Joshua 22:17 kjv
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,
Joshua 22:17 nkjv
Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us, from which we are not cleansed till this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,
Joshua 22:17 niv
Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the LORD!
Joshua 22:17 esv
Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD,
Joshua 22:17 nlt
Was our sin at Peor not enough? To this day we are not fully cleansed of it, even after the plague that struck the entire community of the LORD.
Joshua 22 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 25:3-9 | "So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD burned against Israel... Then a plague broke out among the congregation..." | Original Peor incident, immediate divine judgment. |
| Deut 4:3 | "Your own eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for all the men who followed the Baal of Peor, the LORD your God destroyed them from among you." | Warning to remember the severe judgment at Peor. |
| Ps 106:28-31 | "Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the LORD to anger... and a plague broke out." | Recounts Peor, Phinehas's zeal, highlights provocation. |
| Num 14:11-12 | "And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long will this people despise me... I will strike them with the plague and disinherit them...'" | Corporate sin leading to a plague, similar to Peor's consequence. |
| Josh 7:1-5, 11 | "But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things... Therefore the people of Israel could not stand before their enemies... Israel has sinned..." | Achan's individual sin brings defeat and guilt upon the whole nation. |
| Deut 29:18-21 | "...lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart... The anger of the LORD... will consume that man." | Warning against individual apostasy affecting the community, leading to judgment. |
| Lev 26:16 | "I in turn will do this to you: I will appoint over you a terror, consumption, and fever that waste the eyes and cause the heart to ache..." | God promises judgment for disobedience, including sickness/plagues. |
| Isa 59:2 | "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you..." | Sin as a barrier between God and His people. |
| Jer 14:12 | "...if they fast, I will not hear their cry; and if they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence." | God's judgment (plague/pestilence) for unrepentant sin. |
| Prov 28:13 | "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." | Importance of cleansing through confession and repentance. |
| Ezra 9:6-7, 13 | "O my God, I am ashamed... for our iniquities are higher than our heads... we are in great guilt to this day." | Corporate confession of persistent guilt, acknowledging deserved punishment. |
| Neh 9:33 | "Yet you have been just in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly." | Acknowledgment of God's just judgment due to their iniquity. |
| Hos 9:10 | "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree; but when they came to Baal-peor, they consecrated themselves to the thing of shame..." | Peor as a significant turning point of Israel's defilement. |
| Amos 8:2 | "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them." | God declares a time of final judgment for accumulated sin. |
| 1 Cor 10:6, 8 | "Now these things happened as examples for us... We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day." | Peor incident used as a warning against lust and idolatry for believers. |
| Heb 12:1 | "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely..." | Emphasizes casting off sin, including historical burdens/tendencies. |
| Jas 1:15 | "Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." | Sin's progression from desire to destructive consequences. |
| 1 Pet 4:17 | "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God..." | Judgment starting with God's people for their actions. |
| Rev 2:14 | "But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality." | Echoes the Peor event as a warning against Balaam's teaching and compromise. |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." | The ultimate consequence of sin is spiritual death. |
| 1 John 1:9 | "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." | God's provision for cleansing from sin through confession. |
| 2 Chr 7:14 | "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." | Path to corporate cleansing and healing from God's judgment. |
Joshua 22 verses
Joshua 22 17 Meaning
Joshua 22:17 speaks as a stark warning and rhetorical question from the nine-and-a-half tribes of Israel to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh. It serves as a reminder of the grave consequences of sin and idolatry, specifically recalling the devastating plague that afflicted the entire Israelite congregation at Peor due to their apostasy and immorality. The verse underscores that the iniquity committed there had long-lasting repercussions, signifying an unaddressed spiritual contamination and the ongoing need for repentance and cleansing before God. It highlights the communal nature of sin and judgment, where the actions of some members can bring calamity upon the whole assembly.
Joshua 22 17 Context
Joshua 22 describes the resolution of a conflict that arose after the eastern tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh) returned to their allotted land east of the Jordan River. Before crossing, they built a large, imposing altar by the Jordan. The other tribes, perceiving this as a potential act of idolatry or establishing a rival center of worship to the Lord's tabernacle in Shiloh, mobilized for war. This verse is part of the delegation's stern rebuke and fearful warning to the eastern tribes. Their fear stemmed from their shared history, specifically the recent traumatic event at Peor (Numbers 25), where a plague killed 24,000 Israelites because of their involvement in idolatry and sexual immorality with Moabite women. The warning highlights that the memory and the consequences of that event were still very much alive, emphasizing the immediate danger of provoking divine wrath again. Historically, this event ensured the religious unity of Israel centered on a single altar for YHWH, acting as a polemic against any unauthorized forms of worship or any attempts to establish separate religious centers that might lead to apostasy.
