Joshua 4:2
New International Version
“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

New Living Translation
“Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe.

English Standard Version
“Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,

Berean Standard Bible
“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

King James Bible
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

New King James Version
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,

New American Standard Bible
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,

NASB 1995
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,

NASB 1977
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,

Legacy Standard Bible
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,

Amplified Bible
“Take for yourselves the twelve men [chosen] from among the people, one man from each tribe,

Christian Standard Bible
“Choose twelve men from the people, one man for each tribe,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Choose 12 men from the people, one man for each tribe,

American Standard Version
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

English Revised Version
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Choose one man from each of the 12 tribes.

Good News Translation
"Choose twelve men, one from each tribe,

International Standard Version
"Gather together twelve men from the people—one man from each tribe—

Majority Standard Bible
?Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

NET Bible
"Select for yourselves twelve men from the people, one per tribe.

New Heart English Bible
"Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

Webster's Bible Translation
Take you twelve men from the people, from every tribe a man,

World English Bible
“Take twelve men out of the people, a man out of every tribe,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
“Take for yourselves twelve men out of the people, one man—one man out of a tribe;

Young's Literal Translation
'Take for you out of the people twelve men, one man -- one man out of a tribe;

Smith's Literal Translation
Take to you from the people twelve men, one man, one man from a tribe;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:

Catholic Public Domain Version
“Choose twelve men, one from each tribe,

New American Bible
the LORD said to Joshua: Choose twelve men from the people, one from each tribe,

New Revised Standard Version
“Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Take twelve men from the people, a man out of every tribe,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
“Take for yourselves from the people twelve men, one man from each tribe
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Take men from the people, one of each tribe,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Twelve Stones from the Jordan
1When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3and 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 the night.’ ”…

Cross References
Exodus 24:4
And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

Numbers 1:4-16
And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you. / These are the names of the men who are to assist you: From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur; / from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai; ...

Deuteronomy 1:15
So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.

1 Kings 18:31
And 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.”

1 Chronicles 27:16-22
These officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel: Over the Reubenites was Eliezer son of Zichri; over the Simeonites was Shephatiah son of Maacah; / over Levi was Hashabiah son of Kemuel; over Aaron was Zadok; / over Judah was Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar was Omri son of Michael; ...

Exodus 28:9-12
Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: / six of their names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, in the order of their birth. / Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings. ...

Numbers 13:2-3
“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.” / So at the command of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,

Numbers 34:18
Appoint one leader from each tribe to distribute the land.

Deuteronomy 27:2-3
And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and coat them with plaster. / Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

1 Samuel 10:20-21
Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. / Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.

Matthew 10:1-4
And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness. / These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; / Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ...

Mark 3:14-19
He appointed twelve of them, whom He designated as apostles, to accompany Him, to be sent out to preach, / and to have authority to drive out demons. / These are the twelve He appointed: Simon (whom He named Peter), ...

Luke 6:13-16
When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles: / Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; / Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot; ...

Acts 1:13
When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

Acts 6:3-5
Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will assign this responsibility to them / and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” / This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.


Treasury of Scripture

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

twelve men

Joshua 3:12
Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

Numbers 1:4-15
And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers…

Numbers 13:2
Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

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Choose Tribe Twelve Yourselves
Joshua 4
1. Twelve men are appointed to take twelve memorial stones from Jordan
9. Twelve other stones are set up in the midst of Jordan
10. The people pass over
14. God magnifies Joshua
15. The priests commanded to come out of Jordan
20. The twelve stones are pitched in Gilgal














Choose twelve men
In this phrase, the number twelve is significant throughout the Bible, often symbolizing completeness or the people of God, as seen in the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. The Hebrew root for "choose" (בָּחַר, bachar) implies a deliberate selection, indicating that these men were not randomly picked but were chosen for a specific purpose. This reflects God's intentionality in His plans and His desire for order and representation among His people.

from among the people
This phrase emphasizes the communal aspect of the Israelites' journey. The men were not outsiders but were selected from within the community, highlighting the importance of unity and shared identity. Historically, this underscores the collective experience of the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land, a journey that required the participation and cooperation of the entire nation.

one from each tribe
The instruction to select one man from each tribe ensures that all tribes are represented equally, reinforcing the unity and equality among the tribes of Israel. This inclusivity is crucial in maintaining harmony and preventing division. It also serves as a reminder that each tribe, regardless of size or status, has a role in the fulfillment of God's promises. Theologically, this can be seen as a precursor to the New Testament teaching that all members of the body of Christ are important and have unique roles to play.

Verse 2. - Twelve stones. The commemoration of events by the setting up of huge stones was by no means peculiar to the Jews, though it was often used by them, as, for instance, Genesis 28:18, 35:14, 1 Samuel 7:12. Almost every nation has adopted it. The Egyptian obelisks, the stones at Hamath, supposed to be of Hittite origin, the dolmens and other megalithic monuments of the Celts, the Logan or rocking stones, are cases in point. The Scandinavians filled their country with them. Our own Stonehenge and the Avebury stones are supposed by some to be, not temples nor burial places, but memorials of some battle. The command here given to Joshua was regarding what was to be done by the twelve men, who (Joshua 5:4; cf. ch. Joshua 3:12) were already chosen. The form of the command is merely another instance of the common Hebrew practice of repetition.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Choose
קְח֤וּ (qə·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

twelve
שְׁנֵ֥ים (šə·nêm)
Number - md
Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number)

men
אִישׁ־ (’îš-)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

from among
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

the people,
הָעָ֔ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

one
אֶחָ֥ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

from each tribe,
מִשָּֽׁבֶט׃ (miš·šā·ḇeṭ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7626: Rod, staff, club, scepter, tribe


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OT History: Joshua 4:2 Take twelve men out of the people (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 4:1
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