Joshua 22:10

And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(10) The borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan.—As far as these words go, the site of the altar might be either east or west of Jordan; but it seems to be more probable that it was on the east bank. And thus the phrase above would be a reminder of the very thing the altar was intended to enforce, viz., the fact that both borders of Jordan are part of the promised land. But Kurn Surtabeth, twenty miles north of Jericho, on the west side of Jordan, has been thought to be the place.

Benson Commentary

Joshua 22:10. When they came — Or, They came (for the word when is not in the Hebrew) to the borders of Jordan — It is thought by many that גלילות, Geliloth, here rendered borders, was the name of a place. The children of Reuben built there an altar — This seems, at first sight, to import, that they built this altar before they went over Jordan, in the land of Canaan; but the Hebrew particle שׁם, sham, relates to time as well as place, and may be translated then as well as there. Examples of which may be found in Proverbs 8:27, compared with Joshua 22:30; Ecclesiastes 3:17; and Isaiah 48:16. And thus it is here to be interpreted, that before they went any farther, while they were yet on the bank of Jordan, they erected this altar on the borders of their own country; for so the next verse teaches us to expound the passage, and will admit of no other sense, where it is said they had built this altar, not in, but over against the land of Canaan. Indeed it is not likely that they would have ventured to erect it in the territory of the other tribes. Nor would it have answered their intention to have built it there, which was to show, by this monument, that Jordan made no such separation between them and their brethren, but that they were one people with those in Canaan, where the altar of God was in Shiloh. See Joshua 22:28. Nor would there have been cause to suspect, as it appears there was from the following verses, that it was designed for sacrifice, if they had not built it among themselves. A great altar to see to — Which made a very conspicuous appearance, being very high, and consequently visible afar off.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

22:10-20 Here is the care of the separated tribes to keep their hold of Canaan's religion. At first sight it seemed a design to set up an altar against the altar at Shiloh. God is jealous for his own institutions; we should be so too, and afraid of every thing that looks like, or leads to idolatry. Corruptions in religion are best dealt with at first. But their prudence in following up this zealous resolution is no less commendable. Many an unhappy strife would be prevented, or soon made up, by inquiries into the matter of the offence. The remembrance of great sins committed formerly, should engage us to stand on our guard against the beginnings of sin; for the way of sin is down-hill. We are all concerned to reprove our neighbour when he does amiss, lest we suffer sin upon him, Le 19:17. The offer made that they should be welcome to come to the land where the Lord's tabernacle was, and settle there, was in the spirit of true Israelites.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The two tribes and a half erected this altar in order to keep alive their claim to have the same interest as the other tribes had in the sanctuary of God, which was established on the west side of Jordan: and in order to forestall any assertion that the Jordan itself was a natural barrier of exclusion between them and the sanctuary, they built it on the west or Canaanite bank of the Jordan and not on the east.

The word rendered "borders" is noteworthy; it means circuits, arrondissements.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Jos 22:10. They Build the Altar of Testimony on Their Journey.

