Joshua 22:9

9 So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go ¹to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the LORD through Moses.

Joshua 22:9 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:9

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the
half tribe of Manasseh, returned
First to the camp to take their substance, and then set forward to their own land:

and departed from the children of Israel;
from the rest of them, for otherwise they were children of Israel also:

out of Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan;
for here the camp of Israel was, as well as the tabernacle:

to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession,
whereof they were possessed;
Gilead is put for the whole country on the other side Jordan, as the land of Jazer, and the kingdom of Bashan, which the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, were possessed of:

according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses;
for when they moved to have that country, Moses, it seems, consulted the Lord about it, who declared it to be his will they should have it, on performing what they promised, see ( Numbers 32:1-42 ) .

Joshua 22:9 In-Context

7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them,

8 he said to them, "Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers."

9 So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the LORD through Moses.

10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size.

11 And the people of Israel heard it said, "Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel."

Cross References

• 1. Num. 32:1, 26, 29