Witness (altar)

Ed is the name of an altar , or the place where an altar is located, according to some English translations of the Bible . In the biblical account (Joshua 22:34), the altar in question was built by the tribes east of the Jordan; this construction concerned the other tribes who felt that there should only be one altar, but the eastern tribes built it only as a testimony to their faith, and not as a working altar. The eastern tribes named the altar appropriately to fit this, and Ed means witness in Hebrew . However, the name of the altar is not actually mentioned at all by either the masoretic text or the Septuagint . As other translations acknowledge, the text could be corrupted at this point, reading only ... [they] named the altar, because ... witness ... , leading textual scholars to suspect that the name of the altar must have been dropped by a copyist, either deliberately or unintentionally. Galeed , as in Genesis 31:47 which describes a location at which a mound of stones was built to be a witness to a pact between Jacob and Laban ; should this be the case, there would be two conflicting explanations. According to the biblical narrative, the naming happened once Joshua had completed the conquest of canaan, and the eastern tribes and western tribes parted ways to take possession of the territories respectively assigned to them. Most critical scholars view the earlier narrative (the one involving Jacob and Laban) to be more accurate an explanation for Galeed and the stone construction that was there. As ordinarily translated, the narrative explains the name of the altar (whatever it was) as a witness to the position that Yahweh is God (sometimes rendered The Lord is God ).

Witness is the name of an altar referred to in Joshua 22:10–34 . Its name appears as "Witness" in the New King James Version , the English Standard Version and the New Living Translation . The Geneva Bible and the King James Version transliterate the original Hebrew word Ed , while the New International Version regards all of the following words as the name of the altar: "A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God". The New Century Version recalls the altar's name as "Proof That We Believe the Lord Is God". According to Joshua 22, the eastern or Transjordanian tribes cross over the Jordan River after having assisted in the conquest of the land of Canaan . They then build a massive altar by the Jordan . This causes the "whole congregation of the Israelites" to prepare for war, but they first send to the Transjordanian tribes a delegation led by Phinehas . They accuse the eastern tribes of making God angry and suggesting that their land may be unclean. In response to this, the Transjordanian tribes say that the altar will not be used for offerings, but is only a "witness". The western tribes are satisfied, and return home. The altar's construction concerned the other tribes who felt that there should only be one altar. However the eastern tribes explained that they built it only as a testimony to their unity of religion (despite their being somewhat cut-off by the river), and not as a rival working altar (like the later calves set up by Jereboam). The eastern tribes named the altar "Witness" to fit this. Assis argues that the unusual dimensions of the altar suggest that it "was not meant for sacrificial use", but was, in fact, "meant to attract the attention of the other tribes" and provoke a reaction. Davis regards the Transjordanians' action as "the first in a series of independent acts on the part of the various tribes which would lead to a later fragmentation of the tribes of Israel," and the construction of the altar as a "departure of God's plan for centralized worship ." Joshua 22 in the New Century Version. New American Standard Bible , sub-heading for Joshua 22:10–34 Elie Assis, "For it shall be a witness between us: a literary reading of Josh 22," Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 18 (2004), 216–17.

Witness is the name of an altar referred to in Joshua 22:10–34 . Its name appears as "Witness" in the New King James Version , the English Standard Version and the New Living Translation . The Geneva Bible and the King James Version transliterate the original Hebrew word Ed ( עד ‘êḏ ), while the New International Version regards all of the following words as the name of the altar: "A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God". The New Century Version recalls the altar's name as "Proof That We Believe the Lord Is God". According to Joshua 22, the eastern or Transjordanian tribes cross over the Jordan River after having assisted in the conquest of the land of Canaan . They then build a massive altar by the Jordan . This causes the "whole congregation of the Israelites" to prepare for war, but they first send to the Transjordanian tribes a delegation led by Phinehas . They accuse the eastern tribes of making God angry and suggesting that their land may be unclean. In response to this, the Transjordanian tribes say that the altar will not be used for offerings, but is only a "witness". The western tribes are satisfied, and return home. The altar's construction concerned the other tribes who felt that there should only be one altar. However the eastern tribes explained that they built it only as a testimony to their unity of religion (despite their being somewhat cut-off by the river), and not as a rival working altar (like the later calves set up by Jereboam). The eastern tribes named the altar "Witness" to fit this. Assis argues that the unusual dimensions of the altar suggest that it "was not meant for sacrificial use", but was, in fact, "meant to attract the attention of the other tribes" and provoke a reaction. Davis regards the Transjordanians' action as "the first in a series of independent acts on the part of the various tribes which would lead to a later fragmentation of the tribes of Israel," and the construction of the altar as a "departure of God's plan for centralized worship ." Joshua 22 in the New Century Version. New American Standard Bible , sub-heading for Joshua 22:10–34 Elie Assis, "For it shall be a witness between us: a literary reading of Josh 22," Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 18 (2004), 216–17.