Joshua 22:34

30-34 It is well that there was on both sides a disposition to peace, as there was a zeal for God; for quarrels about religion, for want of wisdom and love, often prove the most fierce and difficult to be made up. Proud and peevish spirits, when they have passed any unjust blame on their brethren, though full evidence be brought of its unfairness, can by no means be persuaded to withdraw it. But Israel was not so prejudiced. They looked upon their brethren's innocence as a token of God's presence. Our brethren's zeal for the power of godliness, and faith and love, notwithstanding the fears of their breaking the unity of the church, are things of which we should be very glad to be satisfied. The altar was called ED, a witness. It was a witness of their care to keep their religion pure and entire, and would witness against their descendants, if they should turn from following after the Lo...

Verse Joshua 22:34. _CALLED THE ALTAR_ ED] The word עד _ED_, which signifies _witness_ or _testimony_, is not found in the common editions of the Hebrew Bible, and is supplied in Italics by our translators, at least in our modern copies; for in the _first edition_ of this translation it stands in the text without any note of this kind; and it is found in several of _Kennicott's_ and _De Rossi's_ MSS., and also in the _Syriac_ and _Arabic_. Several also of the early printed editions of the Hebrew Bible have the word עד, either in the text or in the margin, and it must be allowed to be necessary to complete the sense. It is very probable that an _inscription_ was put on this altar, which pointed out the purposes for which it was erected. FROM the contents of this chapter we learn that the Israelites were dreadfully alarm

The word עד _‛__êd_ is not found after “altar” in the text of most manuscripts, nor is it represented in the Septuagint or Vulgate. The passage should probably run: “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar, that (as they said) it might be, etc.” The title placed on the altar was perhaps simply a witness between them that the Lord was God (Wordsworth)....

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 REUBEN, AND THE CHILDREN OF GAD, CALLED THE ALTAR [ED],.... Which signifies a "witness"; they caused such an inscription to be put upon it, or this word to be engraved on it, that so the intention of erecting it might be known in future time; that it was not for sacrifice, but to be a testimony of their being one with their brethren on the other side Jordan, in worship, faith, and fellowship: FOR [IT SHALL BE] A WITNESS BETWEEN US THAT THE LORD [IS] GOD; is the one God, the God of them both, of all Israel, whether on the one or the other side of Jordan; to be worshipped by them in one and the same manner, and their sacrifices to be offered to him on his altar before the tabernacle....

ED That is, a witness; so (Joshua 24:27)....

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

ED. Hebrew "a witness. "This, and the verb "shall be", not in the received Hebrew text. (Some codices have it.) Literally "called the altar.. witness it is, &c. " GOD. the God. Hebrew ha-Elohim. App-4....

Return of the Embassy 33. _blessed God_ Compare 1 Chronicles 29:20, "And David said to all the congregation, Now _bless_the Lord your God. And all the congregation _blessed_the Lord God of their fathers;" Nehemiah 8:6, "And Ezra _blessed_the Lord, the great God;" Daniel 2:19, "Then Daniel _blessed_the God of heaven;" Luke 2:28, "Then took he Him up in his arms, and _blessed_God, and said." _did not intend_ i. e. did not carry out their intention of going up to war against them, as they first thought of doing when "they gathered themselves together at Shiloh;" see above...