joshua 4:18
When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course and overflowed all the banks as before.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua 4:17-19 frames the moment as the immediate aftermath of Joshua’s command for the priests to exit the Jordan. The narrative records the precise sequence of the priests emerging, the waters reclaiming their course, and the Israelites crossing to Gilgal.
The words — The Hebrew כַּ/עֲל֨וֹת (ka./'a.lot) translates literally as "just as" or "when" they came up, marking the exact trigger for the water's movement. נֹשְׂאֵ֨י (no.se.'Ei) means "bearers" or "carriers," specifying the priests who physically transported the ark.
The thread — The motif of waters flowing back upon command appears in Exodus 14:26 when Moses stretches out his hand over the sea. Joshua 3:15 and 3:13 establish the prior pattern of the Jordan overflowing during harvest and the priests' feet touching the water.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of the direct correlation between the priests' physical departure and the river's restoration. It requires the reader to track the sequence of obedience and divine action without adding external theological commentary.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Joshua 3:15 Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,
- Exodus 14:26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”
- Joshua 3:13 When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.”
- 1 Chronicles 12:15 These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.
- Isaiah 8:8 It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!