The Empty Space

Now when the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,  Joshua 4:1  NASB

Had finished crossing – Sometimes what matters most is what can’t be written and can’t be read.  Here’s what this verse looks like in the Hebrew text:

{וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר-תַּמּוּ כָל-הַגּוֹי לַעֲבוֹר אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן  {פ

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לֵאמֹר

Notice this symbol: {פ}. Not surprisingly, it marks the end of what is essentially a paragraph (as we would express it in English).  But also notice that it comes in the middle of the sentence.  In fact, in the translations you wouldn’t even know it was there.  The thought simply continues:  “after all the people crossed . . . God spoke to Joshua.”  However, in the Hebrew text there is a full empty line here, as I have indicated above.  Look up this verse in a Hebrew Bible and you will find the empty line.  Sometimes these empty spaces occur between words.  This is called a “closed stop.”  But here we have a rare “open stop,” that is, a line in the text without any characters.  Since it occurs in the middle of a continuing thought, we a forced to ask, “What is the purpose of this unusual occurrence?”

There is no definitive answer, but let me make a suggestion.  When the Israelites cross the Jordan, that is, when all the Israelites have completely crossed, something critical is accomplished.  God’s promise to Abraham, reiterated to Moses (Exodus 3:8), that He will rescue His people and bring them into a good land, has been fulfilled.  The entire episode that began in the time of Abraham, was heightened in the exodus, and was delayed for forty years, is finished.  When the last person’s last foot falls on the Canaan side of the Jordan, this ancient promise is done, even if it happens in the midst of a continuing event.

The empty line says, “STOP!”  Consider all that God did to bring this about.  Something so significant has occurred that it requires a full cessation in the continuing story.  A new chapter begins, not with the number at the beginning in an English Bible, but with a complete change in the story.  Israel is home!

But, of course, Israel is home in the midst of another story, so if we don’t pay attention to the empty space—if we just leave it out—then we won’t realize that one story ends and another begins at exactly the same moment—the moment when the last person lifts his foot from the Jordan and sets it on the land.

Topical Index:  empty space, open stop, story, had finished crossing, Joshua 4:1