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THE MESSAGE

Joshua 22:8

Then Joshua called together the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He said: "You have carried out everything Moses the servant of God commanded you, and you have obediently done everything I have commanded you. All this time and right down to this very day you have not abandoned your brothers; you've shouldered the task laid on you by God , your God. And now God , your God, has given rest to your brothers just as he promised them. You're now free to go back to your homes, the country of your inheritance that Moses the servant of God gave you on the other side of the Jordan. Only this: Be vigilant in keeping the Commandment and The Revelation that Moses the servant of God laid on you: Love God , your God, walk in all his ways, do what he's commanded, embrace him, serve him with everything you are and have." Then Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way. They went home. (To the half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned a share in Bashan. To the other half, Joshua assigned land with their brothers west of the Jordan.) When Joshua sent them off to their homes, he blessed them. He said: "Go home. You're going home rich—great herds of cattle, silver and gold, bronze and iron, huge piles of clothing. Share the wealth with your friends and families—all this plunder from your enemies!"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Brass;   Gad;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Brass, or Copper;   Reuben, the Tribe of;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Phinehas;   Reuben;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Manasseh;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Gad (1);   Tent;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Joshua, the Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Conquest of Canaan;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Gold;   Joshua, Book of;   Punishments;   War;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Iron;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
he said, “Return to your homes with great wealth: a huge number of cattle, and silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a large quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”
Hebrew Names Version
and spoke to them, saying, Return with much wealth to your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much clothing: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.
King James Version
And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
Lexham English Bible
he said to them, "Return to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, copper, iron, and with very much clothing; divide the war-booty of your enemies with your kinsmen."
English Standard Version
he said to them, "Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers."
New Century Version
He said, "Go back to your homes and your riches. You have many animals, silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and many beautiful clothes. Also, you have taken many things from your enemies that you should divide among yourselves."
New English Translation
saying, "Take home great wealth, a lot of cattle, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a lot of clothing. Divide up the goods captured from your enemies with your brothers."
Amplified Bible
and he said to them, "Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers (fellow tribesmen)."
New American Standard Bible
and said to them, "Return to your tents with great riches and with very many livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Thus he spake vnto them, saying, Returne with much riches vnto your tents, & with a great multitude of cattell, with siluer and with golde, with brasse and with yron, and with great abundance of rayment: deuide the spoyle of your enemies with your brethren.
Legacy Standard Bible
and spoke to them, saying, "Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers."
Complete Jewish Bible
saying, "Return with great riches to your tents — with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron and with great quantities of clothing; share the spoil of your enemies with your kinsmen."
Darby Translation
and spoke to them, saying, Return unto your tents with much wealth and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with copper, and with iron, and with clothing, in very great quantity; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
Easy-to-Read Version
He said, "You have become very rich. You have many animals. You have gold, silver, and expensive jewelry. You have many beautiful clothes. You have taken many things from your enemies. Go home and divide these things among yourselves."
