Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying, Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.
"Joshua commanded the officers of the people  ..." Of very great interest is the Hebrew word from which "officers" is translated.  "It is from the same root of an Arabic word meaning `to write.'"[17]  The word will actually bear the rendition of "writers" or "scribes," suggesting that these men corresponded to construction foremen in our own day who keep written records of the hours worked, quantities of materials used, the kinds and quantities of products produced, and other pertinent information. What a revealing glimpse we have here of the status of that civilization. Not only was the science of writing well known to the well educated, (indeed, writing had already been known for centuries), but here, we see that literally hundreds of "contact men" for the multi-million Israelites were able to "write," that being a primary function of their duties.