Joshua 3 · Verse 16

Joshua 3:16

That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
Joshua 3:16, King James Version

Joshua 3:16 in other translations

BSBthe flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
WEBthe waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people passed over near Jericho.
ASVthat the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
YLTthat the waters stand; those coming down from above have risen--one heap, very far above Adam the city, which is at the side of Zaretan; and those going down by the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, have been completely cut off; and the people have passed through over-against Jericho;
DARBYthe waters which flowed down from above stood and rose up in a heap, very far, by Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan; and those that flowed down towards the sea of the plain, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people went over opposite to Jericho.
BBEThen the waters flowing down from higher up were stopped and came together in a mass a long way back at Adam, a town near Zarethan; and the waters flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were cut off: and the people went across opposite Jericho.
WebsterThat the waters which came down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those that came down towards the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

What does Joshua 3:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 3:14-16

Jos 3:14-17. The Waters of Jordan Are Divided. 14-16. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, &c.--To understand the scene described we must imagine the band of priests with the ark on their shoulders, standing on the depressed edge of the river, while the mass of the people were at a mile's distance. Suddenly the whole bed of the river was dried up; a spectacle the more extraordinary in that…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 Rose up upon a heap - That is, they continued to accumulate, filling up the whole of the channel toward the source, and the adjacent ground over which they were now spread, to a much greater depth, the power of God giving a contrary direction to the current. We need not suppose them to be gathered up like a mountain, instar montis, as the Vulgate expresses it, but that they continued to flow back in the course of the channel; and ere they could have reached the lake of Gennesareth, where they might have been easily accumulated, the whole Israelitish army would have all got safely to the opposite side. Very far from the city Adam - beside Zaretan - Where these places were it is difficult to say. The city Adam is wholly unknown. From 1Kgs 4:12 we learn that Zartanah was below Jezreel near Bethshean, or Scythopolis, and not far from Succoth, 1Kgs 7:46. And it appears from Gen 33:17, Jos 13:27, that Succoth lay on the east side of Jordan, not far from the lake of Gennesareth; and probably Adam was on the same side to the north of Succoth. It is probable that the Israelites crossed the Jordan near Bethabara, where John baptized, Joh 1:28, and which probably had its name, the house of passage, from this very circumstance. After all, it is extremely difficult to ascertain the exact situation of these places, as in the lapse of upwards of 3,000 years the face of the country must have been materially changed. Seas, rivers, and mountains, change not; and though we cannot ascertain the spot, it is sufficiently evident that we can come near to the place. It has been considered a lame objection against the truth of the Iliad that the situation of Troy cannot now be exactly ascertained. There are even many ancient cities and considerable towns in Europe, that, though they still bear their former names, do not occupy the same spot. There are not a few of those even in England; among such Norwich, Salisbury, etc., may be ranked, neither of which is in its primitive situation. Right against Jericho - It would be impossible for the whole camp to pass over in the space opposite to Jericho, as they must have taken up some miles in breadth, besides the 2,000 cubits which were left on the right between them and the ark; but the river was divided opposite to Jericho, and there the camp began to pass over.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 3:14-17

Jordan overflowed all its banks. This magnified the power of God, and his kindness to Israel. Although those who oppose the salvation of God's people have all advantages, yet God can and will conquer. This passage over Jordan, as an entrance to Canaan, after their long, weary wanderings in the wilderness, shadowed out the believer's passage through death to heaven, after he has finished his wanderings in this sinful…

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Joshua 3:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּעַמְד֡וּvai.ya.'am.Duand they stoodH5975
הַמַּיִם֩ha.ma.Yimthe watersH4325
הַיֹּרְדִ֨יםhai.yo.re.Dimwhich came downH3381
מִלְמַ֜עְלָהmil.Ma'.lahfrom to above <towards>H4605
קָ֣מוּKa.muthey roseH6965
נֵד\־ned-a heapH5067
אֶחָ֗ד'e.ChadoneH259
הַרְחֵ֨קhar.Chekfar awayH7368
מְאֹ֜דme.'OdveryH3966
מֵֽאָדָ֤םme.'a.damfrom AdamH121
הָעִיר֙ha.'Irthe cityH5892
אֲשֶׁר֙'a.SherwhichH834
מִצַּ֣דmi.Tzad[is] from [the] side ofH6654
צָֽרְתָ֔ןtza.re.TanZarethanH6891
וְהַיֹּרְדִ֗יםve.hai.yo.re.Dimand which went downH3381
עַ֣ל'altoH5921
יָ֧םyam[the] sea ofH3220
הָעֲרָבָ֛הha.'a.ra.Vahthe ArabahH6160
יָם\־yom-[the] Sea ofH3220
הַמֶּ֖לַחha.Me.lach<the> SaltH4417
תַּ֣מּוּTa.muthey were completeH8552
נִכְרָ֑תוּnikh.Ra.tuthey were cut offH3772
וְהָעָ֥םve.ha.'Amand the peopleH5971
עָבְר֖וּ'a.ve.Ruthey passed overH5674
נֶ֥גֶדNe.gedbeforeH5048
יְרִיחֽוֹ\׃ye.ri.ChoJerichoH3405

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 3:16

  • Joshua 3:13

    And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

  • 1 Kings 4:12

    Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth–shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth–shean to Abel–meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:

  • 1 Kings 7:46

    In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

  • Genesis 14:3

    All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

  • Deuteronomy 1:1

    These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

  • Psalms 114:3

    The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

  • Numbers 34:3

    Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:

  • Matthew 8:26-27

    And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

  • Psalms 77:19

    Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

  • Joshua 15:2

    And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward:

  • Psalms 74:15

    Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.

  • Psalms 66:6

    He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
rose up.
13; Ps 29:10; 77:19; 114:3; Mt 8:26,27; 14:24-33
Zaretan.
1Ki 4:12
Zartanah.
1Ki 7:46
Zarthan. the salt sea.
15:2; Ge 14:3; Nu 34:3; De 3:17The passage through the Red Sea took place in the night, when the Israelites were fleeing from the Egyptians with great trepidation: but they passed Jordan in the day-time, with previous warning, leisurely, directly opposite to Jericho, and with a triumphant defiance of the Canaanites; this passage into the promised land evidently typifying the believer's passage through death to heaven.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 3:15

    And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

  • Joshua 3:16

    That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

  • Joshua 3:17

    And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Read all of Joshua 3

Joshua 3:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Las aguas que venían de arriba, se pararon como en un montón bien lejos de la ciudad de Adam, que está al lado de Sarethan; y las que descendían á la mar de los llanos, al mar Salado, se acabaron y fueron partidas; y el pueblo pasó en derecho de Jericó.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
les eaux qui descendaient d’en haut s’arrêtèrent: elles s’élevèrent en un monceau très loin, près d’Adam, ville qui est à côté de Tsarthan; et celles qui descendaient à la mer de la plaine, la mer Salée, s’écoulèrent complètement; et le peuple passa vis-à-vis de Jéricho.
German
Elberfelder 1871
da blieben die von oben herabfließenden Wasser stehen; sie richteten sich auf wie ein Damm, sehr fern, bei Adam, der Stadt, die seitwärts von Zarethan liegt; und die nach dem Meere der Ebene, dem Salzmeere, hinabfließenden wurden völlig abgeschnitten. Und das Volk zog hindurch, Jericho gegenüber.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
steterunt aquæ descendentes in loco uno, et ad instar montis intumescentes apparebant procul, ab urbe quæ vocatur Adom usque ad locum Sarthan: quæ autem inferiores erant, in mare Solitudinis (quod nunc vocatur Mortuum) descenderunt, usquequo omnino deficerent.