Joshua dismisses the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh, commending their faithfulness and urging continued obedience as they return to their lands east of Jordan. Upon their return, they build a large altar by the Jordan River, which the other Israelite tribes misinterpret as an act of rebellion against the Lord. A delegation led by Phinehas confronts them, but the eastern tribes explain the altar was a witness to their shared covenant, not for illicit sacrifice, thus averting war and restoring peace.
Now ADONAI your God has given rest to your kinsmen, as he told them he would. So you too, return to your tents in the land which is your possession, which Moshe the servant of ADONAI gave you beyond the Yarden.
Only take great care to obey the mitzvah and the Torah which Moshe the servant of ADONAI gave you - to love ADONAI your God, follow all his ways, observe his mitzvot, cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and being."
(To the one half-tribe of M'nasheh, Moshe had given an inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half, Y'hoshua gave one among their kinsmen on the west side of the Yarden.) When Y'hoshua sent them away to their tents he blessed them,
saying, "Return with great riches to your tents - with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron and with great quantities of clothing; share the spoil of your enemies with your kinsmen."
So the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh returned; they left the people of Isra'el in Shiloh, in the land of Kena'an, to go to the land of Gil'ad, to the land they were to possess and which they already did possess - according to the order of ADONAI through Moshe.
When the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe arrived in the area of the land of Kena'an near the Yarden, they built an altar there by the Yarden, a large, impressive altar.
The people of Isra'el heard of it and said, "Look! The descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh have built an altar by the frontier of the land of Kena'an, in the area by the Yarden, on the side that belongs to the people of Isra'el."
The people of Isra'el sent Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen into the land of Gil'ad to the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh.
With him were ten leaders, one leader of an ancestral clan for each of the tribes of Isra'el; each one was a head of his ancestral clan among the thousands of Isra'el.
"Here is what the whole community of ADONAI is saying: 'What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Isra'el, turning away today from following ADONAI, in that you have built yourselves an altar, thus rebelling today against ADONAI?
Is the guilt we incurred at P'or not enough for us? We haven't cleansed ourselves from it to this day, even though a plague came on the community of ADONAI.
Is this why you have to turn away today from following ADONAI? If you rebel against ADONAI today, he will be angry tomorrow with the whole community of Isra'el.
If the land you have taken possession of is unclean, then cross back over into the land which belongs to ADONAI, where the tabernacle of ADONAI is located, and take a possession among us. But don't rebel against ADONAI, and don't rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of ADONAI our God.
Didn't Achan the son of Zerach commit a sin in regard to things set aside for destruction, and God's anger fell on the whole community of Isra'el? He was not the only one who died for his crime.'"
We haven't built an altar in order to turn away from following ADONAI or to offer on it burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices as peace offerings. If we have, let ADONAI himself require us to atone for it.
Rather, we did this out of anxiety, because we thought, 'Sometime in the future, your descendants might say to our descendants, "You don't have anything to do with ADONAI, the God of Isra'el,
because ADONAI made the Yarden the border between us and you, so you descendants of Re'uven and Gad have no share in ADONAI."' In this way your descendants could make our descendants stop fearing ADONAI.
but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations who will come after us, so that we may perform the service for ADONAI in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and peace offerings - so that your descendants will not say to our descendants at some future time, "You have no share in ADONAI."'
For this reason we said, 'When they accuse us or future generations in this way, we will say, "Look! Here is a replica of the altar of ADONAI which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you."'
Far be it from us that we should rebel against ADONAI and turn away today from following ADONAI by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices other than the altar of ADONAI our God which stands in front of his tabernacle!"
When Pinchas the cohen and the leaders of the community, the heads of the thousands of Isra'el who were with him, heard what the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M'nasheh said, it satisfied them.
Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen said to the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M'nasheh, "Today we know that ADONAI is here with us, because you have not committed this treasonous act against ADONAI. Now you have saved the people of Isra'el from the anger of ADONAI."
So Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen and the leaders returned from the descendants of Re'uven and Gad, from the land of Gil'ad to the land of Kena'an and the people of Isra'el, bringing word back to them.
What they said satisfied the people of Isra'el. The people of Isra'el blessed God and said no more about going to wage war against the descendants of Re'uven and Gad and destroying the land where they lived.
The descendants of Re'uven and Gad called the altar "'Ed [a witness]" between us that ADONAI is God.
Study Notes for Joshua 22
Verse 1
Joshua calls the Transjordanian tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh) to commend them for fulfilling their covenant obligation to assist the other tribes in conquering Canaan (cf. Num 32).
Verse 2
Joshua confirms that these tribes have fully upheld the covenant obligations defined by Moses and the specific military duties assigned by Joshua during the campaigns.
Verse 4
The phrase 'given rest' signifies the successful completion of the major military phase of the conquest, fulfilling God’s promise to provide security and land for Israel.
Verse 5
This verse summarizes the core Deuteronomic requirements for covenant faithfulness: loving God, walking in His ways, keeping commandments, and serving Him—a final charge before their departure.
Verse 8
Joshua instructs the returning warriors to share the substantial spoils of war with their families who remained east of the Jordan, ensuring the whole community benefited from the conquest.
Verse 9
Shiloh was the temporary location of the Tabernacle and the central gathering place for the tribes, marking the official point of departure from the land of Canaan proper.
Verse 10
The construction of a large altar outside the designated central place of worship (Shiloh) was immediately viewed by the western tribes as a potential violation of the centralization of worship mandated in Deuteronomy 12.
Verse 12
The immediate decision to gather for war demonstrates the extreme seriousness with which the tribes regarded the threat of apostasy, fearing that covenant violation by one group could bring divine wrath upon all Israel.
Verse 13
Before resorting to violence, the assembly sends a high-level diplomatic delegation led by Phinehas, the son of the high priest, signifying the religious gravity of the charge.
Verse 16
The core accusation is 'trespass' (Ma'al), a term associated with sacrilege or breaking faith with God. They interpret the altar building as a full-scale rebellion against Yahweh.
Verse 17
The delegation invokes the incident at Peor (Num 25), where idolatry and immorality led to a plague, emphasizing that religious deviation has severe, national consequences.
Verse 20
The sin of Achan (Josh 7) serves as the second historical precedent, reminding the eastern tribes that the sin of one man or tribe can cause God’s wrath to fall upon the entire congregation.
Verse 21
The Transjordan tribes shift from defense to a solemn, self-cursing oath of innocence regarding any rebellious intent to use the altar for unauthorized offerings.
Verse 22
The powerful triple invocation of God ('El Elohim Yahweh') emphasizes the sincerity of their oath, appealing to the supreme divine authority concerning their true motivation.
Verse 24
Their motivation was not religious independence but cultural and theological continuity. They feared the Jordan River would become a future spiritual boundary, leading the western tribes to disown their descendants.
Verse 27
The altar was built as a 'witness' ('ed) or memorial, ensuring that their descendants would be recognized as participants in the covenant and entitled to worship Yahweh alongside the western tribes.
Verse 30
Phinehas and the leaders were satisfied by the explanation, recognizing that the eastern tribes were motivated by faithfulness, not rebellion.
Verse 31
Phinehas concludes that the absence of rebellion proves God’s presence among them. By removing the threat of covenant violation, the eastern tribes 'delivered' Israel from potential divine judgment.
Verse 34
The altar is named 'Ed' (Witness), confirming its function as a permanent memorial symbolizing the unity of the twelve tribes and their common devotion to Yahweh.
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