Joshua 4:2

2 Take twelve men out of the people, out of each 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 And it came to pass when all the people were finished passing the Jordan, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying,

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

3 and command them, saying, Take from here of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the sons of Israel, out of each tribe a man;

5 and Joshua said unto them, Pass before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan and take ye up each one of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel,