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Joshua 4

Joshua establishes memorials of the Jordan crossing so future generations will know YHWH’s might and fear him.

Israel has crossed the Jordan, while the priests carrying the ark remain in the riverbed. YHWH tells Joshua to have one man from each tribe carry a stone from the crossing place to their camp. Joshua also sets twelve stones in the Jordan. Once the priests leave, the river returns to flood level. At Gilgal, Joshua explains how the stones will help future children learn what God did, and why all peoples should know his might.

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2“Take twelve men out of the people, a man out of every tribe,
3and command them, saying, ‘Take from out of the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you’ll camp tonight.’”
4Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe.
6that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in the future, saying, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’
7then you shall tell them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the LORD’s covenant. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.’”
8The children of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel. They carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there.
9Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
10For the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and passed over.
11When all the people had completely crossed over, the LORD’s ark crossed over with the priests in the presence of the people.
12The children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them.
13About forty thousand men, ready and armed for war, passed over before the LORD to battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14On that day, the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
16“Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
17Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan!”
18When the priests who bore the ark of the LORD’s covenant had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had been lifted up to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
19The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.
20Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal.
21He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’
22Then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had crossed over,
24that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD’s hand is mighty, and that you may fear the LORD your God forever.’”
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Key verses
Joshua 4:6The stones are meant to provoke children’s questions, making the crossing an event each generation must explain.
Joshua 4:21At Gilgal, Joshua repeats the expected question, placing responsibility on fathers to tell their children what YHWH did.
Joshua 4:9Joshua’s stones mark the place where the priests stood, anchoring the memorial in the riverbed where Israel crossed.
Where this chapter reaches

Joshua’s comparison with the Red Sea links the Jordan crossing to Exodus through the shared event of God drying waters for Israel to pass. Deuteronomy shares the command to teach children God’s deeds, while Numbers records the eastern tribes’ pledge to join Israel’s armed advance.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What does Joshua want children to learn from the stones, beyond the fact that Israel crossed?

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What concrete reminders help you remember God’s deeds, and what would you say if someone asked about them?

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Questions people ask about Joshua 4

Were there two sets of twelve stones in Joshua 4?

As the supplied text reads, there are two sets. Twelve men carry stones from the Jordan to the camp, and Joshua sets those stones up at Gilgal. Verse 9 also says Joshua set twelve stones in the Jordan where the priests stood. The text does not describe their later visibility.

What do the twelve stones mean in Joshua 4?

The twelve stones correspond to Israel’s twelve tribes and serve as a memorial of the Jordan crossing. Their purpose includes prompting children’s questions so parents can explain how YHWH brought Israel across on dry ground. Joshua connects that memory with all peoples knowing God’s might and Israel fearing him.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).