1. Joshua 4:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

How does "to this day" function in Joshua?

Joshua 4:9 (ESV)

9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.

To this day is a common phrase in Joshua used to indicate a historical perspective on the events that the book narrates (Joshua 5:9; Joshua 6:25; Joshua 9:27; Joshua 15:63; Joshua 16:10).1 The use of this phrase also seems to suggest that the book of Joshua in its final form was written sometime after the events which it describes (e.g., Joshua 5:9; Joshua 7:26; Joshua 9:27).