And when they were passed over, the Lord said to Josue:
2 Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:
3 And command them to take out of the midst of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, twelve very hard stones, which you shall set in the place of the camp, where you shall pitch your tents this night.
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4 And Josue called twelve men, whom he had chosen out of the children of Israel, one out of every tribe,
5 And he said to them: Go before the ark of the Lord your God to the midst of the Jordan, and carry from thence every man a stone on your shoulders, according to the number of the children of Israel,
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6 That it may be a sign among you and when your children shall ask you tomorrow, saying: What mean these stones?
7 You shall answer them: The waters of the Jordan ran off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, when it passed over the same: therefore were these atones set for a monument of the children of Israel for ever.
8 The children of Israel therefore did as Josue commanded them, carrying out of the channel of the Jordan twelve stones, as the Lord had commanded him, according to the number of the children of Israel, unto the place wherein they camped, and there they set them.
9 And Josue put other twelve stones in the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood that carried the ark of the covenant: and they are there until this present day.
10 Now the priests that carried the ark, stood in the midst of the Jordan till all things were accomplished which the Lord had commanded Josue to speak to the people, and Moses had said to him. And the people made haste and passed over.
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11 And when they had all passed over, the ark also of the Lord passed over, and the priests went before the people.
12 The children of Ruben also and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, went armed before the children of Israel as Moses had commanded them.
13 And forty thousand fighting men by their troops, and bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho.
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14 In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared Moses, while he lived.
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15 And he said to him:
16 Command the priests, that carry the ark of the covenant, to come up out of the Jordan.
17 And he commanded them, saying: Come ye up out of the Jordan.
18 And when they that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, were come up, and began to tread on the dry ground, the waters returned into the channel, and ran as they were wont before.
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19 And the people came up out of the Jordan, the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Galgal, over against the east side of the city of Jericho.
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20 And the twelve stones which they had taken out of the channel of the Jordan, Josue pitched in Galgal,
21 And said to the children of Israel: When your children shall ask their fathers, tomorrow, and shall say to them: What mean these stones?
22 You shall teach them and say: Israel passed over this Jordan through the dry channel.
23 The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in your sight, until you passed over:
24 As he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried up till we passed through:
25 That all the people of the earth may learn the most mighty hand of the Lord, that you also may fear the Lord your God for ever.
Gregory of Nyssa
“The people of the Hebrews, as we learn, after many sufferings, and after accomplishing their weary course in the desert, did not enter the land of promise until it had first been brought, with Joshua for its guide and the pilot of its life, to the passage of the Jordan. But it is clear that Joshua also, who set up the twelve stones in the stream, was anticipating the coming of the twelve disciples, the ministers of baptism.”
Prudentius
“Also, twelve stones from Jordan's bed, Left dry when waters backward flowed, He raised and firmly set in place, The type of Christ's apostles twelve.”
Peter Chrysologus
“The twelve patriarchs destined to become twelve tribes were arranged to be a type and pattern of the number of the apostles. So were the twelve fountains in the desert and twelve stones taken from the bed of the Jordan. We leave it to the student of the law to find deeper proof of all this.”
Bonaventure
“Because the Holy Spirit brought together these articles of faith, contained in the depths of the Scriptures, into one through the twelve Apostles as through the most steadfast witnesses: hence it is that the aforesaid articles were collected into the one Creed of the Apostles. And therefore, according to the Apostles who composed it, they can be called twelve articles, because each Apostle, for the building up of the faith, set down one article as one living stone: which the Holy Spirit rightly prefigured in the twelve men who drew twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan for the construction of the altar of the Lord.”
John of Damascus
“God ordered twelve stones to be taken from the Jordan, and specified why, for he says, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, what do these stones mean? Then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground, for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over," and thus the ark was saved and all the people. Shall we not then record with images the saving passion and miracles of Christ our God, so that when my son asks me, "What is this?" I may say that God the Word became man, and that through him not only Israel passed through the Jordan, but the whole human race regained its original happiness? Through him, human nature rose from the lowest depths to the most exalted heights, and in him sat on the Father's throne.”
