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Joshua 4:23

in Joshua 4

For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as He did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

For Jehovah your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as Jehovah your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were passed over;

KJV

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

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This verse in Joshua 4

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Before us - That is, myself and Caleb, and all of us here present; for this benefit, though done to their fathers, is justly said to be done to themselves, because they were then in their parent's loins. It greatly magnifies later mercies, to compare them with former mercies; for hereby it appears, that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

This site's exposition

he spake unto the children

on Joshua 4:21-24

The answer the fathers owe their children is written out in full, and it ends at the Red Sea, so the stones teach a crossing the children never saw by way of an older one their parents never saw either. Verse 23 slips into the first person, which he dried up from before us, though the men who walked through the sea were dead by Numbers 26:64; the speaker counts the nation as one body across its generations. Verse 24 states two aims, that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord and that Israel might fear him for ever, and Clarke reads the first phrase narrowly of the peoples of that land while other writers take it as wide as it sounds.

The words behind it

21 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.

  • אֲשֶׁר־that

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • הוֹבִישׁ֩he dried up

    hovishH3001 →59 times

  • יְהוָ֨הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֜םGod your

    ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • מֵ֧י[the] waters of

    meiH4325 →581 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּ֛ןthe Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • מִפְּנֵיכֶ֖םfrom before you

    mipeneikhemH6440 →2123 times

  • עַֽד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • עָבְרְכֶ֑םhad passed over you

    ʾaverekhemH5674 →556 times

  • כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust as

    kaasherH834 →5497 times

  • עָשָׂה֩he did

    ʾasahH6213 →2628 times

  • יְהוָ֨הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֧םGod your

    ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times

  • לְיַם־to [the] sea of

    leyam-H3220 →396 times

  • ס֛וּףreed[s]

    sufH5488 →28 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • הוֹבִ֥ישׁhe dried up

    hovishH3001 →59 times

  • מִפָּנֵ֖ינוּfrom before us

    mipaneinuH6440 →2123 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • עָבְרֵֽנוּ׃had passed over we

    ʾaverenuH5674 →556 times

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

Related verses

8 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 14:21Then 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 divided,8 worksIsaiah 63:12–14who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,4 worksIsaiah 43:16Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the surging waters,4 works1 Corinthians 10:1I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea.3 worksPsalms 78:13He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.2 worksPsalms 77:16–19The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken.2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Nehemiah 9:11You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.2 worksJoshua 24:11After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.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

    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…

    it leads to

    • 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.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Psalms 66:6

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

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 63:12

      who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,

    • Nehemiah 9:11

      You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.

  • Through

    Isaiah 43:16

    Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the surging waters,

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 51:10

      Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 43:2

      When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched;…

    • Psalms 77:19

      Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.

    • Jeremiah 31:35

      Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the…

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; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Joshua 4 →