Joshua 22:10

And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that [are] in the land of Canaan,.... To the banks of it, or the sand heaps, some take the word to signify, which were thrown up to restrain the waters

And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

Or, built then, as this particle is elsewhere used; and so learned interpreters understand it, 36:12 . And in the Latin tongue adverbs of place are sometimes put for adverbs of time: so I take it here. First, Because this best answers to the when in the beginning of the verse. Secondly, This seems to me to clear a great difficulty as to the place where the altar-was built, which though according to our translation it seems, and is generally thought by interpreters to have been, in the land of Canaan; yet if things be more narrowly examined, it may be thought to have been on the other side Jordan in Gilead; and that both, first, from , where it is said to have been built over against, or in the sight of the land of Canaan, therefore not in it. And secondly, from the reason they gave of the building of this altar, for fear lest the Israelites within Jordan and in Canaan should say unto their children dwelling beyond Jordan, The Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, &c.; which jealousy would have been much confirmed by building the altar in Canaan, but would be satisfied and confuted by having on the other side of Jordan, and in their own land, a pattern of that altar at which God was served in the land of Canaan, as a witness that they owned the same God, and the same way of worship, with their brethren that lived in Canaan. But whether the Hebrew particle be rendered then or there, it is not to be taken too strictly: if then, the meaning is not, that they did this as soon as ever they came to the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan; but about that time when they came to them, that they thought and designed it, and as soon as ever they were got over Jordan, which was in a very little time, they effected and perfected it: if it be rendered there, it is not to be limited to the very same spot of ground mentioned before, as if it was built at that border of Jordan that was in the land of Canaan; but to be a little more largely understood; to be built at one or other of the borders of Jordan; or, in general, by Jordan; which is here purposely added, for the explication of the word there, and to prevent the restraint of it to the border of Jordan, within Canaan.

Joshua 22:10 And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that [are] in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.Ver. 10. Built there an altar.] After the pattern of that in the tabernacle, but for a civil use. A great altar to see to.] Magnificum et spectabilem; and this, of no ill intent, however misinterpreted.

(10) The borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan.—As far as these words go, the site of the altar might be either east or west of Jordan; but it seems to be more probable that it was on the east bank. And thus the phrase above would be a reminder of the very thing the altar was intended to enforce, viz., the fact that both borders of Jordan are part of the promised land. But Kurn Surtabeth, twenty miles north of Jericho, on the west side of Jordan, has been thought to be the place.

Verse 10. The borders of Jordan, that are in - Canaan] This verse can never mean that they built the altar on the west side of Jordan, for this was not in their territories; nor could it be a place for the purpose of public worship to their own people, if built on the opposite side of Jordan; besides, the next verse says it was built over against the land of Canaan. It appears that when they came to the river they formed the purpose of building the altar; and when they had crossed it they executed their purpose. A great altar to see to.] A vast mass of earth, stones, &c., elevated to a great height, to serve as a memorial of the transactions that had already taken place. Probably it was intended also to serve as a kind of watchtower, being of a stupendous height, altare infinitae magnitudinis, an altar of an immense size, as the Vulgate terms it.

10. unto the borders of Jordan] More literally, the circles of the Jordan. Comp. Joshua 13:2, “the borders (or circles) of the Philistines;” Joe 3:4, “all the coasts (or circles) or Palestine;” Matthew 3:5; “the region round about Jordan.” The region indicated is a portion of what is now called the Ghor of the Jordan, the low tract or plain along the river, through which it flows. Wyclif renders it, “whanne thei weren comen to the mynde hyllis of Jordan.” that are in the land of Canaan] That is on the west side of “the Ghor.” They desired to anticipate any assertion that the Jordan constituted in itself a barrier between them and their western brethren and the Sanctuary of God at Shiloh. a great altar to see to] i. e. an altar great to behold; so high and wide that it would be seen from a great distance. “An auter of mychilnes with out mesure,” Wyclif. The site of this interesting memorial has been lately discovered by the officers of the Survey of Palestine. It is an almost inaccessible mountain, except from the north, where the ascent is called Tal’at abn’Ayd = “the going up to Ed.” It projects like a white bastion towards the river, some twenty miles north of Jericho, and close to the line of march from Shiloh to Gilead, and on its summit are the remains of a huge monument of masonry, bearing traces of fire on its upper surface. It is mentioned in the Jewish Talmud under the name of Surtabeh, and is said to have been a beacon station. Mentioned only once in the Bible, this altar, erected by the two and a half tribes on their return from Western Palestine as a “witness” that they too were co-heirs with their brethren on the other side of the river, had dropped entirely out of all hope of recovery. The place has now been found by Lieut. Conder, its name still existing, on the high peak known as Kurn Surtabeh, in the valley of the Jordan. Independently of the special interest attaching to the spot, this recovery illustrates remarkably the vitality of the old Biblical names. (Quarterly Statement, 1874, p. 241.) to see to] = to behold. “Faire to see to, goodlie to behold.” Ad aspectum præclarus. Baret, Alvearie, s. v: “If such rank corne be once cut down with the syth … certain it is that the grain in the ear will be longer to see to, howbeit void and without any floure within it.” Holland’s Pliny, xviii. 17; Bible Word-Book, p. 425; “Care and utmost shifts, How to secure the lady from surprisal, Brought to my mind a certain shepherd lad Of small regard to see to.” Milton’s Comus, 618.

The two tribes and a half erected this altar in order to keep alive their claim to have the same interest as the other tribes had in the sanctuary of God, which was established on the west side of

THE ALTAR OF WITNESS AT THE JORDAN, Joshua 22:10-34. 10. By Jordan — Most commentators believe that the altar was on the western bank of the Jordan, because the language of the narrative is, when