The fate of Joshua's twelve stones set up in the midst of the Jordan

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TonyChanYT

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Joshua 4:

9 Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.
How could they still be there much later? Wouldn't these stones be pushed downstream by the torrents?

I find Keil and Delitzsch's explanation reasonable:

But it cannot be so absolutely affirmed that these stones would be carried away at once by the stream, so that they could never be seen any more. As the priests did not stand in the middle or deepest part of the river, but just in the bed of the river, and close to its eastern bank, and it was upon this spot that the stones were set up, and as we neither know their size nor the firmness with which they stood, we cannot pronounce any positive opinion as to the possibility of their remaining. It is not likely that they remained there for centuries; but they were intended rather as a memorial for the existing generation and their children, than for a later age, which would be perpetually reminded of the miraculous help of God by the monument erected in Gilgal.
 
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JohnDB

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Joshua 4:


How could they still be there much later? Wouldn't these stones be pushed downstream by the torrents?

I find Keil and Delitzsch's explanation reasonable:
Not really to me....

First off the river doesn't flow very fast at all. A very very slow moving current most of the year.
And unless it's at flood stage its just above your ankles. The East Bank is really steep and the west is much more gradual in this location.

The stones....
In this one area they have some at the bottom of the Jordan....large flat twin mattress sized stones. There are other memorial stones set up on end (like a bilboard but not in this immediate area) that are memorial stones . Kinda alone the lines of a marble tombstone but squared off and much taller.

I've been to this site....it's the same site John The Baptist was Baptizing people including Jesus. (Which makes those ALL ABOUT full immersion baptism go crazy)

Israel has been overrun several times. Assyria, Babylon, Persian Empire, Greece, Rome, Muslims, Catholics, Ottomans, and Britain. Each empire would take any large sized cut stone and use it immediately to build something new.

Even the tomb where Jesus was once buried has been effectively bulldozed twice. The Temple mount itself that was built up by Herod with a terraced elevation is in shambles but is still there....barely. it keeps falling. I really do not recommend going anywhere near the wailing wall. (If things were peaceful)
 

Cassandra

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Not really to me....

First off the river doesn't flow very fast at all. A very very slow moving current most of the year.
And unless it's at flood stage its just above your ankles. The East Bank is really steep and the west is much more gradual in this location.

The stones....
In this one area they have some at the bottom of the Jordan....large flat twin mattress sized stones. There are other memorial stones set up on end (like a bilboard but not in this immediate area) that are memorial stones . Kinda alone the lines of a marble tombstone but squared off and much taller.

I've been to this site....it's the same site John The Baptist was Baptizing people including Jesus. (Which makes those ALL ABOUT full immersion baptism go crazy)

Israel has been overrun several times. Assyria, Babylon, Persian Empire, Greece, Rome, Muslims, Catholics, Ottomans, and Britain. Each empire would take any large sized cut stone and use it immediately to build something new.

Even the tomb where Jesus was once buried has been effectively bulldozed twice. The Temple mount itself that was built up by Herod with a terraced elevation is in shambles but is still there....barely. it keeps falling. I really do not recommend going anywhere near the wailing wall. (If things were peaceful)
I was always wondering about that--if that was a true Temple wall??
Matt 24:2.Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
 

JohnDB

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I was always wondering about that--if that was a true Temple wall??
Matt 24:2.Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
It's a retaining wall....not a temple wall.
The new Yemple complex Herod had built wouldn't fit on the existing "mountain"/hill. So he built it up with a retaining wall and fill dirt/rock. The Jews and Muslims have since created a huge underground complex and tunnels everywhere. And since it's geologically unstable...yeah. disasters are common.