36 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession [be] unclean,.... That is, if it was judged to be so by them, because not cleansed from the sins of the former inhabitants of it by sacrifice, or because there was no altar in it to offer up sacrifice for the expiation of sin: [then] pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Did not Achan the son of Zerah,.... One that descended from Zerah the son of Judah, Joshua 7:18; commit a trespass in the accursed thing; in taking what was devoted to sacred uses: and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and which was what was feared now; and this instance is brought to show that such fears were not groundless: and that...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, answered,.... By some person whom they appointed to deliver the answer in their name: and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel; who were over those that were rulers of the thousands of Israel, persons of greater authority than they, being princes of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods,.... They first set out in their answer with asserting their firm belief of Jehovah, the God of Israel, being the supreme God, God over all; over all that are called gods, whether angels, of whom Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; or civil magistrates and judges of the earth, who bare the same name; nor...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
That we have built us an altar, to turn from following the Lord,.... That is, we desire, as we deserve, to be cut to pieces, and not saved, if it should appear to be our view, in building this altar, to revolt from the pure worship of God: or if to offer thereon burnt offering, or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings; even to the Lord...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And if we have not [rather] done it for fear of [this] thing,.... 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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you,.... And by it separated them from them, as if they were a distinct people; not that this was really the case, but so they feared it would be represented in time to come; for though Jordan was the border of the land of Canaan, strictly so called, eastward, Numbers 34:12; yet it did not...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore we said,.... One to another, in order to prevent the apostasy of our children from God, their departure from his worship, and going into idolatry: let us now prepare to build us an altar; get materials ready, and set about it instantly, without any delay, while the thing dwells upon our minds: not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But [that] it [may be] a witness between us and you, and our generations after us,.... That we are one people, worship one God, and serve at one altar, of which this built was a resemblance, and would put them in mind of it: that we might do the service of the Lord before him; in the tabernacle, and at the altar, in the place where he had chosen...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore said we,.... To prevent any such usage of our children, and that they might have a ready answer to give: that it shall be, when they should [so] say unto us, or to our generations, in time to come; as above suggested, that they were a separate people from them, and had no interest in the Lord, nor right to his altar, nor concern in his...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord,.... Against the command of the Lord, who ordered one altar to be made, to which all sacrifices were to be brought from the several parts of the land of Israel, and there to be offered on it; or "against the Word of the Lord,'' as the Targum, Christ typified both by the altar and the sacrifices on...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when Phinehas the priest,.... For he was, being the son of Eleazar the high priest, so the word "priest", Joshua 22:13; is to be joined, not to Eleazar but to Phinehas: and the princes of the congregation; the ten princes, who were sent by the congregation of Israel, one out of each tribe: and heads out of the thousands of Israel; these are...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,.... As the mouth of the deputation, and in their name: said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh; the representatives of them assembled together on this occasion: this day we perceive that the Lord [is] among us; his Shechinah, as the Targum; his...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes,.... Being fully satisfied with the relation of things that had been given them, and having taken their leave of the assembly: returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad; the Greek version adds, "and from the half tribe of Manasseh"; which, though not in the Hebrew...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the thing pleased the children of Israel,.... They were quite satisfied with the account of things, and were pleased and delighted with what their brethren, the other two tribes, had done: and the children of Israel blessed God: returned thanks to him, that there was no trespass committed against him, and no schism like to be made among them,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, called the altar [Ed],.... Which signifies a "witness"; they caused such an inscription to be put upon it, or this word to be engraved on it, that so the intention of erecting it might be known in future time; that it was not for sacrifice, but to be a testimony of their being one with their...