It happened, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh were come up out of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
Only at this point was the miraculous crossing achieved and concluded. The mention here of the sudden return of the waters to full flood stage as soon as the crossing had been completed was, as Cook thought, "Mentioned here to stress the absolutely miraculous nature of this entire episode."[3] "Obviously, the writer wants to inculcate the lesson that truly a miracle had occurred."[4]