Topic
Ed
7 passages cited, from 4 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Joshua 22:34Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave Name of the altar, erected by the tribes, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh at the fords of the Jordan River
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.
- Genesis 31:47ISBE
And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
- Genesis 31:48ISBE
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
- Joshua 22:1–6Easton
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: Ye have not left your brethren…
- Joshua 22:10ISBE
¶ 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.
- Joshua 22:11ISBE
¶ And 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 over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.
- Joshua 22:29ISBE
God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 2 references
Witness, a word not found in the original Hebrew, nor in the LXX. and Vulgate, but added by the translators in the Authorized Version, also in the Revised Version, of Josh. 22:34. The words are literally rendered: “And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar. It is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.” This great altar stood probably on the east side of the Jordan, in the land of Gilead, “over against the land of Canaan.” After the division of the Promised Land, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, on returning to their own settlements on the east of Jordan (Josh. 22:1-6), erected a great altar, which they affirmed, in answer to the challenge of the other tribes, was not for sacrifice, but only as a witness (‘Ed) or testimony to future generations that they still retained the same interest in the nation as the other tribes.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 1 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 7 references
('edh, "witness"):
The name of the altar erected by the trans-Jordanic tribes upon finally taking possession of Gilead (Jos 22:10,11,34); probably East of the Jordan opposite Jericho. But neither the Massoretic Text nor the Septuagint contained the word. Both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), however, insert the word on the authority of a few manuscripts. It has been suggested that it is the final `edh in Gal`edh, the name given by Laban and Jacob to the memorial heap of stones erected by them in the vicinity (Ge 31:47,48). According to the Massoretic Text, the name of the altar is the entire sentence: "It is a witness between us that Yahweh is God." The opposition of the ten tribes to the erection of this altar was on the score that it was built after the pattern of the great altar of burnt offering (Jos 22:11,29), which was a horned altar forbidden in ordinary lay sacrifice. There is in it, therefore, no indication of a general opposition to lay sacrifices on altars of earth or unhewn stone (see Wiener, EPC, 198).
George Frederick Weight
In the topical indexes
Nave's Topical Bible (1896) · 1 references, grouped by sub-topic
- → Name of the altar, erected by the tribes, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh at the fords of the Jordan River Jos 22:34
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.