Numbers 32
32
Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead
1Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had very large herds of cattle, and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead [on the east side of the Jordan River], and indeed, the place was suitable for raising livestock. 2So the sons of Gad and of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3“[The country around] Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4the land which the Lord conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land [suitable] for livestock, and your servants have [very large herds of] livestock.” 5They said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan [River].”
6But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here? 7Now why are you discouraging the hearts of the Israelites from crossing over into the land which the Lord has given them? 8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land! 9For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the hearts of the Israelites so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them. 10And the Lord’s anger was kindled on that day and He swore an oath, saying, 11‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not followed Me completely, 12except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the Lord completely.’ 13So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the sons of Israel (Jacob) and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord was destroyed. 14Now look, you [the tribes of Reuben and Gad] have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel. 15For if you turn back from following Him [completely], He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”
16But the people of Reuben and Gad approached Moses and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our flocks and [walled] cities for our children, 17but we will be armed and ready to go to war before the [other tribes of the] Israelites, until we have brought them to their place, while our children live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18We will not return to our homes until every one of the [other] sons of Israel has taken possession of his inheritance. 19For we will not inherit with them on the west side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan [River] toward the east.”
20Moses replied, “If you will do as you say, if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for war, 21and every armed man of yours will cross the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies before Him, 22and the land [west of the Jordan] is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you shall return and be blameless [in this matter] before the Lord and before Israel, and this land [east of the Jordan] shall be yours as a possession before the Lord. 23But if you do not do this, behold, you will have sinned against the Lord; and be sure that your sin will find you out. 24Build yourselves cities for your children, and folds for your sheep, and do that of which you have spoken.”
25Then the descendants of Gad and of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. 26Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall be there in the cities of Gilead. 27But your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to the battle, just as my lord says.”
28So Moses gave the command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the leaders of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the Israelites. 29Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead [east of the Jordan River] as a possession; 30but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan [and surrender their right to their land east of the Jordan River].” 31The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, “As the Lord has said to your servants, so will we do. 32We will cross over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, so that the possession of our inheritance on [the east] side of the Jordan may be ours.”
33So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities and territories, the cities of the surrounding land. 34The sons of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified (walled) cities, and sheepfolds for sheep. 37The sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names being changed) and Sibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built. 39The sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and drove out the Amorites who were in it. 40So Moses gave Gilead to [the tribe of] Machir the son of Manasseh, and they settled in it. 41[The sons of] Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns (tent villages) and called them Havvoth-jair. 42Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.
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Numbers 32
32
Land East of the Jordan River Is Settled
(Deuteronomy 3.12-22)
1The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned a lot of cattle and sheep, and they saw that the regions of Jazer and Gilead had good pastureland. 2So they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the other leaders of Israel and said, 3-4“The Lord has helped us capture the land around the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon. That's good pastureland, and since we own cattle and sheep, 5would you let us stay here east of the Jordan River and have this land as our own?”
6Moses answered:
You mean you'd stay here while the rest of the Israelites go into battle? 7If you did that, it would discourage the others from crossing over into the land the Lord promised them. 8#Nu 13.17-33. This is exactly what happened when I sent your ancestors from Kadesh-Barnea to explore the land. 9They went as far as Eshcol Valley, then returned and told the people that we should not enter it. 10#Nu 14.26-35. The Lord became very angry. 11And he said that no one who was 20 years or older when they left Egypt would enter the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not one of those people believed in the Lord's power, 12except Caleb and Joshua.#32.12 Caleb and Joshua: See the note at 14.30. They remained faithful to the Lord, 13but he was so angry with the others that he forced them to wander around in the desert for 40 years. By that time everyone who had sinned against him had died.
14Now you people of Reuben and Gad are doing the same thing and making the Lord even angrier. 15If you reject the Lord, he will once again abandon his people and leave them here in the desert. And you will be to blame!
16The men from Reuben and Gad replied:
Let us build places to keep our sheep and goats, and towns for our wives and children, 17where they can stay and be safe. Then we'll prepare to fight and lead the other tribes into battle. 18We will stay with them until they have settled in their own tribal lands. 19The land on this side of the Jordan River will be ours, so we won't expect to receive any on the other side.
20Moses said:
You promised that you would be ready to fight for the Lord. 21You also agreed to cross the Jordan and stay with the rest of the Israelites, until the Lord forces our enemies out of the land. If you do these things, 22then after the Lord helps Israel capture the land, you can return to your own land. You will no longer have to stay with the others. 23But if you don't keep your promise, you will sin against the Lord and be punished.
24Go ahead and build towns for your wives and children, and places for your sheep and goats. Just be sure to do what you have promised.
25The men from Reuben and Gad answered:
Sir, we will do just what you have said. 26Our wives and children and sheep and cattle will stay here in the towns in Gilead. 27But those of us who are prepared for battle will cross the Jordan and fight for the Lord.
28 #
Js 1.12-15. Then Moses said to Eleazar, Joshua, and the family leaders, 29“Make sure that the tribes of Gad and Reuben prepare for battle and cross the Jordan River with you. If they do, then after the land is in your control, give them the region of Gilead as their tribal land. 30But if they break their promise, they will receive land on the other side of the Jordan, like the rest of the tribes.”
31The tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, “We are your servants and will do whatever the Lord has commanded. 32We will cross the Jordan River, ready to fight for the Lord in Canaan. But the land we will inherit as our own will be on this side of the river.”
33So Moses gave the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half of Manasseh#32.33 half of Manasseh: Or “East Manasseh.” the territory and towns that King Sihon the Amorite had ruled, as well as the territory and towns that King Og of Bashan had ruled.#32.33 ruled: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 33.
34The tribe of Gad rebuilt the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran. They built walls around them and also built places to keep their sheep and goats.
37The tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38Sibmah, as well as the towns that used to be known as Nebo and Baal-Meon. They renamed all those places.
39The clan of Machir from the tribe of East Manasseh went to the region of Gilead, captured its towns, and forced out the Amorites. 40So Moses gave the Machirites the region of Gilead, and they settled there.
41Jair from the Manasseh tribe captured villages and renamed them “Villages of Jair.”#32.41 Villages of Jair: Or “Havvoth-Jair.”
42Nobah captured the town of Kenath with its villages and renamed it Nobah.
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