Joshua 22:3

3 During all this time you have not deserted the other tribes. You have been careful to obey the commands of the LORD your God right up to the present day.

Joshua 22:3 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:3

Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day,
&c.] For the space of fourteen years, which is the commonly received notion of the Jews ^F6; seven years according to them the land was subduing, and seven more spent in dividing it, and then these tribes were sent for and dismissed; all this time they stayed close by their brethren, and assisted them in their wars, and never offered to return to their wives and children, until they had an order from their general:

but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God;
for what both Moses and Joshua commanded them was from the mouth of the Lord; so that, in obeying them, they obeyed him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 11. p. 32.

Joshua 22:3 In-Context

1 Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

2 He told them, “You have done as Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you, and you have obeyed every order I have given you.

3 During all this time you have not deserted the other tribes. You have been careful to obey the commands of the LORD your God right up to the present day.

4 And now the LORD your God has given the other tribes rest, as he promised them. So go back home to the land that Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you as your possession on the east side of the Jordan River.

5 But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”