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Joshua 3:17

in Joshua 3

The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed clean over the Jordan.

KJV

And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

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This verse in Joshua 3

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
And the priests that bare the ark of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan,.... Which for its breadth Mr. Maundrell, the above mentioned traveller, says (c) might be about twenty yards over, and its depth exceeded his height; but Dr. Shaw (d), a later traveller still, says,"the river Jordan is by far the most considerable river, excepting the Nile, either of the coast of Syria, or of Barbary.

This site's exposition

stood firm on dry ground

Dry ground is the Red Sea wording of Exodus 14:16 and 14:22, and after this verse it falls next at 2 Kings 2:8, where Elijah crosses this same river on it. The priests do not cross with the nation. They stand in the middle of the channel until every person is over, which keeps the ark between the people and the water for the whole length of the crossing, and 4:18 says the river returns the moment their feet come up on the bank. Albert Barnes sets the passage beside 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, where Paul reads the sea crossing the same way.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The miraculous passage to the holy land through Jordan is not less pregnant with typical meaning than that through the Red Sea (compare 1Co 10:1-2).

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.

  • וַיַּעַמְד֣וּand they stood

    vaiyaamduH5975 →521 times

  • הַכֹּהֲנִ֡יםthe priests

    hakohanimH3548 →750 times

  • נֹ֠שְׂאֵי[the] bearers of

    noseeiH5375 →656 times

  • הָאָר֨וֹןthe ark

    haaronH727 →202 times

  • בְּרִית־[the] covenant of

    berit-H1285 →284 times

  • יְהוָ֜הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • בֶּחָֽרָבָ֛הon the dry ground

    becharavahH2724 →8 times

  • בְּת֥וֹךְin [the] middle of

    betokhH8432 →418 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּ֖ןthe Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • הָכֵ֑ןfirmly

    hakhenH3559 →217 times

  • וְכָל־and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • עֹֽבְרִים֙[were] passing over

    ʾoerimH5674 →556 times

  • בֶּחָ֣רָבָ֔הon the dry ground

    becharavahH2724 →8 times

  • עַ֤דuntil

    ʾadH5704 →1261 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־that

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • תַּ֙מּוּ֙they had finished

    tamuH8552 →63 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַגּ֔וֹיthe nation

    hagoyH1471 →561 times

  • לַעֲבֹ֖רto pass over

    laavorH5674 →556 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃the Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

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

Related verses

18 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.

Exodus 14:29But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.10 worksExodus 14:22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.10 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.”7 worksPsalms 66:6He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.6 worksNumbers 33:51“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,6 worksIsaiah 25:8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Joshua 4:22you are to tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’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 works2 Kings 2:8And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.4 worksJoshua 3:8Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.’”4 worksHebrews 11:29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.3 worksJoshua 4:1When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,3 worksGenesis 8:16“Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives.3 worksDaniel 3:26Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,3 worksJoshua 4:11and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the LORD crossed in the sight of the people.2 worksJoshua 9:1Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)—2 worksJoshua 12:7And these are the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir (according to the allotments to the tribes of Israel, Joshua gave them as an inheritance2 worksDeuteronomy 12:10When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you dwell securely,2 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

    Isaiah 25:8

    He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 21:4

      ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

    • Revelation 7:17

      For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

    • 1 Corinthians 15:54

      When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

    • Hosea 13:14

      I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.

    • 1 Corinthians 15:26

      The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

  • Through

    Exodus 14:22

    and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 78:13

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

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Hebrews 11:29

      By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.

  • Through

    Psalms 66:6

    He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 3:16

      the 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…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

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 Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Joshua 3 →