Joshua 4:9

Joshua 4:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst 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.

Context of Joshua 4:9

7tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.” 8The Israelites did just as Joshua commanded. They picked up twelve stones, according to the number of the Israelite tribes, from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried them over with them to the camp and put them there. Joshua also set up twelve stonesin the middle of the Jordan in the very place where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this very day. 10Now the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people was accomplished, in accordance with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people went across quickly, 11and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed as the people looked on.

Joshua 4:9 word by word

וּשְׁתֵּ֧ים עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה אֲבָנִ֗ים הֵקִ֣ים יְהוֹשֻׁעַ֮ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַיַּרְדֵּן֒ תַּ֗חַת מַצַּב֙ רַגְלֵ֣י הַכֹּהֲנִ֔ים נֹשְׂאֵ֖י אֲר֣וֹן הַבְּרִ֑ית וַיִּ֣הְיוּ שָׁ֔ם עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• set upקוּםqûm · to arise: establishH6965
• twelveעָשָׂר‛âώâr · tenH6240
• twelveשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• of Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
• in the place where the feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
• of the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• which bareנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
• the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• of the covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• stoodמַצָּבmatstsâb · stationH4673
• and they are there unto this dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117

Cross-references for Joshua 4:9

• Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”
• Exodus 28:21The stones are to be for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to the number of their names. Each name according to the twelve tribes is to be like the engravings of a seal.
• 1 Kings 18:31Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, “Israel will be your new name.”
• Psalms 111:2The Lord’s deeds are great, eagerly awaited by all who desire them.
• Joshua 4:20Now Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.
• Genesis 26:33So he named it Shibah; that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba to this day.
• Deuteronomy 34:6He buried him in the land of Moab near Beth Peor, but no one knows his exact burial place to this very day.
• Judges 1:26He moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.
• 1 Samuel 30:25From that time onward it was a binding ordinance for Israel, right up to the present time.
• 2 Samuel 4:3for the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have remained there as resident foreigners until the present time.)
• 2 Chronicles 5:9The poles were so long their ends extending out from the ark were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day.
• Matthew 27:8For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day.
• Matthew 28:15So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day.

Commentaries on Joshua 4:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan - It seems from this chapter that there were two sets of stones erected as a memorial of this great event; twelve at Gilgal, Joshua 4:20; and twelve in the bed of Jordan, Joshua 4:9. The twelve stones in the bed of Jordan might have been so placed on a base of strong stone-work so high as always to be visible, and serve to mark the very spot where the priests stood with the ark. The twelve stones set…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Another set of stones is intended than that before mentioned. The one set was erected by the command of God at the spot where they passed the night Joshua 4:3; the other by Joshua on the spot where the priests‘ feet rested while they bore up the ark during the passage of the people. This spot was near, or perhaps on, the eastern brink (compare Joshua 3:8). These stones would therefore mark the spot at which the people crossed, as the others marked the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9A second memorial of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan River became covered with water when the river resumed its flow. The top of the monument would be visible during the dry summer seasons. are there to this day: This shows that the memorials stood for generations, until the final editing of the book (see Joshua Book Introduction, “Author and Date”).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Joshua set up twelve stones ... in the place where the feet of the priests ... stood--In addition to the memorial just described, there was another memento of the miraculous event, a duplicate of the former, set up in the river itself, on the very spot where the ark had rested. This heap of stones might have been a large and compactly built one and visible in the ordinary state of the river. As nothing is said where these stones were obtained, some…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 4:9

• Instruction
• Pillar
• Stones
• Token

In the dictionaries

• Jordan
• Joshua
• Jordan River, Jordan
• Ark of the Covenant
• Shechem
• Joshua (2)
• Joshua, Book of
• Number
• Priests and Levites
• Sign

Commentaries on Joshua 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings