And 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:
Joshua told them, 'Go ahead of the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan River, and each of you pick up a stone and carry it on your shoulder—one stone for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.'
Joshua is instructing twelve men to collect stones from the Jordan River as a memorial, with one stone representing each tribe of Israel.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred during Israel's miraculous crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land, when God stopped the waters just as He had done at the Red Sea forty years earlier. Joshua was commanding twelve representatives, one from each tribe, to gather stones that would become a permanent memorial of God's faithfulness. This moment marked the end of Israel's wilderness wandering and the beginning of their conquest of Canaan.
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