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Joshua 22

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Joshua Dismisses the Eastern Tribes 1–9

1
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, ​
2
And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: ​
3
Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.
4
And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan. ​
5
But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. ​
6
So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
7
Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,
8
And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren. ​
9
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. ​

The Transjordan Tribes Build an Altar 10–12

10
And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to. ​
11
And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.
12
And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. ​

Israel Sends a Delegation 13–20

13
And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, ​
14
And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.
15
And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,
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Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? ​
17
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, ​
18
But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.
19
Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.
20
Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity. ​

The Eastern Tribes Explain the Altar 21–29

21
Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, ​
22
The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) ​
23
That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;
24
And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? ​
25
For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.
26
Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:
27
But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. ​
28
Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.
29
God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.

Peace and Resolution 30–34

30
And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them. ​
31
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD. ​
32
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.
33
And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.
34
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Joshua 22

Verse 1

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh — They had asked for land east of Jordan on a pledge: ‘We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance’ (Num 32:18). Joshua had held them to it (1:12–15), and the pledge is now fulfilled, so he sends them home.

Verse 2

Ye have kept all that Moses… commanded you, and have obeyed my voice — Joshua’s praise answers their own promise: ‘According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee’ (1:17). ‘Kept’ is shamar, to guard, and ‘obeyed’ is shama, to hear and heed. The commands in question are those of 1:12–15, which they had carried out.

Verse 4

the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren — ‘Rest’ is nuach, the word of 1:13, 15, where the three tribes were to cross armed ‘until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you’. The condition is met; 21:44 records that ‘the LORD gave them rest round about’. Joshua sends them to ‘the land of your possession’ (achuzzah) that Moses gave.

Verse 5

take diligent heed — The charge gathers Deut 10:12, ‘to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul’, and Deut 11:22, ‘to cleave unto him’. ‘Cleave’ is dabaq, to cling or adhere. ‘Commandment’ is mitsvah, and ‘the law’ is torah; both are Moses’ charge.

Verse 8

divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren — Joshua sends them home with cattle, silver, gold, brass, iron and raiment, and tells them to share it. The law already shared plunder beyond the fighters: ‘divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them… and between all the congregation’ (Num 31:27). David’s rule is the same: ‘they shall part alike’ (1 Sam 30:24).

Verse 9

out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan — Shiloh was where the tabernacle stood (18:1). The three tribes left it for ‘the country of Gilead’, the land of their possession, ‘according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses’ (Num 32:33). The verse sets Canaan and Gilead side by side, and the rest of the chapter turns on that division by Jordan.

Verse 10

a great altar to see to — Mar’eh, an appearance: an altar great to look at. The law allowed offerings in one place only: ‘Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest… But in the place which the LORD shall choose’ (Deut 12:13–14). A large altar by Jordan, away from the tabernacle, looked like a breach of that command.

Verse 12

gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war — The whole congregation assembled where the tabernacle stood, ready to act on the report. The law’s way with a report of ‘abomination’ was first to ‘enquire, and make search, and ask diligently’ (Deut 13:14), and the delegation of v.13 is sent before any battle.

Verse 13

Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest — Phinehas had acted at Peor, where he ‘thrust both of them through’ and the plague was stayed (Num 25:7–8), and the LORD said he had ‘turned my wrath away from the children of Israel’ (Num 25:11). Ten princes go with him, ‘of each chief house a prince’ (v.14), so the whole congregation speaks.

Verse 16

What trespass is this — Ma’al, treachery, an act of unfaithfulness against God; its verb is the one used of Achan’s sin (v.20; 7:1). ‘Rebel’ is marad. The eastern tribes’ reply takes up the same two words, ‘rebellion’ (mered) and ‘transgression’ (ma’al), when they deny the charge before the LORD (v.22).

Verse 17

the iniquity of Peor — At Peor Israel ‘joined himself unto Baalpeor’ and ‘those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand’ (Num 25:3, 9). The delegates ask whether that sin was ‘too little’ (me’at), ‘from which we are not cleansed until this day’. Phinehas, who leads them, had himself stopped that plague.

Verse 20

Achan the son of Zerah — He ‘took of the accursed thing’ from Jericho, and ‘the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel’ (7:1). Thirty-six men fell at Ai (7:5). Achan ‘perished not alone in his iniquity’: the wrath fell on ‘all the congregation’, which is the delegates’ argument for dealing with the eastern tribes’ altar.

Verse 21

the heads of the thousands of Israel — Their chiefs are called ‘heads of thousands in Israel’ (Num 1:16). These are the men who came with Phinehas (v.14), and the eastern tribes answer all of them at once. Their reply goes first to the LORD (v.22), then to what the altar is not for (v.23), then to its purpose (v.27).

Verse 22

The LORD God of gods — The Hebrew has three names, El, Elohim and the LORD, repeated twice; the same three open Ps 50:1, ‘The mighty God, even the LORD’. The tribes call the LORD himself to witness their motive: ‘he knoweth, and Israel he shall know’. ‘Save us not this day’ puts their own deliverance at stake if they are lying.

Verse 24

for fear of this thing — De’agah, anxiety or care, the motive they give. The fear concerned ‘time to come’ (machar, literally ‘tomorrow’), the same word as ‘to morrow’ in v.18 where the envoys feared wrath. The envoys feared wrath on the morrow, and the eastern tribes looked further ahead, fearing that the western children would ask, ‘What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?’

Verse 27

Ye have no part in the LORD — Cheleq, a share, the word used of Levi in 18:7 and Num 18:20. The eastern tribes feared that Jordan would be taken as a boundary cutting them off from the LORD himself (v.25). The altar was to be a ‘witness’ (ed), so that their children could still keep the service of the LORD with ‘burnt offerings… sacrifices… peace offerings’.

Verse 30

it pleased them — The Hebrew is literally ‘it was good in their eyes’. The whole party that had come with the charge, ‘Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel’, heard the answer together. The congregation shared the judgment: ‘the thing pleased the children of Israel; and… blessed God’ (v.33), and no war was made.

Verse 31

ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD — Natsal, to snatch away. Phinehas had named the danger in vv.17–20: the wrath of the LORD that fell after Peor and after Achan. ‘Because ye have not committed this trespass’ (ma’al, as in v.16), that hand is not raised against Israel, and ‘the LORD is among us’.

Verse 34

called the altar Ed — Ed is Hebrew for ‘witness’. Heaps and stones were named the same way: Laban’s heap was ‘a witness’ (Gen 31:48) and Joshua says of the stone at Shechem, ‘this stone shall be a witness unto us’ (24:27). This altar’s witness is stated in its name: ‘that the LORD is God’.