Joshua 4:2

2 Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

Joshua 4:2 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 4:2

Take you twelve men out of the people
Joshua had before this ordered twelve men to be taken from among them, which seems to have been done of himself; and now he has a direction from God for it, and what to employ them in:

out of every tribe a man;
so that what they did was in the name of the several tribes, and as representing them.

Joshua 4:2 In-Context

1 It happened, when all the nation were clean passed over the Yarden, that the LORD spoke to Yehoshua, saying,

2 Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

3 and command you them, saying, Take hence out of the midst of the Yarden, out of the place where the Kohanim' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place, where you shall lodge this night.

4 Then Yehoshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Yisra'el, out of every tribe a man:

5 and Yehoshua said to them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Yarden, and take up every man of you a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Yisra'el;