Yehoshua 22
Orthodox Jewish Bible
22 Then Yehoshua summoned the Reuveni, and the Gadi, and the half-tribe of Menasheh,
2 And said unto them, Ye have been shomer over all that Moshe Eved Hashem commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you;
3 Ye have not deserted your achim these yamim rabbim to yom hazeh, but have been shomer over the mishmeret mitzvat Hashem Eloheichem (charge, duty of the commandment of Hashem your G-d.)
4 And now Hashem Eloheichem hath given manoach unto your achim, just as He promised them; therefore now return ye, and get you unto your ohalim, and unto the Eretz Achuzzatechem, which Moshe eved Hashem gave you on the other side of the Yarden.
5 But be shomer to do the mitzvah and the torah, which Moshe Eved Hashem charged you, to love Hashem Eloheichem, and to walk in all the darkhei Hashem (see Ac 21:21 OJBC), and to be shomer mitzot regarding His commandments, and to have deveykus (attachment, cleavimg to G-d) to Him, and to serve Him in avodas [kodesh] with kol levavchem uvkhol nafshechem (all your heart , with all your nefesh).
6 So Yehoshua gave them a brocha, and sent them away; and they went unto their ohalim.
7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Menasheh Moshe had given possession in Bashan; but unto the other half thereof gave Yehoshua among their achim on this side Yarden westward. And when Yehoshua sent them away also unto their ohalim, then he gave them a brocha.
8 And he spoke unto them, saying, Return with nekasim rabbin (many possessions) unto your ohalim, and with mikneh rav me’od (very much cattle), with kesef, and with zahav, and with nechoshet, and with barzel (iron), and with very much selamot (clothes); divide the plunder of your enemies with your achim.
9 And the Bnei Reuven and the Bnei Gad and the half-tribe of Menasheh returned, and departed from the Bnei Yisroel at Shiloh, which is in Eretz Kana’an, to go unto Eretz Gil‘ad, to the Eretz Achuzzatam (the land of their possession, estate), whereof they had taken as a possession, according to the word of Hashem by the yad Moshe.
10 And when they came unto the Gelilot of the Yarden, that is in eretz Kena’an, the Bnei Reuven and the Bnei Gad and the half-tribe of Menasheh built there a mizbe’ach by the Yarden, a mizbe’ach gadol in appearance.
11 And the Bnei Yisroel heard, Hinei, the Bnei Reuven and the Bnei Gad and the half-tribe of Menasheh have built a mizbe’ach at the edge of Eretz Kena’an, in the region of the Yarden, on the side belonging to the Bnei Yisroel.
12 And when the Bnei Yisroel heard of it, the kol Adat Bnei Yisroel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.
13 And the Bnei Yisroel sent unto the Bnei Reuven, and to the Bnei Gad, and to the halftribe of Menasheh, into Eretz Gil`ad, Pinchas ben Eleazar the Kohen,
14 And with him ten nasi’im, one each of the bais av for all the tribes of Yisroel; and each one was a Rosh Bais Avotam among the Alephei Yisroel.
15 And they came unto the Bnei Reuven, and to the Bnei Gad, and to the half-tribe of Menasheh, unto Eretz Gil‘ad, and they spoke with them, saying,
16 Thus saith the Kol Adat Hashem, What ma’al (trespass, disobedience, breach of faith, treachery, breaking faith) is this that ye have committed against the Elohei Yisroel, to turn away this day from following Hashem, in that ye have built you a mizbe’ach, that ye might rebel this day against Hashem?
17 Is the avon Peor too little for us, from which we are not tahor until this day, even though there was the negef (plague) in the Adat Hashem,
18 But that ye must turn away this day from following Hashem? And it will be, seeing ye rebel hayom (today) against Hashem, that machar (tomorrow) He will be angry with the kol Adat Yisroel.
19 Notwithstanding, if the eretz achuzzatechem be tamei (unclean), then pass ye over unto the eretz achuzzat Hashem, wherein Hashem’s Mishkan dwelleth, and take possession among us; but rebel not against Hashem, nor rebel against us, in building you a mizbe’ach other than the mizbe’ach Hashem Eloheinu.
20 Did not Achan ben Zerach break faith in the cherem, and ketzef (wrath) fell on kol Adat Yisroel? And that ish perished not alone in his avon (iniquity).
21 Then the Bnei Reuven and the Bnei Gad and the half-tribe of Menasheh answered, and said unto the Rashei Alephei Yisroel,
22 El Elohim, Hashem El Elohim, He knoweth, and Yisroel shall have da’as; if it be in mered (rebellion), or if in ma’al against Hashem, (al toshieini hayom hazeh [save us not this day]),
23 That we have built us a mizbe’ach to turn away from following Hashem, or if to offer thereon olah or minchah, or if to offer zivkhei shelamim thereon, let Hashem Himself call it to account;
24 No, rather have we not done it for fear, for this reason, saying, In time to come your banim might speak unto our banim, saying, What have ye to do with Hashem Elohei Yisroel?
