New King James Version
Joshua 4:2
2“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every 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,
- New International Version (NIV)“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe.
Context of Joshua 4:2
1And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ” 4Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every 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 therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe.
- Numbers 1:4And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house.
- Numbers 13:2“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
- Numbers 34:18And you shall take one leader of every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 1:23“The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe.
- 1 Kings 18:31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
- Matthew 10:15Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries