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Joshua 22:10-34
New English Translation

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.[a] 11 The Israelites received this report:[b] “Look, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to[c] 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.[d]

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.[e] 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.[f] 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.[g] 18 Now today you dare to turn back[h] from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against[i] the entire community of Israel. 19 But if your own land[j] is impure,[k] cross over to the Lord’s own land,[l] where the Lord himself lives,[m] and settle down among us.[n] But don’t rebel against the Lord or us[o] 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,[p] though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’”[q]

21 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders[r] of the Israelite clans: 22 “El, God, the Lord![s] El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth![t] Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord,[u] don’t spare us[v] today! 23 If we have built[w] an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making[x] burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering[y] tokens of peace[z] on it, the Lord himself will punish us.[aa] 24 We swear we have done this because we were worried that[ab] in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel?[ac] 25 The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.’[ad] In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying[ae] 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[af] and our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence[ag] with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace.[ah] Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’[ai] 28 We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing[aj] to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors[ak] made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’[al] 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[am] aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!”[an]

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,[ao] they were satisfied.[ap] 31 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassehites,[aq] “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this.[ar] Now[as] you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.”[at]

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.[au] 33 The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God.[av] They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived.[aw] 34 The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, “Surely it is a Reminder to us[ax] that the Lord is God.”

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Footnotes

  1. 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.”
  2. Joshua 22:11 tn Heb “the sons of Israel heard, saying.”
  3. Joshua 22:11 tn Heb “toward the front of.”
  4. Joshua 22:12 tn Heb “to go up against them for battle.”
  5. 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.”
  6. 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?”
  7. 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.”
  8. Joshua 22:18 tn Heb “you are turning back.”
  9. Joshua 22:18 tn Or “he will be angry with.”
  10. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
  11. 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).
  12. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “the land of the possession of the Lord.”
  13. 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.
  14. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “and take for yourselves in our midst.”
  15. 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”).
  16. 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?”
  17. 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.
  18. Joshua 22:21 tn Heb “answered and spoke to the heads of.”
  19. 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.”
  20. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “he knows.”
  21. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
  22. 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.
  23. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness…by building.”
  24. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “or if to offer up.”
  25. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “or if to make.”
  26. Joshua 22:23 tn Or “peace offerings.”
  27. 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.”
  28. Joshua 22:24 tn Heb “Surely, from worry concerning a matter we have done this, saying.”
  29. 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!”
  30. Joshua 22:25 tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
  31. Joshua 22:25 tn Heb “fearing.”
  32. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
  33. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “to do the service of the Lord before him.”
  34. Joshua 22:27 tn Or “peace offerings.”
  35. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
  36. Joshua 22:28 tn The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  37. Joshua 22:28 tn Heb “fathers.”
  38. Joshua 22:28 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
  39. Joshua 22:29 tn Or “peace offerings.”
  40. Joshua 22:29 sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.
  41. Joshua 22:30 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
  42. Joshua 22:30 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
  43. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
  44. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “because you were not unfaithful with this unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
  45. Joshua 22:31 tn On the use of אָז (ʾaz) in a logical sense, see IBHS 667 §39.3.4f.
  46. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “the hand (i.e., power) of the Lord.”
  47. 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.”
  48. 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.”
  49. 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.”
  50. Joshua 22:34 tn Heb “a witness between us.”
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Joshua 22:10-34
International Standard Version

An Unauthorized Altar is Constructed

10 After they arrived at an area of the Jordan River that is in the land of Canaan, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh constructed an altar there by the Jordan River, and it was very large. 11 When the Israelis heard about it, they announced, “Look here, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have constructed an altar in Canaan’s frontier district of the Jordan River, on the side apportioned to the Israelis.” 12 When the Israelis heard that announcement,[a] the entire community of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh in preparation for war.

