TEXT [Commentary]

3.   The Transjordanian tribes’ defense (22:21-34)

21 Then the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the clans of Israel: 22 “The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! He knows the truth, and may Israel know it, too! We have not built the altar in treacherous rebellion against the LORD. If we have done so, do not spare our lives this day. 23 If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn away from the LORD or to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings, may the LORD himself punish us.

24 “The truth is, we have built this altar because we fear that in the future your descendants will say to ours, ‘What right do you have to worship the LORD, the God of Israel? 25 The LORD has placed the Jordan River as a barrier between our people and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have no claim to the LORD.’ So your descendants may prevent our descendants from worshiping the LORD.

26 “So we decided to build the altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, 27 but as a memorial. It will remind our descendants and your descendants that we, too, have the right to worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings. Then your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no claim to the LORD.’

28 “If they say this, our descendants can reply, ‘Look at this copy of the LORD’s altar that our ancestors made. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; it is a reminder of the relationship both of us have with the LORD.’ 29 Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD or turn away from him by building our own altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices. Only the altar of the LORD our God that stands in front of the Tabernacle may be used for that purpose.”

30 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of Israel—heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied. 31 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, replied to them, “Today we know the LORD is among us because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD as we thought. Instead, you have rescued Israel from being destroyed by the hand of the LORD.”

32 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the other leaders left the tribes of Reuben and Gad in Gilead and returned to the land of Canaan to tell the Israelites what had happened. 33 And all the Israelites were satisfied and praised God and spoke no more of war against Reuben and Gad.

34 The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “Witness,”[*] for they said, “It is a witness between us and them that the LORD is our God, too.”

NOTES

22:22 The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! Heb., ’el ’elohim yhwh ’el ’elohim yhwh [TH410A/430/3068, ZH446/466/3378]. Another possible translation is, “The God of gods is Yahweh! The God of gods is Yahweh!”

22:23 burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings. These were three important offerings prescribed in the instructions for sacrifices (Lev 1–3).

22:27 memorial. Lit., “witness.”

COMMENTARY [Text]

The dramatic formula, “The LORD, the Mighty One, is God!” and its twofold repetition indicate the Transjordanians’ shock at being accused of rebellion. In effect, they were swearing by God’s name that they were not guilty. It is not unreasonable to infer that it had not occurred to them their action would be so radically misinterpreted.

At this time, Israel’s worship was centered in the Tabernacle at Shiloh. Another altar, if used for sacrifice, would have spread out worship, and tended toward dilution of Israel’s belief in and faithfulness to God. That was the fear of the western tribes. The eastern tribes’ fear was the opposite; they feared exclusion from Israel at some later time, because of the geographical divide—the Jordan River and its deep valley (22:25)—between them and the western tribes, a fear justified by the tendencies already evident in the western tribes referring to themselves as Israel.

This altar near the bank of the Jordan would stand as a silent witness through the generations, testifying by its presence, and the memory of its construction by the eastern tribes, that they, too, were part of Israel, though they lived across the Jordan from the major center of Israelite worship. That this was its only intended purpose is stressed by the easterners’ use of the term “copy” (22:28). A copy, or model, reminds those who see it of the real thing by its form, not its function. This altar was to be seen, not used.

Phinehas and the delegation were both satisfied and relieved with this explanation, as evidenced by Phinehas’s words, “We know the LORD is among us,” and “you have rescued Israel” (22:31). At Peor, Phinehas’s actions had turned God’s anger from Israel. Now, in his reply to the Transjordanian tribes, Phinehas used language very similar to what God had said about Phinehas himself at Peor (Num 25:11). More importantly, in dismissing the charge, Phinehas used the same verb and noun the delegation had used (22:16) in bringing the accusation against the eastern tribes, “You have not committed this treachery” (22:31). (“You have not betrayed [with] this betrayal” would reflect the Hebrew usage of related noun and verb.)

Most Hebrew manuscripts, and the Septuagint, lack the name of the altar, “­Witness,” in 22:34 (see NLT mg). In Hebrew, this word is only two letters, and another very similar word (“Gad”) occurs only two words earlier. It was not uncommon for a copyist’s eye to skip a word in a context like this, in the eras before exacting safeguards were instituted to ensure almost perfect transmission of the text. If we restore the name (with NLT and other English versions), the last two short dependent clauses explain the significance the Transjordanian tribes attached to the altar of witness they had built on their way home from helping their western relatives take possession of their promised inheritance.