Bible Strands
Joshua 22:6
So Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way, and they went to their homes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua addresses the eastern tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh after they have received their inheritance and are preparing to cross back over the Jordan. This utterance occurs at the conclusion of his formal charge to keep the Mosaic law.
The words — The Hebrew וַיְבָרְכֵם (va-y-vare-khem) literally means "and he blessed them," functioning as a formal commissioning pronouncement. The phrase אֶל־אָהֳלֵיהֶם (el-aholehem) translates directly to "to their tents," marking the physical endpoint of their journey.
The thread — This dismissal pattern matches Joshua 14:13, where Joshua blesses Caleb before granting his inheritance, and parallels Luke 24:50, where Jesus blesses his disciples before they depart. The structural motif of a leader blessing a group before they return to their allotted land also appears in Genesis 47:7.
Why it lands — The text records a completed action requiring no immediate response, but it establishes that departure from the central assembly is sanctioned only after formal blessing and instruction. A reader must recognize that obedience to the law grounds and precedes any final commissioning or dismissal.
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
So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
Cross-references
- Joshua 14:13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.
- Luke 24:50 When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
- Genesis 47:7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
- Exodus 39:43 And Moses inspected all the work and saw that they had accomplished it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
- 2 Samuel 6:18 When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Hosts.
- Genesis 14:19 and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
- Genesis 47:10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.
- Joshua 22:7 (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan among their brothers.) When Joshua sent them to their homes he blessed them,
- 1 Samuel 2:20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home.
- 2 Samuel 6:20 When David returned home to bless his own household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today!” she said. “He has uncovered himself today in the sight of the maidservants of his subjects, like a vulgar person would do.”