Joshua 3:16
in Joshua 3the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
KJV
That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
⋯
This verse in Joshua 3
Commentary
14 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
When swollen "in time of harvest," it flows with a vastly accelerated current. the people passed over right against Jericho--The exact spot is unknown; but it cannot be that fixed by Greek tradition--the pilgrims' bathing-place--both because it is too much to the north, and the eastern banks are there sheer precipices ten or fifteen feet high.
This site's exposition
when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan
on Joshua 3:14-16
The water stops at a named place, Adam. Some readers point to bank collapses that blocked the river there in 1267 and 1927 and read one timed to the priests’ step. Others read a direct holding of the water, and the text names the place and hour without a mechanism.
This site's exposition
It backed up as far upstream as Adam
Barnes renders the clause as a heap far away, by Adam, so the water stood well upstream of the crossing. He says Adam is named nowhere else and links Zarethan with the hill now called Kurn Sartabeh. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call the exact crossing point unknown.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Still I believe it was not without reference to a mystery that this was written, that part of the waters of the Jordan plunges into the sea and flows into bitterness, while the other part continues on in sweetness. For if all who are baptized maintained the sweetness of the heavenly grace they received and no one were changed into the bitterness of sins, it would never have been written that part of the river was plunged into the abyss of the salty sea.
A commentator
Gregory of NyssaTHE LIFE OF GREGORY THE WONDERWORKER 7.55 · Written before 395.
proposed
Joshua son of Nun made the Jordan River stop, but only as long as the ark was in the water. As soon as the people had crossed to the other side and the ark had come through, he gave the river back its usual flow again. The bottom of the deep in the Red Sea was denuded of water when the sea was driven back to either side by the Spirit, but the duration of the marvel was the passage of the army through the deep on the dry strip. But after that the surface of the sea became one again, and the temporary gap was flooded over. So this remains a unique event which occurred in such a way that the marvel did not lose credibility because of the passage of time, since it continues to be testified to by visible traces.
Then there are the deeds of Joshua, who was marked out with Christ's name; under his guidance the Jordan kept its stream stationary and its waters still as it recoiled from the countenance of the divine ark. A strange power divided the river. One section …
And do not imagine that these deeds are only in former times and nothing so great as this is brought forth in you who are now the hearer of them. For all things are fulfilled in you according to a mystical reckoning. Indeed you who long to draw near to the hearing of the divine law have recently forsaken the darkness of idolatry and are now for the first time forsaking Egypt.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Adam - The city Adam being more obscure, is described by its nearness to a more known place, then eminent, but now unknown. The meaning is, that the waters were stopped in their course at that place, and so kept at a distance from the Israelites whilst they passed over. Against Jericho - Here God carried them over, because this part was, 1.
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 ), how the floods lifted up their voice, the floods lifted up their waves, while the Lord on high showed himself mightier than the noise of these many waters, Ps. xciii. With reference to this the prophet asks, Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? No, Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the L ORD will do wonders among you. 6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v5-6
That the waters which came down from above,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But as seen in harvest, it is twice as broad; and in ancient times, when the hills on the right and left were much more drenched with rain and snow than since the forests have disappeared, the river must, from a greater accession of water, have been broader still than at harvest-time in the present day.
Rose up upon a heap - That is, they continued to accumulate, filling up the whole of the channel toward the source, and the adjacent ground over which they were now spread, to a much greater depth, the power of God giving a contrary direction to the current.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The passage should run “rose up, an heap far away, by Adam, the city which is beside Zarthan.” The city of Adam is not named elsewhere, and Zarthan (mentioned here and in marginal references.) has also disappeared. It is, however, probably connected with the modern Kurn Sartabeh (Horn of Sartabeh), the name given to a lofty and isolated hill some 17 miles on the river above Jericho.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעַמְד֡וּ | vaiyaamdu | and they stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| הַמַּיִם֩ | hamayim | the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| הַיֹּרְדִ֨ים | haiyoredim | which came down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| מִלְמַ֜עְלָה | milma'lah | from to above <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| קָ֣מוּ | kamu | they rose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| נֵד־ | ned- | a heap | H5067 → | |
| אֶחָ֗ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| הַרְחֵ֨ק | harchek | far away | H7368 → | |
| מְאֹ֜ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| מֵֽאָדָ֤ם | meadam | from Adam | H121 → | |
| הָעִיר֙ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מִצַּ֣ד | mitzad | [is] from [the] side of | H6654 → | 33 times |
| צָֽרְתָ֔ן | tzaretan | Zarethan | H6891 → | |
| וְהַיֹּרְדִ֗ים | vehaiyoredim | and which went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| עַ֣ל | ʾal | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יָ֧ם | yam | [the] sea of | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הָעֲרָבָ֛ה | haaravah | the Arabah | H6160 → | 61 times |
| יָם־ | yom- | [the] Sea of | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לַח | hamelach | <the> Salt | H4417 → | 27 times |
| תַּ֣מּוּ | tamu | they were complete | H8552 → | 63 times |
| נִכְרָ֑תוּ | nikhratu | they were cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| וְהָעָ֥ם | vehaam | and the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| עָבְר֖וּ | ʾaveru | they passed over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| נֶ֥גֶד | neged | before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| יְרִיחֽוֹ׃ | yericho | Jericho | H3405 → | 57 times |
וַיַּעַמְד֡וּand they stood
vaiyaamduH5975 →521 times
הַמַּיִם֩the waters
hamayimH4325 →581 times
הַיֹּרְדִ֨יםwhich came down
haiyoredimH3381 →381 times
מִלְמַ֜עְלָהfrom to above <towards>
milma'lahH4605 →140 times
קָ֣מוּthey rose
kamuH6965 →628 times
נֵד־a heap
ned-H5067 →
אֶחָ֗דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
הַרְחֵ֨קfar away
harchekH7368 →
מְאֹ֜דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
מֵֽאָדָ֤םfrom Adam
meadamH121 →
הָעִיר֙the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מִצַּ֣ד[is] from [the] side of
mitzadH6654 →33 times
צָֽרְתָ֔ןZarethan
tzaretanH6891 →
וְהַיֹּרְדִ֗יםand which went down
vehaiyoredimH3381 →381 times
עַ֣לto
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
יָ֧ם[the] sea of
yamH3220 →396 times
הָעֲרָבָ֛הthe Arabah
haaravahH6160 →61 times
יָם־[the] Sea of
yom-H3220 →396 times
הַמֶּ֖לַח<the> Salt
hamelachH4417 →27 times
תַּ֣מּוּthey were complete
tamuH8552 →63 times
נִכְרָ֑תוּthey were cut off
nikhratuH3772 →288 times
וְהָעָ֥םand the people
vehaamH5971 →1873 times
עָבְר֖וּthey passed over
ʾaveruH5674 →556 times
נֶ֥גֶדbefore
negedH5048 →151 times
יְרִיחֽוֹ׃Jericho
yerichoH3405 →57 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 114:3The sea observed and fled; the Jordan turned back;
it leads to
- 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…
- Psalms 77:16
The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken.
- Habakkuk 3:8–9
Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation?
- Joshua 3:13–16
When 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…
- Habakkuk 3:15
You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.
- Exodus 14:21
Through
Joshua 3:13When 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…
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.
- Psalms 78:13
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
- Exodus 15:8
Through
1 Kings 4:12Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
it leads to
- Joshua 17:11
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- Joshua 17:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Joshua
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory of Nyssa, THE LIFE OF GREGORY THE WONDERWORKER 7.55; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 4.2; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 4.1 and Paulinus of Nola, POEM 27.511.