“Therefore we said, ‘It shall be, when they tell us or our generations this in time to come, that we shall say, “Behold the pattern of Yahweh’s altar, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.” ’
Parallel Translations
-
“Therefore we said, ‘It shall be, when they tell us or our generations this in time to come, that we shall say, “Behold the pattern of Yahweh’s altar, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.” ’
-
Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.
-
Therefore said we: It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say: Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Joshua 22:28 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 25:40 See that you make them after their pattern, which has been shown to you on the mountain.
- Ezekiel 43:10-11 “You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, and its fashion, and its exits, and its entrances, and all its forms, and all its ordinances, and all its forms, and all its laws; and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form of it, and all its ordinances, and do them.
- Hebrews 8:5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.”
- 2 Kings 16:10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest a drawing of the altar and plans to build it.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain They signify a wonderful care that they bare toward…
They signify a wonderful care that they bare toward their posterity, that they might live in the true service of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jos 22:28 Therefore said we, that it shall be,…
Jos 22:28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should [so] say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say [again], Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it [is] a witness between us and you.
Ver. 28. But it is a witness.] See Jos 22:27.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The pattern; an exact representation and resemblance.
The pattern; an exact representation and resemblance.
A witness between us and you, that we both serve one God, and approve and make use of one and the same altar.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord,....…
God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord,.... Against the command of the Lord, who ordered one altar to be made, to which all sacrifices were to be brought from the several parts of the land of Israel, and there to be offered on it; or
"against the Word of the Lord,''as the Targum, Christ typified both by the altar and the sacrifices on it; and who is but one, one priest, one sacrifice, one altar, one Mediator and Saviour:
Read full note →
and turn this day from following the Lord; apostatize from him, and from his worship:
to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices; which was never our intention, or ever entered into our hearts to erect one for such a purpose:
besides the altar of the Lord our God, that is before his tabernacle; it standing in the court of the tabernacle before the holy place.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The pattern - An exact representation and resemblance. A…
The pattern - An exact representation and resemblance. A witness - That we both serve one God, and approve and make use of one and the same altar.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jos 22:28. Behold the pattern of the altar —…
Jos 22:28. Behold the pattern of the altar — An exact representation and resemblance of it; but which they could not have imitated, if they had not been acquainted with it, and worshipped God there with their brethren. But it is a witness between us and you — That we both serve one God, and approve and make use of the same altar.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 28. Behold the pattern] Some have imagined that the…
28. Behold the pattern] Some have imagined that the altar set up had an actual resemblance to the altar of burnt-offering at the Tabernacle. But this could hardly be. There may have been some general resemblance in their structure, which was of earth heaped up and huge stones.
it is a witness between us and you] Comp. Jos_4:6-7; and Gen_31:48.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (28) The altar of the Lord, which our fathers…
(28) The altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices.—The words suggest the reflection that there are many other “altars” so called in the present day, also an occasion of dispute; and it would tend greatly to peace and acquiescence in their existence if we could be assured that, like this altar, they are “not for sacrifice” but for a witness to that common worship of Christ as God which is an essential feature of Christianity.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Behold the pattern. Rather, Look at this facsimile. The…
Behold the pattern. Rather, Look at this facsimile. The Hebrew is even stronger than our version. The existence of an exact reproduction of the altar in Shiloh, erected on Canaanitish ground by the two and a half tribes before their departure across Jordan, was an incontestible proof of their original connection with Israel. And the fact that they had erected it, not on their own territory, but on that of their brethren, was, though they do not use the argument, proof positive that it was not intended to be used in contravention of the precepts of the law. The nature of the facsimile is explained by Exo_20:24, where the precise form of altar seems to have been presented as a contrast to the stone altars employed by the heathen.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
The tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh now finish their answer.
Read full note →
If this should be said ... a witness between us and you."
The three tribes are describing their potential answer to an accusation that might or might not be made at a future time. (See: Hypothetical Situations)
May it be far from us that we should rebel
The unlikely chance that they would rebel is spoken of as if it is something that is a great distance away from them. AT: "We would certainly not rebel" (See: Idiom)
turn away from following him
To stop following Yahweh is spoken of as if they were turning away from him. AT: "stop following him" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
descend
altar
tabernacle
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 22:28 This altar was a copy, intended to be…
22:28 This altar was a copy, intended to be seen, not used.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.