The Fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers
Numbers 32
Chapter XXXII · Vol. I, pp. 467–469
1 The Reubenites and Gadites sue for their inheritance on the east side of Jordan. 6 Moses reproveth them. 16 They offer him conditions to his content. 33 Moses assigneth them the land. 39 They conquer it.
1 NOW the a children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of b Jazer, and the land of Gilead,1 that, behold, c the place was a place for cattle;2
a Ge. 29.32; 30.11; 46.9, 16. ch. 26.5-7, 15-18.
b ch. 21.32. Jos. 13.25. 2 Sa. 24.5.
1 The particular geography of many cities and districts mentioned in Scripture is often little more than conjectural. Still there are great landmarks, so to speak, by which the sacred historian can be followed. The text affords a striking example both of the conjectural and the known. Of the position and limits of the land of Jazer, for example, nothing more is accurately known than that it was somewhere in the neighbourhood of Gilead. But the land of Gilead is identified by means of the distinguished mountain range which has continued since the days of Moses so much an object of history that its locality cannot be mistaken, and its very name (now written Djelaad) continues nearly unaltered. The 'land of Gilead' extended from the river Hieromax on the north to Nebo on the south. Its beauty and fertility have been celebrated by modern travellers with an enthusiasm that well accounts for the anxiety of the Reubenites and Gadites to obtain possession, and for the jealousy of Moses lest the love of ease, and of the 'pleasant land,' should tempt them to forsake their brethren and provoke their God.—C.
c Mi. 7.14. Je. 50.19. Ge. 13.10. De. 32.14.
2 The pastures upon the table-land of Moab, among the mountains of Gilead, and on the eastern bank of the Jordan, are far superior to any in Palestine, and notwithstanding centuries of neglect and desolation, they are not surpassed in Western Asia. To this day it is 'a place for cattle;' and is a favourite resort of the nomad tribes, whose whole wealth is in their flocks—P.
2 The 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,
3 Ataroth,d and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah,e and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam,f and Nebo, and g Beon,
d ver. 33-42. De. 3.12-17. Jos. 13.9-23. Is. 15.2-6. Je. 48.19-24.
e Beth-nimrah, ver. 36.
f Shibmah, ver. 38.
g Baal-meon, ver. 38.
4 Evenh the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.
h ch. 21.24-34.
5 Wherefore, said they, if we have i found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and k bring us not over Jordan.
6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall l ye sit here?
7 And wherefore m discourage3 ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?
8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
9 For n 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.
n ch. 13.3, 23-33. De. 1.22-28.
10 And the o LORD's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,
o ch. 14.10, 11, 21-35. De. 1.34-40. He. 3.8-19. Ps. 95.11. Eze. 20.15. De. 1.35; 2.14, 15.
11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, p 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;4
4 Heb. fulfilled after me.
p ch. 14.28, 29; 26.65.
12 Save q Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
q ch. 14.24, 30; 26.65. De. 1.36.
13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them r wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was consumed.
r ch. 14.33; 26.64. De. 2.14, 15. Eze. 20.15. Ps. 78.33; 90.8, 9. He. 3.17-19.
14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an s increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.5
s Is. 1.4. Mat. 23.33.
5 Now, says the objector to the divine mission of Moses, if Moses was inspired why does he mistake the intentions of the Reubenites and Gadites, and accuse them of designs they deny having ever entertained? The answer is plain—the objector should first prove that they did not entertain the purpose that Moses deprecates. This proof the objector never can furnish; wherefore, further answer is unnecessary.—C.
15 For if ye t turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness, and ye shall destroy all this people.
t Le. 26.14-18. De. 28.15, &c. Ga. 3.10.
16 And they came near unto him, and said, u We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
u Ge. 33.17. ver. 34-41.
17 But x we ourselves6 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.7
x Jos. 4.12, 13; 22.3, 4. De. 3.18, 20.
6 That is, 'we ourselves,' the speakers and leaders, will 'all' go, with such quota of the tribes as may be required. The two tribes and a half amounted to 110,580, and of these we learn (Jos. 4.13) that 40,000 went over Jordan, leaving 70,580 to guard the families and flocks against the Midianites, Ammonites, and Idumæans.—C.
7 The whole country had been already subdued by Moses, the cities captured, and the people either slain or driven out, see ch. xxii. How is it, therefore, that the 'inhabitants of the land' are mentioned here? The natural explanation is this. On the east of Moab and Gilead lay the wide plains of Arabia, thinly peopled by nomad tribes. Thither the conquered Amorites fled, and they would naturally hover along the borders, watching any opportunity to attack the Israelites, and reoccupy their country.—P.
18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance:
19 For we y will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.
20 And z Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
z Jos. 1.13-18; 4.12; 22.2-4. De. 3.18-20.
21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
22 And the land be subdued before the LORD; then afterward ye shall return, and be a guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
a 2 Sa. 3.28. ver. 33. De. 3.18, 20.
23 But b if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.8
b Le. 26.14-39. De. 28.15-68. Eze. 18.4. Ro. 2.9. Is. 3.11; 59.1, 2. Ps. 140.11. Ge. 4.7; 44.34. Je. 2.17, 19; 4.18; 5.25; 6.19.
