Joshua 4 · Verse 12

Joshua 4:12

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:
Joshua 4:12, King James Version

Joshua 4:12 in other translations

BSBThe Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over before the Israelites, armed for battle as Moses had instructed them.
WEBThe children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them.
ASVAnd 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:
YLTand 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;
DARBYAnd 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.
BBEAnd the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went over armed before the children of Israel as Moses had said to them:
WebsterAnd 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 directed them:

What does Joshua 4:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 4:12-13
12-13. the children of Reuben ... passed over armed before the children of Israel--There is no precedency to the other tribes indicated here; for there is no reason to suppose that the usual order of march was departed from; but these are honorably mentioned to show that, in pursuance of their promise (Jos 1:16-18), they had sent a complement of fighting men to accompany their brethren in the war of invasion.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 The children of Reuben, and - Gad - Concerning the numbers of these tribes that stayed behind to take care of the women, children, and cattle, and which amounted to 70,580 men, see the note on Num 32:17. Passed over armed - See the note on Jos 1:14.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 4:10-19

The priests with the ark did not stir till ordered to move. Let none be weary of waiting, while they have the tokens of God's presence with them, even the ark of the covenant, though it be in the depths of adversity. Notice is taken of the honour put upon Joshua. Those are feared in the best manner, and to the best purpose, who make it appear that God is with them, and that they set him before them.

Read the full comment on Joshua 4:10-19 →

Joshua 4:12 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.

וַ֠יַּעַבְרוּVai.ya.'av.ruand they passed overH5674
בְּנֵי\־be.nei-[the] descendants ofH1121
רְאוּבֵ֨ןre.'u.VenReubenH7205
וּבְנֵי\־u.ve.nei-and [the] descendants ofH1121
גָ֜דgadGadH1410
וַחֲצִ֨יva.cha.Tziand [the] half ofH2677
שֵׁ֤בֶטShe.vet[the] tribe ofH7626
הַֽמְנַשֶּׁה֙ham.na.Sheh<the> ManassehH4519
חֲמֻשִׁ֔יםcha.mu.Shimarrayed for battleH2571
לִפְנֵ֖יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛רka.'a.Sherjust asH834
דִּבֶּ֥רdi.Berhe had spokenH1696
אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם'a.lei.Hemto themH413
מֹשֶֽׁה\׃mo.ShehMosesH4872

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

Cross references for Joshua 4:12

  • Joshua 1:14

    Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;

  • Numbers 32:20-32

    And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war, And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the children.
1:14; Nu 32:20-32

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

Context

  • Joshua 4:11

    And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.

  • Joshua 4:12

    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:

  • Joshua 4:13

    About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

Read all of Joshua 4

Joshua 4:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		También los hijos de Rubén y los hijos de Gad, y la media tribu de Manasés, pasaron armados delante de los hijos de Israel, según Moisés les había dicho:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et les fils de Ruben, et les fils de Gad, et la moitié de la tribu de Manassé, passèrent armés devant les fils d’Israël, comme leur avait dit Moïse.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und die Kinder Ruben und die Kinder Gad und der halbe Stamm Manasse zogen gerüstet vor den Kindern Israel her, wie Mose zu ihnen geredet hatte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Filii quoque Ruben, et Gad, et dimidia tribus Manasse, armati præcedebant filios Israël, sicut eis præceperat Moyses: