Cubix’s Rube
“However, there shall be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits by measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:4 NASB
About two thousand cubits – Think about this! God instructs Joshua to prepare the people to cross the Jordan. The ark of the covenant is to lead the way, carried by the priests in front of the masses. This hasn’t happened before. Something unusual is in the air. Furthermore, the people are to maintain a distance of about two thousand cubits between the priests carrying the ark and the rest of the Israelites. Two thousand cubits is approximately half a mile. That’s a long way when you’re traveling on foot and a very big crowd. The instructions given tell the people that they are to follow the ark but keep their distance. Just think about the physical situation here.
First, in all likelihood only those at the beginning of the masses will even be able to see the priests carrying the ark. That means most of the people are following other people, the blind leading the blind, so to speak. Secondly, at a distance of half a mile, what happens if there’s an intervening hill, or a turn in the road, or dust, or any number of other things that could block the view? How will the people know not only which way to go but also to maintain the half-mile separation? What would occur if the ark stopped over the rise of a hill and the people, not seeing that the ark stopped, kept walking? Finally, these people are essentially on the banks of the Jordan (or very close). If they are to go forward, following the ark, doesn’t this imply that the ark will have to cross the Jordan ahead of them? And how is that going to happen? If the priests wait at the river’s edge, the crowd cannot approach the river. But if they cross, the miracle of the separation of the waters hasn’t yet happened? How do they get to the other side? It’s a puzzle, a Rubix’s Cube in the biblical text. Perhaps you’ve already wondered about this—perhaps not. But here it is in the instructions from God.
Oh, and there’s another oddity in this text. Did you notice the end of the verse, that part about “for you have not passed this way before”? The Hebrew doesn’t actually say this. It says, “for you have not been this way for three days.” But the Israelites have never been this way, that’s why the translators “correct” the text to read “before.” However, the text is quite clear. “For three days” seems completely nonsensical. What can God possibly mean? There is an answer, by the way, but it isn’t obvious—and it doesn’t need a “correction.” It has to do with the period of mourning after Moses’ death. Without a little history about this occurrence, the verse seems counterintuitive. Maybe that’s why the translators felt it necessary to alter the meaning.
All in all, this verse has some real puzzles. That’s why we need to spend more time considering it rather than just assuming it’s an odd way of telling us about the events before the crossing of the Jordan. Translations that “explain” verses usually remove the subtleties we need to know.
Topical Index: two thousand cubits, direction, three days, Joshua 3:4
