Numbers 32

The people of Reuben and the people of Gad owned very large herds and flocks. When they looked at the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, they saw that the area was good land for livestock.

1Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

NoteReuben and Gad were two of the twelve tribes of Israel, named for two of Jacob's sons. "Cattle" in the King James means livestock of any kind, here mostly sheep and goats. Jazer and Gilead were high, rolling grazing country east of the Jordan River, land Israel had just taken from two local kings, territory outside Canaan proper.

2So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the community. They said:

2The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,

NoteEleazar was Aaron's son, who took over as chief priest when Aaron died. The "princes of the congregation" were the heads of the tribes and clans, the standing body of leaders Israel dealt with in public matters.

3“The areas of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon

3Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

NoteThese nine places are towns in the newly captured territory east of the Jordan and north of the Dead Sea, formerly Moabite and Amorite land. Several show up again in verses 34–38 in slightly different forms: Nimrah as Beth-nimrah, Shebam as Sibmah, Beon as Baal-meon.

4the country that the LORD defeated in front of the people of Israel, is land that suits livestock, and we, your servants, have livestock.”

4Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:

Note"Thy servants" is polite self-reference when speaking to someone in authority, the way one might say "your humble petitioners." It does not mean they were slaves.

5They said, “If you are pleased with us, let this land be given to us, your servants, to own. Do not make us cross the Jordan River.”

5Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.

NoteCrossing the Jordan meant entering Canaan, the land promised to Abraham's descendants. The land east of the river was not part of that promise, so the request is to settle outside the borders Israel was marching toward.

6Moses said to the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, “Should your brothers go off to war while you sit here?

6And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?

Note"Brethren" means the men of the other tribes. Israel's army was a levy raised from every tribe, so a tribe that stayed home shifted the fighting onto everyone else.

7Why would you take away the courage of the people of Israel, so they will not cross over into the land the LORD has given them?

7And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?

8This is exactly what your fathers did when I sent them out from Kadesh-barnea to look over the land.

8Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.

NoteKadesh-barnea was an oasis in the desert south of Canaan where Israel camped for a long stretch. From there Moses had sent twelve scouts into the land (Numbers 13), a generation earlier.

9They went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, and then they took away the courage of the people of Israel, so that they would not go into the land the LORD had given them.

9For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

NoteThe Valley of Eshcol lay near Hebron; the scouts cut a huge cluster of grapes there. Ten of the twelve came back reporting the land unconquerable, and the people refused to go in, the episode Moses is now throwing back at Gad and Reuben.

10The LORD became angry that day, and he swore an oath. He said:

10And the LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,

11‘Not one of the men who came up out of Egypt, twenty years old or older, will see the land I promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they did not follow me with their whole heart.

11Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:

NoteTwenty was the age at which a man was entered in the census and counted as fit for military service. The oath therefore covered the entire fighting generation that had left Egypt.

12The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, because they did follow the LORD with their whole heart.’

12Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.

Note"Kenizzite" is a clan name. Kenaz appears in Genesis as an Edomite family, so Caleb's line may have come into Israel from outside and been attached to the tribe of Judah.

13The LORD was angry with Israel, and he made them wander in the desert for forty years, until that whole generation who had done evil in the LORD’s sight was gone.

13And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

NoteThe forty years is the sentence passed in Numbers 14, a year in the desert for each of the forty days the scouts spent surveying the land.

14And now here you are, standing in your fathers’ place, a crowd of sinful men, making the LORD’s burning anger against Israel even hotter.

14And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.

NoteThe King James "an increase of sinful men" renders a Hebrew phrase closer to "a brood of sinful men": offspring who breed true, repeating what their fathers did.

15If you turn away from following him, he will leave this people in the desert again, and you will be the cause of their ruin.”

15For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

16Then they came up close to Moses and said, “We will build stone pens here for our livestock and towns for our children.

16And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:

Note"Little ones" translates a Hebrew word for the dependents of a household, children and those unable to fight, not only small children. Sheepfolds were enclosures of piled stone, walls to pen animals at night.

17But we ourselves will take up our weapons and march at the front, ahead of the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. Our children will stay in the walled towns, safe from the people who live in this land.

17But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

NoteTo go "armed before" the others means to march in the front ranks as the advance guard, taking the first shock of any fighting. "Fenced cities" in the King James means towns with defensive walls, not fences.

18We will not go back to our homes until every Israelite has received the land that belongs to him.

18We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.

19We will not take a share with them on the other side of the Jordan or beyond it, because our share has come to us here, on the east side of the Jordan.”

19For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

NoteThe Hebrew expression behind "yonder side" and "this side" literally means "the Jordan region" or "across the Jordan," and which bank it points to depends on where the speaker is standing. Here the speakers are on the east bank, so "this side" is east and "yonder" is Canaan.

20Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves for battle before the LORD,

20And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,

Note"Before the LORD" recurs through this chapter. It marks the campaign as a sacred undertaking carried out in God's presence, the army traveled with the ark, and it makes any promise sworn in those terms binding.

21and every armed man among you crosses the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out ahead of him,

21And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,

22and the land is brought under control before the LORD, then afterward you may return, and you will owe nothing more to the LORD or to Israel. And this land will be yours to own before the LORD.

22And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.

Note"Guiltless before the LORD" is a legal expression, not a moral verdict: they will have discharged the obligation and owe nothing further to God or to the other tribes.

23But if you do not do this, then you have sinned against the LORD, and you can be sure your sin will catch up with you.

23But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

NoteThe image in "your sin will find you out" is that the wrong itself hunts down the person who did it and catches him. It is not about being found out by other people.

24Build towns for your children and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”

24Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

Note"That which hath proceeded out of your mouth" means the promise you have just spoken. Under the rules on vows set out two chapters earlier, a commitment spoken aloud was binding and had to be carried out.

25The people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “We, your servants, will do just as our master commands.

25And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.

Note"My lord" is respectful address to Moses, the equivalent of "sir."

26Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our other animals will stay here in the towns of Gilead.

26Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:

27But we, your servants, every man armed for war, will cross over to fight before the LORD, just as our master says.”

27But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.

28So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the family heads of the tribes of Israel.

28So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:

Note"Chief fathers" means the heads of the ancestral families within each tribe. Moses gives the instructions to Eleazar and Joshua because he would not himself cross the Jordan; the agreement had to be enforceable by those who would lead after him.

29Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben cross the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is brought under control ahead of you, then give them the land of Gilead to own.

29And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:

30But if they will not cross over with you armed, then they must take their land among you in Canaan.”

30But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.

NoteCanaan here means the land west of the Jordan, the territory to be divided up among the tribes. The penalty for staying home would be losing the eastern land and taking an ordinary allotment inside Canaan like everyone else.

31The people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “We will do what the LORD has said to us, your servants.

31And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.

32We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, so that the land we inherit on this side of the Jordan will be ours.”

32We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.

33So Moses gave to the people of Gad, the people of Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its towns and the territory around them.

33And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.

NoteSihon and Og were the two kings Israel defeated on the way north (Numbers 21), which is how this eastern territory came into Israelite hands; Bashan is the fertile highland northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Manasseh and Ephraim were sons of Joseph counted as two tribes in their own right; part of Manasseh's clans settled east of the river, which is why it is called a half tribe.

34The people of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer,

34And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

Note"Built" here means rebuilt and fortified: these were existing towns, damaged in the fighting, that the settlers put back into shape.

35and Atroth-shophan, Jazer, and Jogbehah,

35And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

36and Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran. These were walled towns, and they also built pens for their sheep.

36And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.

37The people of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,

37And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,

38and also Nebo and Baal-meon (these names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave new names to the towns they rebuilt.

38And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.

NoteNebo and Baal-meon carry the names of gods (Nebo from the deity Nabu, Baal the Canaanite storm god) which is why the settlers renamed them. The text notes the change without recording the new names.

39The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who lived there.

39And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.

NoteMachir was Manasseh's oldest son, and the name stands for the clan descended from him. The Amorites were one of the peoples living in the region before Israel arrived.

40So Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and his people settled there.

40And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.

41Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages and named them Havvoth-jair.

41And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.

Note"Small towns" translates a Hebrew word for clusters of unwalled settlements or tent-villages. Havvoth-jair means "the villages of Jair."

42And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and he named it Nobah, after himself.

42And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

NoteRenaming a captured town after yourself was the ordinary way of staking a permanent claim to it.