Joshua 3

Crossing the Jordan River

¹Joshua got up early in the morning; and they moved from Shittim and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel. They camped there before they crossed over.

²After three days, the officers went through the middle of the camp;

³and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the LORD your God’s covenant, and the Levitical priests bearing it, then leave your place and follow it.

⁴Yet there shall be a space between you and it of about two thousand cubits by measure—don’t come closer to it—that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way before.”

⁵Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

⁶Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and cross over before the people.” They took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

⁷The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

⁸You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”

⁹Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.”

¹⁰Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite out from before you.

¹¹Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into the Jordan.

¹²Now therefore take twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, for every tribe a man.

¹³It shall be that when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of GOD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off. The waters that come down from above shall stand in one heap.”

¹⁴When the people moved from their tents to pass over the Jordan, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant being before the people,

¹⁵and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark had dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest),

¹⁶the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people passed over near Jericho.

¹⁷The priests who bore the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the nation had passed completely over the Jordan.

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Joshua leads Israel to the Jordan River, where God commands the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to enter the flooding waters first. When the priests' feet touch the Jordan, God miraculously stops the river's flow, allowing all Israel to cross on dry ground while the priests stand in the riverbed. This divine intervention establishes Joshua's leadership before the nation and demonstrates God's continued presence with Israel as they enter the Promised Land.

Context

This chapter marks the climactic entry into the Promised Land after forty years of wilderness wandering, immediately following the spies' reconnaissance of Jericho in chapter 2.

Key Themes

Outline

1-4
Preparation at the Jordan Israel camps at the Jordan and receives instructions to follow the ark while maintaining sacred distance.
5-8
Divine Commands for Crossing Joshua calls for consecration as God promises to magnify Joshua's leadership and gives specific instructions to the priests.
9-13
Joshua's Proclamation Joshua announces God's miraculous intervention and selects twelve representatives, one from each tribe.
14-17
The Miraculous Crossing The Jordan's waters stop flowing when the priests enter, allowing all Israel to cross on dry ground.

Crossing the Jordan River

3:1–3:17

narrative narration solemn

Joshua leads Israel to the Jordan River where God miraculously parts the waters when the priests carrying the ark enter. This miracle establishes Joshua's authority and demonstrates God's power to the people.

person_contrast

Joshua's leadership becomes divinely authenticated through miracle rather than mere military victory, as the Jordan's parting echoes Moses' Red Sea crossing to establish continuity of divine authority.

Insight Character Study

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Joshua 3:1 3 references

Lexicals 3

Joshua 7:16 Lexical

So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected.

Joshua 3

Crossing the Jordan River

Crossing the Jordan River

Insights

Cross-References

Joshua 3:1 3 references

Joshua 3:2 1 reference

Joshua 3:3 1 reference

Joshua 3:5 1 reference

Joshua 3:8 3 references

Joshua 3:10 5 references

Joshua 3:11 3 references

Joshua 3:13 5 references

Joshua 3:14 4 references

Joshua 3:15 2 references

Joshua 3:16 4 references

Joshua 3:17 5 references

Interlinear

Historical Context