Joshua 4:24
in Joshua 4He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty; that ye may fear Jehovah your God for ever.
KJV
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.
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This verse in Joshua 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThat all the people of the earth might know - It is very likely that כל עמי הארץ col ammey haarets means simply, all the people of this land - all the Canaanitish nations, to whom, by the miracles wrought in behalf of his people, he intended to show his eternal power and Godhead, the excellence of his protection, and the unavailableness of human might against his omnipotence; and the miracles he wrought for this people, in the sight of the heathen, were well calculated to make these things known.
This site's exposition
Then Joshua said to the Israelites
on Joshua 4:21-24
Verse 23 says the sea was dried “before us”, though the men who crossed were dead by Numbers 26:64, so the nation is one body. Clarke reads “all the peoples of the earth” narrowly of that land, and others take it as wide as it sounds.
This site's exposition
the hand of the LORD is mighty
The first of the two aims is met in the next verse, where kings west of the Jordan hear of the crossing and lose heart. Henry reads the mighty hand as power over nature itself. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown see the pile serving the nations and Israel's children alike.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty,....
(1.) The power of God was hereby magnified. All the world was or might be convinced that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that nothing is too hard for God to do; nor can any power, no, not that of nature itself, obstruct what God will effect.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְ֠מַעַן | lemaan | so as | H4616 → | 272 times |
| דַּ֜עַת | daat | to know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עַמֵּ֤י | ʾamei | [the] peoples of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יַ֣ד | yad | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חֲזָקָ֖ה | chazakah | [is] mighty | H2389 → | 56 times |
| הִ֑יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לְמַ֧עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יְרָאתֶ֛ם | yeratem | you may fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיָּמִֽים׃ ס | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
לְ֠מַעַןso as
lemaanH4616 →272 times
דַּ֜עַתto know
daatH3045 →945 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עַמֵּ֤י[the] peoples of
ʾameiH5971 →1873 times
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יַ֣ד[the] hand of
yadH3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
חֲזָקָ֖ה[is] mighty
chazakahH2389 →56 times
הִ֑יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
לְמַ֧עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יְרָאתֶ֛םyou may fear
yeratemH3372 →315 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיָּמִֽים׃ סthe days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 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 106:8Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.
it leads to
- Exodus 9:16
But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
- Ezekiel 20:9
But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to…
- Ezekiel 20:14
But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- Romans 9:17
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
- Jeremiah 14:21
For the sake of Your name do not despise us; do not disgrace Your glorious throne. Remember Your covenant with us; do not break it.
- Exodus 9:16
Through
Exodus 14:31When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
it leads to
- John 2:11
Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
- John 11:45
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.
- John 2:11
Through
2 Kings 19:19And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
it leads to
- Psalms 83:18
May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.
- Psalms 83:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.