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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 22:21-29

We may suppose there was a general convention called of the princes and great men of the separate tribes, to give audience to these ambassadors; or perhaps the army, as it came home, was still encamped in a body, and not yet dispersed; however it was, there were enough to represent the two tribes and a half, and to give their sense. Their reply to the warm remonstrance of the ten tribes is very fair and ingenuous. They do not retort their charge, upbraid them with the injustice and unkindness... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 22:24

And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing ,.... So far they suggest were they from doing this, in order to turn from the pure worship of God, and introduce idolatrous worship, that it was to guard against everything of that kind for the future; and through fear of it, and anxiety and distress of mind, lest some time or another there should be any temptation to it in their posterity, had they built this altar: saying, in time to come your children might speak unto our... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 22:25

For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you ,.... And by it separated them from them, as if they were a distinct people; not that this was really the case, but so they feared it would be represented in time to come; for though Jordan was the border of the land of Canaan, strictly so called, eastward, Numbers 34:12 ; yet it did not exclude the land of the two tribes and a half from being part of the land of promise; for the Amorites, which before inhabited it, and were driven... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 22:26

Therefore we said ,.... One to another, in order to prevent the apostasy of our children from God, their departure from his worship, and going into idolatry: let us now prepare to build us an altar ; get materials ready, and set about it instantly, without any delay, while the thing dwells upon our minds: not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice ; not for offerings of any kind required by the law, neither for sin offerings nor trespass offerings, nor any other not named. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 22:27

But that it may be a witness between us and you, and our generations after us ,.... That we are one people, worship one God, and serve at one altar, of which this built was a resemblance, and would put them in mind of it: that we might do the service of the Lord before him ; in the tabernacle, and at the altar, in the place where he had chosen to put his name and dwell: with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings ; to be brought at stated... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 22:28

Therefore said we ,.... To prevent any such usage of our children, and that they might have a ready answer to give: that it shall be, when they should so say unto us, or to our generations, in time to come ; as above suggested, that they were a separate people from them, and had no interest in the Lord, nor right to his altar, nor concern in his worship: that we may say again ; in reply, that is, our posterity: behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 22:29

God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord ,.... Against the command of the Lord, who ordered one altar to be made, to which all sacrifices were to be brought from the several parts of the land of Israel, and there to be offered on it; or "against the Word of the Lord,'as the Targum, Christ typified both by the altar and the sacrifices on it; and who is but one, one priest, one sacrifice, one altar, one Mediator and Saviour: and turn this day from following the Lord ; apostatize... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 22:24

For fear of this thing - The motive that actuated us was directly the reverse of that of which we have been suspected. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 22:26

An altar , not for burnt-offering , nor for sacrifice - Because this would have been in flat opposition to the law, Leviticus 17:8 , Leviticus 17:9 ; Deuteronomy 12:4-6 , Deuteronomy 12:10 , Deuteronomy 12:11 , Deuteronomy 12:13 , Deuteronomy 12:14 , which most positively forbade any sacrifice or offering to be made in any other place than that one which the Lord should choose. Therefore the altar built by the Reubenites, etc., was for no religious purpose, but... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 22:29

God forbid that we should rebel - These words not only express their strong abhorrence of this crime, but also show that without God they could do no good thing, and that they depended upon him for that strength by which alone they could abstain from evil. read more

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