Crossing the Jordan
1 Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing. 2 After three days the officers went through the camp m 3 and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, n you are to break camp and follow it. 4 But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.”
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, o because the LORD will do wonders p among you tomorrow.” 6 Then he said to the priests, “Carry the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
7 The LORD spoke to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, q so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses. r 8 Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the water, stand in the Jordan.”
9 Then Joshua told the Israelites, “Come closer and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” 10 He said: “You will know that the living God is among you s and that he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hethites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites t 11 when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth u goes ahead of you into the Jordan. 12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. v 13 When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of the whole earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s water, its water will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass.” w
14 When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant x ahead of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. y But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge 16 and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah z—the Dead Sea—was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’S covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, a while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
3:1–6. Once the spies have returned, Joshua and the Israelites set out from the Acacia Grove toward the Jordan to cross it (3:1). A series of instructions is then given (3:2–6), especially concerning the place of the ark as the procession moves toward the Jordan. The ark, carried by the priests and signaling the Lord’s presence and guidance, is to lead the way, with the people following after it. But the people are cautioned not to follow too closely but to maintain a distance of a thousand yards, presumably in deference to the Lord’s holiness (3:3–4). The fact that some distance needs to be kept between the people and the ark does not mean, however, that the people are then exempt from maintaining a high standard of purity before his presence. Hence, Joshua also instructs the people to consecrate themselves the day before the crossing, so that there will be nothing to hinder the Lord from doing wonders among them (3:5).
3:7–8. As the Israelites approach the Jordan with the ark ahead of them, the Lord gives Joshua further assurances and instructions. Promising to begin exalting Joshua before the Israelites so that they will know that the Lord is with him as he was with Moses (3:7), the Lord gives additional instruction regarding the imminent crossing of the Jordan. In light of the more detailed instructions Joshua gives the Israelites in 3:9–13, compared with the brief instructions Joshua receives in 3:8, it is likely that the author chose not to report fully the Lord’s instructions in 3:8. Certain detail is thus left until Joshua speaks to the people, so as to avoid excessive repetition.
3:9–13. Even though Joshua’s fuller instructions to the people most likely come directly from the Lord, a slight change in emphasis can be detected. In his speech to Joshua, the Lord states that events to follow will serve to exalt Joshua before the people so that they will know the Lord’s presence is with him (3:7). But in Joshua’s speech to the people, he declares instead that events to follow will serve to demonstrate that the living God is among his people and will fulfill his promise to dispossess the local population for them (3:10). This seems to show that Joshua is determined to exalt only the Lord before the people, even though he is aware of the Lord’s intention to exalt him.
3:14–17. When the people do exactly as told, the water from upstream indeed stops flowing and stands in a heap some distance away (3:15b–16). As the priests carrying the ark stand still in the middle of the Jordan, the entire nation crosses over on dry ground (3:17). In fact, to emphasize the miraculous nature of this crossing, the narrator even notes that all this happened during the river’s flood stage, when the water level would have been higher than normal (3:15a). To the extent that this crossing of the Jordan shares similar features with one of Moses’s more spectacular miracles, the crossing of the Red Sea (cf. Ex 14:21–22), it indeed sends a clear message to Israel that the Lord is with Joshua just as he was with Moses (cf. Jos 3:7).