Joshua 3:14
in Joshua 3So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, the priests that bare the ark of the covenant being before the people;
KJV
And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
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This verse in Joshua 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan
on Joshua 3:14-16
The water stops at a named place, Adam. Some readers point to bank collapses that blocked the river there in 1267 and 1927 and read one timed to the priests’ step. Others read a direct holding of the water, and the text names the place and hour without a mechanism.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NyssaTHE LIFE OF GREGORY THE WONDERWORKER 7.55 · Written before 395.
proposed
Joshua son of Nun made the Jordan River stop, but only as long as the ark was in the water. As soon as the people had crossed to the other side and the ark had come through, he gave the river back its usual flow again. The bottom of the deep in the Red Sea was denuded of water when the sea was driven back to either side by the Spirit, but the duration of the marvel was the passage of the army through the deep on the dry strip. But after that the surface of the sea became one again, and the temporary gap was flooded over. So this remains a unique event which occurred in such a way that the marvel did not lose credibility because of the passage of time, since it continues to be testified to by visible traces.
And do not imagine that these deeds are only in former times and nothing so great as this is brought forth in you who are now the hearer of them. For all things are fulfilled in you according to a mystical reckoning. Indeed you who long to draw near to the hearing of the divine law have recently forsaken the darkness of idolatry and are now for the first time forsaking Egypt.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the L ORD will do wonders among you. 6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v5-6
And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan,.... Which they had pitched very near it, upon their removal from Shittim, and in which they had lodged the night past: and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; at the distance of two thousand cubits.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But as seen in harvest, it is twice as broad; and in ancient times, when the hills on the right and left were much more drenched with rain and snow than since the forests have disappeared, the river must, from a greater accession of water, have been broader still than at harvest-time in the present day.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The waters that descend from above. Coming down from the heights which is the way of all flowing rivers.
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
13 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִּנְסֹ֤עַ | binsoa' | when set out | H5265 → | 146 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מֵאָ֣הֳלֵיהֶ֔ם | meoholeihem | from tents their | H168 → | 345 times |
| לַעֲבֹ֖ר | laavor | to pass over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֗ים | vehakohanim | and the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| נֹֽשְׂאֵ֛י | noseei | [the] bearers of | H5375 → | 656 times |
| הָאָר֥וֹן | haaron | the ark | H727 → | 202 times |
| הַבְּרִ֖ית | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בִּנְסֹ֤עַwhen set out
binsoa'H5265 →146 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
מֵאָ֣הֳלֵיהֶ֔םfrom tents their
meoholeihemH168 →345 times
לַעֲבֹ֖רto pass over
laavorH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֗יםand the priests
vehakohanimH3548 →750 times
נֹֽשְׂאֵ֛י[the] bearers of
noseeiH5375 →656 times
הָאָר֥וֹןthe ark
haaronH727 →202 times
הַבְּרִ֖יתthe covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָעָֽם׃the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Hebrews 9:4containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
it leads to
- Numbers 17:10
The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against…
- Leviticus 16:12
Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.
- Exodus 26:33
And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- Exodus 40:3
Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil.
- Numbers 17:10
Through
Jeremiah 3:16“In those days, when you multiply and increase in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer discuss the ark of the covenant of the LORD. It will never come to mind, and…
it leads to
- Amos 9:14–15
I will restore My people Israel from captivity; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
- Ezekiel 37:26
And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
- Isaiah 65:17
For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
- Amos 9:14–15
Through
Psalms 132:8Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 6:41–42
Now 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…
- 2 Chronicles 6:41–42
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory of Nyssa, THE LIFE OF GREGORY THE WONDERWORKER 7.55; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 4.1.