Joshua 22:34

34 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, "For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God."

Joshua 22:34 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:34

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, called
the altar [Ed]
Which signifies a "witness"; they caused such an inscription to be put upon it, or this word to be engraved on it, that so the intention of erecting it might be known in future time; that it was not for sacrifice, but to be a testimony of their being one with their brethren on the other side Jordan, in worship, faith, and fellowship:

for [it shall be] a witness between us that the Lord [is] God;
is the one God, the God of them both, of all Israel, whether on the one or the other side of Jordan; to be worshipped by them in one and the same manner, and their sacrifices to be offered to him on his altar before the tabernacle.

Joshua 22:34 In-Context

32 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them.

33 So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

34 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, "For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God."

Footnotes

• [a]. Septuagint adds and half the tribe of Manasseh