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Joshua 22:11-34 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

11 And the sons of Israel hear, saying, `Lo, the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, have built the altar over-against the land of Canaan, on the districts of the Jordan, at the passage of the sons of Israel.'

12 And the sons of Israel hear, and all the company of the sons of Israel is assembled at Shiloh, to go up against them to war;

13 and the sons of Israel send unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the half of the tribe of Manasseh -- unto the land of Gilead -- Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest,

14 and ten princes with him, one prince, one prince, for a house of a father, for all the tribes of Israel, and each of them a head of a house of their fathers, for the thousands of Israel.

15 And they come in unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the half of the tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and speak with them, saying,

16 `Thus said all the company of Jehovah, What `is' this trespass which ye have trespassed against the God of Israel, to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, by your building for you an altar, for your rebelling to-day against Jehovah?

17 Is the iniquity of Peor little to us, from which we have not been cleansed till this day -- and the plague is in the company of Jehovah,

18 that ye turn back to-day from after Jehovah? and it hath been -- ye rebel to-day against Jehovah -- and to-morrow against all the company of Israel He is wroth.

19 `And surely, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over for you unto the land of the possession of Jehovah, where the tabernacle of Jehovah hath tabernacled, and have possession in our midst; and against Jehovah rebel not, and against us rebel not, by your building for you an altar, besides the altar of Jehovah our God.

20 Did not Achan son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and on all the company of Israel there was wrath? and he alone expired not in his iniquity.'

21 And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, answer and speak with the heads of the thousands of Israel:

22 `The God of gods -- Jehovah, the God of gods -- Jehovah, He is knowing, and Israel, he doth know, if in rebellion, and if in trespass against Jehovah (Thou dost not save us this day!)

23 `we are' building for ourselves an altar to turn back from after Jehovah, and if to cause to go up on it burnt-offering and present, and if to make on it peace-offerings -- Jehovah Himself doth require `it'.

24 `And if not, from fear of `this' thing we have done it, saying, Hereafter your sons do speak to ours sons, saying, What to you and to Jehovah God of Israel?

25 for a border hath Jehovah put between us and you, O sons of Reuben, and sons of Gad -- Jordan; ye have no portion in Jehovah -- and your sons have caused our sons to cease, not to fear Jehovah.

26 `And we say, Pray let us prepare for ourselves to build the altar -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice --

27 but a witness it `is' between us and you, and between our generations after us, to do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, and your sons do not say hereafter to our sons, Ye have no portion in Jehovah.

28 `And we say, And it hath been, when they say `so' unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice -- but a witness it `is' between us and you.

29 `Far be it from us to rebel against Jehovah, and to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for present, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Jehovah our God, which `is' before His tabernacle.'

30 And Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the company, and the heads of the thousands of Israel, who `are' with him, hear the words which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh have spoken, and it is good in their eyes.

31 And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest saith unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the sons of Manasseh, `To-day we have known that Jehovah `is' in our midst, because ye have not committed against Jehovah this trespass -- then ye have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.'

32 And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, turn back from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, unto the sons of Israel, and bring them back word;

33 and the thing is good in the eyes of the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel bless God, and have not said to go up against them to war, to destroy the land which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, are dwelling in.

34 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad proclaim concerning the altar, that `it `is' a witness between us that Jehovah `is' God.'

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 22

Commentary on Joshua 22 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Verses 1-8

After the conquest and division of the land, Joshua sent the auxiliaries of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh back to their homes, with a laudatory acknowledgment of the help they had given to their brethren, and a paternal admonition to adhere faithfully to the Lord and His law, and with a parting blessing (Joshua 22:1-6). By the expression “ then Joshua called ,” etc., the occurrence described in this chapter is placed in a general manner after the conquest and subjugation of Canaan, though not of necessity at the close of the distribution of the land. As the summons to these tribes to go with their brethren into Canaan, to assist them in the war, formed the commencement of Joshua's plans for the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 1:12.), their dismission to their home very properly forms the conclusion to the history of the conquest of this land by the Israelites. We might therefore assume, without in any way contradicting the words of the text, that these auxiliaries had been dismissed immediately after the war was ended. Even in that case, the account of their dismission would stand in its proper place, “since it was only right that the history itself, which relates to the conquest and possession of the land, should be fully completed before any other narratives, or any casual occurrences which took place, were introduced to break the thread” ( Lightfoot , App. i. p. 42). On the other hand, however, the circumstance that the two tribes and a half were dismissed from Shiloh, where the tribes assembled for the first time during the casting of the lots, favours the conclusion that the dismission did not take place till after the lots had been cast; that is to say, contemporaneously with the advance of the other tribes into their possessions.

