Joshua 22:26

26 Therefore we said, "Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice,

Joshua 22:26 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:26

Therefore we said
One to another, in order to prevent the apostasy of our children from God, their departure from his worship, and going into idolatry:

let us now prepare to build us an altar;
get materials ready, and set about it instantly, without any delay, while the thing dwells upon our minds:

not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice;
not for offerings of any kind required by the law, neither for sin offerings nor trespass offerings, nor any other not named.

Joshua 22:26 In-Context

24 No! We did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, "What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?

25 For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites; you have no portion in the Lord.' So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord.

26 Therefore we said, "Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice,

27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and offerings of well-being; so that your children may never say to our children in time to come, "You have no portion in the Lord." '

28 And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we could say, "Look at this copy of the altar of the Lord, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.'