Joshua 4:2

2 "Take you 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 And it came to pass, when all the people had clean passed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying,

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

3 and command ye them, saying, `Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, from 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 children of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

5 And Joshua said unto them, "Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,