Joshua 4:22 kjv
Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
Joshua 4:22 nkjv
then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land';
Joshua 4:22 niv
tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'
Joshua 4:22 esv
then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.'
Joshua 4:22 nlt
Then you can tell them, 'This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'
Joshua 4 22 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Josh 4:6-7 | "...what mean these stones...tell them that the waters of Jordan were cut off..." | Earlier command for the stones and explanation. |
| Exod 12:26-27 | "When your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover..." | Children asking about Passover; similar pattern of instruction. |
| Exod 13:8 | "You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’" | Teaching about the feast of Unleavened Bread. |
| Exod 13:14 | "When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is this?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt...'" | Teaching about the redemption of the firstborn. |
| Deut 6:7 | "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house..." | General command to diligently teach God's commands to children. |
| Deut 6:20-21 | "When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies...’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt...'" | Children asking about statutes; prompts recounting God's deliverance. |
| Deut 11:19 | "You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way..." | Reinforcement of intergenerational instruction. |
| Psa 78:3-6 | "what we have heard and known, and what our fathers have told us...tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD..." | The importance of passing down God's story through generations. |
| Psa 145:4 | "One generation shall commend Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts." | Generational declaration of God's greatness. |
| Joel 1:3 | "Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation." | Prophetic call to remember and teach historical events. |
| Isa 38:19 | "The living, the living, he thanks you; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness." | Fathers proclaiming God's faithfulness to their children. |
| Deut 4:9 | "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen...and make them known to your children and your children’s children..." | Warning against forgetting and mandate to teach. |
| Josh 24:26-27 | "...he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth...“Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us..." | Another example of a memorial stone marking an event and serving as a witness. |
| Gen 28:18 | "So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top." | Setting up a stone pillar as a memorial after a divine encounter. |
| 1 Sam 7:12 | "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, 'Thus far the LORD has helped us.'" | A stone memorializing God's help ("stone of help"). |
| Matt 28:19-20 | "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you..." | The New Covenant Great Commission echoing the teaching imperative. |
| 1 Pet 3:15 | "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you..." | New Testament echo of readiness to explain foundational faith. |
| Heb 11:6 | "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." | The foundational nature of believing God's existence and rewarding nature, which the Jordan event demonstrated. |
| Col 2:6-7 | "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith..." | Emphasizes remaining rooted and established in the received faith. |
| Psa 77:11 | "I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old." | Individual and collective remembrance of God's works. |
| Psa 105:5 | "Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered..." | Call to remember God's specific mighty acts. |
| Isa 63:11 | "Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock?" | Recalling God's past deliverance. |
Joshua 4 verses
Joshua 4 22 Meaning
This verse instructs the Israelites to teach their future generations about the significance of the twelve memorial stones taken from the Jordan River. It anticipates that children, in their natural curiosity, will inquire about these unique stones. This question provides an opportunity for the fathers to narrate God's miraculous act of parting the Jordan River, allowing Israel to cross on dry ground, thus establishing a tangible and lasting memory of His covenant faithfulness and power. The verse emphasizes the importance of intergenerational instruction to preserve the national and spiritual identity tied to God's mighty deeds.
Joshua 4 22 Context
Joshua 4 records the Israelites' miraculous crossing of the Jordan River on dry ground, echoing the earlier Red Sea parting. This event signifies God's fulfillment of His promise to bring them into the Promised Land and His validation of Joshua's leadership. Verses 1-8 detail the command to take twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan and set them up as a memorial at Gilgal. This verse, Joshua 4:22, elaborates on the purpose of this memorial: it is specifically for future generations. The historical context highlights a people on the threshold of nationhood, establishing their identity and covenant relationship with God through acts of remembrance and education. This instruction serves as a foundational pedagogical principle for Israel, ensuring that the collective memory of God's redemptive acts endures, contrasting with the forgetfulness common in pagan cultures where stones might be objects of veneration themselves, rather than pointers to divine action.
