New International Version
Joshua 4:2
2“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
Joshua 4:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe.
Context of Joshua 4:2
1When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 4So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,
Read all of Joshua 4Joshua 4:2 word by word
קְח֤וּ לָכֶם֙ מִן־הָעָ֔ם שְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָׂ֖ר אֲנָשִׁ֑ים אִישׁ־אֶחָ֥ד אִישׁ־אֶחָ֖ד מִשָּֽׁבֶט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Joshua 4:2
- Joshua 3:12Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, 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.”
- Numbers 34:18And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land.
- Deuteronomy 1:23The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.
- 1 Kings 18:31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”
- Matthew 10:15Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Commentaries on Joshua 4:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Take you twelve men - From Joshua 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Take 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 Joshua 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 Joshua 3:17; Joshua 4:1.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Choose twelve men: These men represented Jacob’s 12 sons. The tribe of Levi was not counted because the Levites settled in designated cities among the other tribes (Genesis 49:5–7; Numbers 1:49–52; 18:20). However, the number of tribes remained at 12 because Joseph’s two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) were accounted as separate tribes (Genesis 48:5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-81-3. the Lord spake unto Joshua, Take you twelve men--each representing a tribe. They had been previously chosen for this service (Jos 3:12), and the repetition of the command is made here solely to introduce the account of its execution. Though Joshua had been divinely instructed to erect a commemorative pile, the representatives were not apprised of the work they were to do till the time of the passage.Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 4:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 4
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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