^22:1Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh ^22:2and told them: “You have carried out all the instructions of Moses the Lord’s servant, and you have obeyed all I have told you.¹^22:3You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites² this entire time,³ right up to this very day. You have completed the task given you by the Lord your God.⁴^22:4Now the Lord your God has made your fellow Israelites secure,⁵ just as he promised them. So now you may turn around and go to your homes⁶ in your own land⁷ which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned to you east of the Jordan. ^22:5But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love⁸ the Lord your God, follow all his instructions,⁹ obey¹⁰ his commands, be loyal to him,¹¹ and serve him with all your heart and being!”¹²

^22:6Joshua rewarded¹³ them and sent them on their way; they returned to their homes.¹⁴^22:7(Now to one half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned land in Bashan; and to the other half Joshua had assigned land on the west side of the Jordan with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home,¹⁵ he rewarded¹⁶ them, ^22:8saying, “Take home¹⁷ great wealth, a lot of cattle,¹⁸ silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a lot of¹⁹ clothing. Divide up the goods captured from your enemies with your brothers.” ^22:9So the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and headed home to their own land in Gilead,²⁰ which they acquired by the Lord’s command through Moses.

Civil War is Averted

^22:10The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan and built there, near the Jordan, an impressive altar.²¹^22:11The Israelites received this report:²² “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to²³ the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.” ^22:12When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them.²⁴

^22:13The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ^22:14He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans.²⁵^22:15They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: ^22:16“The entire community of the Lord says, ‘Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord.²⁶^22:17The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord.²⁷^22:18Now today you dare to turn back²⁸ from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against²⁹ the entire community of Israel. ^22:19But if your own land³⁰ is impure,³¹ cross over to the Lord’s own land,³² where the Lord himself lives,³³ and settle down among us.³⁴ But don’t rebel against the Lord or us³⁵ by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God. ^22:20When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged,³⁶ though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’ ”³⁷

^22:21The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders³⁸ of the Israelite clans: ^22:22“El, God, the Lord!³⁹ El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth!⁴⁰ Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord,⁴¹ don’t spare us⁴² today! ^22:23If we have built⁴³ an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making⁴⁴ burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering⁴⁵ tokens of peace⁴⁶ on it, the Lord himself will punish us.⁴⁷^22:24We swear we have done this because we were worried that⁴⁸ in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel?⁴⁹^22:25The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.’⁵⁰ In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying⁵¹ the Lord. ^22:26So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, ^22:27but as a reminder to us and you,⁵² and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence⁵³ with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace.⁵⁴ Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’⁵⁵^22:28We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing⁵⁶ to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors⁵⁷ made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.” ’⁵⁸^22:29Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace⁵⁹ aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!”⁶⁰

^22:30When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites,⁶¹ they were satisfied.⁶²^22:31Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites,⁶³ “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this.⁶⁴ Now⁶⁵ you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.”⁶⁶

^22:32Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders left the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead and reported back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.⁶⁷^22:33The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God.⁶⁸ They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived.⁶⁹^22:34The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, “Surely it is a Reminder to us⁷⁰ that the Lord is God.”

Joshua Challenges Israel to be Faithful

^23:1A long time¹ passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies,² and Joshua was very old.³^23:2So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old. ^23:3You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you.⁴^23:4See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations,⁵ from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea⁶ in the west, including all the nations I defeated.⁷^23:5The Lord your God will drive them out from before you and remove them,⁸ so you can occupy⁹ their land as the Lord your God promised¹⁰ you. ^23:6Be very strong! Carefully obey¹¹ all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left, ^23:7or associate with these nations that remain near¹² you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods!¹³ You must not worship¹⁴ or bow down to them! ^23:8But you must be loyal to¹⁵ the Lord your God, as you have been¹⁶ to this very day.

^23:9“The Lord drove out from before you great and mighty nations; no one has been able to resist you¹⁷ to this very day. ^23:10One of you makes a thousand run away,¹⁸ for the Lord your God fights for you¹⁹ as he promised you he would.²⁰^23:11Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God!²¹^23:12But if you ever turn away and make alliances with²² these nations that remain near you,²³ and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them,²⁴^23:13know for certain that the Lord our God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you;²⁵ they will be a whip that tears²⁶ your sides and thorns that blind²⁷ your eyes until you disappear²⁸ from this good land the Lord your God gave you.

^23:14“Look, today I am about to die.²⁹ You know with all your heart and being³⁰ that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized—not one promise is unfulfilled!³¹^23:15But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized,³² it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment³³ until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you. ^23:16If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep,³⁴ and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods,³⁵ the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear³⁶ quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”

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Footnotes

1 Heb “You have kept all which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, and you have listened to my voice, to all which I commanded you.”
2 Heb “your brothers” (also in vv. 4, 7), but this does not refer to siblings or necessarily even to relatives. It refers to the Israelites of the remaining tribes.
3 Heb “these many days.”
4 Heb “you have kept the charge of the command of the Lord your God.”
5 Heb “has given rest to your brothers.”
6 Heb “tents.”
7 Heb “the land of your possession.”
8 Heb “But be very careful to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, to love.”
9 Heb “walk in all his paths.”
10 Or “keep.”
11 Heb “hug him.”
12 Or “soul.”
13 Heb “blessed.” However, see v. 8, where rewards are given.
14 Heb “and they went to their tents.”
15 Heb “to their tents.”
16 Heb “blessed.”
17 Heb “return to your tents with.”
18 Heb “very many cattle.”
19 Heb “very much clothing.”
20 Heb “returned and went from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession.”
21 Heb “and they went to Geliloth of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar near the Jordan, an altar great with respect to appearance.”
22 Heb “the sons of Israel heard, saying.”
23 Heb “toward the front of.”
24 Heb “to go up against them for battle.”
25 Heb “ten leaders with him, one leader, one leader for a paternal house, for all the tribes of Israel, and each a head of the house of their father, they belong to the clans of Israel.”
26 Heb “What is this unfaithfulness with which you have been unfaithful against the God of Israel, turning today from after the Lord, when you built for yourselves an altar, rebelling today against the Lord?”
27 Heb “Was the sin of Peor too insignificant for us, from which we have not made purification to this day? And there was a plague in the assembly of the Lord.”
28 Heb “you are turning back.”
29 Or “he will be angry with.”
30 Heb “the land of your possession.”
31 The western tribes here imagine a possible motive for the action of the eastern tribes. T. C. Butler explains the significance of the land’s “impurity”: “East Jordan is impure because it is not Yahweh’s possession. Rather it is simply ‘your possession.’ That means it is land where Yahweh does not live, land which his presence has not sanctified and purified” (Joshua [], ).
32 Heb “the land of the possession of the Lord.”
33 Heb “where the dwelling place of the Lord resides.” The phrase where the Lord himself lives refers to the tabernacle.
34 Heb “and take for yourselves in our midst.”
35 Heb “and us to you rebel.” The reading of the , the accusative sign with suffix (וְאֹתָנוּ, vé’otanu), is problematic with the verb “rebel” (מָרַד, marad). Many Hebrew correctly read the negative particle אַל (’al) for the preposition אֶל (’el, “to”).
36 Heb “Is it not [true that] Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord] and against all the assembly of Israel there was anger?”
37 The second half of the verse reads literally, “and he [was] one man, he did not die for his sin.” There are at least two possible ways to explain this statement: (1) One might interpret the statement to mean that Achan was not the only person who died for his sin. In this case it could be translated, “and he was not the only one to die because of his sin.” (2) Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to take the words וְהוּא אִישׁ אֶחָד (véhu’ ’ish ’ekhad, “and he [was] one man”) as a concessive clause and join it with what precedes. The remaining words (לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ, lo’ gava’ ba’avono) must then be taken as a rhetorical question (“Did he not die for his sin?”). Taking the last sentence as interrogative is consistent with the first part of the verse, a rhetorical question introduced with the interrogative particle. The present translation has converted these rhetorical questions into affirmative statements to bring out more clearly the points they are emphasizing. For further discussion, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (), .
38 Heb “answered and spoke to the heads of.”
39 Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (’el), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (’elohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (yéhvah), “Yahweh” (or “the Lord”). The name אֵל (’el, “El”) is often compounded with titles, for example, El Elyon, “God Most High.”
40 Heb “he knows.”
41 Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
42 Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The translates in the third person.
43 Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness … by building.”
44 Heb “or if to offer up.”
45 Heb “or if to make.”
46 Or “peace offerings.”
47 Heb “the Lord, he will seek.” Perhaps this is a self-imprecation in an oath, “may the Lord himself punish us.”
48 Heb “Surely, from worry concerning a matter we have done this, saying.”
49 Heb “What is there to you and to the Lord God of Israel?” The rhetorical question is sarcastic in tone and anticipates a response, “Absolutely none!”
50 Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
51 Heb “fearing.”
52 Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
53 Heb “to do the service of the Lord before him.”
54 Or “peace offerings.”
55 Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
56 The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
57 Heb “fathers.”
58 Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
59 Or “peace offerings.”
60 The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.
61 Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
62 Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
63 Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
64 Heb “because you were not unfaithful with this unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
65 On the use of אָז in a logical sense, see Waltke-O’Connor, Hebrew Syntax, .
66 Heb “the hand (i.e., power) of the Lord.”
67 Heb “and Phinehas … returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel. And they brought back to them a word.”
68 Heb “and the word was good in the eyes of the sons of Israel and the sons of Israel blessed God.”
69 Heb “and they did not speak about going up against them for battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.”
70 Heb “a witness between us.”
1 Heb “many days.”
2 Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”
3 Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.
4 Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
5 Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.”
6 Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
7 Heb “from the Jordan and all the nations which I cut off and the Great Sea [at] the place where the sun sets.” The relationship of the second half of the verse, which mentions nations already conquered, to the first half, which speaks of “remaining nations,” is difficult to understand.
8 The Hebrew text reads, “from before you.” This has not been included in the translation because it is redundant in English.
9 Or “take possession of.”
10 Heb “said to.”
11 Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.”
12 Heb “with.”
13 Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.
14 Or “serve.”
15 Heb “hug.”
16 Heb “done.”
17 Heb “not a man has stood before you.”
18 Or “chases a thousand.”
19 Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
20 Heb “as he said to you.”
21 Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the Lord your God.”
22 Heb “and hug.”
23 Heb “the remnant of the these nations, these nations that are with you.”
24 Heb “and go into them, and they into you.”
25 Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.”
26 Heb “in.”
27 Heb “thorns in your eyes.”
28 Or “perish.”
29 Heb “go the way of all the earth.”
30 Or “soul.”
31 Heb “one word from all these words which the Lord your God spoke to you has not fallen, the whole has come to pass for you, one word from it has not fallen.”
32 Heb “and it will be as every good word which the Lord your God spoke to you has come to pass.”
33 Heb “so the Lord will bring every injurious [or “evil”] word [or “thing”] upon you.”
34 Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”
35 Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
36 Or “perish.”