Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



You will by no means enter into the land where I swore to settle you. The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

But Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among the men who went to investigate the land, lived.

These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the Israelites in the plains of Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho. But there was not a man among these who had been among those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, "They will surely die in the wilderness." And there was not left a single man of them, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished.

When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow: "Not a single person of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors! The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh; he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me."

The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses, the Lord's servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report. My countrymen who accompanied me frightened the people, but I remained loyal to the Lord my God. read more.
That day Moses made this solemn promise: 'Surely the land on which you walked will belong to you and your descendants permanently, for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.' So now, look, the Lord has preserved my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the Lord spoke these words to Moses, during which Israel traveled through the wilderness. Now look, I am today eighty-five years old. Today I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out. I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then. Now, assign me this hill country which the Lord promised me at that time! No doubt you heard at that time that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities. But, assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer them, as the Lord promised." Joshua asked God to empower Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned him Hebron. So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. Arba was a famous Anakite.) Then the land was free of war.


except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'


except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'

Only my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit and has followed me fully -- I will bring him into the land where he had gone, and his descendants will possess it.

My countrymen who accompanied me frightened the people, but I remained loyal to the Lord my God.


Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished.

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

"Not a single person of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors! The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh; he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me."

But as for you, turn back and head for the desert by the way to the Red Sea."


I will personally hold responsible anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet speaks in my name.

The Lord said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me, and how long will they not believe in me, in spite of the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence, and I will disinherit them; I will make you into a nation that is greater and mightier than they!"

For all the people have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tempted me now these ten times, and have not obeyed me, they will by no means see the land that I swore to their fathers, nor will any of them who despised me see it. Only my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit and has followed me fully -- I will bring him into the land where he had gone, and his descendants will possess it.

Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, read more.
Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished.

"But if you ignore the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field. Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed. read more.
Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. "The Lord will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing you in everything you undertake until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me. The Lord will plague you with deadly diseases until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess. He will afflict you with weakness, fever, inflammation, infection, sword, blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish. The sky above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed. "The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off. The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed. The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind. You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do; you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you. You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it. Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to save you. Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it. As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives. You will go insane from seeing all this. The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils -- from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. The Lord will force you and your king whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there. You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you. "You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with olive oil, because the olives will drop off the trees while still unripe. You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity. Whirring locusts will take over every tree and all the produce of your soil. The foreigners who reside among you will become higher and higher over you and you will become lower and lower. They will lend to you but you will not lend to them; they will become the head and you will become the tail! All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has given you. These curses will be a perpetual sign and wonder with reference to you and your descendants. "Because you have not served the Lord your God joyfully and wholeheartedly with the abundance of everything you have, instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. They will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you. The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young. They will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds, or lambs of your flocks until they have destroyed you. They will besiege all of your villages until all of your high and fortified walls collapse -- those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you. You will then eat your own offspring, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege by which your enemies will constrict you. The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children. He will withhold from all of them his children's flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages. Likewise, the most tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters, and will secretly eat her afterbirth and her newborn children (since she has nothing else), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages. "If you refuse to obey all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants -- great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses. He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you. Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments, until you have perished. There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky, because you will have disobeyed the Lord your God. This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, he will take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess. The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. Among those nations you will have no rest nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair. Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next. In the morning you will say, 'If only it were evening!' And in the evening you will say, 'I wish it were morning!' because of the things you will fear and the things you will see. Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you."

"'If, however, you do not obey me and keep all these commandments -- if you reject my statutes and abhor my regulations so that you do not keep all my commandments and you break my covenant -- I for my part will do this to you: I will inflict horror on you, consumption and fever, which diminish eyesight and drain away the vitality of life. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. read more.
I will set my face against you. You will be struck down before your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when there is no one pursuing you. "'If, in spite of all these things, you do not obey me, I will discipline you seven times more on account of your sins. I will break your strong pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze. Your strength will be used up in vain, your land will not give its yield, and the trees of the land will not produce their fruit. "'If you walk in hostility against me and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction seven times according to your sins. I will send the wild animals against you and they will bereave you of your children, annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population so that your roads will become deserted. "'If in spite of these things you do not allow yourselves to be disciplined and you walk in hostility against me, I myself will also walk in hostility against you and strike you seven times on account of your sins. I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. Although you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands. When I break off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven; they will ration your bread by weight, and you will eat and not be satisfied. "'If in spite of this you do not obey me but walk in hostility against me, I will walk in hostile rage against you and I myself will also discipline you seven times on account of your sins. You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars, and I will stack your dead bodies on top of the lifeless bodies of your idols. I will abhor you. I will lay your cities waste and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas. I myself will make the land desolate and your enemies who live in it will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and unsheathe the sword after you, so your land will become desolate and your cities will become a waste. "'Then the land will make up for its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land will rest and make up its Sabbaths. All the days of the desolation it will have the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths when you lived on it. "'As for the ones who remain among you, I will bring despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a blowing leaf will pursue them, and they will flee as one who flees the sword and fall down even though there is no pursuer. They will stumble over each other as those who flee before a sword, though there is no pursuer, and there will be no one to take a stand for you before your enemies. You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you. "'As for the ones who remain among you, they will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and they will also rot away because of their ancestors' iniquities which are with them. However, when they confess their iniquity and their ancestors' iniquity which they committed by trespassing against me, by which they also walked in hostility against me (and I myself will walk in hostility against them and bring them into the land of their enemies), and then their uncircumcised hearts become humbled and they make up for their iniquity, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. The land will be abandoned by them in order that it may make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them, and they will make up for their iniquity because they have rejected my regulations and have abhorred my statutes. In spite of this, however, when they are in the land of their enemies I will not reject them and abhor them to make a complete end of them, to break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out from the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.'" These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through Moses.


