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Joshua 22
Holman Christian Standard Bible

Eastern Tribes Return Home

22 Joshua summoned the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh 2 and told them, “You have done everything Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you(A) and have obeyed me in everything I commanded you. 3 You have not deserted your brothers even once this whole time but have carried out the requirement of the command of the Lord your God. 4 Now that He has given your brothers rest, just as He promised them, return to your homes in your own land that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you across the Jordan. 5 Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you: to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, keep His commands, remain faithful[a] to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”(B)

6 Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way,(C) and they went to their homes. 7 Moses had given territory to half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, but Joshua had given territory to the other half,[b] with their brothers, on the west side of the Jordan.(D) When Joshua sent them to their homes and blessed them, 8 he said, “Return to your homes with great wealth: a huge number of cattle, and silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a large quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”(E)

Eastern Tribes Build an Altar

9 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead,(F) which they took possession of according to the Lord’s command through Moses. 10 When they came to the region of[c] the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh built a large, impressive altar there by the Jordan.

11 Then the Israelites heard it said, “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of[d] the Jordan, on the Israelite side.” 12 When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.(G)

Explanation of the Altar

13 The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead.(H) 14 They sent 10 leaders with him—one family leader for each tribe of Israel. All of them were heads of their families among the clans of Israel.(I) 15 They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and told them, 16 “This is what the Lord’s entire community says: ‘What is this treachery you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, so that you are in rebellion against the Lord today? 17 Wasn’t the sin of Peor, which brought a plague on the Lord’s community, enough for us, so that we have not cleansed ourselves from it even to this day,(J) 18 and now, you would turn away from the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow He will be angry with the entire community of Israel.(K) 19 But if the land you possess is defiled, cross over to the land the Lord possesses where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take possession of it among us. But don’t rebel against the Lord or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Wasn’t Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who perished because of his sin.’”(L)

21 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans, 22 “Yahweh is the God of gods! Yahweh is the God of gods![e] He knows,(M) and may Israel also know. Do not spare us today, if it was in rebellion or treachery against the Lord 23 that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from Him. May the Lord Himself hold us accountable if we intended to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it. 24 We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no share in the Lord!’ So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing the Lord.

26 “Therefore we said: Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offering or sacrifice. 27 Instead, it is to be a witness between us and you,(N) and between the generations after us, so that we may carry out the worship of the Lord in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings.(O) Then in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in the Lord!’ 28 We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you. 29 We would never rebel against the Lord or turn away from Him today by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God, which is in front of His tabernacle.”

Conflict Resolved

30 When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders, the heads of Israel’s clans who were with him, heard what the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. 31 Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Him.(P) As a result, you have delivered the Israelites from the Lord’s power.”

32 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan and brought back a report to them. 33 The Israelites were pleased with the report, and they praised God.(Q) They spoke no more about going to war against them to ravage the land where the Reubenites and Gadites lived. 34 So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar: It[f] is a witness between us that the Lord is God.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 22:5 Lit commands, hold on
  2. Joshua 22:7 Lit to his half
  3. Joshua 22:10 Or to Geliloth by
  4. Joshua 22:11 Or at Geliloth by
  5. Joshua 22:22 Or The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord!, or God, the Lord God! God, the Lord God!
  6. Joshua 22:34 Some Hb mss, Syr, Tg read altar Witness because it
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Joshua 22
New English Translation

Joshua Sends Home the Eastern Tribes

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and told them: “You have carried out all the instructions of Moses the Lord’s servant, and you have obeyed all I have told you.[a] 3 You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites[b] this entire time,[c] right up to this very day. You have completed the task given you by the Lord your God.[d] 4 Now the Lord your God has made your fellow Israelites secure,[e] just as he promised them. So now you may turn around and go to your homes[f] in your own land[g] that Moses the Lord’s servant assigned to you east of the Jordan. 5 But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love[h] the Lord your God, follow all his instructions,[i] obey[j] his commands, be loyal to him,[k] and serve him with all your heart and being!”[l]

6 Joshua rewarded[m] them and sent them on their way; they returned to their homes.[n] 7 (Now to one half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned land in Bashan; and to the other half Joshua had assigned land on the west side of the Jordan with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home,[o] he rewarded[p] them, 8 saying, “Take home[q] great wealth, a lot of cattle,[r] silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a lot of[s] clothing. Divide up the goods captured from your enemies with your brothers.” 9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and headed home to their own land in Gilead,[t] which they acquired by the Lord’s command through Moses.

