Joshua 18:4

“Give out from among you three men for [each] tribe, etc.] That is, for each of the seven tribes, in all twenty one; though some think they were to be taken out of all the nine tribes and a half, and were thirty six; and so Josephus f403 seems to understand it; but then he makes but one out of each tribe to be sent, and but ten in all, which is a great oversight in that historian: and I will send them; Joshua would not take upon him to name the persons, but left it to their own choice for their greater satisfaction; but when chosen and presented to him, he would give them a commission and directions what to do: and they shall rise; gird themselves, and prepare for their journey, and set out:…”

“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 this purpose a commission was given to twenty-one persons--three chosen from each of the seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance, to make an accurate survey of the country.”

“Three 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. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Three men - Three, not one, for more exact observation both of the measure and quality of the several portions, and for greater assurance of their care and faithfulness in giving in their account. Of each tribe - One of each of these tribes, who were yet unprovided for. Joshua 18:5”

“18:4 The three selected representatives from each tribe came from the seven tribes that had not yet received their allotments. • a written report: Israel was not an entirely oral society. If an event or record was important enough to be remembered over time, leaders ordered that it be written down.”

“three: Jos 18:3, Jos 3:12, Jos 4:2; Num 1:4, Num 13:2 describe: Jos 18:6, Jos 18:9 Joshua 18:5”