13 Then the Israelis sent a delegation[b] to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. They sent[c] Eleazar’s son Phinehas the priest, 14 and ten officials with him (one for each of the tribal families of Israel, each one of them a family leader among the tribes[d] of Israel). 15 They approached the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and told them: 16 “This is what the entire community of the Lord has to say: ‘What is this treacherous act by which you have acted deceitfully against the God of Israel by turning away from following the Lord today, and by building yourselves an altar today, so you can rebel against the Lord? 17 Isn’t the evil that happened at Peor enough for us, from which we have yet to be completely cleansed even to this point,[e] and because of which a plague came upon the community of the Lord? 18 Now then, are you turning away from following the Lord today? If you rebel against the Lord today, by tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel. 19 If the land of your inheritance remains unclean, then cross back over into the land that the Lord possesses, and receive an inheritance among us. Don’t rebel against the Lord and against us by constructing an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Didn’t Zerah’s son Achan act treacherously with respect to the things banned by God,[f] and as a result God became angry at[g] the entire community of Israel? And that man was not the only one to die because of his iniquity.’”

21 The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the officials of the tribes[h] of Israel, 22 “The God of gods, the Lord, the God of gods, the Lord is the one who knows! And may Israel itself be aware that if this[i] was an act of rebellion or an act of treachery against the Lord, may he not deliver us today! 23 If we have built an altar for ourselves intended to turn us away from following the Lord, or to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself demand an accounting from us![j] 24 But we did this because we were concerned for a reason, since we thought, ‘Sometime in the future your descendants may say to our descendants, “What do you have in common[k] with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 The Lord has established the Jordan River to be a territorial border between us and you. Descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad have no allotment from the Lord.” So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing the Lord.’

26 “That’s why we said, ‘Let’s build an altar for ourselves, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice, 27 but instead it will serve as a reminder[l] between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to serve the Lord with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings. That way your descendants will not say to our descendants in the future, “You have no allotment from the Lord.”’

28 “That’s also why we said, ‘It may be if they say these things[m] to us and to our descendants in the future, so we will respond, “Look at this replica of the altar of the Lord that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice, but rather as a reminder[n] between us and you. 29 May we never rebel against the Lord today by building an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifice to replace[o] the altar of the Lord our God which stands before his Tent.”’”

30 When Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the community, and the heads of the families of Israel who were with him heard what the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the descendants of Manasseh said, they were pleased. 31 So Eleazar’s son Phinehas the priest replied to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the descendants of Manasseh, “Today we’ve demonstrated[p] that the Lord is among us, because you have not acted treacherously against the Lord. Now you have delivered the Israelis from the anger[q] of the Lord.”

32 So Eleazar’s son Phinehas the priest and the leaders returned from the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan and to the people of Israel, bringing back word to them. 33 What they said pleased the people of Israel, so they[r] blessed God and said no more about going up to attack them in war and to destroy the land where the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad were living. 34 The descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad named the altar “Witness,” because they claimed,[s] “It stands as a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 22:12 The Heb. lacks that announcement
  2. Joshua 22:13 The Heb. lacks a delegation
  3. Joshua 22:13 The Heb. lacks They sent
  4. Joshua 22:14 Lit. thousands
  5. Joshua 22:17 Lit. day
  6. Joshua 22:20 The Heb. lacks by God
  7. Joshua 22:20 Lit. result anger fell on
  8. Joshua 22:21 Lit. thousands
  9. Joshua 22:22 The Heb. lacks this
  10. Joshua 22:23 The Heb. lacks an accounting from us
  11. Joshua 22:24 The Heb. lacks have in common
  12. Joshua 22:27 Or witness
  13. Joshua 22:28 The Heb. lacks these things
  14. Joshua 22:28 Or witness
  15. Joshua 22:29 Or sacrifice besides
  16. Joshua 22:31 Lit. known
  17. Joshua 22:31 Lit. hand
  18. Joshua 22:33 Lit. the Israelis
  19. Joshua 22:34 The Heb. lacks they claimed
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