8 The Greek and Arab translators render, 'And ye shall know your sin when evils befall you.' If the persons concerned prevaricated and so imposed upon men, or if they afterwards refused to fulfil their engagements, God would most certainly detect and expose their wickedness, and inflict condign punishment on them for it. Sin pursues the criminal as the hound does the hunted animal, and will at length overtake, seize and destroy him.—I.
24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;
27 But c thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.
c ver. 17, 20, 21, 32. Jos. 4.12-18; 1.13-18; 22.2-4. 2 Co. 10.4, 5. Ep. 6.10-18. 2 Ti. 4.7, 8. These tribes obtained their settlement about seven years before their brethren; but they were much exposed to the Syrians, Ammonites, and others, and were carried into captivity before the other tribes, 2 Ki. 10.32, 33. 1 Ch. 5.25.
28 So 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:
29 And 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,9 and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
9 'Before the Lord.' From Nu. 10.18, 20, 21 it will be seen that the Reubenites and Gadites marched immediately before the Kohathites, who bore the sanctuary, in which were the ark and mercy-seat, the visible tokens of God's immediate presence. They are therefore literally required to pass over Jordan 'before the Lord.'—C.
30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do:
32 We 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.
33 And d Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh1 the son of Joseph, e 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.
d De. 3.12-17. Jos. 13.8-23; 21.4.
1 No special reason is stated for giving a settlement in these lands to the half tribe of Manasseh, nor are they said to have made any request similar to that of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The conquests of the sons of Manasseh in Gilead, as recorded, ver. 40, &c., afford, however, a better reason for the grant to them, than even that which was pleaded by their brethren, see ver. 4, and the validity of which was admitted by Moses, and evidently approved by the whole nation.—C.
e ch. 21.24-33.
34 And the children of Gad 2 built f Dibon,3 and Ataroth, and g Aroer,
2 'Built,' rather rebuilt, for it appears from ver. 38 that these were ancient towns.—C.
f ch. 21.30; 33.45, 46.
3 Dibon is still distinguished by the name of Diban, and is situated in the modern Koura, anciently called 'the plains of Moab.' Burkhardt's Travels in Syria, p. 372.—'Ataroth:' the particular locality of this town is now unknown; but 'Aroer, described by Eusebius as situated on a mountain on the north banks of the Arnon; where, according to Burkhardt (Travels in Syria, p. 372) it is still to be found by the name of Araayr.—The localities of Atroth, &c., until we come to Heshbon, are little more than matters of conjecture.—C.
38 And Nebo, and Baal-meon, l (their names being changed,) and Shibmah; and gave other names unto the cities4 which they builded.
39 And the children of m Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.
40 And Moses gave n Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.5
n Half of it, De. 3.12, 13. Jos. 13.29-31.
5 At the time of the exodus Gilead was divided into two parts:—one, south of the Jabbok, belonged to Sihon the Amorite, and was allotted to Gad. The other, lying between the rivers Jabbok and Hieromax, belonged to Og king of Bashan, and was conquered by and allotted to the half tribe of Manasseh. A portion of this northern section of Gilead was captured by Jair, and its villages received the name of Havoth-jair, 'villages of Jair.' Kenath was one of the chief cities of Bashan, and was situated on the western slopes of the mountain range which bounds the plain of Bashan on the east. It is now called Kunawat, and its ruins are some three miles in circuit, and are among the finest east of the Jordan.—P.
41 And o Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth-jair.
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
o De. 3.14. Ju. 10.3, 4. Jos. 13.30. 1 Ch. 2.21, 22. 1 Ki. 4.13.
42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Notes
[Ver. 37. The situation of Heshbon is fixed by Eusebius at twenty miles east of Jordan, and is described 'over against Jericho,' which place is still familiarly known to travellers. Besides these notes of identification, it is still in being, though in ruins, and bears its ancient name, merely transformed by pronunciation into Hesban.—Elealeh is described by Eusebius as situated a mile from Heshbon. It is now called El Aal, which in Arabic signifies 'the high,' which corresponds to its meaning in the Hebrew.—Kirjathaim continued a place of importance till the fourth century of our era, but amidst the ruins of Moab is not now to be distinguished.—Nebo and Baal-meon are totally unknown. C.]
Reflections.—The love of the world, and the pride of life, frequently hasten men in their earthiy settlements. Though such, even in this world, often issue in early and frequent disasters; and it is a fearful symptom when the rising generation tread in their fathers' sinful steps, and grow worse and worse. How base is it to desire our own rest and ease, when God's people are in hardships and need our assistance! But how wise to improve past experiences, as means of preventing future iniquities. Yea, it is prudent to remove every monument of idolatry, lest it should entice us to offend. A holy indignation against sin, in whatever form it appears, is commendable and useful. But since the best of men often uncharitably mistake their neighbours' words or designs, and judge before they hear, it is therefore proper that everybody be allowed to explain himself; that every article of our agreements be precisely stated, and fully understood, at the making of them, that there may be no disputing afterward; and that the strictest equity, and the tenderest affection, may be maintained among the people of God, who are all brethren in Christ Jesus.