Civil War is Averted

10 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan and built there, near the Jordan, an impressive altar.[u] 11 The Israelites received this report:[v] “Look, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to[w] the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.” 12 When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them.[x]

13 The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 14 He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans.[y] 15 They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: 16 “The entire community of the Lord says, ‘Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord.[z] 17 The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord.[aa] 18 Now today you dare to turn back[ab] from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against[ac] the entire community of Israel. 19 But if your own land[ad] is impure,[ae] cross over to the Lord’s own land,[af] where the Lord himself lives,[ag] and settle down among us.[ah] But don’t rebel against the Lord or us[ai] by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged,[aj] though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’”[ak]

21 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders[al] of the Israelite clans: 22 “El, God, the Lord![am] El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth![an] Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord,[ao] don’t spare us[ap] today! 23 If we have built[aq] an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making[ar] burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering[as] tokens of peace[at] on it, the Lord himself will punish us.[au] 24 We swear we have done this because we were worried that[av] in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel?[aw] 25 The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.’[ax] In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying[ay] the Lord. 26 So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, 27 but as a reminder to us and you[az] and our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence[ba] with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace.[bb] Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’[bc] 28 We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing[bd] to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors[be] made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’[bf] 29 Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace[bg] aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!”[bh]

30 When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and Israel’s clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassehites,[bi] they were satisfied.[bj] 31 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassehites,[bk] “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this.[bl] Now[bm] you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.”[bn]

