Joshua 22:10

10 But while they were still in Canaan, and when they came to a place called Geliloth near the Jordan River, the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh stopped to build a large and imposing altar.

Joshua 22:10 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:10

And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that [are] in
the land of Canaan
To the banks of it, or the sand heaps, some take the word to signify, which were thrown up to restrain the waters from overflowing; some by Geliloth understand a place so called; and Jerom ^F7 says it was near Jordan in the tribe of Benjamin: but rather the word signifies the meanders, windings, and turnings, of the river {h}; and such circuits and compasses it fetched near Jericho, as the same writer ^F9 observes, where we may suppose these tribes went over, and at a place where the river jetted out into the land of Canaan:

the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, built there an altar
by Jordan;
or "then"; that is, when they had passed over the river into their own country, for which Josephus is express ^F11; and certain it is, that the altar was built not on the Canaan side of Jordan, but on the opposite side, as is clear from ( Joshua 22:11 ) : and indeed they had no right to build on any other ground than their own; and they pitched upon a spot where the river jetted out into the land of Canaan, as most proper to erect it on, to be a witness, that though separated from the rest of the Israelites by the river Jordan, yet were a part of them, and had a right to join them in the service of God, and bring their sacrifices to the altar of God in the tabernacle, as more fully appears in some after verses:

a great altar to see to;
built up very high, so that it might be seen at a great distance.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 De loc. Heb. fol. 92. C.
F8 Vid. Gusset. Ebr. Comment. p. 170, 573. Reland. Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 1. l. 1. c. 43. p. 274, 279.
F9 Ut supra, (De loc. Heb. fol. 92.) G.
F11 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 26.

Joshua 22:10 In-Context

8 he said to them, “Go back to your homes with the great wealth you have taken from your enemies—the vast herds of livestock, the silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and the large supply of clothing. Share the plunder with your relatives.”

9 So the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the rest of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. They started the journey back to their own land of Gilead, the territory that belonged to them according to the LORD ’s command through Moses.

10 But while they were still in Canaan, and when they came to a place called Geliloth near the Jordan River, the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh stopped to build a large and imposing altar.

11 The rest of Israel heard that the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar at Geliloth at the edge of the land of Canaan, on the west side of the Jordan River.

12 So the whole community of Israel gathered at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or to the circle of stones; similarly in 22:11 .