Joshua22
New American Standard
1Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
2and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.
3You have not abandoned your brothers these many days to this day, but have fulfilled the obligation of the commandment of the Lord your God.
4And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan.
5Only be very careful to follow the commandment and the Law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways, and keep His commandments and cling to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
7Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave a possession among their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he also blessed them,
8and said to them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very many livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.”
9So the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, leaving the sons of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession in which they had settled, in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.
10When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance.
11But the sons of Israel heard a report: “Behold, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.”
12And when the sons of Israel heard about it, the entire congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go up against them in battle.
13Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben, to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
14and with him ten leaders, one leader for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the thousands of Israel.
15They came to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,
16“This is what the whole congregation of the Lord says: ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day?
17Is the wrongdoing of Peor not enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the Lord,
18that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, He will be angry with the entire congregation of Israel tomorrow.
19If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and settle among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us, by building an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the Lord our God.
20Did Achan the son of Zerah not act unfaithfully in the things designated for destruction, and wrath fall on the entire congregation of Israel? So that man did not perish alone in his guilt.’”
21Then the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the families of Israel.
22“The Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the Lord, do not save us this day!
23If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or if to offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord Himself demand it.
24But truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our sons, “What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?
25For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the Lord.” So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord.’
26“Therefore we said, ‘Let’s build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice;
27rather, it shall be a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’
28Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, “See the copy of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather, it is a witness between us and you.”’
29Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from following the Lord this day, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His tabernacle.”
30So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, that is, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.
31And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the Lord; now you have saved the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”
32Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them.
33The word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.
34And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
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