New International Version
Joshua 18:4
4Appoint 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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
2but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. 3So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 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. 5You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north. 6After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of 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 Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?
- Joshua 3:12Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
- Joshua 4:2“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
- Numbers 1:4One man from each tribe, each of them the head of his family, is to help you.
- Numbers 13:2“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
- Joshua 18:6After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of 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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