10. when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben … built there an altar by Jordan—This altar was probably an immense pile of stones and earth. The generality of our translators supposes that it was reared on the banks of the Jordan, within the limits of Canaan proper. But a little closer examination seems to make the conclusion irresistible that its position was on the eastern side of the river, for these two reasons; first, because it is said (Jos 22:11) to have been built "over against," or in the sight of the land of Canaan—not within it; and secondly, because the declared motive of the trans-jordanic Israelites in erecting it was to prevent their brethren in Canaan ever saying, "in time to come, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you," &c. [Jos 22:24, 25]. Such a taunt would be obviously prevented or confuted by the two tribes and a half having on the eastern side of Jordan, within their own land, a facsimile of the altar at Shiloh, as a witness that they acknowledged the same God and practised the same rites of worship as the brethren in Canaan.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Or, built then, as this particle is elsewhere used; and so learned interpreters understand it, Psalm 14:5 36:12 Ecclesiastes 3:17 Hosea 2:15. And in the Latin tongue adverbs of place are sometimes put for adverbs of time: so I take it here. First, Because this best answers to the when in the beginning of the verse. Secondly, This seems to me to clear a great difficulty as to the place where the altar-was built, which though according to our translation it seems, and is generally thought by interpreters to have been, in the land of Canaan; yet if things be more narrowly examined, it may be thought to have been on the other side Jordan in Gilead; and that both, first, from Joshua 21:11, where it is said to have been built over against, or in the sight of the land of Canaan, therefore not in it. And secondly, from the reason they gave of the building of this altar, for fear lest the Israelites within Jordan and in Canaan should say unto their children dwelling beyond Jordan, The Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, &c.; which jealousy would have been much confirmed by building the altar in Canaan, but would be satisfied and confuted by having on the other side of Jordan, and in their own land, a pattern of that altar at which God was served in the land of Canaan, as a witness that they owned the same God, and the same way of worship, with their brethren that lived in Canaan. But whether the Hebrew particle be rendered then or there, it is not to be taken too strictly: if then, the meaning is not, that they did this as soon as ever they came to the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan; but about that time when they came to them, that they thought and designed it, and as soon as ever they were got over Jordan, which was in a very little time, they effected and perfected it: if it be rendered there, it is not to be limited to the very same spot of ground mentioned before, as if it was built at that border of Jordan that was in the land of Canaan; but to be a little more largely understood; to be built at one or other of the borders of Jordan; or, in general,

by Jordan; which is here purposely added, for the explication of the word there, and to prevent the restraint of it to the border of Jordan, within Canaan.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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 (g) 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 (i) 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 (k); 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.

(g) De loc. Heb. fol. 92. C. (h) Vid. Gusset. Ebr. Comment. p. 170, 573. Reland. Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 1. l. 1. c. 43. p. 274, 279. (i) Ut supra, (De loc. Heb. fol. 92.) G. (k) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 26.

Geneva Study Bible

And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built {f} there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

(f) That is, beyond Jordan: for sometime the whole country on both sides of Jordan is referred to as Canaan.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

10. unto the borders of Jordan] More literally, the circles of the Jordan. Comp. Joshua 13:2, “the borders (or circles) of the Philistines;” Joel 3:4, “all the coasts (or circles) or Palestine;” Matthew 3:5; “the region round about Jordan.” The region indicated is a portion of what is now called the Ghor of the Jordan, the low tract or plain along the river, through which it flows. Wyclif renders it, “whanne thei weren comen to the mynde hyllis of Jordan.”

that are in the land of Canaan] That is on the west side of “the Ghor.” They desired to anticipate any assertion that the Jordan constituted in itself a barrier between them and their western brethren and the Sanctuary of God at Shiloh.

a great altar to see to] i. e. an altar great to behold; so high and wide that it would be seen from a great distance. “An auter of mychilnes with out mesure,” Wyclif. The site of this interesting memorial has been lately discovered by the officers of the Survey of Palestine. It is an almost inaccessible mountain, except from the north, where the ascent is called Tal’at abn’Ayd = “the going up to Ed.” It projects like a white bastion towards the river, some twenty miles north of Jericho, and close to the line of march from Shiloh to Gilead, and on its summit are the remains of a huge monument of masonry, bearing traces of fire on its upper surface. It is mentioned in the Jewish Talmud under the name of Surtabeh, and is said to have been a beacon station.

Mentioned only once in the Bible, this altar, erected by the two and a half tribes on their return from Western Palestine as a “witness” that they too were co-heirs with their brethren on the other side of the river, had dropped entirely out of all hope of recovery. The place has now been found by Lieut. Conder, its name still existing, on the high peak known as Kurn Surtabeh, in the valley of the Jordan. Independently of the special interest attaching to the spot, this recovery illustrates remarkably the vitality of the old Biblical names. (Quarterly Statement, 1874, p. 241.)

