Joshua 22:24

24 But we have done this for the sake of precaution thing, saying, Lest hereafter your sons should say to our sons, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel?

Joshua 22:24 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:24

And if we have not [rather] done it for fear of [this] thing,
&c.] So far they suggest were they from doing this, in order to turn from the pure worship of God, and introduce idolatrous worship, that it was to guard against everything of that kind for the future; and through fear of it, and anxiety and distress of mind, lest some time or another there should be any temptation to it in their posterity, had they built this altar:

saying, in time to come your children might speak unto our children;
or "tomorrow" ^F13, in a short time after your heads, and ours, are laid in the grave, your posterity will accost us:

saying, what have you to do with the Lord God of Israel?
you are aliens and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel, live in a foreign land, and not in the land, of Canaan; are separated from us by the river Jordan, are a different people from us, and have nothing to do with the tabernacle of the Lord, and the service of it, or with the altar of the Lord, to offer sacrifice on it. Now as they returned to their own country, or when got there, such anxious thoughts and fears rose up in their minds, which they communicated to one another, and thought of this expedient to prevent what would be so fatal to their posterity. The Targum is,

``you have no part in the Word of the Lord God of Israel;''

see ( John 13:8 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 (rxm) "cras", Pagninus, Montanus

Joshua 22:24 In-Context

22 God God is the Lord, and God God himself knows, and Israel he shall know; if we have transgressed before the Lord by apostasy, let him not deliver us this day.

23 And if we have built to ourselves an altar, so as to apostatize from the Lord our God, so as to offer upon it a sacrifice of whole-burnt-offerings, so as to offer upon it a sacrifice of peace-offering, —the Lord shall require it.

24 But we have done this for the sake of precaution thing, saying, Lest hereafter your sons should say to our sons, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel?

25 Whereas the Lord has set boundaries between us and you, even Jordan, and ye have no portion in the Lord: so your sons shall alienate our sons, that they should not worship the Lord.

26 And we gave orders to do thus, to build this altar, not for burnt-offerings, nor for meat-offerings;

Footnotes

• [a]. to-morrow.
• [b]. them.