Bible Strands
Joshua 22:17
Was not the sin of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day? It even brought a plague upon the congregation of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The rest of Israel speaks to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh during their confrontation over the unauthorized altar. The speaker, representing the congregation of the LORD, demands an explanation for what they call a breach of faith.
The words — The phrase הַמְעַט (ha-m‘aṭ) translates literally as "was it not little" or "was not this enough," framing a rhetorical question. It directly modifies עֲוֹן (‘aḇon), meaning "iniquity" or "sin," to stress the weight of the past offense.
The thread — The text explicitly references the sin of Peor, which Deuteronomy 4:3 records as a catalyst for divine destruction and Psalm 106:28 links to idolatrous feasting. The confrontation mirrors the initial outbreak of that sin described in Numbers 25:1, where Israel engaged in sexual immorality with Moabite women.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that unresolved corporate guilt remains active before any new covenant violation is addressed. It requires the reader to treat lingering disobedience as a present danger rather than a closed historical chapter.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord,
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 4:3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.
- Psalms 106:28 They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
- Numbers 25:1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Ezra 9:13 After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),
- 1 Corinthians 10:8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.
- 1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.