Joshua 4 22 Word analysis
- And ye shall let your children know (והודעתם לבניכם - v'hodatam livneikhem): The Hebrew verb "hodatam" is the Hifil (causative) form of "yada" (to know). It signifies "to cause to know," "to instruct," "to inform thoroughly." This highlights a proactive and intentional parental responsibility to educate the next generation, not just wait for them to stumble upon information. It is a divine mandate for faith transmission.
- saying (לאמר - le'mor): This common Hebrew phrase introduces direct speech or the content of what is to be conveyed. Here, it precedes the anticipated question of the children and, implicitly, the response that the fathers are to provide.
- When your children ask their fathers (כי ישאלו בניכם את־אבותם - ki yish'alu baneikhem et-avotam): "Yish'alu" is from the verb "sha'al" (to ask, inquire). This acknowledges the natural curiosity of children and God's wisdom in establishing memorials that prompt such questions. It transforms a potential interruption into a spiritual opportunity, making learning interactive. The use of "fathers" emphasizes the paternal role in religious education within the family unit.
- in time to come (מחר - machar): Literally "tomorrow," but used idiomatically here to mean "in the future," "hereafter," or "in later generations." This highlights the enduring purpose of the memorial beyond the immediate event, looking forward to the perpetuation of the memory through centuries. It emphasizes the long-term vision of God for His covenant people.
- What mean these stones (מה האבנים האלה - mah ha'avanim ha'eleh): This simple question is the trigger for the entire educational process. It focuses specifically on "these stones," distinguishing them from ordinary rocks and prompting an explanation rooted in their unique origin and purpose as a divine memorial.
- "let your children know, saying" and "When your children ask": This juxtaposition presents a structured pedagogical cycle. Parents are commanded to actively teach (let them know), anticipating that the visible memorial will then provoke the children's inquiry (when they ask). The visual cue (stones) triggers verbal instruction, ensuring the story is passed on contextually.
- "children ask their fathers": This phrase underlines the divinely appointed channel for knowledge transmission—from father to child. It reinforces the familial responsibility in preserving sacred history and the importance of active listening and questioning in the learning process. This pattern is foundational to the covenant instruction throughout the Pentateuch, especially in Deuteronomy and Exodus related to Passover.
Joshua 4 22 Bonus section
The motif of stones set up as a witness or memorial appears several times in the Bible (e.g., Jacob's pillar at Bethel in Gen 28:18, Laban and Jacob's heap of stones in Gen 31:45-48, Joshua's stone under the terebinth in Josh 24:26-27, Samuel's Ebenezer stone in 1 Sam 7:12). This repeated pattern highlights the ancient Near Eastern practice of erecting tangible, often unhewn, stone monuments to commemorate significant events, covenants, or divine encounters. However, Israel's usage, unlike surrounding pagan cultures which might have attributed divine power to the stones themselves, was distinct: these stones solely pointed to God's action, not as objects of worship. They were visible signs, pedagogical prompts for spiritual reflection and historical recall, emphasizing that divine intervention shapes human history. They were not to be revered, but rather to provoke remembrance of the One who acted. This instruction to tell "What mean these stones?" transforms the material objects into portals to the sacred narrative of Yahweh's sovereignty and Israel's redemption.
Joshua 4 22 Commentary
Joshua 4:22 provides a timeless principle for the intergenerational transmission of faith and covenant history. The memorial stones were not mere archaeological artifacts but living pedagogical tools, designed by God to prompt inquiry from the curious hearts of children. The divine wisdom is evident in establishing a tangible prompt that would inevitably lead to questions about its origin and purpose. This then obligates the parents, especially the fathers, to articulate God's miraculous intervention, recounting how He dried the Jordan for Israel's passage. This system ensures that the monumental event of crossing into the Promised Land, and by extension God's ongoing faithfulness, would not fade into distant memory but would remain a vivid, taught reality for successive generations. It underscores that spiritual legacy is actively transmitted through narrative and personal testimony, not merely assumed or passively acquired. The act of asking by the child and the ready answer by the parent formed a core educational ritual, cementing Israel’s identity in God’s redemptive acts.