The contents of this and the next chapter, which record the miraculous passage of Israel over Jordan, are given in four sections:
(1) Joshua 3:1-6, describing the preliminary directions;
(2) Joshua 3:7-17, the commencement of the passage;
(3) Joshua 4:1-14, the accomplishment of it;
(4) Joshua 4:15-24, the conclusion of the passage and erection of a monument to commemorate it.
A certain completeness and finish is given to each division of the narrative, and to effect this the writer more than once repeats himself, anticipates the actual order of events, and distributes into parts occurrences which in fact took place once for all.