The Pillars of Three Faiths: Tanakh, Bible & Qu'ran. Various Authors

of the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹And they gave them Shechem with the open land about it in the hill-country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with the open land about it; ²²and Kibzaim with the open land about it, and Beth-horon with the open land about it; four cities. ²³And out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with the open land about it, Gibbethon with the open land about it; ²⁴Aijalon with the open land about it, Gath-rimmon with the open land about it; four cities. ²⁵And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with the open land about it, and Gath-rimmon with the open land about it; two cities. ²⁶All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with the open land about them.

      ²⁷And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer; and Beeshterah with the open land about it; two cities. ²⁸And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with the open land about it, Dobrath with the open land about it; ²⁹Jarmuth with the open land about it, En-gannim with the open land about it; four cities. ³⁰And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with the open land about it, Abdon with the open land about it; ³¹Helkath with the open land about it, and Rehob with the open land about it; four cities. ³²And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Hammoth-dor with the open land about it, and Kartan with the open land about it; three cities. ³³All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with the open land about them.

³⁴And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with the open land about it, and Kartah with the open land about it; ³⁵Dimnah with the open land about it, Nahalal with the open land about it; four cities. [⁸³⁶And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with the open land about it, and Jahaz with the open land about it; ³⁷Kedemoth with the open land about it, and Mephaath with the open land about it; four cities.] ³⁸And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with the open land about it; ³⁹Heshbon with the open land about it, Jazer with the open land about it; four cities in all. ⁴⁰All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.

      ⁴¹All the cities of the Levites—forty and eight cities with the open land about them—shall be in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel, ⁴²even these cities, every one with the open land round about it; thus it shall be with all these cities.

      ⁴³So the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He swore to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. ⁴⁴And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that He swore unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

      22Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ²and said unto them: 'Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have hearkened unto my voice in all that I commanded you; ³ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. ⁴And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as He spoke unto them; therefore now turn ye, and get you unto your tents, unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan. ⁵Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.' ⁶So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went unto their tents.

      ⁷Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given inheritance in Bashan; but unto the other half gave Joshua among their brethren beyond the Jordan westward. Moreover when Joshua sent them away unto their tents, he blessed them, ⁸and spoke unto them, saying: 'Return with much wealth unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.'

      ⁹And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses. ¹⁰And when they came unto the region about the Jordan, that is 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 the Jordan, a great altar to look upon. ¹¹And the children of Israel heard say: 'Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that pertaineth to the children of Israel.' ¹²And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.

      ¹³And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest; ¹⁴and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were every one of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel. ¹⁵And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying: ¹⁶'Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord: What treachery is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar, to rebel this day against the Lord? ¹⁷Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves unto this day, although there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸that ye must turn away this day from following the Lord? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to-day against the Lord, that to-morrow He will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁹Howbeit, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the Lord's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us; but rebel not against the Lord, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar besides the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass concerning the devoted thing, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.'

      ²¹Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel: ²²'God, God, the Lord, God, God, the Lord, He knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord—save Thou us not this day—²³that we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord; or if to offer thereon burnt-offering or meal-offering, or if to offer sacrifices of peace-offerings thereon, let the Lord Himself require it; ²⁴and if we have not rather out of anxiety about a matter done this, saying: In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying: What have ye to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵for the Lord hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no portion in the Lord; so might your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord. ²⁶Therefore we said: Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; ²⁷but it shall be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may 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 portion in the Lord. ²⁸Therefore said we: It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say: Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering,