Bible Commentaries

Joshua 22:1. Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites, &c. — The war being ended, and ended gloriously, Joshua, as a prudent general, disbands his army, and sends them home to enjoy what they had conquered; and particularly the forces of those separate tribes, which had received their inheritance on the other side Jordan, from Moses, upon this condition, that their men of war should assist the other tribes in the conquest of Canaan; which they promised to do, Numbers 32:32, and renewed the promise to Joshua at the opening of the campaign, Joshua 1:16. And now, as they had performed their agreement, Joshua publicly and solemnly, in Shiloh, gives them their discharge.

Joshua 22:2-3. Ye have kept all that Moses commanded, &c. — Thus he dismisses them with a very honourable character. When Moses was gone, they remembered and observed the charge he had given them; and all the orders which Joshua, as general of the forces, had issued out, they had carefully obeyed. Ye have not left your brethren these many days — He does not say how many, nor can it be collected with certainty from any other place; but it was as long as the war lasted, and therefore must have been the space of seven or eight years, Joshua 11:18; Joshua 14:10. So long they had been absent from home, excepting such individuals as might have occasionally visited their families, the distance not being great, or have been exchanged for others of their brethren.

Joshua 22:4. Return ye to your tents — That is, to your settled habitations. Though their affections to their families could not but make them very desirous to return, yet, like good soldiers, they would not move till they had orders from their general. So, though we desire to be at home with Christ ever so much, yet we must stay here till our warfare is accomplished, wait for a due discharge, and not anticipate the time of our removal.

Joshua 22:5. Take diligent heed — Watch over yourselves and all your actions. Commandment and law — Two words expressing the same thing, the law of commandments delivered by Moses. All your heart and soul — With the whole strength of your minds, and wills, and affections.

Joshua 22:7. Then he blessed them — Not only prayed for them as a friend, but blessed them as a father, in the name of the Lord, recommending them, their families, and affairs to the grace of God. It seems probable, from the manner in which this is stated, that this his blessing was peculiarly and separately given to the half-tribe of Manasseh. He was somewhat more nearly related to them than to the other two, as being an Ephraimite, and perhaps they might be more reluctant to depart than the others, as they were leaving one half of their own tribe behind them, and therefore might have more need than the others of the comfort and encouragement of his blessing.

Joshua 22:8. Divide the spoil with your brethren — That is, with them who stayed beyond Jordan for the defence of their land, and wives, and children, who therefore were to have a share, though not an equal share with these. “Nothing could be more just,” says Dr. Dodd, “than this command; for, notwithstanding those who remained beyond Jordan had not shared in the dangers of the war, like those who had gone through it; yet they had, during that period, watched over the families of the latter, and defended their possessions against the inroads of their surrounding enemies. This seems to have been constantly the custom among the Israelites: those who were detached upon any military expedition, gave the rest of the army a share of the booty they had taken from the enemy; the pagans acted in like manner; God himself enjoined this practice after the war against the Midianites. Those who fought kept half the spoil of the enemy, and gave the other half to the rest of the people. Probably the same proportion was observed on this occasion. David, on his return from pursuing the Amalekites, changed this custom into a law, 1 Samuel 30:24-25.”

Joshua 22:10. When they came — Or, They came (for the word when is not in the Hebrew) to the borders of Jordan — It is thought by many that גלילות, Geliloth, here rendered borders, was the name of a place. The children of Reuben built there an altar — This seems, at first sight, to import, that they built this altar before they went over Jordan, in the land of Canaan; but the Hebrew particle שׁם, sham, relates to time as well as place, and may be translated then as well as there. Examples of which may be found in Proverbs 8:27, compared with Joshua 22:30; Ecclesiastes 3:17; and Isaiah 48:16. And thus it is here to be interpreted, that before they went any farther, while they were yet on the bank of Jordan, they erected this altar on the borders of their own country; for so the next verse teaches us to expound the passage, and will admit of no other sense, where it is said they had built this altar, not in, but over against the land of Canaan. Indeed it is not likely that they would have ventured to erect it in the territory of the other tribes. Nor would it have answered their intention to have built it there, which was to show, by this monument, that Jordan made no such separation between them and their brethren, but that they were one people with those in Canaan, where the altar of God was in Shiloh. See Joshua 22:28. Nor would there have been cause to suspect, as it appears there was from the following verses, that it was designed for sacrifice, if they had not built it among themselves. A great altar to see to — Which made a very conspicuous appearance, being very high, and consequently visible afar off.

Joshua 22:12. The whole congregation of the children of Israel — Not in their own persons, but by their elders, who were used to transact all affairs of this kind in the name of all the people. Gathered themselves together against them — As apostates from God, and the true religion, according to God’s command in such a case. For they too hastily inferred, from the erection of this altar, that their brethren were either going to serve other gods, or to worship the God of Israel in a manner different from that which he had prescribed. For they were expressly commanded that, as there was but one God, so they should offer only upon one altar, and in that one place which the Lord should choose, Deuteronomy 12:5-18.