Joshua 7:16

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought forward Israel, {tribe by tribe}, and the tribe of Judah was selected by lot.

Joshua 7:16 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 7:16

So Joshua rose up early in the morning
Which showed his readiness and diligence to obey the command of God; and as there was much work to do, it required that he should rise early:

and brought Israel by their tribes:
before the Lord, at the tabernacle, where he and the high priest and elders attended; each tribe was thither brought by their representatives:

and the tribe of Judah was taken:
either his stone in the breastplate of the high priest looked dull, as some say, or rather the lot being cast fell on that tribe.

Joshua 7:16 In-Context

14 In the morning you will come forward, {tribe by tribe}, and the tribe that Yahweh will select by lot will come forward by clans, and the clan that Yahweh selects by lot will come forward by families, and the family that Yahweh selects by lot will come forward one by one.

15 The one caught with the devoted things will be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because {he transgressed the covenant} of Yahweh, and because he did a disgraceful thing in Israel." '"

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought forward Israel, {tribe by tribe}, and the tribe of Judah was selected by lot.

17 And he brought forward the clans of Judah and selected the clan of the Zerahites by lot. Then he brought forward the clan of the Zerahites, one by one, and Zabdi was selected by lot.

18 He brought forward his family, one by one, and Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected by lot.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "And"
• [b]. Literally "according to its tribes"