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Joshua 4:7

in Joshua 4

you are to tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

then ye shall say unto them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

KJV

Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

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This verse in Joshua 4

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

They are the established means of perpetuating the memory of important transactions, especially among the nomadic people of the East. Although there be no inscription engraved on them, the history and object of such simple monuments are traditionally preserved from age to age.

This site's exposition

Joshua called the twelve men

on Joshua 4:4-7

Verse 6 gives the reason for the pile before the pile exists, that a child will ask what the stones mean and get told. The same shape is set down twice in the Torah, at Exodus 12:26 for the passover and Deuteronomy 6:20 for the statutes, and each time the question comes from the child and the answer is a piece of history rather than a rule. Israel is told to leave an object strange enough on that flat ground to make somebody ask.

The words behind it

23 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.

  • וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֣םand you will say

    vaamartemH559 →5305 times

  • לָהֶ֗םto <the> them

    lahem

  • אֲשֶׁ֨רthat

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • נִכְרְת֜וּthey were cut off

    nikhretuH3772 →288 times

  • מֵימֵ֤י[the] waters of

    meimeiH4325 →581 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּן֙the Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • מִפְּנֵי֙from before

    mipeneiH6440 →2123 times

  • אֲר֣וֹן[the] ark of

    ʾaronH727 →202 times

  • בְּרִית־[the] covenant of

    berit-H1285 →284 times

  • יְהוָ֔הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • בְּעָבְרוֹ֙when passed on it

    beaveroH5674 →556 times

  • בַּיַּרְדֵּ֔ןin the Jordan

    baiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • נִכְרְת֖וּthey were cut off

    nikhretuH3772 →288 times

  • מֵ֣י[the] waters of

    meiH4325 →581 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןthe Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • וְ֠הָיוּand they will become

    vehayuH1961 →3559 times

  • הָאֲבָנִ֨יםthe stones

    haavanimH68 →273 times

  • הָאֵ֧לֶּה<the> these

    haelehH428 →746 times

  • לְזִכָּר֛וֹן<into> a reminder

    lezikaronH2146 →

  • לִבְנֵ֥יto [the] people of

    livneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • עוֹלָֽם׃perpetuity

    olamH5769 →438 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 12:14And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.7 worksExodus 39:7Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses.5 worksNumbers 16:40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.4 worksExodus 28:12Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear their names on his two shoulders as a memorial before the LORD.4 worksPsalms 111:4He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.4 works1 Corinthians 11:24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Joshua 3:13–16When 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.”3 worksNumbers 10:10And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”3 worksEsther 9:28These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants.3 worksJoshua 4:6to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’2 worksIsaiah 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.2 worksNumbers 10:33So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.2 worksNumbers 31:54And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD.2 worksZechariah 6:14The crown will reside in the temple of the LORD as a memorial to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the gracious son of Zephaniah.2 works1 Samuel 1:22but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.”2 works1 Samuel 4:3When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.”2 worksExodus 17:14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”2 worksExodus 30:16Take the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will serve as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD to make atonement for your lives.”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 12:14

    And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 23:21

      The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover of the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”

    • Exodus 12:24

      And you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants.

    • Exodus 13:9–10

      It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the…

    • Exodus 12:17

      So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute…

    • 1 Corinthians 5:7–8

      Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

  • Through

    Psalms 111:4

    He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 103:8

      The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.

    • Isaiah 63:7

      I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us—the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great…

    • Ephesians 1:6–8

      to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

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 Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Joshua 4 →