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Joshua 4:20

in Joshua 4

And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal.

KJV

And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.

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This verse in Joshua 4

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Those twelve stones - It is very likely that a base of mason-work was erected of some considerable height, and then the twelve stones placed on the top of it; and that this was the case both in Jordan and in Gilgal: for twelve such stones as a man could carry a considerable way on his shoulder, see Jos 4:5, could scarcely have made any observable altar, or pillar of memorial: but erected on a high base of mason-work they would be very conspicuous, and thus properly answer the end for which God ordered them to be set up.

This site's exposition

the tenth day of the first

on Joshua 4:19-20

The date carries weight: the tenth day of the first month is the day Exodus 12:3 set for choosing the passover lamb. Israel keeps the passover in the land at 5:10. Having left Egypt on the fifteenth, they enter forty years less five days after the exit.

This site's exposition

there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones

Clarke lists what happened at this spot: the circumcision of chapter 5, the first passover, Joshua's fortified camp, and the proclamation of Saul as king. Barnes adds that the women, children and cattle stayed there while the army fought. The ark remained at Gilgal until it moved to Shiloh.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

The pile was designed to serve a double purpose--that of impressing the heathen with a sense of the omnipotence of God, while at the same time it would teach an important lesson in religion to the young and rising Israelites in after ages.

The words behind it

12 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.

  • וְאֵת֩and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • שְׁתֵּ֨יםtwo [plus]

    sheteimH8147 →768 times

  • עֶשְׂרֵ֤הten

    ʾesrehH6240 →338 times

  • הָֽאֲבָנִים֙the stones

    haavanimH68 →273 times

  • הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these

    haelehH428 →746 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • לָקְח֖וּthey had taken

    lakechuH3947 →966 times

  • מִן־from

    min-H4480 →1188 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןthe Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • הֵקִ֥יםhe set up

    hekimH6965 →628 times

  • יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַJoshua

    yehoshua'H3091 →218 times

  • בַּגִּלְגָּֽל׃at <the> Gilgal

    bagilgalH1537 →41 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

5 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.

Joshua 4:3and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”6 worksJoshua 4:8Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down.6 works1 Kings 18:31And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”4 worksJudges 3:19But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” “Silence,” said the king, and all his attendants left him.3 worksExodus 24:4And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.1 works

The walk

7 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

    Joshua 4:3

    and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend…

    it leads to

    • Joshua 4:19–20

      On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.

    • Joshua 4:8

      Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and…

    • Joshua 3:13

      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…

    • Psalms 103:2

      Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—

    • Psalms 11:4

      The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.

  • Through

    Joshua 4:8

    Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and…

    it leads to

    • Joshua 4:2–5

      “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

    • Joshua 1:16–18

      So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies4

On this verse

On this chapter

About Joshua

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.

Read on in Joshua 4 →