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Joshua 3:13

in Joshua 3

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.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap.

KJV

And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

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This verse in Joshua 3

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Cut off - The waters which now are united now shall be divided, and part shall flow down the channel towards the dead sea, and the other part that is nearer the spring of the river, and flows down from it, shall stand still. An heap - Being as it were congealed, as the Red-Sea was, Exod. xv, 8, and so kept from overflowing the country.

This site's exposition

take you twelve men out

on Joshua 3:12-13

Twelve men are chosen and no reason is given for them, an omission John Gill points out, and chapter 4 supplies the answer when they lift twelve stones out of the riverbed. The condition in verse 13 is exact: the water is cut off as soon as the soles of the priests' feet rest in it, so nothing moves until men walk into a river in flood. Stand upon an heap is Red Sea vocabulary, since Exodus 15:8 says the floods stood upright as an heap and Psalm 78:13 says it again, and the phrase upon an heap falls in the King James Bible only here and at verse 16.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

The waters that descend from above. Coming down from the heights which is the way of all flowing rivers.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Joshua 3:13:1, via Sefaria, The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Take for yourselves twelve men. Prepare them to be available to fulfil that which I will command them when you finally cross the Jordan.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Joshua 3:12:1, via Sefaria, The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְהָיָ֡הand it will be

    vehayahH1961 →3559 times

  • כְּנ֣וֹחַwhen rest

    kenoachH5117 →142 times

  • כַּפּ֣וֹת[the] soles of

    kapotH3709 →192 times

  • רַגְלֵ֣י[the] feet of

    ragleiH7272 →247 times

  • הַכֹּהֲנִ֡יםthe priests

    hakohanimH3548 →750 times

  • נֹשְׂאֵי֩[the] bearers of

    noseeiH5375 →656 times

  • אֲר֨וֹן[the] ark of

    ʾaronH727 →202 times

  • יְהוָ֜הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֲד֤וֹן[the] lord of

    ʾadonH136 →440 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the earth

    haaretzH776 →2504 times

  • בְּמֵ֣יin [the] waters of

    bemeiH4325 →581 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןthe Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • מֵ֤י[the] waters of

    meiH4325 →581 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּן֙the Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • יִכָּ֣רֵת֔וּןthey will be cut off !

    yikaretunH3772 →288 times

  • הַמַּ֥יִםthe waters

    hamayimH4325 →581 times

  • הַיֹּרְדִ֖יםthat are coming down

    haiyoredimH3381 →381 times

  • מִלְמָ֑עְלָהfrom to above <towards>

    milmaelahH4605 →140 times

  • וְיַעַמְד֖וּso they may stand

    veyaamduH5975 →521 times

  • נֵ֥דa heap

    nedH5067 →

  • אֶחָֽד׃one

    ʾechadH259 →971 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 33:7He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses.8 worksExodus 15:8At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.6 worksJoshua 3:16the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.6 worksMatthew 2:13When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”6 worksPsalms 78:13He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.5 worksJoshua 4:3and 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.’”4 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
Joshua 3:15Now 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,4 worksJoshua 4:10Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until the people had completed everything the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell them, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried across,4 worksJoshua 3:11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan.3 worksJoshua 3:5Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”3 worksExodus 14:19–22And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,2 worksPsalms 114:3–5The sea observed and fled; the Jordan turned back;2 worksHabakkuk 3:15You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.2 works2 Chronicles 6:41Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, and enter Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might. May Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and may Your godly ones rejoice in goodness.2 worksJoshua 4:18When 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.2 worksZechariah 4:14So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Exodus 15:8

    At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

    it leads to

    • Job 4:9

      By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

    • Psalms 78:13

      He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.

    • Exodus 14:21–22

      Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…

  • Through

    Psalms 78:13

    He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 14:21

      Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…

    • Exodus 15:8

      At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

  • Through

    Joshua 3:11

    Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan.

    it leads to

    • Zechariah 6:5

      And the angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth from their station before the Lord of all the earth.

    • Psalms 24:1

      The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.

    • Zechariah 4:14

      So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”

About Joshua

The Israelites Cross the Jordan River — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Israelites Cross the Jordan River — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 3 →

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.

Read on in Joshua 3 →