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Joshua 3:7-13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Joshua 3:7-13
Joshua Announces the Sign at the Flooded River
The LORD will magnify Joshua as Moses was magnified
The LORD tells Joshua that this day he will begin to magnify him in Israel's sight, so that they may know God is with him as with Moses. Joshua is to command the ark-bearing priests: when they reach the brink of the Jordan, they are to stand still in the river.
Public standing is given so Israel can recognize continuity of presence. It is not a declaration that Joshua is infallible, above the law, or free to stage wonders that prove his office.
The living God, Lord of all the earth, will stop the water
Joshua calls the people to hear the LORD's words. By this they will know that the living God is among them and will drive out the named peoples of the land. The ark of the Lord of all the earth is passing before them into the Jordan. Twelve men, one from each tribe, are to be selected. When the priests' feet rest in the water, the waters coming down from above will be cut off and stand in a heap.
The sign is announced before it happens. Attention is directed to the living God and to the ark, not to Joshua's technique. The river, not a manufactured spectacle, is the place of the promised proof.
How this should shape us
Let a leader's public honor remain a sign of God's presence under the same law the people carry. Do not demand, stage, or trust a marvel as if it could exempt anyone from obedience.
Teach it back
Explain Joshua 3:7-13 in your own words. Include its movement, relation to Deuteronomy and the rest of Joshua, one material uncertainty or ethical cost, and one modern use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters differ over the composition, historical value, textual form, geography, and theological judgment of “Joshua Announces the Sign at the Flooded River.” Confidence is strongest in the final-form movement summarized here; reconstructions beyond it remain labeled and limited.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Joshua 3:7-13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clauses, names, repeated roots, boundary formulas, covenant terms, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Josh.xml, 3:7–13
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew, textual, translation, list, number, geographical, historical, and cross-reference notes.
NET Bible Joshua PDF, printed pp. 423-424, translation and translator notes on 3:7–13
Supports: Whole-book movement, literary boundaries, composition, history and archaeology limits, geography, theology, and material interpretive alternatives.
Nelson, 'Joshua,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 161-162, discussion of 3:7–13
Supports: Modern research plurality across textual criticism, composition, history, archaeology, geography, violence, ideology, and reception.
Dozeman, 'The Book of Joshua in Recent Research,' Currents in Biblical Research 15.3 (2017), printed pp. 270–288; research categories and bibliography applied cautiously to 3:7–13
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Joshua 3:7-13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Joshua
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clauses, names, repeated roots, boundary formulas, covenant terms, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Josh.xml, 3:7–13
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Joshua with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew, textual, translation, list, number, geographical, historical, and cross-reference notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Joshua PDF, printed pp. 423-424, translation and translator notes on 3:7–13
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Joshua
Richard D. Nelson
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, literary boundaries, composition, history and archaeology limits, geography, theology, and material interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: Nelson, 'Joshua,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 161-162, discussion of 3:7–13
Open source ↗peer reviewed research review
The Book of Joshua in Recent Research
Thomas B. Dozeman
Currents in Biblical Research 15.3, 2017
Supports: Modern research plurality across textual criticism, composition, history, archaeology, geography, violence, ideology, and reception.
Exact location: Dozeman, 'The Book of Joshua in Recent Research,' Currents in Biblical Research 15.3 (2017), printed pp. 270–288; research categories and bibliography applied cautiously to 3:7–13
Open source ↗