Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 22:27
But [that] it [may be] a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.
27. be a witness ] Instead of meaning a separation, they had set up their altar as a monument to future ages of the connection between the tribes divided by the river, so that if, at any time to come, their descendants should attempt to cast off the connection and assert their own independence, or if the Israelites should hereafter attempt to disown their union, and declare that the people beyond the river “had no part in the Lord,” this monument might be pointed to in evidence of the fact. Observe the calmness maintained by the accused tribes. There is no syllable of reproach or recrimination in their vindication of themselves.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That we might do the service of the Lord before him; that we and ours may have and hold our privilege of serving and worshipping God, not upon this altar, but in the office of Gods presence, in your tabernacle, and upon your altar.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
But [that] it [may be] a witness between us and you, and our generations after us,…. That we are one people, worship one God, and serve at one altar, of which this built was a resemblance, and would put them in mind of it:
that we might do the service of the Lord before him; in the tabernacle, and at the altar, in the place where he had chosen to put his name and dwell:
with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; to be brought at stated times, or as occasion required:
that your children may not say to our children, in time to come, ye have no part in the Lord; nor right to his altar, and so forbid them offering their sacrifices on it; or
“have no part in the Word of the Lord,”
as the Targum; the Messiah, whose sacrifice was typified by the sacrifices of the legal dispensation, and all such, who offered theirs in the faith of that, had a part in it, and their sins were expiated by it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(27) Ye have no part in the Lord.Something of the kind was insinuated in the abuse of the Gileadites by the men of Ephraim (Jdg. 12:4), when they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites. That taunt cost the Ephraimites the lives of 42,000 men. The person who made it the law of Israel to have no part in Jehovah was Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin by setting up the calves, and thus diverting the stream of national worshippers from Jerusalem, the place chosen by the Lord. It may be further observed that Joshuas efforts under the direction of Jehovah for the establishment of national unity in Israel are proved by the narrative in this chapter to have taken considerable effect. At whatever cost, it was felt that the unity of national worship must be maintained. Rebellion against Jehovah is treated by the heads of Israel (Jos. 22:19) as rebellion against us.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. That it may be a witness Having disavowed that their altar was intended for sacrificial uses, they now plainly declare that it was intended for a memorial that their children were entitled to appear as worshippers before that altar in Shiloh of which this was a facsimile.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jos 22:27 But [that] it [may be] a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.
Ver. 27. But that it may be a witness. ] Of our care to hold communion with you in the sincere service of God, by our engraving some inscription upon it, or keeping in our treasury of monuments some public record, when, by whom, or to what end that altar was built.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
a witness. Compare Gen 31:48, and see Jos 22:34 below, and Ch. Jos 24:27.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a witness: Jos 22:10, Jos 22:34, Jos 24:27, Gen 31:48, Gen 31:52, 1Sa 7:12
that we: Deu 12:5, Deu 12:6, Deu 12:11, Deu 12:17, Deu 12:18, Deu 12:26, Deu 12:27
Reciprocal: Gen 21:30 – a witness Gen 31:44 – a witness Jos 4:6 – a sign Jos 22:25 – ye have Isa 19:20 – for a
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 22:27. But that it may be a witness It was an ancient way of preserving the remembrance of things to raise such structures. That we might do the service of the Lord before him That we and ours may have and retain the privilege of serving and worshipping God, not upon this altar, but in the place of Gods presence, in your tabernacle, and upon your altar.