Joshua 22:13

13 The people of Isra'el sent Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen into the land of Gil'ad to the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh.

Joshua 22:13 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:13

And the children of Israel
In the land of Canaan:

sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to
the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead;
they were possessed of, and had now returned unto and dwelt in; hither they sent an embassy to them, to inquire into the truth of what they had heard, and the reason of it, before they went to war with them, or proclaimed it, or took any further steps towards it; and which they were obliged to do by the above law, when there was any suspicion of idolatry, and any good ground and reason for it, ( Deuteronomy 13:14 ) ; and at the head of this deputation was

Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest;
a man zealous for the Lord of hosts, and his glory, of which there is an instance in ( Numbers 25:7 Numbers 25:11 Numbers 25:13 ) ; and so a fit person to be employed in this affair, who would be faithful, bold, and zealous, as well as capable of giving advice and counsel to both parties, if needful.

Joshua 22:13 In-Context

11 The people of Isra'el heard of it and said, "Look! The descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh have built an altar by the frontier of the land of Kena'an, in the area by the Yarden, on the side that belongs to the people of Isra'el."

12 When the people of Isra'el heard of it, the entire community of Isra'el gathered together in Shiloh to wage war against them.

13 The people of Isra'el sent Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen into the land of Gil'ad to the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh.

14 With him were ten leaders, one leader of an ancestral clan for each of the tribes of Isra'el; each one was a head of his ancestral clan among the thousands of Isra'el.

15 They came to the descendants of Re'uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh in the land of Gil'ad and spoke with them; they said,