Joshua 22:12|285
38 And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer—four cities in all, together with their pasturelands.
40 In all, twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari, the remaining Levite clans.
41 For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasturelands, within the territory of the Israelites. 42 Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
43 Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.
45 Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.
The Eastern Tribes Return Home
22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and told them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and you have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 All this time you have not deserted your brothers, up to this very day, but have kept the charge given you by the LORD your God.
4 And now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them, you may return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you across the Jordan. 5 But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way, and they went to their homes. 7 (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan among their brothers.) When Joshua sent them to their homes he blessed them, 8 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.”
The Altar of Witness
9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead, which they had acquired according to the command of the LORD through Moses. 10 And when they came to Geliloth [1] near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan.
11 Then the Israelites received the report: “Behold, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the border of the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.” 12 And when they heard this, the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.
- ↑ 10 Or to the circle of stones or to the region; similarly in verse 11