George Lamsa Translation
And he spoke to them, saying, Return to your towns and to the land of your inheritance with much wealth and with very many cattle, with silver, with gold, with brass, with iron, and with very much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
Literal Translation
And he spoke to them, saying, You are returning to your tents with great treasures, and with very much livestock, with silver, and with gold, and with bronze, and with iron, and with much clothing.Divide the spoil of your enemies withyour brothers.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
he sayde vnto them: Ye come home agayne with greate good vnto youre tetes, with exceadynge moch catell, syluer, golde, brasse, yron and rayment, distribute therfore the spoyle of youre enemyes amonge youre brethren.
American Standard Version
and spake unto them, saying, Return with much wealth unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
Bible in Basic English
And said to them, Go back with much wealth to your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver and gold and brass and iron, and with a very great store of clothing; give your brothers a part of the goods taken in the war.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And sayde vnto them: Returne with much riches vnto your tentes, and with a great multitude of cattell, with syluer and golde, with brasse, and iron, and with much rayment, and deuide the spoyle of your enemies with your brethren.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
and spoke unto them, saying: 'Return with much wealth unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.'
King James Version (1611)
And he spake vnto them, saying; Returne with much riches vnto your tents, and with very much cattell, with siluer and with gold, and with brasse, and with iron, and with very much raiment: Diuide the spoile of your enemies with your brethren.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they departed with much wealth to their houses, and they divided the spoil of their enemies with their brethren; very much cattle, and silver, and gold, and iron, and much raiment.
English Revised Version
and spake unto them, saying, Return with much wealth unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
Berean Standard Bible
saying, "Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
he seyde to hem, With myche catel and richessis turne ye ayen to youre seetis; with siluer and gold, and bras, and yrun, and myche clothing; departe ye the prey of enemyes with youre britheren.
Young's Literal Translation
and speak unto them, saying, `With great riches turn ye back unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.'
Update Bible Version
and spoke to them, saying, Return with much wealth to your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with bronze, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he spoke to them, saying, Return with much riches to your tents, and with very many cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
World English Bible
and spoke to them, saying, Return with much wealth to your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much clothing: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.
New King James Version
and spoke to them, saying, "Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren."
New Living Translation
he said to them, "Go back to your homes with the great wealth you have taken from your enemies—the vast herds of livestock, the silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and the large supply of clothing. Share the plunder with your relatives."
New Life Bible
He said to them, "Return to your homes with much riches, many animals, silver, gold, brass, iron, and very many clothes. Share with your brothers the riches taken from those who fought against you."
New Revised Standard
he said to them, "Go back to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with a great quantity of clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your kindred."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and spake unto them, saying - With much wealth, return ye unto your homes, even with very much cattle, with silver and with gold, and with copper and with iron, and with very much raiment, - divide ye the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He said to them: With much substance and riches, you return to your settlements, with silver and gold, brass and iron, and variety of raiment: divide the prey of your enemies with your brethren.
Revised Standard Version
he said to them, "Go back to your homes with much wealth, and with very many cattle, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and said to them, "Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers."

