Joshua 22 · WEB
The Eastern Tribes Return; The Altar at the Jordan
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
2and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.
3You have not left your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the duty of the commandment of Yahweh your God.
4Now Yahweh your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them. Therefore turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan.
5Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, 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."
6So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
7Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan; but to the other half Joshua gave possession among their brothers west of the Jordan. Moreover when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,
8and spoke to them, saying, "Return with great riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the plunder of your enemies with your brothers."
9The children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned and departed from the children of Israel out of 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 commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
10When they came to the region of the Jordan, that is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a great altar to look at.
11The children of Israel heard this, saying, "Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the border of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the children of Israel."
12When the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.
13The 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,
14and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' household for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were each of them head of their fathers' households among the thousands of Israel.
15They 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"The whole congregation of Yahweh says, 'What trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following Yahweh, in that you have built an altar, to rebel this day against Yahweh?
17Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of Yahweh,
18that you must turn away this day from following Yahweh? It will be, if you rebel today against Yahweh, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.
19However, if the land of your possession is unclean, then come over to the land of the possession of Yahweh, in which Yahweh's tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us; but don't rebel against Yahweh, and don't rebel against us, in building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God.
20Didn't Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? That man didn't perish alone in his iniquity.'"
21Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the thousands of Israel:
22"The Mighty One, God, Yahweh! The Mighty One, God, Yahweh! He knows, and Israel also shall know. If it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against Yahweh, don't save us today.
23If we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from following Yahweh, or if to offer burnt offering or meal offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, let Yahweh himself require it.
24But truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason. We said, 'In time to come your children might speak to our children, saying, "What have you to do with Yahweh, the God of Israel?
25For 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 cease from fearing Yahweh.'
26Therefore we said, 'Let's now prepare to build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice;
27but it shall 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, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not tell our children in time to come, "You have no portion in Yahweh."'
28Therefore we said, 'When they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, we will answer, "Behold the pattern 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."'
29Far be it from us that we should rebel against Yahweh, and turn away this day from following Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meal offerings, or for sacrifices, other than the altar of Yahweh our God that is before his tabernacle."
30When Phinehas the priest and the princes of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well.
31Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh is in the middle of us, because you have not committed this trespass against Yahweh. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Yahweh."
32Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben and from the children of Gad out of the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.
33The thing pleased the children of Israel. The children of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad lived.
34The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar "Witness"; "For," they said, "it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God."
✶
Summary
Joshua honorably dismisses the two and a half eastern tribes — Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh — who have faithfully served alongside the western tribes for the years of conquest. As they cross back over the Jordan to their homes in Gilead and Bashan, they build a large altar on the riverbank. The western tribes immediately assume it is an act of apostasy and mobilize for war. But before striking, they send a delegation led by the priest Phinehas to confront them. The eastern tribes explain that the altar is not for sacrifice but a memorial — a visible "witness" so that future generations cannot claim they have no share in Yahweh and Israel. Phinehas accepts the explanation, the crisis is averted, and the altar is named "Witness."
Themes
- The danger of misunderstanding between God's people — and the power of communication to avert disaster
- Zeal for God's holiness (the western tribes) balanced with the grace of listening before acting
- The concern of the eastern tribes for their children's spiritual inheritance
- Unity of all Israel across the Jordan: one God, one people, one covenant
Key verses
- Josh 22:24–25 — “In time to come your children might speak to our children, saying, 'What have you to do with Yahweh, the God of Israel? For Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you.'”
- Josh 22:34 — “The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar 'Witness'; 'For it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God.'”
- Josh 22:5 — “Take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law...to love Yahweh your God, 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.”
Context & background
The Jordan River, which still flows today forming the border between modern Jordan and the state of Israel/West Bank, was a profound geographical and symbolic dividing line in the ancient world. The eastern tribes — settling in what is today the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan — were separated from the Tabernacle at Shiloh by the river. Their fear was theologically justified: without a visible connection to the central sanctuary, future generations might be told they were "outside" the covenant community. The altar they built was not at the Tabernacle site (which would have been a direct violation of the law of the single sanctuary) but on the riverbank as a border monument. Phinehas is the same priest who acted decisively against idolatry at Peor (Numbers 25), which is why his willingness to listen first here is notable. The reference to "the iniquity of Peor" and "Achan" shows how fresh those catastrophes were in the community's memory.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 6:4–9 — The Shema — the command to love God with all heart, soul, and strength, directly quoted in Joshua's farewell charge to the departing tribes
- Ephesians 4:3 — "Being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" — the same concern that drove both the confrontation and the resolution
- Joshua 7:1–26 — The sin of Achan, where one man's rebellion brought consequences on all Israel; referenced in verse 20
- Numbers 25:1–13 — The sin of Peor, which Phinehas stopped with decisive action; referenced as a warning in verse 17
- Numbers 32:1–42 — The original agreement with the eastern tribes to fight alongside their brothers before settling east of the Jordan