Yehoshua 3: River Jordan

Chapter three and chapter four comprise one long story detailing the crossing of the Jordan river. The story parallels the story of the Israelites crossing the Yam Suf. This time, however, instead of the two walls of water, the Jordan only halts on one side. Joshua introduces the crossing in similar fashion to Moshe, namely, that the splitting will show that God will lead the people to victory. “And Yehoshua said, Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Kena῾ani, and the Ḥitti, and the Ḥivvi, and the Perizzi, and Girgashi, and the Emori and the Yevusi” (verse 3) and “Moshe said to the people: Do not be afraid! Stand fast and see God’s deliverance, which he will work for you today, for as you see Egypt today, you will never see it again for the ages! God will do battle for you, and you—be still” (Exodus 14:13). Instead of Moshe raising his staff above the water, this time the waters split by the touch of the feet of the Priests carrying the Aron. It is this last part that seems to be emphasized the most in the chapter. The phrase “the priests that bear the ark of the Lord” appears six times in this chapter. Why would the Navi need to repeat this phrase so often? After the first time, the text could have simply said the priests or the Ark. The answer may have to do with the last difference between the two stories. Moshe was from the tribe of Levi and his brother Aaron was a Cohen. Yehoshua is from the tribe of Ephrayim. Throughout much of the Torah following the sin of the Golden Calf, the tribe of Levi and the Cohanim play an outsized role in the text. But now that leadership role takes a back seat to Yehoshua, and eventually many other leaders and judges who are not from the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Levi will also not play an obvious role in the conquest of the land. The emphasis here on the connection between the Cohanim and the Ark is a reminder of the role that the Cohanim will play in this next phase of the Israelite story. It may not be in the forefront as it was in the Torah, but the tribe of Levi and the Cohanim as intrinsically linked to the God and act as protectors of the literal Ark as well as the spiritual Ark in the new land.