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Joshua 4:12

in Joshua 4

The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over before the Israelites, armed for battle as Moses had instructed them.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:

KJV

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:

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This verse in Joshua 4

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

The children of Reuben, and - Gad - Concerning the numbers of these tribes that stayed behind to take care of the women, children, and cattle, and which amounted to 70,580 men, see the note on Num 32:17. Passed over armed - See the note on Jos 1:14.

This site's exposition

And the children of Reuben

on Joshua 4:12-13

These are the tribes that already hold their land east of the river, and they cross first and armed because of the bargain struck at Numbers 32:16-32 and put to them again by Joshua at 1:12-15. The forty thousand is a portion of them rather than the whole, since the muster of Numbers 26 puts Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh near a hundred and ten thousand fighting men, and Clarke reckons the seventy thousand five hundred and eighty left behind to guard the women, children and cattle. The men with nothing further to gain go over the water in front of everybody else.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

And it was when all the people had finished crossing and the Ark crossed. The Ark did not cross as the others did, but in the manner explained below: 3 Verse.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Joshua 4:11:1, 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. 6 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

16 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.

  • וַ֠יַּעַבְרוּand they passed over

    vaiyaavruH5674 →556 times

  • בְּנֵי־[the] descendants of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • רְאוּבֵ֨ןReuben

    reuvenH7205 →72 times

  • וּבְנֵי־and [the] descendants of

    uvenei-H1121 →4930 times

  • גָ֜דGad

    gadH1410 →72 times

  • וַחֲצִ֨יand [the] half of

    vachatziH2677 →125 times

  • שֵׁ֤בֶט[the] tribe of

    shevetH7626 →190 times

  • הַֽמְנַשֶּׁה֙<the> Manasseh

    hamnashehH4519 →146 times

  • חֲמֻשִׁ֔יםarrayed for battle

    chamushimH2571 →

  • לִפְנֵ֖י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • כַּאֲשֶׁ֛רjust as

    kaasherH834 →5497 times

  • דִּבֶּ֥רhe had spoken

    diberH1696 →1141 times

  • אֲלֵיהֶ֖םto them

    ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times

  • מֹשֶֽׁה׃Moses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

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

Related verses

5 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.

Numbers 32:27But your servants are equipped for war, and every man will cross over to the battle before the LORD, just as our lord says.”4 worksJoshua 1:14Your wives, your young children, and your livestock may remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But all your mighty men of valor must be armed for battle to cross over ahead of your brothers and help them,2 worksNumbers 32:20–32Moses replied, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle,2 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 worksJoshua 13:8The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:2 works

The walk

3 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

    Joshua 1:14

    Your wives, your young children, and your livestock may remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But all your mighty men of valor must be armed for…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 13:18

      So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle.

    • Deuteronomy 20:8

      Then the officers shall speak further to the army, saying, “Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him return home, so that the hearts of his brothers will not melt like his own.”

    • Revelation 17:4

      The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual…

About Joshua

The Walls of Jericho Fall Down, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Walls of Jericho Fall Down, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.

Read on in Joshua 4 →