32 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders left the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead and reported back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.[bo] 33 The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God.[bp] They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived.[bq] 34 The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, “Surely it is a Reminder to us[br] that the Lord is God.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 22:2 tn Heb “You have kept all which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, and you have listened to my voice, to all which I commanded you.”
  2. Joshua 22:3 tn Heb “your brothers” (also in vv. 4, 7), but this does not refer to siblings or necessarily even to relatives. It refers to the Israelites of the remaining tribes.
  3. Joshua 22:3 tn Heb “these many days.”
  4. Joshua 22:3 tn Heb “you have kept the charge of the command of the Lord your God.”
  5. Joshua 22:4 tn Heb “has given rest to your brothers.”
  6. Joshua 22:4 tn Heb “tents.”
  7. Joshua 22:4 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
  8. Joshua 22:5 tn Heb “But be very careful to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, to love.”
  9. Joshua 22:5 tn Heb “walk in all his paths.”
  10. Joshua 22:5 tn Or “keep.”
  11. Joshua 22:5 tn Heb “hug him.”
  12. Joshua 22:5 tn Or “soul.”
  13. Joshua 22:6 tn Heb “blessed.” However, see v. 8, where rewards are given.
  14. Joshua 22:6 tn Heb “and they went to their tents.”
  15. Joshua 22:7 tn Heb “to their tents.”
  16. Joshua 22:7 tn Heb “blessed.”
  17. Joshua 22:8 tn Heb “return to your tents with.”
  18. Joshua 22:8 tn Heb “very many cattle.”
  19. Joshua 22:8 tn Heb “very much clothing.”
  20. Joshua 22:9 tn Heb “returned and went from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession.”
  21. Joshua 22:10 tn Heb “and they went to Geliloth of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar near the Jordan, an altar great with respect to appearance.”
  22. Joshua 22:11 tn Heb “the sons of Israel heard, saying.”
  23. Joshua 22:11 tn Heb “toward the front of.”
  24. Joshua 22:12 tn Heb “to go up against them for battle.”
  25. Joshua 22:14 tn Heb “ten leaders with him, one leader, one leader for a paternal house, for all the tribes of Israel, and each a head of the house of their father, they belong to the clans of Israel.”
  26. Joshua 22:16 tn Heb “What is this unfaithfulness with which you have been unfaithful against the God of Israel, turning today from after the Lord, when you built for yourselves an altar, rebelling today against the Lord?”
  27. Joshua 22:17 tn Heb “Was the sin of Peor too insignificant for us, from which we have not made purification to this day? And there was a plague in the assembly of the Lord.”
  28. Joshua 22:18 tn Heb “you are turning back.”
  29. Joshua 22:18 tn Or “he will be angry with.”
  30. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
  31. Joshua 22:19 sn The western tribes here imagine a possible motive for the action of the eastern tribes. T. C. Butler explains the significance of the land’s “impurity”: “East Jordan is impure because it is not Yahweh’s possession. Rather it is simply ‘your possession.’ That means it is land where Yahweh does not live, land which his presence has not sanctified and purified” (Joshua [WBC], 247).
  32. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “the land of the possession of the Lord.”
  33. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “where the dwelling place of the Lord resides.”sn The phrase where the Lord himself lives refers to the tabernacle.
  34. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “and take for yourselves in our midst.”
  35. Joshua 22:19 tc Heb “and us to you rebel.” The reading of the MT, the accusative sign with suffix (וְאֹתָנוּ, veʾotanu), is problematic with the verb “rebel” (מָרַד, marad). Many Hebrew mss correctly read the negative particle אַל (ʾal) for the preposition אֶל (ʾel, “to”).
  36. Joshua 22:20 tn Heb “Is it not [true that] Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord] and against all the assembly of Israel there was anger?”
  37. Joshua 22:20 tn The second half of the verse reads literally, “and he [was] one man, he did not die for his sin.” There are at least two possible ways to explain this statement: (1) One might interpret the statement to mean that Achan was not the only person who died for his sin. In this case it could be translated, “and he was not the only one to die because of his sin.” (2) Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to take the words וְהוּא אִישׁ אֶחָד (vehuʾ ʾish ʾekhad, “and he [was] one man”) as a concessive clause and join it with what precedes. The remaining words (לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ, loʾ gavaʿ baʿavono) must then be taken as a rhetorical question (“Did he not die for his sin?”). Taking the last sentence as interrogative is consistent with the first part of the verse, a rhetorical question introduced with the interrogative particle. The present translation has converted these rhetorical questions into affirmative statements to bring out more clearly the points they are emphasizing. For further discussion, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 240.
  38. Joshua 22:21 tn Heb “answered and spoke to the heads of.”
  39. Joshua 22:22 sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (ʾel), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (yehvah), “Yahweh” (or “the Lord”). The name אֵל (ʾel, “El”) is often compounded with titles, for example, El Elyon, “God Most High.”
  40. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “he knows.”
  41. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
  42. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The LXX translates in the third person.
  43. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness…by building.”
  44. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “or if to offer up.”
  45. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “or if to make.”
  46. Joshua 22:23 tn Or “peace offerings.”
  47. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “the Lord, he will seek.” Perhaps this is a self-imprecation in an oath, “may the Lord himself punish us.”
  48. Joshua 22:24 tn Heb “Surely, from worry concerning a matter we have done this, saying.”
  49. Joshua 22:24 tn Heb “What is there to you and to the Lord God of Israel?” The rhetorical question is sarcastic in tone and anticipates a response, “Absolutely none!”
  50. Joshua 22:25 tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
  51. Joshua 22:25 tn Heb “fearing.”
  52. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
  53. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “to do the service of the Lord before him.”
  54. Joshua 22:27 tn Or “peace offerings.”
  55. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
  56. Joshua 22:28 tn The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  57. Joshua 22:28 tn Heb “fathers.”
  58. Joshua 22:28 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
  59. Joshua 22:29 tn Or “peace offerings.”
  60. Joshua 22:29 sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.
  61. Joshua 22:30 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
  62. Joshua 22:30 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
  63. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
  64. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “because you were not unfaithful with this unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
  65. Joshua 22:31 tn On the use of אָז (ʾaz) in a logical sense, see IBHS 667 §39.3.4f.
  66. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “the hand (i.e., power) of the Lord.”
  67. Joshua 22:32 tn Heb “and Phinehas…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 they brought back to them a word.”
  68. Joshua 22:33 tn Heb “and the word was good in the eyes of the sons of Israel and the sons of Israel blessed God.”
  69. Joshua 22:33 tn Heb “and they did not speak about going up against them for battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.”
  70. Joshua 22:34 tn Heb “a witness between us.”
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