Joshua 22:11

_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._ And the children of Israel heard say. Fame speedily spread intelligence of what the trans-Jordanic tribes had done. The act being suspected of some idolatrous design, "the whole congregation - i:e., not the whole nation, but only the representatives-repair to the tabernacle at Shiloh, resolved to declare war against the two tribes and a half as apostates from God. On calmer and more mature considerations, however, they determined, in the first instance, to send a deputation, consisting of the son of the high priest and 10 eminent persons from each tribe, to make inquiry into this rumoured rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 13

11._And the children of Israel heard say, _etc There is no doubt that they were inflamed with holy zeal, nor ought their vehemence to seem excessive in taking up arms to destroy their countrymen on account of a pile of stones. For they truly and wisely judged that the lawful sanctuary of God was polluted and his worship profaned, that sacred things were violated, pious concord destroyed, and a door opened for the license of superstitious practices, if in two places victims were offered to God, who had for these reasons so solemnly bound the whole people to a single altar. Not rashly, therefore, do the ten tribes, on hearing of a profane altar, detest its sacrilegious audacity. Here, then, we have an illustrious display of piety, teaching us that if we see the pure worship of God corrupted, we must be strenuous, to the utmost of our ability, in vindicating it. The sword, indeed, has not b...

10-20 Here is the care of the separated tribes to keep their hold of Canaan's religion. At first sight it seemed a design to set up an altar against the altar at Shiloh. God is jealous for his own institutions; we should be so too, and afraid of every thing that looks like, or leads to idolatry. Corruptions in religion are best dealt with at first. But their prudence in following up this zealous resolution is no less commendable. Many an unhappy strife would be prevented, or soon made up, by inquiries into the matter of the offence. The remembrance of great sins committed formerly, should engage us to stand on our guard against the beginnings of sin; for the way of sin is down-hill. We are all concerned to reprove our neighbour when he does amiss, lest we suffer sin upon him, Leviticus 19:17. The offer made that they should be welcome to come to the land where the Lord's tabernacle was,...

EXPOSITION JOSHUA 22:1 THE REUBENITES AND THE GADITES. According to the Hebrew idiom, these are in the original in the singular, as in Genesis 12:6. Thus a tribe, as has been before remarked, or even a family (Joshua 6:25), is spoken of frequently as a single individual (cf. Joshua 17:14, Joshua 17:15, Joshua 17:17, Joshua 17:18). It seems prob

AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HEARD SAY,.... Those that dwelt in the land of Canaan, for otherwise, as before observed, the two tribes and a half on the other side Jordan were Israelites also; and this is a further proof that the altar was built on their side, or those in the land of Canaan would have known of the building of it, and have seen them at it, and not come at the knowledge of it by hearsay only, as it seems they did, it being reported to them by some who had been in those parts, and had seen the structure: 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; which clearly shows it was on the other side Jordan, though Noldius, who places it in the land of Canaan, renders the words, "in the neighbourhood of" it l; which will not much help him, since it might be in the neighbourhood of it, and...

III. THE FINAL WORDS OF JOSHUA AND THE EPILOGUE 1. The Two and One-half Tribes and the Altar Ed CHAPTER 22 _ 1. Joshua's address (Joshua 22:1)_ 2. The tribes dismissed and their return (Joshua 22:7) 3. The great altar erected (Joshua 22:10) 4. War proposed (Joshua 22:11) 5. The mission of Phinehas and the explanation (Joshua 22:13) 6. The explanation accepted (Joshua 22:30) 7. The altar Ed ...

THE ALTAR OF WITNESS ERECTED BY THE E. JORDAN TRIBES. This narrative is clearly not historical, and the question arises, Why should it have been composed? The answer is that it is a Midrash (p. 314, 2 Chronicles 13:22 *) of the same nature as those in Numbers 15:32, the man gathering sticks on the Sabbath, and Numbers 31:25, the law for the division of the spoil. In this connexion we may quote the admirable words of Mr. Ball: We have to bear in mind a fact familiar enough to students of Talmudic and Midrashic literature, the inveterate tendency to convey their doctrine not in the form of abstract discourse, but in a mode appealing directly to the imagination.. The Rabbi embodies his lesson in a story, whether

BEHOLD. Figure of speech _Asteriamos_ (App-6) over against. in front of. i.e. on the oast side of Jordan. at the PASSAGE OF. beyond, or opposite to....

Embassy from Israel to the Two and a Half Tribes 11. _heard_ News of the step taken by the trans-Jordanic tribes so suddenly and without any consultation, reached the ears of their brethren, and gave rise to "great searchings of heart." _in the borders_ i.e. _the circles of Jordan_, as in Joshua 22:10. _at the passage of the children of Israel_ More literally, BY THE SIDE OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL. Comp. Exodus 25:37; Exodus 32:15....

DISCOURSE: 257 THE ALTAR OF WITNESS Joshua 22:11. _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. 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._ RELIGION has often been made a plea for ambitious and bloody projects: but it never was on any occasion so truly and properly the ground of war, as in the event that is here recorded. The tribes who had their portion on the east of Jordan, after having been disbanded, came to the land of their possession: and, apprehending that at some future period they might be disowned by their brethren on account of their not havi