Joshua 3:11
in Joshua 3Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into the Jordan.
KJV
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
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This verse in Joshua 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseSome observe an accent in the original, which they think directs us to translate it somewhat more emphatically, Behold the ark of the covenant, even the ark of the Lord, or even of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth. (3.) They are told that the ark should pass before them into Jordan.
This site's exposition
Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God
on Joshua 3:9-11
The title “the living God” was used before at Deuteronomy 5:26 of the voice out of the fire. David uses it next before Goliath at 1 Samuel 17:26. The seven nations are the seven of Deuteronomy 7:1 in a different order, so the list is a standing formula.
This site's exposition
the Lord of all the earth
Henry observes that the cloud had guided Israel under Moses and the ark now takes its place. Both were visible signs of God's presence. He sees the difference as grace once veiled in a cloud and now shown openly, a figure he applies to Christ.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth,....
During the reign of Moses, the cloud was their guide, but now, in Joshua's reign, the ark; both were visible signs of God's presence and presidency, but divine grace under the Mosaic dispensation was wrapt up as in a cloud and covered with a veil, while by Christ, our Joshua, it is revealed in the ark of the covenant unveiled.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The premonitory address of Joshua, taken in connection with the miraculous result exactly as he had described it, would tend to increase and confirm their faith in the God of their fathers as not a dull, senseless, inanimate thing like the idols of the nations, but a Being of life, power, and activity to defend them and work for them. THE WATERS OF JORDAN ARE DIVIDED.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
With this you will know. By virtue of actually seeing that all of you are compressed here.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Take for yourselves twelve men. Prepare them to be available to fulfil that which I will command them when you finally cross the Jordan.
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. 5 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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּה֙ | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֲר֣וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הַבְּרִ֔ית | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אֲד֖וֹן | ʾadon | [the] lord of | H136 → | 440 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עֹבֵ֥ר | ʾover | [is] about to pass on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם | lifneikhem | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בַּיַּרְדֵּֽן׃ | baiyarden | in the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
הִנֵּה֙here!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אֲר֣וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הַבְּרִ֔יתthe covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
אֲד֖וֹן[the] lord of
ʾadonH136 →440 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
עֹבֵ֥ר[is] about to pass on
ʾoverH5674 →556 times
לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם<to> before you
lifneikhemH6440 →2123 times
בַּיַּרְדֵּֽן׃in the Jordan
baiyardenH3383 →182 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
Psalms 24:1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
it leads to
- Psalms 89:11
The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
- 1 Corinthians 10:26
for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom,…
- Job 41:11
Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 10:14
Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
- Psalms 89:11
Through
Zechariah 4:14So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”
it leads to
- Revelation 11:4
These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
- Isaiah 61:1–3
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
- Revelation 11:4
Through
Micah 4:13Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:15–16
Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
- Isaiah 41:15–16
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.