English Standard Version
Joshua 18:4
4Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me.
Joshua 18:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.
- New International Version (NIV)Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to explore the land and map it out. They will then return to me with a written report of their proposed divisions of their new homeland.
Context of Joshua 18:4
2There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. 3So Joshua said to the people of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. 5They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. 6And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.
Read all of Joshua 18Joshua 18:4 word by word
הָב֥וּ לָכֶ֛ם שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה אֲנָשִׁ֖ים לַשָּׁ֑בֶט וְאֶשְׁלָחֵ֗ם וְיָקֻ֜מוּ וְיִֽתְהַלְּכ֥וּ בָאָ֛רֶץ וְיִכְתְּב֥וּ אוֹתָ֛הּ לְפִ֥י נַֽחֲלָתָ֖ם וְיָבֹ֥אוּ אֵלָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Give outיָהַבyâhab · to giveH3051
- from among you threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- tribeשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
- and I will sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- them, and they shall riseקוּםqûm · to arise: establishH6965
- and goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
- through the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and describeכָּתַבkâthab · to writeH3789
- it accordingפֶּהpeh · lip: accordingH6310
- to the inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
- of them; and they shall comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
Cross-references for Joshua 18:4
- Joshua 18:3So Joshua said to the people of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?
- Joshua 3:12Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man.
- Joshua 4:2"Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,
- Numbers 1:4And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers.
- Numbers 13:2"Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them."
- Joshua 18:6And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.
Commentaries on Joshua 18:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Three men for each tribe - Probably meaning only three from each of the seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. It is likely that these twenty-one men were accompanied by a military guard, for without this they might have been easily cut off by straggling parties of the Canaanites. They shall - describe it - It is likely they were persons well acquainted with geography and mensuration, without which it would have been impossible for them…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Three men for each tribe - i. e. 21 in all. Their duty would be to describe the land, especially with reference to the cities it contained Joshua 18:9, that Joshua might have the means of making a first apportionment among the tribes according to their varying numbers.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2-10Verses 2-10 After a year or more, Joshua blamed their slackness, and told them how to proceed. God, by his grace, has given us a title to a good land, the heavenly Canaan, but we are slack to take possession of it; we enter not into that rest, as we might by faith, and hope, and holy joy. How long shall it be thus with us? How long shall we thus stand in our own light, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities? Joshua stirs the Israelites up to take…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The three selected representatives from each tribe came from the seven tribes that had not yet received their allotments. map it out: Israel was not entirely an oral society. If an event or record was important enough to be remembered over time, leaders ordered that it be written down.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-94-9. Give out from among you three men for each tribe--Though the lot determined the part of the country where each tribe was to be located, it could not determine the extent of territory which might be required; and the dissatisfaction of the children of Joseph with the alleged smallness of their possession gave reason to fear that complaints might arise from other quarters, unless precautions were taken to make a proper distribution of the land. For…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 18:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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