Joshua 22:2-3

Joshua acknowledged that they had done all that they were under any obligation to do towards Moses and himself (Numbers 32:20.; Joshua 1:16-17). “ Kept the charge of the commandment ,” i.e., observed what had to be observed in relation to the commandment of the Lord (see at Leviticus 8:35 and Genesis 26:5).

Joshua 22:4

Joshua 22:4 points back to Joshua 1:15. “ Unto your tents ,” for to your homes, - an antiquated form of expression, as in Deuteronomy 16:7; Judges 7:8, etc.

Joshua 22:5

Remembering, however, the changeableness of the human heart, Joshua appends to the acknowledgment of their fidelity in the performance of their duty the pressing admonition, to continue still to observe the law of Moses faithfully, to walk in the ways of the Lord and serve Him with the whole heart, which was simply a repetition of what Moses had impressed in a fatherly way upon the hearts of the people (see Deuteronomy 4:4, Deuteronomy 4:29; Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:13, etc.).

Joshua 22:6-8

Thus Joshua dismissed them with blessings. - In Joshua 22:7, the writer, for the sake of clearness, refers again to the fact that only half of Manasseh had received its inheritance from Moses in Bashan, whereas the other had received its inheritance through Joshua on the west of the Jordan (cf. Joshua 14:3, and Joshua 18:7). To us such repetitions appear superfluous; but they are closely connected with the copious breadth of the early historical style of the Hebrews, which abounded in repetitions. The verb נתן (gave) wants its object, אחזּתו or נחלתו , which may easily be supplied from the context. This interpolation involved a further repetition of the fact, that Joshua also dismissed them (the Manassites of the other side) with a blessing, in order that the words might be appended with which Joshua dismissed the two tribes and a half to their homes, namely, the admonition to share the rich booty which they had accumulated with their brethren at home, in accordance with the instructions which Moses had given them with reference to the war with the Midianites (Numbers 31:25.).


Verse 9-10

On the way home, when the two tribes and a half had reached the border of Canaan, they built a large conspicuous altar in the district of the Jordan, in the land of Canaan, i.e., on this side of the Jordan: “ a great altar to see to ,” i.e., one which caught the eye on account of its size, since it was to serve for a memorial (Joshua 22:24.). The definition appended to Shiloh, “ in the land of Canaan ” (Joshua 22:9), serves to bring out the antithesis “ into the land of Gilead ,” by which we are to understand the whole of the country to the east of the Jordan, as in Numbers 32:29; Deuteronomy 34:1; Judges 5:17, etc. נאחז , both in the form and meaning the same as in Numbers 32:30, made possessors , i.e., settled down. היּרדּן גּלילות , the circles of the Jordan , is synonymous with היּרדּן כּכּר in Genesis 13:10, and signifies that portion of the Ghor which was upon the western side of the Jordan.


Verse 11-12

The Israelites (on this side) heard that the tribes in question had built the altar “ opposite to the land of Canaan ” (lit. in the face or in front of the land of Canaan), אל־אבר , “ at the opposite region of the children of Israel ” (two descriptions which may be explained on the supposition that the name of Canaan is used in a restricted sense, the valley of the Jordan being expressly excepted, and Canaan considered as only extending to the valley of the Jordan). When they heard this, the whole congregation (in its heads and representatives) assembled at Shiloh, to go up, i.e., with the intention of going, to make war against them. The congregation supposed that the altar had been built as a place for sacrifice, and therefore regarded it as a wicked violation of the commandment of God with regard to the unity of the sacrificial altar (Leviticus 17:8-9; Deuteronomy 12:4.), which they ought to punish according to the law in Deuteronomy 13:13. This zeal was perfectly justifiable, and even praiseworthy, as the altar, even if not erected as a place for sacrifice, might easily be abused to that purpose, and thus become an occasion of sin to the whole nation. In any case, the two tribes and a half ought not to have erected such a building without the consent of Joshua or of the high priest.

