יהושע, פרק ד׳, פסוק ח׳

The completion of the Jordan River crossing is marked by a powerful symbolic act: the Israelites carrying stones from the dry riverbed directly into their new camp. The execution of this task highlights the exact precision of the people, as they perfectly merged the direct instructions given by their leader with the original command handed down by God.

The historical account highlights an apparent repetition, indicating that the people acted both as Joshua commanded and as God had spoken. [המלבי״ם] explains that this dual description is not redundant. Instead, it precisely defines how the mission was accomplished by bridging a gap between God's original words to Joshua and the specific way Joshua relayed the order to the nation.

God's initial directive did not explicitly state that each chosen man needed to carry a stone personally on his own shoulder. On the other hand, when Joshua passed the instructions to the Israelites, he did not specifically mention the final destination where the stones were to be deposited, which was the camp where they would spend the night.

Ultimately, the people merged both sets of instructions to fulfill the mission flawlessly. They carried the twelve stones, representing each tribe, individually on their shoulders, fulfilling Joshua's specific command. Then, they carried these stones all the way to their final destination, setting them down at their lodging place, faithfully completing the task exactly as God had originally spoken.