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Joshua 22
The TorahRooted Bible (TRB), translated directly from the Hebrew and Greek.
The eastern tribes sent home
1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of Yahweh your Elohim. 4 And now Yahweh your Elohim has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them. So now turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to do the commandment and the Torah which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you: to love Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to 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 to their tents.
7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave a possession among their brothers beyond the Jordan westward. Moreover, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8 and he said to them, "Return to your tents with great wealth, with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and with very many garments. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers." 9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession which they had taken possession of according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
The altar by the Jordan
10 When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar great in appearance.
11 And the children of Israel heard it said, "See, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the children of Israel." 12 When the children of Israel heard it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go up against them to war.
13 Then the children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, 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 leaders, one leader from each father's house of all the tribes of Israel; each of them was the head of his father's house among the thousands of Israel. 15 They came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16 "Thus says the whole congregation of Yahweh: 'What is this unfaithfulness that you have committed against the Elohim of Israel, turning away this day from following Yahweh by building yourselves an altar, to rebel this day against Yahweh? 17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of Yahweh, 18 that you must turn away this day from following Yahweh? If you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 But if the land of your possession is unclean, cross over to the land of Yahweh's possession, where the tabernacle of Yahweh dwells, and take possession among us; only do not rebel against Yahweh, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of Yahweh our Elohim. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the devoted things, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone in his iniquity.'"
The tribes explain the altar
21 Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel, 22 "El, Elohim, Yahweh! El, Elohim, Yahweh! He knows, and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in unfaithfulness against Yahweh, do not save us this day! 23 If we have built ourselves an altar to turn away from following Yahweh, or to offer on it burnt offering or grain offering, or to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may Yahweh Himself require it. 24 No, we did it out of concern about a matter, saying, 'In time to come your children may say to our children, "What have you to do with Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel? 25 For Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no portion in Yahweh." So your children might make our children stop fearing Yahweh.' 26 Therefore we said, 'Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may perform the service of Yahweh before Him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices and our peace offerings, so that your children may not say to our children in time to come, "You have no portion in Yahweh."' 28 And we said, 'If they should say this to us or to our generations in time to come, we will say, "See the copy of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and you."' 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against Yahweh and turn away this day from following Yahweh by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Yahweh our Elohim which is before His tabernacle!"
30 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their eyes. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithfulness against Yahweh. Now you have delivered the children of Israel from the hand of Yahweh."
32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 The report was good in the eyes of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed Elohim; and they spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and the children of Gad were living. 34 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar Ed, "for," they said, "it is a witness between us that Yahweh is Elohim."
Notes
- 22:5 Joshua's charge gathers the heart of Deuteronomy into one sentence: love, walk, keep, hold fast and serve (Deuteronomy 10:12; 11:22; 30:20). "Hold fast" is davaq, "to cling, stick to," the word used of a man who "holds fast to his wife" (Genesis 2:24). As the tribes go home across the river, the commandment goes with them.
- 22:12 The law had said that sacrifices were to be offered only at the place Yahweh would choose (Deuteronomy 12:5-14), and at this time the tabernacle stood at Shiloh (18:1). A second great altar looked like rebellion, and Deuteronomy 13:12-15 told Israel to inquire carefully into such a report before acting. So Israel first sends a delegation to ask before going to war.
- 22:17 At Peor Israel yoked itself to Baal of Peor, and it was Phinehas, now leading this delegation, whose zeal stopped the plague there (Numbers 25:7-13). He speaks from experience: one act of unfaithfulness brought judgment on the whole people.
- 22:22 The tribes begin with three names of God, El, Elohim, Yahweh, said twice like a solemn oath: God Himself is their witness. El is the short, ancient word for God; Elohim is the fuller, plural form Israel used for the one God; Yahweh is His own covenant name. The same three names open Psalm 50:1. "Do not save us" is most naturally read as spoken to God: if they are lying, let Him not spare them.
- 22:34 "Ed" means "witness." The Masoretic Hebrew text reads only that they "called the altar," and the reason that follows, "for it is a witness (ed) between us," gives the name; a few Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient Syriac translation include the word, and most translations supply it. The altar was never for sacrifice: it stood as a testimony that the tribes on both sides of the Jordan serve one God at one altar.