Numbers 32
32
1The tribes of Reuben and Gad had large numbers of livestock and saw that the land of Jazer and Gilead was a good place to rear them. 2So they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite leaders and said, 3“The towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam,#32:3. Listed as Sibmah in verse 38. Nebo, and Beon, 4which the Lord conquered in full view of the Israelites, are well-suited for the livestock that we your servants own.”
5They continued, “Please respond to our request favorably: give us this land. Don't make us cross the Jordan.”
6In reply Moses asked the tribes of Gad and Reuben, “Are you expecting your brothers to go and fight while you just sit here? 7Why discourage the Israelites from crossing into the country that the Lord has given them? 8This is just what your fathers did when I sent them out from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. 9After your fathers traveled up the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the Israelites, persuading them not to enter the country that the Lord had given them. 10As a result, they made the Lord very angry that day, and he swore this oath, 11‘Not a single one of those I saved from Egypt who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they were not completely committed to me— 12no one except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, because they were completely committed to me.’ 13The Lord was angry with Israel, and made them wander around in the desert for forty years, until the whole generation who had done evil in his sight had died.
14Now look at you, you brood of sinners who have come to take your fathers' place to make the Lord even angrier with Israel! 15If you give up following him, he will abandon these people in the desert once again, and their deaths will be your fault!”
16Then the tribes of Gad and Reuben came to Moses and told him, “We would plan to build stone walls to keep our livestock safe and towns for our children. 17But we will still get ourselves ready for battle, and we will be prepared to lead the Israelites until they can safely occupy their land. In the meantime, our children will stay behind, living in the fortified towns to protect them from the local people. 18We won't return to our homes until every Israelite is in possession of their allotted land. 19However, we won't own any land on the other side of the Jordan because we've received this land to own on this eastern side of the Jordan.”
20Moses responded, “If this is what you will actually do, if you will get yourselves ready for battle under the Lord's direction, 21and if all your troops cross the Jordan with the Lord until he has driven out his enemies ahead of him, 22then once the country is conquered with the Lord's help then you may return, and you will have fulfilled your obligations to the Lord and to Israel. You will own this land, granted to you by the Lord. 23But if you fail to do this, you will clearly be sinning against the Lord, and the consequences of your sin will catch up with you. 24Go ahead and build towns for your children and stone walls for your flocks, but make sure you do what you've promised!”
25The tribes of Gad and Reuben promised Moses, “Sir, we your servants will do just as you have ordered. 26Our wives and children, our livestock and all our animals, will all remain here in the towns of Gilead. 27But we your servants are ready for battle, and all our troops will cross over to fight with the Lord's help, just as you have said, sir.”
28Moses gave the following instructions about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua, son of Nun, and to the family leaders of the tribes of Israel. 29Moses told them, “If the tribes of Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan with you, with all their troops ready for battle with the Lord's help, and the land is conquered as you advance, then give them the land of Gilead to own. 30But if they don't get themselves ready for battle and cross over with you, then they must accept their allotted land among you in the country of Canaan.”
31The tribes of Gad and Reuben responded, “We will do just as the Lord has told us, your servants. 32We will cross over and enter the country of Canaan ready for battle with the Lord's help, so that we may have our allotted share of land on this side of the Jordan.”
33So Moses gave to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan. This land included its towns and their surrounding area. 34The people of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns, and they built stone walls for their flocks.
37The people of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (changing their names), and Sibmah. In fact they renamed those towns they rebuilt.
39The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, attacked Gilead and captured it. They drove out the Amorites who were living there. 40So Moses gave Gilead to the family of Machir, son of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, attacked their villages and captured them. He named them the Villages of Jair. 42Nobah attacked Kenath and captured it, along with its villages. He named it Nobah after himself.
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Numbers 32: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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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