1Josva kaldte nu krigerne fra Rubens og Gads stammer samt fra Manasses halve stamme til sig2-3og sagde til dem: „I har gjort nøjagtig, som Herrens tjener Moses gav jer besked på—og I har også gjort, hvad jeg har sagt. I har gjort jeres pligt over for de andre stammer ved nøje at følge Herrens befalinger i al den tid, det tog at indtage landet.4Nu har Herren endelig givet os fred og fremgang i landet, sådan som han lovede. Derfor er det på tide, at I vender hjem til det land på den anden side af Jordanfloden, som Moses gav jer.5Men husk fortsat at adlyde Guds bud, de love, som han gav til Moses. Elsk Herren, jeres Gud, gør hans vilje og adlyd hans bud. Vær tro imod ham og tjen ham af hele jeres hjerte og med hele jeres sjæl!”6Så velsignede Josva dem og gav dem fri til at tage hjem.7Moses havde jo givet den ene halvdel af Manasses stamme land i Bashan, og Josva havde givet den anden halvdel land blandt de andre israelitter vest for Jordanfloden. Efter at Josva havde velsignet dem,8sagde han til dem: „I vender rige hjem med masser af krigsbytte: kvæg, sølv, guld, bronze, jern og tøj. Alt dette skal I dele med jeres slægtninge derhjemme!”9Så forlod krigerne fra Rubens, Gads og Manasses halve stamme israelitternes lejr ved Shilo i Kana’an og satte kurs mod Jordanfloden for at vende hjem til deres eget land i Gilead.10Men inden de satte over floden, byggede de ved Gelilot i Kana’an et stort alter, som kunne ses på lang afstand.11Da israelitterne fik at vide, at de havde bygget deres eget alter,12samledes lederne i Shilo og gjorde klar til krig imod dem.13-15De sendte en delegation i forvejen anført af Pinehas, præsten Eleazars søn. Delegationen, som foruden Pinehas bestod af lederne for hver af de ti øvrige stammer, satte over floden for at tale med Rubens, Gads og Manasses halve stamme i Gilead.16„Israels folk forlanger en forklaring på, hvorfor I har syndet imod Israels Gud og vendt jer fra ham, så I har bygget et alter og gjort oprør imod ham,” sagde de.17-18„I burde have taget ved lære af den synd, vi begik ved Peor, og som stadig tynger os. Hvorfor vil I gøre oprør igen, når I udmærket ved, at det vil udløse Herrens straf over os?19Hvis det land, I bor i, er besmittet af afgudsdyrkelse, så kom tilbage til Herrens land, hvor hans bolig er. Vi deler gerne vores land med jer, men hvis I begynder at ofre på et andet alter end Herrens sande alter, gør I oprør imod ham og drager os med ind i det.20Har I glemt, at dengang Akan, Zerachs søn, syndede imod Herren, ramte straffen ikke kun ham, men hele Israels folk?”21Rubens, Gads og Manasses halve stamme svarede:22-23„Herren er almægtig, Gud over alle guder, og han ved, at hensigten med dette alter ikke var at gøre oprør imod ham. Vi ønsker også, at hele Israel skal vide, at vi ikke har i sinde at ofre brændofre, afgrødeofre og takofre på det alter. Må Herrens forbandelse ramme os, hvis det havde været vores hensigt.24-25Nej, vi har bygget det, fordi vi frygter, at jeres efterkommere i fremtiden kan finde på at sige til vores efterkommere: ‚Hvad ret har I til at tilbede Herren, Israels Gud? Herren har sat Jordanfloden som en grænse mellem vores folk og jeres folk; det viser, at I ikke er rigtige israelitter.’ Resultatet bliver så, at I får vores efterkommere til at opgive at tilbede Herren.26-27Denne frygt er baggrunden for, at vi har bygget alteret som en påmindelse. Det skal være et tegn for vores og jeres efterkommere, at vi har samme ret som jer til at tilbede Herren med brændofre, takofre og andre ofre. Jeres efterkommere skal ikke komme og påstå, at vi ikke hører Herren til!28Gør de det, kan vores efterkommere frimodigt svare: ‚Se det alter, som vores forfædre byggede. Det ligner Herrens sande alter, men det er ikke beregnet til at ofre på. Det er et tegn på, at vi har samme ret som jer til at tilbede Herren, Israels Gud.’29Det er bestemt ikke vores hensigt at gøre oprør imod Herren og bygge et alter, der skal konkurrere med Herrens sande alter, der står foran hans bolig, for kun på det alter kan der ofres til ham.”30Da præsten Pinehas og stammelederne hørte den forklaring, var de lettede.31„I dag står det klart,” sagde Pinehas, „at Herren stadig er med os, for I har ikke syndet imod ham, sådan som vi troede. Tværtimod har I reddet os fra at begå en stor fejl og blive straffet af Herren.”32Så vendte Pinehas og hans delegation tilbage til Israels folk og fortalte, hvordan det var gået,33og hele Israel frydede sig og lovpriste Gud. Fra da af var der ikke længere tale om at gå i krig mod stammerne øst for Jordanfloden.34Rubens og Gads stamme kaldte alteret for „Mindealter”, fordi det skulle minde begge parter om, at de alle regnede Herren som deres Gud.
1At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,2and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. (4.Mos 32,20; 5.Mos 3,18; Josva 1,16)3You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God.4And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. (Josva 11,23; Josva 13,8)5Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (5.Mos 6,5; 5.Mos 6,6; 5.Mos 6,17; 5.Mos 10,12; 5.Mos 11,1; 5.Mos 11,13; 5.Mos 11,22; Josva 23,11)6So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. (Josva 14,13)7Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, (Josva 17,5)8he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” (4.Mos 31,27; 1.Sam 30,24)9So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses. (4.Mos 32,1; 4.Mos 32,26; 4.Mos 32,29)
The Eastern Tribes’ Altar of Witness
10And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size.11And the people of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” (5.Mos 13,12)12And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. (Dom 20,1)13Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, (2.Mos 6,25; 4.Mos 25,7; Dom 20,28)14and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. (4.Mos 1,4)15And they came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them,16“Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord? (3.Mos 17,8; 4.Mos 14,9; 5.Mos 12,13; Josva 22,18)17Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, (4.Mos 25,3; 5.Mos 4,3; Salm 106,28)18that you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. (4.Mos 16,22; Josva 22,16)19But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord’s land where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. (Josva 18,1; Josva 22,16; Josva 22,18)20Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.’” (Josva 7,1; Josva 7,5; Josva 22,18)21Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel,22“The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today (5.Mos 10,17; 1.Kong 8,39)23for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself take vengeance. (5.Mos 18,19; 1.Sam 20,16)24No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? (Josva 4,6; Josva 4,21)25For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord.26Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice,27but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ (1.Mos 31,48; 5.Mos 12,5; 5.Mos 12,17; Josva 22,34; Josva 24,27)28And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, “Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.”’ (Josva 22,27)29Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle!” (Josva 22,16)30When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their eyes. (Josva 22,13; Josva 22,33)31And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the Lord. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the Lord.” (3.Mos 26,11)32Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. (Josva 22,10; Josva 22,15)33And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled. (Josva 22,30; 1.Krøn 29,20; Neh 8,6; Dan 2,19; Luk 2,28)34The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.” (Josva 22,27)