Bible Commentaries
Go deeper in Scripture
Browse trusted public-domain commentary alongside DiscipleDeck Bible study. References inside each commentary open Bible previews in place.
27,299 commentary entries
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:13
Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest. Their messenger was well chosen. He was the representative of the high priest, whose duty it was to call attention to all infringements of the law. He had proved his own fiery zea…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:14
And with him ten princes. Phinehas represented the tribe of Levi, the high priest being too great to permit of his forming part of such a deputation. The actual head of each tribe accompanied him; that is, the head of t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:17
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us? How natural the illustration in the mouth of the speaker! It was Phinehas who had avenged the iniquity of Peer, and arrested the judgment for that offence as it was about to fa…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:18
But that ye must turn. The original has the imperfect, of an action not completed, "and ye are turning." There is no need to give the adversative sense to! The ye also is emphatic. "Ye are turning against the Lord today…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:19
If the land of your possession be unclean. Rather, be defiled, either by the idolatrous nations around, or by being cut off from the worship of the true God at Shiloh. The only satisfactory explanation of this somewhat…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:20
Did not Achan the son of Zerah. Here again the reference to the past history of Israel is suited to the speaker and the circumstances, and this appeal, therefore, strengthens our conviction that in the history of Achan…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:21
The thousands. See above, Joshua 22:14.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:21-34
Its Vindication The Reubenites and Gadites easily vindicate their conduct. They have had no intention of setting up a rival altar, for they do not mean to offer any sacrifices except in the place appointed by God. Their…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:22
The Lord God of gods. The double repetition of this adjuration is suited to the greatness of the occasion. No words can suffice to express the horror and detestation of the two and a half tribes at the sin of which they…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:23
Let the Lord himself require it. Or, the Lord, He shall exact, i.e; the penalty.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:24
From fear of this thing. This translation cannot be correct. Had the Hebrew original intended to convey this meaning, we should have had מִדְּאָגַת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה The literal rendering is, "from anxiety, from a word."…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:26
Let us now prepare to build us an altar. Literally, let us make now to build to us an altar. Burnt offering, nor for sacrifice. In the "burnt offering" the whole victim was consumed. In the "sacrifice" part only was off…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:26-28
The altar of witness. I. THE OBJECTS AIMED AT. The Israelites were proved to have been in error when they assumed that the erection of the altar was a sign of religious schism and tribal secession. On the contrary, it w…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:27
But that it may be a witness. Rather, for this altar is a witness before Him. Literally, before His face; in the tabernacle, that is, where His special presence was enshrined.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:28
Behold the pattern. Rather, Look at this facsimile. The Hebrew is even stronger than our version. The existence of an exact reproduction of the altar in Shiloh, erected on Canaanitish ground by the two and a half tribes…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:29
God forbid. Literally, profane or accursed to us be it from Him. So Keil, Gesenius, and Knobel. That we should rebel against the Lord. The embassy had the effect not only of eliciting an explanation, but of showing how…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:30
A misunderstanding. Rarely do we find such an instance of misconception as is here recounted. The two and a half tribes, whose territory lay to the west of Jordan, had acted with the highest honour. During the five or s…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:30
It pleased them. The genuine. ness of their zeal for God's service is shown by their readiness to be appeased by a plain explanation. Had they been actuated by jealousy or party spirit, they would have admitted no defen…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:31
Now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord. The word here rendered "now" is rather then. But the Hebrew word, like our own, is used as implying not only consecution of time, but consequence…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:31
God's presence manifested in the faithful conduct of His people. I. GOD IS PRESENT IN THE MIDST OF HIS FAITHFUL PEOPLE. By the nature of things, God is present everywhere (Psalms 139:7-10). Yet there is a more intimate…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:33
Did not intend. Literally, did not speak. That is, no one, after the explanation, was found to support the proposal which had previously been found to be necessary.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 22:34
Ed. This word is not in the original. It is found in some late MSS. and in the Syriac and Arabic versions, but not in the LXX. or Chaldee. Even in the MSS. which have it, the word is found sometimes before and sometimes…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:1
Waxed old and stricken in age. Literally, was old, advanced in days (see Joshua 13:1). But this refers to a more advanced age still, when the patriarch felt his powers failing him, and desired, as far as his influence w…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 23:1-16
EXPOSITION JOSHUA'S SOLEMN CHARGE.—