Joshua 4:2
in Joshua 4“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
KJV
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
⋯
This verse in Joshua 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTake you twelve men - From Jos 3:12, it appears that the twelve men had been before appointed, one taken out of each of the twelve tribes; and now they are employed for that purpose for which they had been before selected.
This site's exposition
the LORD said to Joshua
on Joshua 4:1-3
The order comes while the priests stand in the riverbed and the water is held back, so the memorial is arranged before the miracle closes. The stones come from under the priests’ feet in the channel, ground no one could otherwise reach, so the monument is built from the riverbed.
This site's exposition
Choose twelve men from among the people
The command is plural in the Hebrew, and Barnes takes it to mean that each tribe chose its own man, with Joshua approving the choice. Gill adds that the twelve acted in the name of the tribes they came from. Every tribe carried its own stone.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
The two tribes, though seated already in their possession, yet, sharing in the mercy, must lend a hand to the memorial of it. The stones that must be set up for this memorial are ordered to be taken out of the midst of the channel (where, probably, there lay abundance of great stones), and as near as might be from the very place where the priests stood with the ark,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Take you twelve men - The order is given in the plural, because no doubt the tribes themselves were to choose their own representatives, the choice being approved by Joshua Jos 4:4. These twelve would be left with Joshua on the hither bank of the river, waiting to receive his orders after the rest of the people had made their way across Jos 3:17; Jos 4:1.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קְח֤וּ | kechu | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לָכֶם֙ | lakhem | for <the> yourselves | ||
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| שְׁנֵ֥ים | sheneim | two [plus] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ר | ʾasar | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| אֲנָשִׁ֑ים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָ֥ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִשָּֽׁבֶט׃ | mishavet | from a tribe | H7626 → | 190 times |
קְח֤וּtake
kechuH3947 →966 times
לָכֶם֙for <the> yourselves
lakhem
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
שְׁנֵ֥יםtwo [plus]
sheneimH8147 →768 times
עָשָׂ֖רten
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
אֲנָשִׁ֑יםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
אִישׁ־a man
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
אֶחָ֥דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
אִישׁ־a man
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מִשָּֽׁבֶט׃from a tribe
mishavetH7626 →190 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 13:2“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:22–25
Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us to search out the land and bring us word of what route to follow and which cities to enter.”
- Numbers 32:8
This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to inspect the land.
- Numbers 34:18
Appoint one leader from each tribe to distribute the land.
- Deuteronomy 1:22–25
Through
1 Kings 18:31And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:34
To this day they are still practicing their former customs. None of them worship the LORD or observe the statutes, ordinances, laws, and commandments that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom He…
- Genesis 35:10
And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel.
- Genesis 32:28
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- Joshua 4:20
And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.
- Joshua 4:3–4
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…
- 2 Kings 17:34
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.