Joshua 22:26
in Joshua 22That is why we said, ‘Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice:
KJV
Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:
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This verse in Joshua 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBut let us see what sacrament lies within this deed. The former people of the circumcision are represented in Reuben, who was the firstborn; but also in Gad, who also is the firstborn out of Zilpah; and Manasseh, no less a firstborn. But insofar as I say "firstborn," I speak chronologically. Therefore, these things are said not that it might be evident some division and separation is between us and those who were righteous before the coming of Christ, but that they might reveal themselves to still be our brothers even if they existed before the coming of Christ.
This site's exposition
Let us take action and build an altar
on Joshua 22:26-27
An altar that receives no sacrifice is a monument, and they call theirs "a witness between us and you and the generations to come". The pattern is Genesis 31:47-48, where Jacob and Laban heap stones at a border and name the mound for what it does. Joshua raises such markers twice, the twelve stones of chapter 4 and the great stone of 24:26-27.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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; not for offerings of any kind required by the law, neither for sin offerings nor trespass offerings, nor any other not named.
Every one that saw this altar, and observed that it was never used for sacrifice and offering, would enquire what was the meaning of it, and this answer would be given to that enquiry, that it was built by those separate tribes, in token of their communion with their brethren and their joint-interest with them in the altar of the Lord.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
An altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice - Because this would have been in flat opposition to the law, Lev 17:8, Lev 17:9; Deu 12:4-6, Deu 12:10, Deu 12:11, Deu 12:13, Deu 12:14, which most positively forbade any sacrifice or offering to be made in any other place than that one which the Lord should choose.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The quality of the deputies evinced the deep solicitude that was felt on the occasion to maintain the purity of the divine worship throughout Israel. In the presumptive belief that the two tribes and a half had really built an altar, the deputies expressed astonishment at their so soon falling into such a heinous crime as that of violating the unity of divine worship (Ex 20:24;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַנֹּ֕אמֶר | vanomer | and we said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נַעֲשֶׂה־ | naaseh- | let us act | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| נָּ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| לָ֔נוּ | lanu | for <the> ourselves | ||
| לִבְנ֖וֹת | livnot | by building | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לְעוֹלָ֖ה | leolah | for burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לְזָֽבַח׃ | lezavach | for sacrifice | H2077 → | 162 times |
וַנֹּ֕אמֶרand we said
vanomerH559 →5305 times
נַעֲשֶׂה־let us act
naaseh-H6213 →2628 times
נָּ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
לָ֔נוּfor <the> ourselves
lanu
לִבְנ֖וֹתby building
livnotH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
לְעוֹלָ֖הfor burnt offering
leolahH5930 →287 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
לְזָֽבַח׃for sacrifice
lezavachH2077 →162 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 26.3.