Joshua 4-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Memorial Stones. 1 After the entire nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan, 2 the Lord said to Joshua: Choose twelve men(A) from the people, one from each tribe, 3 and command them, “Take up twelve stones from this spot in the Jordan riverbed where the priests have been standing.(B) Carry them over with you, and place them where you are to stay tonight.”
4 Summoning the twelve men he had selected from among the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 Joshua said to them: “Go to the Jordan riverbed in front of the ark of the Lord, your God; lift to your shoulders one stone apiece, so that they will equal in number the tribes of the Israelites. 6 In the future, these are to be a sign among you. When your children ask you,[a] ‘What do these stones mean to you?’(C) 7 you shall answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan ceased to flow before the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it crossed the Jordan.’(D) Thus these stones are to serve as a perpetual memorial to the Israelites.” 8 The twelve Israelites did as Joshua had commanded: they took up twelve stones from the Jordan riverbed as the Lord had said to Joshua, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites. They carried them along to the camp site, and there they placed them. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the Jordan riverbed on the spot where the priests stood who were carrying the ark of the covenant. They are there to this day.
10 [b]The priests carrying the ark stood in the Jordan riverbed until everything had been done that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, just as Moses had commanded Joshua. The people crossed over quickly, 11 and when all the people had completed the crossing, the ark of the Lord also crossed; and the priests were now in front of them. 12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh, armed, marched in the vanguard of the Israelites, as Moses had ordered. 13 About forty thousand troops, equipped for battle, crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.
14 That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel,(E) and so during his whole life they feared him as they had feared Moses.
15 Then the Lord said to Joshua: 16 Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come up from the Jordan. 17 Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan,” 18 and when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the Jordan riverbed, as the soles of their feet regained the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their course and as before overflowed all its banks.
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho.(F) 20 At Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been taken from the Jordan, 21 saying to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 you shall inform them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan here on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the Lord, your God, had done at the Red Sea, drying it up in front of us until we crossed over,(G) 24 in order that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and that you may fear the Lord, your God, forever.”(H)
Chapter 5
Rites at Gilgal. 1 When all the kings of the Amorites to the west of the Jordan and all the kings of the Canaanites by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they crossed over, their hearts melted and they were utterly dispirited because of the Israelites.
2 (I)On this occasion the Lord said to Joshua: Make flint knives and circumcise Israel for the second time. 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth.[c] 4 This was the reason for the circumcision: Of all the people who had come out of Egypt, every male of military age had died in the wilderness(J) during the journey after they came out of Egypt. 5 Though all the men who came out were circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness during the journey after the departure from Egypt were circumcised. 6 Now the Israelites wandered forty years in the wilderness, until all the warriors among the people that came forth from Egypt died off because they had not listened to the voice of the Lord. For the Lord swore(K) that he would not let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 (L)It was the children God raised up in their stead whom Joshua circumcised, for these were yet with foreskins, not having been circumcised on the journey. 8 When the circumcision of the entire nation was complete, they remained in camp where they were, until they recovered. 9 Then the Lord said to Joshua: Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.(M) Therefore the place is called Gilgal[d] to the present day.
10 (N)While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.[e] 11 On the day after the Passover they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain. On that same day 12 after they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.(O)
Siege at Jericho. 13 [f]While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand.(P) Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?” 14 He replied, “Neither. I am the commander[g] of the army of the Lord: now I have come.” Then Joshua fell down to the ground in worship, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The commander of the army of the Lord replied to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy.”(Q) And Joshua did so.
Footnotes
- 4:6 When your children ask you: reminiscent of the question and response at the Passover meal, Ex 12:26–27.
- 4:10–18 After the digression about the memorial stones, the author resumes the narrative by briefly repeating the story of the crossing, which had already been told in 3:14–17.
- 5:3 Gibeath-haaraloth: “Hill of the Foreskins.”
- 5:9 The place is called Gilgal: by popular etymology, because of the similarity of sound with the Hebrew word gallothi, “I have removed.” Gilgal probably means “circle,” i.e., the place of the circle of standing stones. Cf. 4:4–8.
- 5:10 The month: the first month of the year, later called Nisan; see note on 3:15. The crossing of the Jordan occurred, therefore, about the same time of the year as did the crossing of the Red Sea; cf. Ex 12–14.
- 5:13–6:26 The account of the siege of Jericho embraces: (1) the command of the Lord to Joshua (5:13–6:5); (2) Joshua’s instructions to the Israelites, with a brief summary of how these orders were carried out (6:6–11); (3) a description of the action on each of the first six days (6:12–14); (4) the events on the seventh day (6:15–26).
- 5:14 Commander: the leader of the heavenly army of the Lord of hosts is either the Lord or an angelic warrior; if the latter, he is a messenger who speaks in the person of the one who sent him. I have come: the solemn language of theophany; cf., e.g., Ps 50:3; 96:13.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.