Bible Strands
Joshua 4:3
and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua addresses the twelve tribal representatives he has just appointed, issuing instructions while the Israelite camp is temporarily positioned at the Jordan crossing site.
The words — The directive employs צַוּוּ (tsavvu, “command”) and שְׂאוּ (se'u, “take up”) to order the men to remove stones from the riverbed where the priests were standing.
The thread — The text specifies the stones must be drawn from the exact location where the priests stood, a detail that aligns with the priestly positioning in Joshua 3:13 and the subsequent fulfillment in Joshua 4:8.
Why it lands — The passage requires the people to physically transport markers from the middle of the Jordan to their immediate nighttime campsite, creating a localized record of the crossing.
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 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.
Cross-references
- Joshua 4:19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
- 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.”
- Joshua 4:8 Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down.
- Genesis 28:22 And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
- Deuteronomy 27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all the commandments I am giving you today.
- Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”
- 1 Samuel 7:12 Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
- Psalms 11:4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.
- Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—
- Luke 19:40 “I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”