Joshua 4

Joshua · Chapter 4

Joshua 4:20

1And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,2Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,3And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.4Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:5And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:6That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?7Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.8And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.9And 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.10For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.11And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.12And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:13About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto 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.15And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,16Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.17Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.18And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.19And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.20And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.21And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?22Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:24That 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.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
20And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Where

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Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
two [plus]שְׁתֵּ֨יםshe-TEIMH8147
two

שְׁנַ֫יִם (she.na.yim) 1) two 1a) two (the cardinal number) 1a1) two, both, double, twice 1b) second (the ordinal number) 1c) in combination with other numbers 1d) both (a dual number)

tenעֶשְׂרֵ֤ה'es-REHH6240
ten

עָשָׂר (a.sar) 1) ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers) 1a) used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19

the stonesהָֽאֲבָנִים֙ha-'a-va-NIMH0068G
stone

אֶ֫בֶן (e.ven) : stone 1) stone (large or small) 1a) common stone (in natural state) 1b) stone, as material 1b1) of tablets 1b2) marble, hewn stones 1c) precious stones, stones of fire 1d) stones containing metal (ore), tool for work or weapon 1e) weight 1f) plummet (stones of destruction) also made of metal 1g) stonelike objects, eg hailstones, stony heart, ice 1h) sacred object, as memorial Samuel set up to mark where God helped Israel to defeat the Philistines 1i) (simile) 1i1) sinking in water, motionlessness 1i2) strength, firmness, solidity 1i3) commonness 1j) (metaph) 1j1) petrified with terror …

the theseהָאֵ֔לֶּהha-'E-lehH0428
these

אֵ֫לֶּה (el.leh) 1) these 1a) used before antecedent 1b) used following antecedent Aramaic equivalent: el.leh (אֵלֶּה "these" H0429)

whichאֲשֶׁ֥ר'a-SHERH0834A
which

אֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when

they had takenלָקְח֖וּla-ke-CHUH3947G
to take: take

לָקַח (la.qach) : take 1) to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to take, take in the hand 1a2) to take and carry along 1a3) to take from, take out of, take, carry away, take away 1a4) to take to or for a person, procure, get, take possession of, select, choose, take in marriage, receive, accept 1a5) to take up or upon, put upon 1a6) to fetch 1a7) to take, lead, conduct 1a8) to take, capture, seize 1a9) to take, carry off 1a10) to take (vengeance) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be captured 1b2) to be taken away, be removed …

fromמִן־min-H4480A
from

מִן־ (min) prep 1) from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than 1a) from (expressing separation), off, on the side of 1b) out of 1b1) (with verbs of proceeding, removing, expelling) 1b2) (of material from which something is made) 1b3) (of source or origin) 1c) out of, some of, from (partitively) 1d) from, since, after (of time) 1e) than, more than (in comparison) 1f) from...even to, both...and, either...or 1g) than, more than, too much for (in comparisons) 1h) from, on account of, through, because (with infinitive) conj 2) that …

the Jordanהַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןhai-yar-DENH3383
Jordan

יַרְדֵּן (yar.den) Jordan = "descender" the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approx 200 miles (320 km) Also named: Iordanēs (Ἰορδάνης "Jordan" G2446)

he set upהֵקִ֥יםhe-KIMH6965INo entry
Joshuaיְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַye-ho-SHU-a'H3091G
Hoshea

הוֹשֵׁעַ (ho.she.a) A man of the tribe of Ephraim living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness and Israel before the Monarchy, first mentioned at Exo.17.9; son of: Nun (H5126); also called Hoshea (KJV: Oshea) at Num.13.8; Jeshua at Neh.8.17; Another name of ye.ho.shu.a (יְהוֹשׁוּעַ "Joshua" H3091G) § Hosea or Hoshea or Oshea = "salvation" 1) family name of Joshua, the son of Nun 2) the 19th and last king of the northern kingdom of Israel 3) son of Beeri, and the first of the minor prophets; prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel in the reign of Jeroboam II …

at the Gilgalבַּגִּלְגָּֽל׃ba-gil-GALH1537G
Beth-gilgal

בֵּית הַגִּלְגָּל (bet hag.gil.gal) Beth-gilgal = "the house of the wheel" a place in Palestine Another name of gil.gal (גִּלְגָּל "Gilgal" H1537G)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.