Joshua 22:10

10 And when they came to the region about the Jordan, that lies in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas'seh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of great size.

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 much wealth, and with very many cattle, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren."

9 So the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas'seh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the LORD through Moses.

10 And when they came to the region about the Jordan, that lies in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas'seh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of great size.

11 And the people of Israel heard say, "Behold, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas'seh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel."

12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh, to make war against them.