Twelve men are appointed to take twelve stones for a memorial out of the Jordan, 1-8. Twelve other stones are set up in the midst of the Jordan, 9. The people pass over, 10-13. God magnifies Joshua, 14. The priests commanded to come out of the Jordan, 15-19. The twelve stones are pitched in Gilgal, 20-24.
1 And it came to pass, when all the people had quite passed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 "Take twelve men from the people, from every tribe a man, 3 And command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and you shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging-place where you shall lodge this night.'" 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, of every tribe a man. 5 And Joshua said to them, "Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 So that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What do you mean by these stones?' 7 Then you shall answer them, 'The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.' And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever."
8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD commanded Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood. And they are there to this day. 10 For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua. And the people hastened and passed over. 11 And it came to pass, when all the people had quite passed over, that the ark of the LORD and the priests passed over in the presence of the people. 12 And the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses directed them. 13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD to battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15 And the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 "Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan." 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up out of the Jordan." 18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come up out of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up upon the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks, as they did before.
19 And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean?' 22 Then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.' 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you until you had passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us until we had gone over, 24 So that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD that it is mighty, and that you might fear the LORD your God forever."
Matthew Henry Commentary - Joshua, Chapter 4[➚]
[v.23] - "as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea" - Reference, Exodus, ch. 14.
[v.24a] - "So that all the people of the earth might know" - Reference, Exodus 9:16; Deuteronomy 28:10; 1st Samuel 17:46; 1st Kings 8:42-43; 2nd Kings 5:15, 19:19; Psalm 106:8; Daniel 3:26-29, 4:34-35, 6:26-27.
[v.24b] - "the hand of the LORD that it is mighty" - Reference, Exodus 15:16; 1st Chronicles 29:12; Psalm 89:13.
[v.24c] - "that you might fear the LORD your God" - Reference, Exodus 14:31, 20:20; Deuteronomy 6:1-2; Psalm 76:6-9, 89:7; Jeremiah 10:6-7, 32:40.