Joshua 22 · Verse 10

Joshua 22:10

And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.
Joshua 22:10, King James Version

Joshua 22:10 in other translations

BSBAnd when they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan.
WEBWhen they came to the region near 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.
ASVAnd when they came unto the region about 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 there an altar by the Jordan, a great altar to look upon.
YLTand they come in unto the districts of the Jordan, which are in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, build there an altar by the Jordan--a great altar for appearance.
DARBYAnd they came to the districts of the Jordan that are in the land of Canaan; and the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of grand appearance.
BBENow when they came to the country by Jordan in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh put up there, by Jordan, a great altar, seen from far.
WebsterAnd when they came to the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to the sight.

What does Joshua 22:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Jos 22:10. They Build the Altar of Testimony on Their Journey.

10. when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben ... built there an altar by Jordan--This altar was probably an immense pile of stones and earth. The generality of our translators supposes that it was reared on the banks of the Jordan, within the limits of Canaan proper. But a little closer examination seems to make the conclusion irresistible that its position was on the eastern side of the river, for these two reasons; first, because it is said (Jos 22:11) to have been built "over against," or in the sight of the land of Canaan--not within it; and secondly, because the declared motive of the trans-jordanic Israelites in erecting it was to prevent their brethren in Canaan ever saying, "in time to come, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you," &c. [Jos 22:24, 25]. Such a taunt would be obviously prevented or confuted by the two tribes and a half having on the eastern side of Jordan, within their own land, a facsimile of the altar at Shiloh, as a witness that they acknowledged the same God and practised the same rites of worship as the brethren in Canaan.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 The borders of Jordan, that are in - Canaan - This verse can never mean that they built the altar on the west side of Jordan, for this was not in their territories; nor could it be a place for the purpose of public worship to their own people, if built on the opposite side of Jordan; besides, the next verse says it was built over against the land of Canaan. It appears that when they came to the river they formed the purpose of building the altar; and when they had crossed it they executed their purpose. A great altar to see to - A vast mass of earth, stones, etc., elevated to a great height, to serve as a memorial of the transactions that had already taken place. Probably it was intended also to serve as a kind of watchtower, being of a stupendous height, altare infinitae magnitudinis, an altar of an immense size, as the Vulgate terms it.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 22:10-20
Here is the care of the separated tribes to keep their hold of Canaan's religion. At first sight it seemed a design to set up an altar against the altar at Shiloh. God is jealous for his own institutions; we should be so too, and afraid of every thing that looks like, or leads to idolatry. Corruptions in religion are best dealt with at first. But their prudence in following up this zealous resolution is no less commendable. Many an unhappy strife would be prevented, or soon made up, by inquiries into the matter of the offence. The remembrance of great sins committed formerly, should engage us to stand on our guard against the beginnings of sin; for the way of sin is down-hill. We are all concerned to reprove our neighbour when he does amiss, lest we suffer sin upon him, Le 19:17. The offer made that they should be welcome to come to the land where the Lord's tabernacle was, and settle there, was in the spirit of true Israelites.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Joshua 22:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙vai.ya.Vo.'uand they cameH935
אֶל\־'el-toH413
גְּלִיל֣וֹתge.li.LotGeliloth ofH1552
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןhai.yar.Denthe JordanH3383
אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.SherwhichH834
בְּאֶ֣רֶץbe.'E.retz[is] in [the] land ofH776
כְּנָ֑עַןke.Na.'anCanaanH3667
וַיִּבְנ֣וּvai.yiv.Nuand they builtH1129
בְנֵי\־ve.nei-[the] descendants ofH1121
רְאוּבֵ֣ןre.'u.VenReubenH7205
וּבְנֵי\־u.ve.nei-and [the] descendants ofH1121
גָ֡דgadGadH1410
וַחֲצִ֣יva.cha.Tziand [the] half ofH2677
שֵׁבֶט֩she.Vet[the] tribe ofH7626
הַֽמְנַשֶּׁ֨הham.na.Sheh<the> ManassehH4519
שָׁ֤םshamthereH8033
מִזְבֵּ֙חַ֙miz.Be.achan altarH4196
עַל\־'al-atH5921
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןhai.yar.Denthe JordanH3383
מִזְבֵּ֥חַmiz.Be.achan altarH4196
גָּד֖וֹלga.DollargeH1419
לְמַרְאֶֽה\׃le.mar.'Ehof appearanceH4758

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 22:10

  • Joshua 24:26-27

    And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

  • Joshua 22:25-28

    For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the Lord: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord. Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the Lord. Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.

  • Genesis 28:18

    And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

  • Joshua 4:5-9

    And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. …

  • Genesis 31:46-52

    And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap. And Laban called it Jegar–sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the children.This verse should probably be rendered, "And when they came to the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Then built an altar by (or beyond, {al}) Jordan, a great altar to the view." It would appear, that when they came to the river, they formed the purpose of building the altar; and when they crossed it they put that purpose into execution. It is evident that they did not build it west of the Jordan, for that was not in their territories, and the next verse expressly says that it was built over against the land of Canaan.
built.
25-28; 4:5-9; 24:26,27; Ge 28:18; 31:46-52

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 22:9

    And the 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 unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

  • Joshua 22:10

    And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

  • Joshua 22:11

    And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.

Read all of Joshua 22

Joshua 22:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y llegando á los términos del Jordán, que está en la tierra de Canaán, los hijos de Rubén y los hijos de Gad, y la media tribu de Manasés, edificaron allí un altar junto al Jordán, un altar de grande apariencia.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ils vinrent dans les contrées du Jourdain, qui sont dans le pays de Canaan; et les fils de Ruben, et les fils de Gad, et la demi-tribu de Manassé, bâtirent là un autel auprès du Jourdain, un autel de grande apparence.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und als sie in die Bezirke des Jordan kamen, die im Lande Kanaan sind, da bauten die Kinder Ruben und die Kinder Gad und der halbe Stamm Manasse daselbst einen Altar am Jordan, einen Altar, groß von Ansehen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cumque venissent ad tumulos Jordanis in terram Chanaan, ædificaverunt juxta Jordanem altare infinitæ magnitudinis.