Bible Strands
Joshua 22:25
For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no share in the LORD!’ So your descendants could cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The eastern tribes of Reuben and Gad address the western tribes and Joshua at the Jordan crossing, explaining their motive for constructing a large altar. They speak to preempt future accusations that they have abandoned the LORD.
The words — The term וּ/גְב֣וּל (u./ge.Vul) means a border, while נָֽתַן\־ (na.tan-) translates as he has put. The text states that Yahweh placed the Jordan River as a dividing line between the two groups of descendants.
The thread — The boundary motif reappears in Joshua 22:27, where the altar functions as a witness to preserve future worship. The fear of being severed from the LORD also surfaces in the tribal fracturing described in 2 Samuel 20:1.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to see how physical separation can breed religious suspicion and doctrinal drift. It calls communities to establish clear, visible markers of faith before misunderstandings cause others to stop fearing the LORD.
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
For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the Lord: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord.
Cross-references
- Joshua 22:27 Rather, let it be a witness between us and you and the generations to come, that we will worship the LORD in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings.’ Then in the future, your descendants cannot say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD!’
- 1 Samuel 26:19 Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
- 2 Samuel 20:1 Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”
- 1 Kings 12:16 When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home,
- 1 Kings 12:27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
- 1 Kings 14:16 So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
- 1 Kings 15:30 because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.
- Ezra 4:2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families, saying, “Let us build with you because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”
- Nehemiah 2:20 So I answered them and said, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but you have no portion, right, or claim in Jerusalem.”
- Acts 8:21 You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.