Contextual Overview

1Then Joshua called together the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He said: "You have carried out everything Moses the servant of God commanded you, and you have obediently done everything I have commanded you. All this time and right down to this very day you have not abandoned your brothers; you've shouldered the task laid on you by God , your God. And now God , your God, has given rest to your brothers just as he promised them. You're now free to go back to your homes, the country of your inheritance that Moses the servant of God gave you on the other side of the Jordan. Only this: Be vigilant in keeping the Commandment and The Revelation that Moses the servant of God laid on you: Love God , your God, walk in all his ways, do what he's commanded, embrace him, serve him with everything you are and have." 6Then Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way. They went home. (To the half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned a share in Bashan. To the other half, Joshua assigned land with their brothers west of the Jordan.) When Joshua sent them off to their homes, he blessed them. He said: "Go home. You're going home rich—great herds of cattle, silver and gold, bronze and iron, huge piles of clothing. Share the wealth with your friends and families—all this plunder from your enemies!" The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the People of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to Gilead, the land of their possession, which they had taken under the command of Moses as ordered by God . They arrived at Geliloth on the Jordan (touching on Canaanite land). There the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar on the banks of the Jordan—a huge altar! The People of Israel heard of it: "What's this? The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar facing the land of Canaan at Geliloth on the Jordan, across from the People of Israel!" When the People of Israel heard this, the entire congregation mustered at Shiloh to go to war against them. They sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (that is, to the land of Gilead). Accompanying him were ten chiefs, one chief for each of the ten tribes, each the head of his ancestral family. They represented the military divisions of Israel. They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh and spoke to them: "The entire congregation of God wants to know: What is this violation against the God of Israel that you have committed, turning your back on God and building your own altar—a blatant act of rebellion against God ? Wasn't the crime of Peor enough for us? Why, to this day we aren't rid of it, still living with the fallout of the plague on the congregation of God ! Look at you—turning your back on God ! If you rebel against God today, tomorrow he'll vent his anger on all of us, the entire congregation of Israel. "If you think the land of your possession isn't holy enough but somehow contaminated, come back over to God 's possession, where God 's Dwelling is set up, and take your land there, but don't rebel against God . And don't rebel against us by building your own altar apart from the Altar of our God . When Achan son of Zerah violated the holy curse, didn't anger fall on the whole congregation of Israel? He wasn't the only one to die for his sin." The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the tribes of Israel: The God of Gods is God , The God of Gods is God ! "He knows and he'll let Israel know if this is a rebellious betrayal of God . And if it is, don't bother saving us. If we built ourselves an altar in rebellion against God , if we did it to present on it Whole-Burnt-Offerings or Grain-Offerings or to enact there sacrificial Peace-Offerings, let God decide. "But that's not it. We did it because we cared. We were anxious lest someday your children should say to our children, ‘You're not connected with God , the God of Israel! God made the Jordan a boundary between us and you. You Reubenites and Gadites have no part in God .' And then your children might cause our children to quit worshiping God . "So we said to ourselves, ‘Let's do something. Let's build an altar—but not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices.' "We built this altar as a witness between us and you and our children coming after us, a witness to the Altar where we worship God in his Sacred Dwelling with our Whole-Burnt-Offerings and our sacrifices and our Peace-Offerings. "This way, your children won't be able to say to our children in the future, ‘You have no part in God .' "We said to ourselves, ‘If anyone speaks disparagingly to us or to our children in the future, we'll say: Look at this model of God 's Altar which our ancestors made. It's not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices. It's a witness connecting us with you.' "Rebelling against or turning our backs on God is the last thing on our minds right now. We never dreamed of building an altar for Whole-Burnt-Offerings or Grain-Offerings to rival the Altar of our God in front of his Sacred Dwelling." Phinehas the priest, all the heads of the congregation, and the heads of the military divisions of Israel who were also with him heard what the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had to say. They were satisfied. Priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Now we're convinced that God is present with us since you haven't been disloyal to God in this matter. You saved the People of Israel from God 's discipline." Then Priest Phinehas son of Eleazar left the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (from Gilead) and, with the chiefs, returned to the land of Canaan to the People of Israel and gave a full report. They were pleased with the report. The People of Israel blessed God—there was no more talk of attacking and destroying the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites were living. Reuben and Gad named the altar: A Witness Between Us. God Alone Is God. 8 Then Joshua called together the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He said: "You have carried out everything Moses the servant of God commanded you, and you have obediently done everything I have commanded you. All this time and right down to this very day you have not abandoned your brothers; you've shouldered the task laid on you by God , your God. And now God , your God, has given rest to your brothers just as he promised them. You're now free to go back to your homes, the country of your inheritance that Moses the servant of God gave you on the other side of the Jordan. Only this: Be vigilant in keeping the Commandment and The Revelation that Moses the servant of God laid on you: Love God , your God, walk in all his ways, do what he's commanded, embrace him, serve him with everything you are and have." Then Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way. They went home. (To the half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned a share in Bashan. To the other half, Joshua assigned land with their brothers west of the Jordan.) When Joshua sent them off to their homes, he blessed them. He said: "Go home. You're going home rich—great herds of cattle, silver and gold, bronze and iron, huge piles of clothing. Share the wealth with your friends and families—all this plunder from your enemies!" 9 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the People of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to Gilead, the land of their possession, which they had taken under the command of Moses as ordered by God .

