Bilangan 32:1

The Petition of the Reubenites and Gadites

32:1 ¹ Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, ² 

Ulangan 3:12-17

Distribution of the Transjordanian Allotments

3:12 This is the land we brought under our control at that time: The territory extending from Aroer ³  by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites. ⁴  3:13 The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. ⁵  (All the region of Argob, ⁶  that is, all Bashan, is called the land of Rephaim. 3:14 Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites ⁷  and Maacathites ⁸  (namely Bashan) and called it by his name, Havvoth-Jair, ⁹  which it retains to this very day.) 3:15 I gave Gilead to Machir. ¹⁰  3:16 To the Reubenites and Gadites I allocated the territory extending from Gilead as far as Wadi Arnon (the exact middle of the wadi was a boundary) all the way to the Wadi Jabbok, the Ammonite border. 3:17 The Arabah and the Jordan River ¹¹  were also a border, from the sea of Chinnereth ¹²  to the sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea), ¹³  beneath the watershed ¹⁴  of Pisgah ¹⁵  to the east.

Ulangan 29:8

29:8 Then we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

Yosua 12:6

12:6 Moses the Lord’s servant and the Israelites defeated them and Moses the Lord’s servant assigned their land ¹⁶  to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

Yosua 13:8-14

Tribal Lands East of the Jordan

13:8 The other half of Manasseh, ¹⁷  Reuben, and Gad received their allotted tribal lands beyond the Jordan, ¹⁸  just as Moses, the Lord’s servant, had assigned them. 13:9 Their territory started ¹⁹  from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley), included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba as far as Dibon, 13:10 and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon, and ended at the Ammonite border. 13:11 Their territory also included ²⁰  Gilead, Geshurite and Maacathite territory, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah – 13:12 the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.) ²¹  Moses defeated them and took their lands. ²²  13:13 But the Israelites did not conquer ²³  the Geshurites and Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this very day. 13:14 However, Moses ²⁴  did not assign land as an inheritance ²⁵  to the Levites; their inheritance ²⁶  is the sacrificial offerings ²⁷  made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed ²⁸  them.

Yosua 22:4

22:4 Now the Lord your God has made your fellow Israelites secure, ²⁹  just as he promised them. So now you may turn around and go to your homes ³⁰  in your own land ³¹  which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned to you east of the Jordan.

[32:1]  ¹ sn While the tribes are on the other side of Jordan, the matter of which tribes would settle there has to be discussed. This chapter begins the settlement of Israel into the tribal territories, something to be continued in Joshua. The chapter has the petitions (vv. 1-5), the response by Moses (vv. 6-15), the proposal (vv. 16-27), and the conclusion of the matter (vv. 28-42). For literature on this subject, both critical and conservative, see S. E. Loewenstein, “The Relation of the Settlement of Gad and Reuben in Numbers 32:1-38, Its Background and Its Composition,” Tarbiz 42 (1972): 12-26; J. Mauchline, “Gilead and Gilgal, Some Reflections on the Israelite Occupation of Palestine,” VT 6 (1956): 19-33; and A. Bergmann, “The Israelite Tribe of Half-Manasseh,” JPOS 16 (1936): 224-54.

[32:1]  ² tn Heb “the place was a place of/for cattle.”

[3:12]  ³ tn The words “the territory extending” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:12]  sn Aroer. See note on this term in Deut 2:36.

[3:12]  ⁴ sn Reubenites and Gadites. By the time of Moses’ address the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had already been granted permission to settle in the Transjordan, provided they helped the other tribes subdue the occupants of Canaan (cf. Num 32:28-42).

[3:13]  ⁵ sn Half the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe of Manasseh split into clans, with half opting to settle in Bashan and the other half in Canaan (cf. Num 32:39-42; Josh 17:1-13).

[3:13]  ⁶ sn Argob. See note on this term in v. 4.

[3:14]  ⁷ sn Geshurites. Geshur was a city and its surrounding area somewhere northeast of Bashan (cf. Josh 12:5 ; 13:11, 13). One of David’s wives was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur and mother of Absalom (cf. 2 Sam 13:37; 15:8; 1 Chr 3:2).

[3:14]  ⁸ sn Maacathites. These were the people of a territory southwest of Mount Hermon on the Jordan River. The name probably has nothing to do with David’s wife from Geshur (see note on “Geshurites” earlier in this verse).

[3:14]  ⁹ sn Havvoth-Jair. The Hebrew name means “villages of Jair,” the latter being named after a son (i.e., descendant) of Manasseh who took the area by conquest.

[3:15]  ¹⁰ sn Machir was the name of another descendant of Manasseh (cf. Num 32:41; 1 Chr 7:14-19). Eastern Manasseh was thus divided between the Jairites and the Machirites.

[3:17]  ¹¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in vv. 20, 25).

[3:17]  ¹² tn Heb “from Chinnereth.” The words “the sea of” have been supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[3:17]  sn Chinnereth. This is another name for the Sea of Galilee, so called because its shape is that of a harp (the Hebrew term for “harp” is כִּנּוֹר, kinnor).

[3:17]  ¹³ sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea (cf. Gen 14:3; Josh 3:16).

[3:17]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term אַשְׁדֹּת (’ashdot) is unclear. It is usually translated either “slopes” (ASV, NAB, NIV) or “watershed” (NEB).

[3:17]  ¹⁵ sn Pisgah. This appears to refer to a small range of mountains, the most prominent peak of which is Mount Nebo (Num 21:20; 23:14; Deut 3:27; cf. 34:1).

[12:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “gave it for a possession.”

[13:8]  ¹⁷ tn The MT reads “with him,” which is problematic, since the reference would be to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh (not the half mentioned in v. 7).

[13:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “received their inheritance, which Moses had assigned to them beyond the Jordan.”

[13:9]  ¹⁹ tn The words “their territory started” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:11]  ²⁰ tn The words “their territory also included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.”

[13:12]  sn The Rephaites were apparently an extremely tall ethnic group. See Deut 2:10-11, 20; 3:11.

[13:12]  ²² tn Or “dispossessed them.”

[13:13]  ²³ tn Or “dispossess.”

[13:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “did not assign an inheritance.”

[13:14]  ²⁶ tn That is, “their source of food and life.”

[13:14]  ²⁷ tn Or “offerings made by fire.”

[13:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “promised” (Heb “spoke”).

[13:14]  sn For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1-2.

[22:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “has given rest to your brothers.”

[22:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “tents.”

[22:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “the land of your possession.”