Speaking of Which

and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people. Joshua 4:11  NASB

Crossed – Yesterday we reflected on the paradigm commitment to miracles, noting that reconciling apparently conflicting texts sometimes leads to some fairly irrational conclusions.  Today we’ll focus on a much more pedestrian item.  That doesn’t mean today’s effort won’t yield some uplifting results.  It just means that today we’ll look at grammatical oddities, not fanciful flights.

The verb translated “crossed” in this verse is ʿābar.  It means, “pass over, by, through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.”^[1]  There’s nothing hidden here, with one small exception.  This verb is a third person, imperfect, masculine, singular.  It’s the “singular” part that’s unsettling.  After all, the action is about the ark and the priests.  The verb should be plural.  “They crossed,” not “It crossed.”  But, who knows, maybe it’s just a copyist’s error.

Unless . . . unless there is something else happening.  During the entire journey through the wilderness, the ark and the priests have always led the way.  They are at the head of the column of travelers.  Now, when they reach the Jordan, they go first into the water—and, of course, the waters pile up so that everyone can cross.  While the people are crossing, the ark and the priests remain in the middle of the riverbed.  When the transition is complete, when everyone has crossed, the priests and the ark are now at the back of the column.  Now they have to finish crossing and regain their position at the front.  But the verb tells us something else.  In all the previous narratives, the priests are mentioned before the ark.  Even in Joshua, that order is maintained until this verse.  Suddenly the text shifts our perspective.  Now it is “the ark and the priests,” not “the priests and the ark.”  The verb is the clue to this change.  It’s not the priests who are the focus of attention.  It’s the ark.  So, the verb is singular because what is really happening here is that the ark is crossing—and the priests are just accompanying it.  Nothing miraculous, just grammar.  But it’s grammar that you can’t see in the English translation, and because you can’t see it, you miss the fact that there has been a change in the priorities.  What we needed was a little red flag (or at least a footnote).  We didn’t get one, so we just went right on reading as if nothing remarkable had happened.

Of course, with a red flag we would have been forced to ask, “Why was the order changed?  What made this necessary?”  With the red flag, you, the reader, would have had to grapple with some questions instead of merrily flying over the text.  Oh, wait!  Flying over the text.  That’s an extra miracle thing, remember?  I wonder why God arranged this little reorientation.  Do you suppose it might have something to do with the symbol of His presence representing a change in God’s experience of His people?

Topical Index:  ʿābar, to cross, Joshua 4:11

^[1] (1999). 1556 עָבַר. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 640). Chicago: Moody Press.