Joshua22
English Standard Version
1At that time the and the and the of ,
2and to them, You have all that the of the Lord you and have my in all that I have you.
3You have not your these , down to this , but have been to the of the Lord your .
4And now the Lord your has given to your , as he them. and to your in the where your lies, which the of the Lord you on the other of the .
5Only be to the and the that the of the Lord you, to the Lord your , and to in all his and to his and to to him and to him with all your and with all your .
6So them and , and they to their .
7Now to the one of the of had a possession in , but to the other had a their in the of the . And when to their and them,
8he to them, Go to your with and with , with , , , and , and with . the of your with your .
9So the of and the of and the of home, from the of at , which is in the of , to to the of , their own of which they had themselves by of the Lord .
10And when they to the of the that is in the of , the of and the of and the of there an by the , an of .
11And the of it , Behold, the of and the of and the of have the at the of the of , in the about the , on the that belongs to the of .
12And when the of of it, the of the of at to against them.
13Then the of to the of and the of and the of , in the of , the of the ,
14and him , from of the of , every of them the of a among the of .
15And they to the of , the of , and the of , in the of , and they them,
16 the whole of the Lord, What is this that you have against the of in this from the Lord by an this in against the Lord?
17Have we not had of the at from which even we have not ourselves, and for which there came a upon the of the Lord,
18that you too must this from the Lord? And if you too against the Lord then he will be with the whole of .
19But , the of your is , pass into the Lord ’s where the Lord ’s , and take for a us. Only do not against the Lord make us as by for yourselves an other the of the Lord our .
20Did the of break in the matter of the , and upon all the of ? And did not for his .
21Then the of , the of , and the of in to the of the of ,
22The , , the Lord! The , , the Lord! He ; and let itself ! it was in or in against the Lord, do not us
23for an to from the Lord. Or if we did so to or offerings on it, may the Lord himself .
24 , but we that in your might to our , have you to do with the Lord, the of ?
25For the Lord has the a between us and you, you of and of . You have no in the Lord. So your our to the Lord.
26Therefore we , Let us an , not for , nor for ,
27but to be a between us and you, and between our us, that we perform the of the Lord in his with our and and , so your will not to our in , You have no in the Lord.
28And we , this should be to us or to our in , we should , , the of the of the Lord, which our , not for , nor for , but to be a between us and you.
29Far be it from that we should against the Lord and this from the Lord by an for , , or , other than the of the Lord our that stands his !
30When the and the of the , the of the of who were with him, the that the of and the of and the of , it was in their .
31And the of the to the of and the of and the of , we that the Lord is in our , because you have not this against the Lord. you have the of from the of the Lord.
32Then the of the , and the , from the of and the of in the of to the of , to the of , and to them.
33And the was in the of the of . And the of and no more of against them to the where the of and the people of were .
34The of and the of the Witness, For, they said, it is a between us that the Lord is .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Joshua 22.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Reuben and Gad, with the half tribe of Manasseh, dismissed to their homes. (1–9). They build an altar of testimony, The congregation offended thereat. (10–20). The answer of the Reubenites. (21–29). The children of Israel satisfied. (30–34).
vv1-9
Joshua dismisses the tribes with good counsel. Those who have the commandment have it in vain, unless they do the commandment; and it will not be done aright unless we take diligent heed. In particular to love the Lord our God, as the best of beings, and the best of friends; and as far as that principle rules in the heart, there will be constant care and endeavour to walk in his ways, even those that are narrow and up-hill. In every instance to keep his commandments. At all times, and in all conditions, with purpose of heart to cleave unto the Lord, and to serve him and his kingdom among men, with all our heart, and with all our soul. This good counsel is given to all; may God give us grace to take it!
vv10-20
Here is the care of the separated tribes to keep their hold of Canaan's religion. At first sight it seemed a design to set up an altar against the altar at Shiloh. God is jealous for his own institutions; we should be so too, and afraid of every thing that looks like, or leads to idolatry. Corruptions in religion are best dealt with at first. But their prudence in following up this zealous resolution is no less commendable. Many an unhappy strife would be prevented, or soon made up, by inquiries into the matter of the offence. The remembrance of great sins committed formerly, should engage us to stand on our guard against the beginnings of sin; for the way of sin is down-hill. We are all concerned to reprove our neighbour when he does amiss, lest we suffer sin upon him, Le 19:17. The offer made that they should be welcome to come to the land where the Lord's tabernacle was, and settle there, was in the spirit of true Israelites.
vv21-29
The tribes took the reproofs of their brethren in good part. With solemnity and meekness they proceeded to give all the satisfaction in their power. Reverence of God is expressed in the form of their appeal. This brief confession of faith would remove their brethren's suspicion that they intended to worship other gods. Let us always speak of God with seriousness, and mention his name with a solemn pause. Those who make appeals to Heaven with a careless “God knows,” take his name in vain: it is very unlike this. They express great confidence of their own uprightness in the matter of their appeal. “God knows it,” for he is perfectly acquainted with the thoughts and intents of the heart. In every thing we do in religion, it highly concerns us to approve ourselves to God, remembering that he knows the heart. And if our sincerity be known to God, we should study likewise to let others know it by its fruits, especially those who, though they mistake us, show zeal for the glory of God. They disdained the design of which they were suspected to be guilty, and fully explained their true intent in building this altar. Those who have found the comfort and benefit of God's ordinances, cannot but desire to preserve them to their seed, and to use all possible care that their children may be looked upon as having a part in him. Christ is the great Altar that sanctifies every gift; the best evidence of our interest in him is the work of his Spirit in our hearts.
Key Words
יְהוֹשׁוּעַ: Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader
קָרָא: to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
רְאוּבֵנִי: a Reubenite or descendant of Reuben
גָּדִי: a Gadite (collectively) or descendants of Gad
מְנַשֶּׁה: Menashsheh, a grandson of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him, and its territory
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
שָׁמַר: properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
עֶבֶד: a servant
צָוָה: (intensively) to constitute, enjoin
Cross References
Joshua 22Phinehas recalls the national trauma of Baal-peor, in which he himself was actively involved.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Phinehas recalls how Achan's individual sin brought corporate guilt and wrath on the entire nation.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Moses' precedent of dividing the military spoil with those who stayed behind to defend home.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Centralization of worship commanded by Moses, which made building another altar look like rebellion.
Supported by JFB
The fulfillment of the trans-Jordanic tribes' covenant with Moses to help conquer Canaan.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
The original territory assigned to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh by Moses on the east.
Supported by John Calvin
The explicit rationale given by the trans-Jordanic tribes for constructing this non-sacrificial monument.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The Mosaic law requiring diligent investigation before going to war over suspected apostasy.
Supported by JFB
Joshua's initial charge to these tribes to obey Moses' command is now fulfilled.
Supported by John Calvin
Phinehas, who stayed the plague of Peor, is appropriately chosen to lead the delegation.
Supported by JFB
The specific execution of Achan, demonstrating that he did indeed perish not alone.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Building the altar according to the pattern of the true altar of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Law prohibiting offering sacrifices at any place other than the Tabernacle entrance.
Supported by JFB
The absolute disclaimer of using the witness altar for sacrifices or burnt offerings.
Supported by Matthew Henry