(Note: “We know how sternly the law prohibited the use of two altars: because it was the will of God that His worship should be restricted to one place. When, therefore, from the very appearance it could not fail to occur to the mind of any one that they were establishing a second altar, who would not have condemned them as guilty of sacrilege, for introducing rites and ceremonies at variance with the law of God? And since it might so naturally be regarded as a wicked deed, they ought certainly to have consulted their brethren in so grave and important a matter; and it was especially wrong to pass by the high priest, when the will of God might have been learned from his lips. They were deserving of blame, therefore, because they acted as if they had been alone in the world, and did not consider what offence might easily arise from the novelty of their proceedings.” - Calvin .)


Verses 13-15

The congregation therefore sent Phinehas, the son of the high priest and his presumptive successor in this office, with ten princes, one from each tribe (not the tribe-princes, but a head of the fathers' houses of the families of Israel), to Gilead, to the two tribes and a half, to call them to account for building the altar.


Verse 16

Assuming at the outset that the altar was intended for a second place of sacrifice in opposition to the command of God, the delegates, with Phinehas no doubt as their speaker, began by reproaching them for falling away from the Lord. “ What faithlessness is this ( מעל : see at Leviticus 5:15) that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from Jehovah, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against Jehovah? ” מרד (to rebel) is stronger than מעל .


Verse 17

To show the greatness of the sin through apostasy from the Lord, the speaker reminds them of two previous acts of sin on the part of the nation, which had brought severe judgments upon the congregation. “ Is there too little for us in the iniquity of Peor (i.e., with Peor, or through the worship of Peor, Numbers 25:3), from which we have not cleansed ourselves till this day, and there came the plague upon the congregation of Jehovah? ” את־עון is an accusative: see Ges . §117, 2; Ewald , §277, d . That plague, of which 24,000 Israelites died, was stayed through the zeal of Phinehas for the honour of the Lord (Numbers 25:4-9, Numbers 25:11). The guilt connected with the worship of Peor had thereby been avenged upon the congregation, and the congregation itself had been saved from any further punishment in consequence of the sin. When Phinehas, therefore, affirmed that the congregation had not yet been cleansed from the crime, he did not mean that they were still bearing or suffering from the punishment of that crime, but that they were not yet cleansed from that sin, inasmuch as many of them were still attached to idolatry in their hearts, even if they had hitherto desisted from it outwardly from fear of the infliction of fresh judgment.


Verse 18

And to-day ye turn away from the Lord again ,” and are about to bring His wrath upon the whole congregation again through a fresh rebellion.


Verse 19

And truly ,” the speaker continued, “ if the land of your possession should be unclean ,” sc., so that you think it necessary to have an altar in the neighbourhood to expiate your sins and wipe away your uncleanness, “ pass over into the land of Jehovah's possession, where His dwelling-place stands, and settle in the midst of us ('settle,' as in Genesis 34:10); but do not rebel against Jehovah nor against us, by building an altar beside the (one) altar of Jehovah our God .” מרד is construed first of all with בּ , and then with the accusative; the only other place in which the latter occurs is Job. Joshua 24:13.


Verse 20

He finally reminded them of the sin of Achan, how that had brought the wrath of God upon the whole congregation (Josh 7); and, moreover, Achan was not the only man who had perished on account of the sin, but thirty-six men had fallen on account of it at the first attack upon Ai (Joshua 7:5). The allusion to this fact is to be understood as an argument a minori ad majus , as Masius has shown. “If Achan did not perish alone when he committed sacrilege, but God was angry with the whole congregation, what think ye will be the consequence if ye, so great a number, commit so grievous a sin against God?”