to see to] = to behold. “Faire to see to, goodlie to behold.” Ad aspectum præclarus. Baret, Alvearie, s. v: “If such rank corne be once cut down with the syth … certain it is that the grain in the ear will be longer to see to, howbeit void and without any floure within it.” Holland’s Pliny, xviii. 17; Bible Word-Book, p. 425;

“Care and utmost shifts,

How to secure the lady from surprisal,

Brought to my mind a certain shepherd lad

Of small regard to see to.”  Milton’s Comus, 618.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 10. - The borders of Jordan. Literally, the circles (cf. notes on Joshua 13:2; 18:17; 20:7; 21:32). Conder suggests downs, and it is most probable that the word refers to curved outlines, such as we frequently see in the hollows of our own chalk downs, or in any place where the strata do not yield easily to the action of water, and yet have been moulded by such action. That are in the land of Canaan. Again the intention is to lay stress upon the fact that the historian is still speaking of the country west of Canaan. A great altar to see to. Literally, an altar great to sight, i.e., large and visible from a great distance. Bishop Horsley, however, would render a great altar in appearance, supposing that what is meant is that it only looked like an altar, and was not intended to be used as one. One of the most valuable results of the Palestine exploration movement has been the discovery of the site of this altar, which seems probable, in spite of Lieutenant Conder's abandonment of the theory in his 'Tent Work in Palestine,' 2:53. The reasons for the identification are as follows. The altar must be near one of the fords of Jordan. It must be on this side of Jordan (see note on vers. 24, 25). It must be in a conspicuous position, as we have just seen. Now Kurn Sartabeh or Surtubeh (see note on Joshua 3:16), visible from a great distance on all sides, from Ebal, from near Gennesaret, thirty miles off, from the Dead Sea, from the eastern high lands, and from the Judaean watershed (see Quarterly Paper of the Palestine Exploration Fund, Oct. 1874), fulfils all these conditions. Dr. Hutchinson replies (Quarterly Paper, Jan. 1876) that the altar is stated by Josephus to have been on the east side of Jordan, and that it was improbable that the two and a half tribes would have erected the altar on the cis-Jordanic territory, or so near to Shiloh, because Ephraim would have resented this. Moreover, the words, "a great altar to be seen," would imply that it was to be visible from a long distance, so that the two tribes and a half might see it from their side of Jordan. It must be confessed that the evidence for the identification is but slight, but so also are the arguments against it. For

(1) Josephus is not infallible, and the Hebrew text seems to assert the very opposite of what he says. And

(2) the other tribes did resent the erection of the altar. Lieutenant Conder now admits that it is possible that the words stating that the tribes crossed "by the passage of the children of Israel "(ver. 11, but see note there) leads to the idea that the ford by Jericho is meant, and not the Damieh ford by Kurn Sartabeh. See, however, the translation given below. The fact that the Arabs call the place the ascent of the father of Ayd, which has a close resemblance to the Hebrew word Ed, "witness," does not appear conclusive, though it lends some degree of probability to the theory. On the other hand, it might be contended that if the Reubenites and Gadites had not erected the altar on their own territory, it would not have excited the wrath of the remaining tribes. But as the best authorities are content to leave the matter uncertain, it must be left uncertain here. Joshua 22:10

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

On the way home, when the two tribes and a half had reached the border of Canaan, they built a large conspicuous altar in the district of the Jordan, in the land of Canaan, i.e., on this side of the Jordan: "a great altar to see to," i.e., one which caught the eye on account of its size, since it was to serve for a memorial (Joshua 22:24.). The definition appended to Shiloh, "in the land of Canaan" (Joshua 22:9), serves to bring out the antithesis "into the land of Gilead," by which we are to understand the whole of the country to the east of the Jordan, as in Numbers 32:29; Deuteronomy 34:1; Judges 5:17, etc. נאחז, both in the form and meaning the same as in Numbers 32:30, made possessors, i.e., settled down. היּרדּן גּלילות, the circles of the Jordan, is synonymous with היּרדּן כּכּר in Genesis 13:10, and signifies that portion of the Ghor which was upon the western side of the Jordan.