Study Desk

Now when the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;

and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel.

So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the encampment and put them down there.

Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.

For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed;

On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.

Now the LORD said to Joshua,

So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan."

As for those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up at Gilgal.

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time."

So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.

This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt.

So their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way.

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the shame of Egypt from you." So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

He said, "No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the LORD." And Joshua fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?"

And the captain of the LORD'S army said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

But the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with its king and the valiant warriors.

So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark of the LORD."