The Eastern Tribes Return Home
Then Joshua called the Reubenite and the Gadite and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.
You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, to this day, and you have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.
And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them. And now, turn and go to your tents, to the land of your holding, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you across the Jordan.
Only be very careful to do the commandment and the instruction that Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you: to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
And Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
Now to the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan; and to its other half Joshua gave land with their brothers across the Jordan to the west. And also when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,
and said to them, saying: “Return to your tents with great riches, and with very much livestock, with silver, and with gold, and with bronze, and with iron, and with very many garments. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”
The Altar of Witness
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and went from the sons of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their holding, which they held according to the mouth of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
And they came to the regions of the Jordan that are in the land of Canaan; and the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan — an altar great in appearance.
And the sons of Israel heard it said: “Look — the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the regions of the Jordan, on the side of the sons of Israel.”
And the sons of Israel heard; and all the congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at Shiloh, to go up against them for war.
And the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
and ten leaders with him — one leader, one leader for each father’s house, for all the tribes of Israel; and each of them was the head of their fathers’ house among the thousands of Israel.
And they came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying:
“Thus says all the congregation of the LORD: What is this unfaithfulness that you have committed against the God of Israel — to turn back today from after the LORD, by building yourselves an altar, rebelling today against the LORD?
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us — from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, though the plague came on the congregation of the LORD —
that you must turn back today from after the LORD? And it shall be, if you rebel today against the LORD, tomorrow he will be angry with all the congregation of Israel.
But if the land of your holding is unclean, cross over into the land of the holding of the LORD, where the Dwelling of the LORD dwells, and take a holding in our midst. But do not rebel against the LORD, and do not rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God.
Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit unfaithfulness with what was devoted, and wrath came on all the congregation of Israel? And he was one man — he did not perish alone in his iniquity.”
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and they spoke with the heads of the thousands of Israel:
“God of gods, the LORD — God of gods, the LORD — he knows, and let Israel itself know: if it was in rebellion, or if in unfaithfulness against the LORD, do not save us this day!
If we built ourselves an altar to turn back from after the LORD, or if to offer burnt offering and grain offering on it, or if to make peace offerings on it — may the LORD himself require it.
No — we did this out of anxiety, for a reason, saying: Tomorrow your sons will say to our sons, saying, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?
The LORD has set a border between us and you, sons of Reuben and sons of Gad — the Jordan. You have no portion in the LORD.’ So your sons would make our sons cease from fearing the LORD.
And we said: Let us now act for ourselves and build the altar — not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice,
but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we will perform the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings — so that your sons will not say to our sons tomorrow, ‘You have no portion in the LORD.’
And we said: And it shall be, if they say this to us or to our generations tomorrow, then we will say, ‘See the pattern of the altar of the LORD that our fathers made — not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and you.’
Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD, and to turn back today from after the LORD, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering, and for sacrifice, besides the altar of the LORD our God that is before his Dwelling.”
And Phinehas the priest, and the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke; and it was good in their eyes.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh: “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithfulness against the LORD. Now you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the LORD.”
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders, returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel; and they brought back word to them.
And the word was good in the eyes of the sons of Israel; and the sons of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them for war, to ruin the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad named the altar — for it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.