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.