Origen
“It seems to me the words "the people hastened to cross" were not added idly by the Holy Spirit. For this reason, I also think that when we come to baptism for salvation and receive the sacraments of the Word of God, we should not do it idly or negligently, but we should hurriedly press on all the way until we cross over everything.For to cross over everything is to accomplish all the things that are commanded. Therefore let us hasten to cross, that is, to fulfill at the beginning, what is written: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Then, when we have set aside all arrogance and taken up the humility of Christ, we may deserve to attain the blessed promise. Yet even when we have accomplished this, we must not stand still or loiter but cross over the other things that follow, so that "we may hunger and thirst after righteousness." We must also cross over that which follows so that in this world "we may mourn." Then we must quickly cross the remaining things so that we may be made "meek" and remain "peaceable" and thus be able to hear as "sons of God." Also we must hasten so that we may pass through the burden of persecution with the virtue of patience. Whenever we seek earnestly and swiftly—not slowly and languidly—those individual things that pertain to the glory of virtue, this, it seems to me, is "to cross over the Jordan with haste."”
Origen
“Let us learn from Paul, who explains who those "girded" ones are. Hear what he himself says: "Therefore, let your loins be girded with truth." You see, therefore, that Paul knew the girded ones, those who were encircled by the belt of truth. So truth also ought to be our belt, if we have preserved the sacrament of this army and belt. For if truth is the belt by which we are girded for the army of Christ, then whenever we speak a falsehood and a lie proceeds from our mouth, we are ungirded from the army of Christ and loosened from the belt of truth. Therefore, if we are in the truth, we are girded; but if in the false, ungirded. Instead let us imitate those "forty thousand girded men proceeding to the war in the sight of the Lord," and let us always be girded with truth.”
Origen
“Certainly, that exaltation of the son of Nun took place in order that the leader of those former people might be held eminent among those whom he ruled. But let us see how our Jesus my Lord, leader and ruler of this latter people, is "exalted" in the sight of all the descendants of the sons of Israel. I myself think that he was always exalted and elevated in the presence of the Father. But it is necessary that God exalt him in our sight. He is exalted in my sight when the sublimity and loftiness of his divinity is disclosed to me. When, therefore, is his lofty divinity revealed to me? At that time, assuredly, when I crossed over the Jordan and was equipped with the various defenses of the sacraments for the future battle.”
Procopius of Gaza
“"In that day the Lord exalted Joshua." The Lord exalted Joshua, for as he increased in age his strength became obvious [for all to see]. They rightly feared the son of Nun with a lawful fear as is fitting for service. And we rightly revere our Jesus with holy fear who stands by us for all eternity.”
Procopius of Gaza
“After they had crossed over the Jordan, the waters returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. For the mystical Jordan also increases when the full number of the faithful enters in. Accordingly, we read, "Lift up your eyes and see that the fields are ripe for the harvest," and again, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few." But he does not simply say "harvest" but "wheat," according to what they have in the Septuagint. For this is a symbol of nourishment.”
Origen
“And when do they come to the crossing of the Jordan? For I have noted that this also has been indicated, so that even the time might be distinguished, and with good reason. "On the tenth," it says, "of the first month." That is also the day on which the mystery of the lamb was prefigured in Egypt. On the tenth of the first month, these things were celebrated in Egypt; on the tenth of the first month, they go into the land of promise. This seems to me exceedingly fortunate, that on the very same day in which someone has escaped the errors of the world, that person may also be worthy to enter the land of promise, that is, on this day in which we live in this age. For all our present life is designated as one day. Therefore we are instructed through that mystery not to put off our acts and works of righteousness until tomorrow but rather "today"6—that is, while we are living, while we are lingering in this world—to make haste to accomplish all things that pertain to perfection, so that on the tenth day of the first month, we shall be able to enter the land of promise, that is, the blessedness of perfection.”