What Does Joshua 22:10 Mean in the King James?
And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The altar is made impossible to miss at the boundary, though its visible form does not reveal its purpose.
THE MEANING
A conspicuous structure at your boundary can be seen before its purpose is understood. Its scale makes it impossible to overlook, while its placement between territories means its meaning reaches across the divide.
THE ROOT
מִזְבֵּחַ
mizbēaḥ
GROWS FROM
זבח
To slaughter, especially as a sacrifice.
The Hebrew word for altar carries the act of sacrifice inside its name. Here the altar is enormous to the eye, so its familiar form can be read before its purpose is known.
ALSO GROWS
zāvaḥ: To slaughter or sacrifice.
זָבַח
The verb makes clear that the altar’s name is rooted in an act, not merely in a structure.
zevaḥ: A sacrifice or sacrificial meal.
זֶבַח
This related noun shows the range of the root: the altar is associated with the offering and the shared meal.
THE PATTERN
A public sign can carry testimony across a divide and beyond the moment in which it is made.
But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.THE THREAD
Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.The same Hebrew word, מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbēaḥ, altar), names this structure, while this connected verse calls its purpose a witness rather than an offering-place. Its immense altar-shape is visible first; its testimony across the divide gives that appearance a second meaning.
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