Joshua 22:14

Jos 22:14 And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one [was] an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.

Ver. 14. Of each chief house.] Of the half tribe of Manasseh for one; which is here reckoned for a tribe, because they had a stomach for God against those of their own flesh and blood.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, multitude.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

14. ten princes] Representing the nine and a half tribes west of the Jordan.

head of the house] Each of them was prince of a fathers’ house among the thousands of Israel. Comp. Jdg_6:15; 1Sa_10:19; 1Sa_10:21. “They were thus persons of great weight of character and approved discretion, entitled by their position to demand an explanation, and less likely than younger men to have their judgments warped or compromised by the hasty impulses of passion.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And 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,.... The deputation came thither; they either sent for the chiefs among the two tribes and a half, to meet them at some place, or they, having a notion of their coming, assembled together to receive them, and hear what they had to say to them:

and they spake with them, saying; as follows; very probably Phinehas was the mouth of the whole, for there could be but one speaker.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tribe. Another of the tribe of Levi, and deputies from the other nine tribes, accompanied Phinees on this important occasion. The Levites were most of all concerned, as their rights seemed to be particularly invaded. (Haydock) --- The princes of the tribes did not (Calmet) perhaps (Haydock) go, but only men of high rank. Kimchi says, men set over a thousand. Hebrew, "ten princes with him of each chief house, a prince of all the tribes of Israel." (Calmet) --- These were commissioned by Eleazar, Josue, and all the congregation, to endeavour to bring back their brethren to a sense of their duty, if they had so soon forgotten God, (Haydock) or if they should persist in their rebellion, to denounce an eternal war against them. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

14. Ten princes — Who these princes were is so obscurely told in the rest of the verse that it is difficult to decide as to the precise meaning. The rest of the verse is, literally: One prince, one prince to the house of a father to all the tribes of Israel, and a chief man of the house of their fathers were they to all the thousands of Israel. It could not be that one was chosen from each chief house in all Israel, for then must more than ten have been chosen. Keil probably explains correctly when he says that this delegation, called in Jos_22:30 princes of the congregation, “was composed partly of princes of tribes and partly of heads of families, some tribes being represented in one way and others in the other; and that the latter were sent in cases in which the heads of the tribes were either too old, or otherwise unfitted to take part in the deputation. This supposition is strongly confirmed by the fact that the tribe of Levi was not represented by the chief of the tribe, the high priest Eleazar, but by his son and presumptive successor, Phinehas, who was chosen instead.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And with him ten princes. Phinehas represented the tribe of Levi, the high priest being too great to permit of his forming part of such a deputation. The actual head of each tribe accompanied him; that is, the head of the family, as we should call it, in each tribe. This seems preferable to Keil"s idea, that some tribes were represented by a prince, and some by heads of families, which seems inadmissible from the fact that the Hebrew states that each tribe was represented in the same manner, aycin dja aycin dja. What is doubtless intended here is to emphasize the weight and importance of the deputation sent with Phinehas, a weight and importance befitting an embassy which might have to announce the determination to exterminate the two and a half tribes as completely as Jericho had been exterminated. The mention of ten princes shows that the cis-Jordanic half tribe of Manasseh was represented. Tribes. The word here, after "father"s house," is the genealogical hFm not the political fbv. The thousands. Or families. (as in Jud_1:6:15 1Sa_10:19) See however Introduction, p. 29.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.