Joshua 4:2

2 "Select twelve men from the people, a man 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 was finally across, God spoke to Joshua:
2 "Select twelve men from the people, a man from each tribe,
3 and tell them, 'From right here, the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests are standing firm, take twelve stones. Carry them across with you and set them down in the place where you camp tonight.'"
4 Joshua called out the twelve men whom he selected from the People of Israel, one man from each tribe.
5 Joshua directed them, "Cross to the middle of the Jordan and take your place in front of the Chest of God, your God. Each of you heft a stone to your shoulder, a stone for each of the tribes of the People of Israel,
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.