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Return: Deuteronomy 8:9-14, Deuteronomy 8:17, Deuteronomy 8:18, 2 Chronicles 17:5, 2 Chronicles 32:27, Proverbs 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Hebrews 11:26

divide: Numbers 31:27, 1 Samuel 30:24, Psalms 68:12

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 3:20 - return Deuteronomy 20:14 - thou shalt eat Joshua 22:6 - General 1 Chronicles 5:9 - because

Cross-References

Genesis 22:19
Then Abraham went back to his young servants. They got things together and returned to Beersheba. Abraham settled down in Beersheba.
Genesis 22:20
After all this, Abraham got the news: "Your brother Nahor is a father! Milcah has given him children: Uz, his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (he was the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." (Bethuel was the father of Rebekah.) Milcah gave these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
2 Chronicles 25:9
But Amaziah said to the holy man, "But what about all this money—these tons of silver I have already paid out to hire these men?" " God 's help is worth far more to you than that," said the holy man.
Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked hard at them and said, "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it."
John 1:29
The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.' I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God."
Revelation 5:6
So I looked, and there, surrounded by Throne, Animals, and Elders, was a Lamb, slaughtered but standing tall. Seven horns he had, and seven eyes, the Seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth. He came to the One Seated on the Throne and took the scroll from his right hand. The moment he took the scroll, the Four Animals and Twenty-four Elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. Each had a harp and each had a bowl, a gold bowl filled with incense, the prayers of God's holy people. And they sang a new song: Worthy! Take the scroll, open its seals. Slain! Paying in blood, you bought men and women, Bought them back from all over the earth, Bought them back for God. Then you made them a Kingdom, Priests for our God, Priest-kings to rule over the earth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he spake unto them,.... To the half tribe of Manasseh only, though some think also to the other ten tribes:

saying, return with much riches unto your tents; that is, return to their own land, and habitations there, with whatsoever riches they had got from the spoil of the enemy:

and with very much cattle; they had taken from them, and fell to their share, and for which they had good pasturage in Gilead and Bashan, and therefore very proper to take with them,

with silver and with gold, and with brass, and with iron; whether in massive pieces, or wrought up into vessels, which they found in the houses of the Canaanites when they plundered them:

and with very much raiment; some no doubt very rich and costly, such as their kings, princes, nobles, and great personages among them wore:

divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren; according to Jarchi and Kimchi, this is spoken to the half tribe of Manasseh, to divide their spoil with the tribes of Reuben and Gad; but it rather means the dividing the above spoil, when they came to their own country with their brethren they left behind; who as they were employed in guarding and defending their cities, their wives and children, herds and flocks, in their absence, they had a right to part of the spoil; and as in other instances it appears to be a common case for those that stayed at home to share in the spoil with them that went to war, see

Numbers 31:27; though the notion of Abarbinel pleases me best, that by "their brethren" are meant the other half tribe of Manasseh that remained in Canaan, and were settled there: when the spoil of the Canaanites was divided among all the tribes, the whole tribe of Manasseh had its share; and whereas now half of it were going to their own country on the other side Jordan, it was but reasonable they should have their part of the spoil to carry with them; and this seems to be the true reason of their being separately addressed, and dismissed and blessed.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The insertion of this explanation about the half tribe, and the repetition of Joshua’s farewell, are examples of a marked characteristic of very ancient writers and of Hebrew writers as much as any - that of giving a completeness and finish to each section of their story. The Jewish historian scarcely ever quotes or reminds, but repeats so much as may be necessary to make his account of the transaction in hand fully intelligible by itself. (Compare also Joshua 13:14, Joshua 13:33; Joshua 14:3; Joshua 18:7.) It is quite possible, however, that the particulars special to Joshua 22:8, may be due to some other narrative of the whole event than that to which Joshua 22:5 belongs, and may have been interwoven by a later reviser.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 22:8. Return with much riches — It appears they had their full proportion of the spoils that were taken from the Canaanites, and that these spoils consisted in cattle, silver, gold, brass, iron, and raiment.

Divide the spoil - with your brethren. — It was right that those who stayed at home to defend the families of those who had been in the wars, and to cultivate the ground, should have a proper proportion of the spoils taken from the enemy, for had they not acted as they did the others could not have safely left their families.


 
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