Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 22:33
And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.
32 34. Return of the Embassy
33. blessed God ] Compare 1Ch 29:20, “And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers;” Neh 8:6, “And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God;” Dan 2:19, “Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;” Luk 2:28, “Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said.”
did not intend ] i. e. did not carry out their intention of going up to war against them, as they first thought of doing when “they gathered themselves together at Shiloh;” see above Jos 22:12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 33. And did not intend to go up against them in battle] That is, they now relinquished the intention of going against them in battle, as this explanation proved there was no cause for the measure.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
As they were by the law of God obliged to do, if they had been guilty and persisted therein; as afterwards they did they tribe of Benjamin for the same reason.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33, 34. the thing pleased thechildren of IsraelThe explanation not only gave perfectsatisfaction to the deputies, but elicited from them expressions ofunbounded joy and thankfulness. “This day we perceive that theLord is among us” [Jos 22:31],that is, by His gracious presence and preventing goodness, which haskept you from falling into the suspected sin and rescued the nationfrom the calamity of a fratricidal war or providential judgments.This episode reflects honor upon all parties and shows that piety andzeal for the honor and worship of God animated the people thatentered Canaan to an extent far beyond what was exemplified in manyother periods of the history of Israel.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the thing pleased the children of Israel,…. They were quite satisfied with the account of things, and were pleased and delighted with what their brethren, the other two tribes, had done:
and the children of Israel blessed God: returned thanks to him, that there was no trespass committed against him, and no schism like to be made among them, nor any wrath to come upon them:
and did not intend to go up against them in battle; for though upon first hearing of their building an altar, which they supposed was for idolatry, they had intended to make war against them, but now understanding the design of that building, they laid aside all thoughts of that kind:
to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt; which they judged by the law in De 13:12 they were obliged to do. The Greek version here adds also, “and the half tribe of Manasseh”, and renders the last clause, and “they dwelt in it”; continued to dwell in it undisturbed by their brethren.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(33) Did not intendi.e., they decided not (Heb. they did not say to go up against them).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. Did not intend to go up More literally, They did not talk of going up. This is a Hebraism for saying that they abandoned the purpose of civil war, for which they had assembled at Shiloh.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not speak any more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt.’
This seems to confirm that the warlike plans had centred on attacking Reuben and Gad, with the western Manassites speaking up on behalf of their brothers and guaranteeing their behaviour and intentions. They gave up their plans for attacking Reuben and Gad.
So they gave thanks and praise to God. ‘They blessed God.’ A rare idea in the Old Testament (but see Psa 66:20; Psa 68:26) for usually it is YHWH Who is blessed, or YHWH incorporated with God, and this is also the first use of ‘God’ by itself in this passage. The sudden change to ‘God’ must have some significance. It is clear that the writer felt that the name of YHWH was unsuitable here. It possibly brings out the solemnity of the situation, and the awful dread that they had felt about the seeming situation, a covenant betrayal. The theoretical circumstance that had brought the visit about had not been had not been of YHWH. It had been an idea outside the covenant. Thus the less intimate use of ‘God’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 33. Did not intend to go up Or, Talked no more of going up.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
the thing: Jos 22:30, Act 15:12, Act 15:31, 2Co 7:7, 1Th 3:6-8
blessed: 1Sa 25:32, 1Sa 25:33, 1Ch 29:20, Neh 8:5, Neh 8:6, Dan 2:19, Luk 2:28, Eph 1:3
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 22:33. The children of Israel blessed God As Phinehas had done, that their brethren had not offended the Divine Majesty as they suspected. And did not intend to go up against them Laid aside the intention which had been in their minds. To destroy the land As, by the law of God, they would have been obliged to do, if these two tribes and a half had been guilty of the crime of which they had been suspected, and had persisted in their sin; as afterward they nearly destroyed the tribe of Benjamin for a similar reason.