The Meaning of Joshua 4:12 Explained

Joshua 4:12

KJV: And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:

YLT: and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, pass over, by fifties, before the sons of Israel, as Moses had spoken unto them;

Darby: And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, went over in array before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.

ASV: And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the children  of Reuben,  and the children  of Gad,  and half  the tribe  of Manasseh,  passed over  armed  before  the children  of Israel,  as Moses  spake  unto them: 

What does Joshua 4:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Joshua 4:1-24 - The Memorial Stones
Twelve stones were brought up from the Jordan and erected in Gilgal. They gave fathers the opportunity of telling their children of the miraculous passage of the river. We, too, through our Lord, have passed through the waters of death on to resurrection-ground. Let the great deliverances of God wrought for our fatherland, as well as those wrought for us personally in Christ, be more frequent subjects of family-talk.
Twelve other stones were placed in the river-bed and would be visible when the waters were low. There was an ocular demonstration, therefore, that Israel was really once in these depths. We must not forget the Rock out of which we were hewn, Isaiah 51:1; 1 Corinthians 6:11. Let us never cease to magnify God's grace, Psalms 40:2.
The presence of the Ark alone restrained the piled-up waters. Thus Jesus stands between us and whatever would overwhelm us, especially sin and death, Hebrews 2:14. Do not, in rejecting Him, reject your only screen. [source]

Chapter Summary: Joshua 4

1  Twelve men are appointed to take twelve memorial stones from Jordan
9  Twelve other stones are set up in the midst of Jordan
10  The people pass over
14  God magnifies Joshua
15  The priests commanded to come out of Jordan
20  The twelve stones are pitched in Gilgal

What do the individual words in Joshua 4:12 mean?

And crossed over the men of Reuben and the men of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh armed before the sons of Israel as had spoken to them Moses
וַ֠יַּעַבְרוּ בְּנֵי־ רְאוּבֵ֨ן וּבְנֵי־ גָ֜ד וַחֲצִ֨י שֵׁ֤בֶט הַֽמְנַשֶּׁה֙ חֲמֻשִׁ֔ים לִפְנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר דִּבֶּ֥ר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מֹשֶֽׁה

וַ֠יַּעַבְרוּ  And  crossed  over 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
בְּנֵי־  the  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
רְאוּבֵ֨ן  of  Reuben 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: רְאוּבֵן  
Sense: the eldest son of Jacob by Leah.
וּבְנֵי־  and  the  men 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
גָ֜ד  of  Gad 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גָּד  
Sense: seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and full brother of Asher.
וַחֲצִ֨י  and  half 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חֲצִי 
Sense: half.
שֵׁ֤בֶט  the  tribe 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁבֶט  
Sense: rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe.
הַֽמְנַשֶּׁה֙  of  Manasseh 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְנַשֶּׁה  
Sense: the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh.
חֲמֻשִׁ֔ים  armed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: חָמַשׁ  
Sense: in battle array, arrayed for battle by fives, armed.
לִפְנֵ֖י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
בְּנֵ֣י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
דִּבֶּ֥ר  had  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
מֹשֶֽׁה  Moses 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹשֶׁה  
Sense: the prophet and lawgiver, leader of the exodus.

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