Verses 21-25

In utter amazement at the suspicion expressed by the delegates of the congregation, the two tribes and a half affirm with a solemn oath, that it never entered into their minds to build an altar as a place of sacrifice, to fall away from Jehovah. The combination of the three names of God-El, the strong one; Elohim, the Supreme Being to be feared; and Jehovah, the truly existing One, the covenant God (Joshua 22:22), - serves to strengthen the invocation of God, as in Psalms 50:1; and this is strengthened still further by the repetition of these three names. God knows, and let Israel also know, sc., what they intended, and what they have done. The אם which follows is the usual particle used in an oath. “ Verily (it was) not in rebellion, nor in apostasy from Jehovah ,” sc., that this was done, or that we built the altar. “ Mayst Thou not help us to-day ,” sc., if we did it in rebellion against God. An appeal addressed immediately to God in the heat of the statement, and introduced in the midst of the asseveration, which was meant to remove all doubt as to the truth of their declaration. The words which follow in Joshua 22:23, “that we have built,” etc., continue the oath: “ If we have done this, to build us an altar, to turn away from the Lord, or to offer thereon burnt-offering, meat-offering, or peace-offering, may Jehovah himself require it ( דּרשׁ , as in Deuteronomy 18:19; cf. 1 Samuel 20:16). Another earnest parenthetical adjuration, as the substance of the oath, is continued in Joshua 22:24. “ But truly ( לא ואם , with an affirmative signification) from anxiety, for a reason (lit. on account of a thing) have we done this, thinking ( לאמר , since we thought) in time to come your sons might say to our sons, What have ye to do with Jehovah, the God of Israel? ” i.e., He does not concern you; He is our God. “Jehovah has made the Jordan a boundary between us and your sons; ye have no part in Jehovah. Thus your sons might make our sons cease to fear Jehovah,” i.e., might make them desist from the worship of Jehovah (for the infinitive form ירא instead of the abbreviated form לרא used in 1 Samuel 18:29, there are analogies in יצק in Ezekiel 24:3, and לישׁון , Ecclesiastes 5:11, whereas יראה is the only form used in the Pentateuch). There was some reason for this anxiety. For, inasmuch as in all the promises and laws Canaan alone (the land on this side of the Jordan, Numbers 34:1-12) is always mentioned as the land which Jehovah would give to His people for their inheritance, it was quite a possible thing that at some future time the false conclusion might be drawn from this, that only the tribes who dwelt in Canaan proper were the true people of Jehovah.


Verses 26-28

So we thought, we will make ourselves to build an altar (an expression derived from the language of ordinary life, for 'we will build ourselves an altar'), not for burnt-offerings and slain-offerings; but it shall be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may perform the service of Jehovah before His face (i.e., before the tabernacle in which Jehovah was enthroned), with our burnt-offerings, slain-offerings, and peace-offerings ,” - in order, as they repeat in Joshua 22:27 from Joshua 22:24, Joshua 22:25, that they might not be denied a part in Jehovah in time to come. For if it should so happen in time to come, that this should be said to them and to their descendants, they would say (or reply), “ Behold the copy of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offerings ,” etc. ( Joshua 22:28 , as in Joshua 22:26 , Joshua 22:27 ). For this reason they had built the altar according to the pattern of the altar before the tabernacle, and that not in their own land, but on the western side of the Jordan, where the dwelling-place of Jehovah was standing, as a witness that they worshipped one and the same God with the tribes on this side.


Verse 29

The speakers conclude with an expression of horror at the thought of rebelling against Jehovah. ממּנּוּ לנוּ חלילה , “ far be it from us away from Him ( ממּנּוּ = מיהוה , 1 Samuel 24:7; 1 Samuel 26:11; 1 Kings 21:3), to rebel against Jehovah ,” etc.


Verse 30-31

This explanation pleased the delegates of the congregation, so that Phinehas bore this testimony to the tribes on the east of the Jordan: “ Now (to-day) we perceive that Jehovah is in the midst of us; because ( אשׁר , quod , as in Genesis 31:49, etc.) ye have not committed this unfaithfulness towards Jehovah, since ( אז , then, if ye had only this intention) ye have saved the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah ,” i.e., preserved them from His judgments.


Verse 32-33

They then returned to Canaan and informed the congregation. And the thing pleased them, so that they praised the Lord, sc., for having kept their brethren on the other side from rebellion, and they thought no more of going to war against them, or laying waste the land of the tribes on the east of the Jordan.


Verse 34

The Reubenites and Gadites (half Manasseh is omitted in Joshua 22:33, Joshua 22:34, for the sake of brevity) called the altar “ witness is it between us that Jehovah is God ” ( כּי introduces the words). This is at once a name and an explanation, namely in this sense: they gave the altar the name of “ witness between us ,” because it was to be a witness that they also acknowledged and worshipped Jehovah as the true God.