יהושע, פרק ז׳, פסוק י״ד

Locating a single guilty individual within an entire nation requires a systematic and divine process. To uncover the hidden sinner among the Israelites, a structured investigation was set in motion, narrowing the circle of suspects step by step from the broadest national level down to one specific person. The people were commanded to come forward to identify the guilty party [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This gathering took place before the Ark of the Covenant, with each tribe stepping up separately [מצודת דוד].

The exact method by which God identified the guilty party is understood in a few different ways. One approach suggests a physical miracle occurred: the specific group or person singled out before the Ark would temporarily freeze in place, completely unable to move [מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. Once identified, they were physically moved aside so the investigation could proceed to the next stage [מצודת דוד]. Another perspective explains that the Urim and Thummim were used. As the tribes stood before the high priest's breastplate, the precious stone representing the guilty tribe of Judah lost its glow and grew dark. Additionally, some maintain that, at least in the later stages of sorting through families and individuals, a lottery system was used, drawing slips of paper from an urn [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Regardless of the specific divine mechanism, the elimination process continued methodically. Once the guilty tribe was singled out, it was broken down into its sub-tribal groups [ביאור שטיינזלץ], with the heads of these extended families stepping forward [רד״ק]. Because each extended family contained many smaller households, the selected family then presented the heads of each distinct household [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Finally, the focus narrowed to the individual level. Every single man from the captured household came forward for the final selection [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק], leading directly to the capture of the lone sinner [ביאור שטיינזלץ].