And 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 country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
So the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan and headed back to the region of Gilead, to the land that belonged to them, the land they had received just as the LORD had promised through Moses.
The writer is describing how three tribes returned to their inherited land east of the Jordan River after helping the other tribes conquer Canaan, just as God had promised through Moses.
📚 Historical Context
In the Book of Joshua, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh had been allocated land on the east side of the Jordan River as their inheritance before the full conquest of Canaan. They agreed to help the other tribes fight for the rest of the Promised Land, as instructed by God through Moses, before returning to their own territory. This moment marks the fulfillment of that commitment, with the tribes departing from Shiloh, a key assembly point for the Israelites in the newly conquered area.
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