25 For Hashem hath made the Yarden a boundary between us and you, ye Bnei Reuven and Bnei Gad; ye have no chelek in Hashem; so might your banim make our banim cease from fearing Hashem.
26 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us the mizbe’ach, not for olah nor for zevach,
27 But that it may be an ed (witness) between us, and you, and doroteinu (our generations) after us, that we might do the avodas Hashem before Him with oloteinu, and with zevakheinu, and with shelameinu; that your banim may not say to our banim in time to come, Ye have no chelek in Hashem.
28 Therefore we said, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to doroteinu in time to come, that we may say again, See the tavnit (pattern, replica) of the mizbe’ach Hashem, which Avoteinu built, not for olah, nor for zevach; but it is an ed (witness) between us and you.
29 Chalilah lanu (far be it from us) that we should rebel against Hashem, and turn today from following Hashem, to build a mizbe’ach for olah, for minchah, or for zevach, other than the Mizbe’ach Hashem Eloheinu that is before His Mishkan.
30 And when Pinchas HaKohen, and the nasi’im of the Edah and Rashei Alephei Yisroel which were with him, heard the words that the Bnei Reuven and the Bnei Gad and the Bnei Menasheh spoke, it pleased them.
31 And Pinchas ben Eleazar HaKohen said unto the Bnei Reuven, and to the Bnei Gad, and to the Bnei Menasheh, Today we have da’as that Hashem is among us, because ye have not broken faith with Hashem; now ye have saved the Bnei Yisroel out of the yad Hashem.
32 And Pinchas ben Eleazar HaKohen, and the nasi’im, returned from the Bnei Reuven, and from the Bnei Gad, out of Eretz Gil`ad, unto Eretz Kena’an, to the Bnei Yisroel, and reported the matter unto them.
33 And the thing pleased the Bnei Yisroel; and the Bnei Yisroel made brocha unto Elohim, and spoke no more about going up against them in battle, to destroy HaAretz wherein the Bnei Reuven and Gad dwelt.
34 And the Bnei Reuven and the Bnei Gad called the mizbe’ach Ed (Witness), for it is between us that Hashem is HaElohim.
Joshua 22
International Standard Version
The Tribes East of the Jordan
22 Later, Joshua called together the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and told them, “You have done everything that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and you have listened to me in everything that I commanded you. 3 You haven’t abandoned your relatives these past days to the present, and you have met the obligation contained in[a] the commands of the Lord your God. 4 Now the Lord has given peace[b] to your relatives, just as he told them. Therefore, proceed to your tents—to the land that is yours to possess—that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of[c] the Jordan River. 5 Only be very careful to keep the commands and the Law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you—that is,[d] to love the Lord your God, to follow in all of his ways, to keep his commands, to stay close to him, and to serve him with all your heart and soul.” 6 That’s how Joshua blessed them. Then he sent them on their way and they returned to their tents.
7 Now Moses had made an allotment in Bashan to one half-tribe of Manasseh, but Joshua made an allotment west of the Jordan River to the other half-tribe of their relatives. So when Joshua sent them on their way back to their tents, he also blessed them by saying 8 “Return to your tents with great wealth, plenty of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and lots of clothing. Divide the spoil from your enemies among your relatives.”
9 The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh went back to the land of Gilead, leaving the Israelis at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, for their territorial possession that they had inherited in accordance with the command of the Lord given through Moses.
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,[e] the entire community of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh in preparation for war.
13 Then the Israelis sent a delegation[f] to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. They sent[g] 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[h] 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,[i] 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,[j] and as a result God became angry at[k] 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[l] 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[m] 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![n] 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[o] 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[p] 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[q] 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[r] 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[s] 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[t] that the Lord is among us, because you have not acted treacherously against the Lord. Now you have delivered the Israelis from the anger[u] 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[v] 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,[w] “It stands as a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 22:3 The Heb. lacks contained in
- Joshua 22:4 Lit. rest
- Joshua 22:4 Lit. you beyond
- Joshua 22:5 The Heb. lacks that is
- Joshua 22:12 The Heb. lacks that announcement
- Joshua 22:13 The Heb. lacks a delegation
- Joshua 22:13 The Heb. lacks They sent
- Joshua 22:14 Lit. thousands
- Joshua 22:17 Lit. day
- Joshua 22:20 The Heb. lacks by God
- Joshua 22:20 Lit. result anger fell on
- Joshua 22:21 Lit. thousands
- Joshua 22:22 The Heb. lacks this
- Joshua 22:23 The Heb. lacks an accounting from us
- Joshua 22:24 The Heb. lacks have in common
- Joshua 22:27 Or witness
- Joshua 22:28 The Heb. lacks these things
- Joshua 22:28 Or witness
- Joshua 22:29 Or sacrifice besides
- Joshua 22:31 Lit. known
- Joshua 22:31 Lit. hand
- Joshua 22:33 Lit. the Israelis
- Joshua 22:34 The Heb. lacks they claimed
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