Joshua 4:2

2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

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 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,

2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

3 and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”

4 So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,

5 and said to them, “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Israel,