Joshua 3:1
in Joshua 3Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joshua rose up early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over.
KJV
And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
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This verse in Joshua 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseI will pass to Joshua the son of Nun, who was previously called Ause, or better, as in the Hebrew, Hoshea, that is, Savior. For he, according to the epistle of Jude, saved the people of Israel and led them forth out of Egypt and brought them into the land of promise.
This site's exposition
left Shittim with all the Israelites
on Joshua 3:1-2
Shittim is the camp of Numbers 25:1 and the place the spies set out from at 2:1. The nation lodges at the river and waits three days, the interval named at 1:11. Micah 6:5 later remembers the whole move, from Shittim to Gilgal, as one act of God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But Jesus [Joshua], son of Nave [Nun], was a type of him in many things; for when he began to rule the people, he began from the Jordan; thence also did Christ begin to preach the gospel after he was baptized. The son of Nave [Nun] appoints the twelve to divide the inheritance;2 and Jesus sends forth the twelve apostles, heralds of truth, into the whole world. He who was the type saved Rahab, the harlot, who had believed;4 the true Jesus … says, Behold: "the publicans and the harlots are entering the kingdom of God before you." With but a shout, the walls of Jericho collapsed in the time of the type;6 and because of these words of Jesus, "There will not be left here one stone upon another," the temple of the Jews just opposite us is fallen; not that this sentence was the cause of its ruin, but rather the sin of the transgressors.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And Joshua rose early in the morning,.... The morning after the spies had returned and made their report; which, as Kimchi rightly observes, was the ninth of Nisan; for on the morrow, which was the tenth, the people passed over Jordan, see Jos 3:
) and Gilgal, where they next pitched, ch. iv. 5 , that they might know the righteousness of the Lord. By Joshua's order they marched up to the river's side, (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
), and then almighty power led them through it. They passed through the Red Sea unexpectedly, and in their flight by night, but they have notice some time before of their passing through Jordan, and their expectations raised. The people are directed to follow the ark,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
“The acacia groves” (Exo 25:5 note) of Shittim on both sides of Jordan line the upper terraces of the valley (compare 2Ki 6:4). They would be in this part at some six miles distance from the river itself.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The duration of their stay is indicated (Jos 3:2), being, according to Hebrew reckoning, only one entire day, including the evening of arrival and the morning of the passage; and such a time would be absolutely necessary for so motley an assemblage of men, women, and children, with all their gear and cattle to make ready for going into an enemy's country.
Joshua rose early - Archbishop Usher supposes that this was upon Wednesday, the 28th of April, A. M. 2553, the fortieth year after the exodus from Egypt. From Shittim, where they had lately been encamped, to Jordan, was about sixty stadia, according to Josephus; that is, about eight English miles.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּשְׁכֵּם֩ | vaiyashkem | and he rose early | H7925 → | 65 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| בַּבֹּ֜קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַיִּסְע֣וּ | vaiyisu | and they set out | H5265 → | 146 times |
| מֵֽהַשִּׁטִּ֗ים | mehashitim | from <the> Shittim | H7851 → | |
| וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיָּלִ֥נוּ | vaiyalinu | and they stayed | H3885 → | 84 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| טֶ֥רֶם | terem | before | H2962 → | |
| יַעֲבֹֽרוּ׃ | yaavoru | they passed over | H5674 → | 556 times |
וַיַּשְׁכֵּם֩and he rose early
vaiyashkemH7925 →65 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
בַּבֹּ֜קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
וַיִּסְע֣וּand they set out
vaiyisuH5265 →146 times
מֵֽהַשִּׁטִּ֗יםfrom <the> Shittim
mehashitimH7851 →
וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙and they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיָּלִ֥נוּand they stayed
vaiyalinuH3885 →84 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
טֶ֥רֶםbefore
teremH2962 →
יַעֲבֹֽרוּ׃they passed over
yaavoruH5674 →556 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
Mark 1:35Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
it leads to
- Luke 6:12
In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
- Luke 5:16
Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
- Luke 22:39–46
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.
- Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- Psalms 5:3
In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.
- Luke 6:12
Through
Micah 6:5My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
it leads to
- Numbers 25:1
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 5:9–10
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
- Numbers 25:1
Through
Joshua 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- Hebrews 11:31
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 10:11; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 1.21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.