Joshua 3:12

 

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

 

a. NLT: Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River!

 

b. NIV: Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

 

c. YLT: and now, take for you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man -- one man for a tribe;

 

d. Amplified Bible Classic: So now take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

 

e. Septuagint: Choose for yourselves twelve men of the sons of Israel, one of each tribe.

 

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Now take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe

 

1. “Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.”

 

a. Now therefore [Strong: 6258 * `attah at-taw' from 6256; at this time, whether adverb, conjunction or expletive:--henceforth, now, straightway, this time, whereas.]

 

b. take [Strong: 3947 * laqach law-kakh' a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):--accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, X many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.]

 

c. twelve [Strong: 8147 * shnayim shen-ah'-yim dual of 8145; feminine shttayim {shet-tah'-yim}; two; also (as ordinal) twofold:--both, couple, double, second, twain, + twelfth, + twelve, + twenty (sixscore) thousand, twice, two.]

 

d. twelve [Strong: 6240 * `asar aw-sawr' for 6235; ten (only in combination), i.e. -teen; also (ordinal) -teenth:--(eigh-, fif-, four-, nine-, seven-, six-, thir-)teen(-th), + eleven(-th), + sixscore thousand, + twelve(-th).]

 

e. men [Strong: 376 * 'iysh eesh contracted for 582 (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant); a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation):--also, another, any (man), a certain, + champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-)man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), + none, one, people, person, + steward, what (man) soever, whoso(-ever), worthy.]

 

f. out of the tribes [Strong: 7626 *  shebet shay'-bet from an unused root probably meaning to branch off; a scion, i.e. (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan:--X correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.]

 

g. of Israel [Strong: 3478 * Yisra'el yis-raw-ale' from 8280 and 410; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: --Israel.]

 

h. out of every [Strong: 259 * 'echad ekh-awd' a numeral from 258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first:--a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-)ly, each (one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,]

 

i. tribe [Strong: 7626 *  shebet shay'-bet from an unused root probably meaning to branch off; a scion, i.e. (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan:--X correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.]

 

j. a man [Strong: 376 * 'iysh eesh contracted for 582 (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant); a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation):--also, another, any (man), a certain, + champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-)man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), + none, one, people, person, + steward, what (man) soever, whoso(-ever), worthy.]

 

1). The purpose for the twelve men is shown in the next chapter. Each man from a tribe was to pick a rock out of the bottom of the Jordan River to be a memorial for the generations to come. The passage shows that not only did twelve representatives from each tribe take out a rock, but Joshua commanded that twelve rocks be set up in Jordan also.

 

a). Joshua 4:1-9 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,

4:2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

4:3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

 4:5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

4:6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

 4:7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

4:8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.