Joshua 22 17 Word analysis
Is not the: Implies a rhetorical question expecting a strong affirmative. It highlights the obviousness of the problem and appeals to shared memory and conviction.
iniquity (Hebrew: עָוֹן,
avon): More than just "sin,"avoncarries the nuance of moral distortion, perversion, or crookedness. It often implies guilt, punishment, and the consequences arising from such transgression. It denotes a deliberate act against God's law, leading to defilement and judgment. Its root suggests bending or twisting.of Peor: Refers directly to Baal-Peor, the false god associated with the disastrous incident in Numbers 25. This location/deity became a powerful symbol of apostasy, idolatry, and sexual immorality in Israel's history. Its mention instantly brings to mind divine judgment and widespread death.
enough for us: The suffering and consequences from Peor were so severe and memorable that they should have served as a lasting deterrent and sufficient warning. It implies that repeating such sin would be utterly senseless and reckless.
from which we have not cleansed ourselves: This signifies a deep, persistent spiritual and moral stain. It is not merely about ritual purity but an ongoing state of un-atoned or un-repented sin's effects on the corporate body. Even generations later, the collective guilt or lessons of Peor remained, indicating its profound impact.
to this day: Emphasizes the lasting temporal impact of past sin. The repercussions or the need for vigilance against that sin endured into their present time, highlighting its historical weight and continued relevance for their spiritual well-being.
although a plague: (Hebrew: מַגֵּפָה,
maggēphāh) - Refers to a divinely inflicted pestilence, a sudden, calamitous blow, or a slaughter. It emphasizes direct divine judgment as a consequence of their sin. The word underscores the severity and the divine origin of the punishment.came upon the congregation of the LORD: Highlights the corporate nature of judgment. Sin, even if initiated by individuals or segments, could result in collective divine punishment affecting the entire community identified as belonging to the LORD. This phrase underscores God's ownership and protective wrath over His people.
Words-group Analysis
- "Is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us...": This rhetorical question strongly conveys the depth of their collective historical trauma and their collective dread of reoffending God. It functions as an appeal to their shared history and memory, particularly concerning God's swift and severe judgment against idolatry.
- "...from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day...": This phrase points to a persistent spiritual state of unholiness or the lingering effects of the national sin. It’s not just that the memory remains, but the moral lesson and potentially even a collective vulnerability to sin related to idolatry are still present. This calls for perpetual vigilance and ongoing spiritual cleansing, signifying that the consequence extended beyond immediate punishment.
- "...although a plague came upon the congregation of the LORD.": This stark statement emphasizes God's direct and communal judgment. It establishes a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the "iniquity of Peor" and the "plague," asserting that the Lord personally brought about this disaster to purify or punish His people. The "congregation of the LORD" underlines God's specific relationship with Israel and His intolerance for practices that defile that relationship.
Joshua 22 17 Bonus section
The strong emotion behind this verse, evident in the rhetorical question and the blunt historical reminder, highlights how deeply traumatic the Peor incident was for the Israelite consciousness. It functions not merely as a historical footnote but as a foundational teaching moment in their national narrative, reinforcing the lessons of exclusivity in worship and the dire consequences of spiritual compromise. The passage implicitly polemicizes against any form of syncretism or deviation from the central, divinely ordained place of worship, whether a tabernacle or a future temple. The concern about "cleansing ourselves to this day" suggests that some actions leave a permanent scar, requiring constant remembrance, vigilance, and perhaps continued national humility. The unity of the "congregation of the LORD" was paramount; anything threatening this unity or drawing people away from exclusive devotion to God was a grave danger to the entire covenant community, meriting swift divine intervention.
Joshua 22 17 Commentary
Joshua 22:17 serves as a powerful historical warning, reflecting Israel's deep understanding of corporate responsibility before God and the enduring consequences of sin. The reference to the "iniquity of Peor" immediately recalls a major apostasy where the nation incurred God's wrath, resulting in a devastating plague. The fear expressed by the nine-and-a-half tribes reveals not just a historical memory, but a palpable awareness that unrepented or repeated sin, particularly idolatry and faithlessness, directly jeopardized the entire community. This verse underscores that communal sins can lead to communal judgments, demonstrating God's holiness and His intolerance for practices that undermine the purity of His worship or the covenant He has with His people. It stresses the urgent need for clarity in worship and loyalty to God alone, as even the potential appearance of deviance could provoke divine wrath and historical disaster once more.