except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'


Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, read more.
the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle." So they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River." Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction." Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." Then Moses replied, "If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord's sight. "But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do." So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord's presence, just as my lord says." So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them: "If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord's presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan." Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, "Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. We will cross armed in the Lord's presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River." So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them.


Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, read more.
the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle." So they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River." Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction." Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan."

The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan and built there, near the Jordan, an impressive altar. The Israelites received this report: "Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side." When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them. read more.
The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans. They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: "The entire community of the Lord says, 'Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord. The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord. Now today you dare to turn back from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against the entire community of Israel. But if your own land is impure, cross over to the Lord's own land, where the Lord himself lives, and settle down among us. But don't rebel against the Lord or us by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God. When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city's riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!'" The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans: "El, God, the Lord! El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, don't spare us today! If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering tokens of peace on it, the Lord himself will punish us. We swear we have done this because we were worried that in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, 'What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel? The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.' In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying the Lord. So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you, and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, 'You have no right to worship the Lord.' We said, 'If in the future they say such a thing to us or to our descendants, we will reply, "See the model of the Lord's altar that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you."' Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!" When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, they were satisfied. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, "Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord's judgment." Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders left the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead and reported back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan. The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived. The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, "Surely it is a Reminder to us that the Lord is God."


You will by no means enter into the land where I swore to settle you. The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

But Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among the men who went to investigate the land, lived.

except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'


except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'


Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, read more.
the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle." So they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River." Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction." Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." Then Moses replied, "If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord's sight. "But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do." So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord's presence, just as my lord says." So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them: "If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord's presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan." Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, "Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. We will cross armed in the Lord's presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River." So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them.

The Israelites received this report: "Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side." When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them. The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. read more.
He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans. They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: "The entire community of the Lord says, 'Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord. The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord. Now today you dare to turn back from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against the entire community of Israel. But if your own land is impure, cross over to the Lord's own land, where the Lord himself lives, and settle down among us. But don't rebel against the Lord or us by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God. When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city's riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!'" The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans: "El, God, the Lord! El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, don't spare us today! If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering tokens of peace on it, the Lord himself will punish us. We swear we have done this because we were worried that in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, 'What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel? The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.' In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying the Lord. So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you, and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, 'You have no right to worship the Lord.' We said, 'If in the future they say such a thing to us or to our descendants, we will reply, "See the model of the Lord's altar that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you."' Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!" When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, they were satisfied. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, "Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord's judgment."


Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, read more.
the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle." So they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River." Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction." Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." Then Moses replied, "If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord's sight. "But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do." So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord's presence, just as my lord says." So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them: "If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord's presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan." Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, "Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. We will cross armed in the Lord's presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River." So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them.


Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, read more.
the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle." So they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River." Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction." Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." Then Moses replied, "If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord's sight. "But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do." So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord's presence, just as my lord says." So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them: "If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord's presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan." Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, "Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. We will cross armed in the Lord's presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River." So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them.

At that time I instructed you as follows: "The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites equipped for battle. But your wives, children, and livestock (of which I know you have many) may remain in the cities I have given you. You must fight until the Lord gives your countrymen victory as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you."


except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'


At that time I instructed you as follows: "The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites equipped for battle. But your wives, children, and livestock (of which I know you have many) may remain in the cities I have given you. You must fight until the Lord gives your countrymen victory as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you."

Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. read more.
When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction." Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." Then Moses replied, "If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord's sight. "But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do." So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord's presence, just as my lord says." So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them: "If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord's presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan." Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, "Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. We will cross armed in the Lord's presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River."


Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, read more.
the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle." So they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River." Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction." Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." Then Moses replied, "If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord's sight. "But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do." So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord's presence, just as my lord says." So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them: "If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord's presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan." Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, "Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. We will cross armed in the Lord's presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River." So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them.

The Israelites received this report: "Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side." When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them. The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. read more.
He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans. They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: "The entire community of the Lord says, 'Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord. The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord. Now today you dare to turn back from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against the entire community of Israel. But if your own land is impure, cross over to the Lord's own land, where the Lord himself lives, and settle down among us. But don't rebel against the Lord or us by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God. When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city's riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!'" The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans: "El, God, the Lord! El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, don't spare us today! If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering tokens of peace on it, the Lord himself will punish us. We swear we have done this because we were worried that in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, 'What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel? The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.' In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying the Lord. So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you, and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, 'You have no right to worship the Lord.' We said, 'If in the future they say such a thing to us or to our descendants, we will reply, "See the model of the Lord's altar that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you."' Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!" When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, they were satisfied. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, "Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord's judgment."