Twelve Memorial Stones
Joshua 4When all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan, YHWH spoke to Joshua, saying, “Y’all select twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and y’all are to command them, saying, ‘Y’all take twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with y’all, and lay them down in the place where y’all stop tonight.’”
Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe. Joshua said to them, “Y’all go over in front of the ark of YHWH y’all’s God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of y’all is lift a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel. This will be a sign among y’all. In the future, when y’all’s children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to y’all?’ then y’all are to tell them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off ahead of the ark of YHWH’s covenant. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ These stones are to be a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
The children of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out from the middle of the Jordan, as YHWH spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel. They carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and put them down there. Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this day. For the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was finished that YHWH commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and passed over. When all the people had crossed-crossed over, the ark of YHWH crossed over with the priests before the faces of the people.
The children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them. About forty thousand troops ready and armed for war, passed over before YHWH to battle, to the plains of Jericho. On that day, YHWH exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
YHWH spoke to Joshua, saying, “Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, that they come up from the Jordan.”
So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Y’all come up out of the Jordan.” When the priests who carried the ark of YHWH’s covenant came up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the their feet had been pulled out onto the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before. The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.
Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal. He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When y’all’s children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then y’all are to inform y’all’s children, saying, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry ground. For YHWH y’all’s God dried up the waters of the Jordan from until y’all had crossed over, like YHWH y’all’s God did to the Red Sea, which ʜᴇ dried up from before us until we had crossed over. This was so that all the peoples of the earth may know that YHWH’s hand is mighty, and that y’all would always fear YHWH y’all’s God.’”