What Does Joshua 10:18 Mean?
And Joshua said, Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave, and set men there to keep them under guard.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them:THE KEY
The stone hides the kings; the watch ensures they remain contained.
THE MEANING
The cave’s opening is closed, and men are posted to keep the people within under custody. The barrier blocks the way out; the watch makes their continued presence unmistakable.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
What is hidden has disappeared.
THE ROOT
גֹּלּוּ
gollu
GROWS FROM
גלל
g-l-l
To roll or roll away
“Roll” in this verse is gollu. Here, the root describes stones rolled against a cave’s mouth; in Joshua 5:9, the same root describes reproach rolled away. The shared word holds closure and removal in one motion: what is rolled, and where, determines the result.
ALSO GROWS
galgal: Wheel; something that rolls
גַּלְגַּל
It preserves the root’s physical sense of rolling motion.
galloti: I have rolled away
גָּלֹתִי
In Joshua 5:9, this form describes the LORD rolling away reproach, echoing the verb used here for rolling stones into place.
לְשָׁמְרָם
leshomram
GROWS FROM
שמר
sh-m-r
To guard, watch, or keep
“keep them under guard” in this verse is leshomram. The men are assigned a watch over the cave’s occupants. The root joins keeping with guarding: the kings remain in custody because someone stays at the opening.
ALSO GROWS
shomer: A guard or watchman
שֹׁמֵר
It names the role of the men posted at the cave.
mishmeret: A watch, guard duty, or custody
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
It shows how this root can describe an assigned period of guarding, not just keeping something safe.
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
Yehoshua
GROWS FROM
ישע
y-sh-ʿ
To deliver or bring into safety; joined with the divine name in Yehoshua
Joshua’s name carries the root of deliverance, joined to the divine name. In this verse, that name stands beside a command that holds Israel’s enemies in custody.
ALSO GROWS
yeshuah: Deliverance
יְשׁוּעָה
It shares the name’s deliverance root and brings its nature into view.
moshiaʿ: Deliverer; one who brings rescue
מוֹשִׁיעַ
It is another form from the same root, connecting the name with the act of delivering.
THE PATTERN
A stone at an opening controls access by opening or closing the space beyond it.
And all the flocks were gathered there, and they rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and gave the sheep drink, and turned the stone back upon the mouth of the well in its place.And a stone was brought and set upon the mouth of the pit, and the king sealed it with his own ring, and with the ring of his great ones, that the word might not change concerning Daniel.He laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone against the door of the tomb, and went away.THE THREAD
And the LORD said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away the taunt of Egypt from off you. Therefore the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.Joshua 10:18 uses galal to roll stones against the cave’s mouth; Joshua 5:9 uses the same root for the LORD’s rolling away of reproach. The shared word holds closure and removal in one motion: context shows whether the rolling confines or releases.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us