Joshua 3:6
in Joshua 3And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Joshua 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseSpake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark - It is remarkable that the priests, not the Levites, whose ordinary business it was were employed to carry the ark on this occasion. Calmet conjectures that this was because it was probably carried without being wrapped up in its curtains, as it always was when the Levites carried it. Though it was the business of the Levites, the sons of Kohath, to carry the ark; yet on certain occasions the priests alone performed this office. 1. In the present case. 2. When they encompassed Jericho, Jos 6:6.
This site's exposition
for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you
on Joshua 3:5-6
At Exodus 19:10-11 Moses consecrates the people for the day the LORD came down on the mountain. The same word is paired with tomorrow here. Priests carry the ark in place of the Kohathites of Numbers 4:15, and Adam Clarke notes that they carry it again at Jericho in 6:6.
This site's exposition
Take the ark of the covenant
Barnes notes that the narrative runs ahead here, since the priests took up the ark on the following day. Clarke reports Calmet's guess that priests carried it because it went uncovered, where the Levites always bore it wrapped. Numbers 4:5-6 sets out that covering.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.228-30 · Written before 253.
proposed
In the spirit of this passage let us also pray that we may receive from God to understand the spiritual meaning of Joshua's passage through Jordan. Of it, also, Paul would have said, "I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that all our fathers went through Jordan, and were all baptized into Jesus in the spirit and in the river." And Joshua, who succeeded Moses, was a type of Jesus Christ, who succeeds the dispensation through the law, and replaces it by the preaching of the Gospel.
It is the priestly and levitical order that stands by the ark of the covenant of the Lord in which the law of God is carried, doubtless, so that they may enlighten the people concerning the commandments of God. As the prophet says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, Lord, and a light for my paths." This light is kindled by the priests and Levites. Wherefore, if by chance anyone from this order "puts the kindled lamp under a bushel" and not "upon a lamp stand so that it may shine forth for all who are in the house," let him see what he must do when he begins to render an account of the light to the Lord for those who, receiving no illumination from the priests, walk in shadows and are blinded by the darkness of their sins.
It is the ark of the covenant of the Lord in which the tablets of the law written by the hand of God are preserved. And everyone who is "truly Israel" proceeds around this ark of the covenant and is not far from it; but the Levites and the priests even carry it on their shoulders.For indeed whoever lives by a priestly religion and by holiness are themselves truly the priests and Levites of the Lord. It is not just those who seem to sit in the priestly assembly, but even more those who behave in a priestly manner.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 And the L ORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v7-8
And Joshua spoke unto the priests,....
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
7, 8. the Lord said to Joshua, This day will I . . . magnify thee in the sight of all Israel--Joshua had already received distinguished honors (Ex 24:13; But a higher token of the divine favor was now to be publicly bestowed on him, and evidence given in the same unmistakable manner that his mission and authority were from God as was that of Moses (Ex 14:31).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They took up - i. e. on the day following. The course of events is anticipated.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שְׂאוּ֙ | seu | lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֣וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הַבְּרִ֔ית | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וְעִבְר֖וּ | veivru | and pass over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ | vaiyisu | and they lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֣וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הַבְּרִ֔ית | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ ס | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙Joshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַכֹּהֲנִ֣יםthe priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
שְׂאוּ֙lift up
seuH5375 →656 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲר֣וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הַבְּרִ֔יתthe covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
וְעִבְר֖וּand pass over
veivruH5674 →556 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙and they lifted up
vaiyisuH5375 →656 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲר֣וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הַבְּרִ֔יתthe covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
וַיֵּלְכ֖וּand they went
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָעָֽם׃ סthe people
haamH5971 →1873 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
Micah 2:13One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate, and go out by it. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD as their leader.
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:12
For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.
- Zechariah 9:14–15
Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.
- Isaiah 45:1–2
This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates…
- Hebrews 2:14–15
Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- Isaiah 52:12
Through
Joshua 3:3and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:9
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 6:13
When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
- Deuteronomy 31:9
Through
Numbers 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:33
who went before you on the journey, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, to seek out a place for you to camp and to show you the road to…
- Deuteronomy 1:33
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on 9 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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.228-30; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 4.2 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 9.5.