2 1/2 Tribes Requested Lands for Their Livestock |
Numbers 32:1-42 The Fourth Book of Moses Called Numbers |
Now the children [people] of Reuben & the children [people] of Gad had a very [large] multitude of [livestock.] When they saw that the land of Jazer & Gilead was a place for [livestock, they] came & [spoke] to Moses, Eleazar, the priest, & the princes of the congregation. |
[They said,] The land the Lord [struck] before the congregation of Israel: Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo & Beon, is a land for [livestock] & [we,] your servants have [livestock.] |
[Therefore,] if we have found grace in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession & don’t bring us over [the] Jordan [River.] Moses said to the [people] of Gad & Reuben, Shall you [just] sit here, [while] your brethren go to war? |
[Therefore, will] you discourage the [heart] of the children [people] of Israel from going over into the land the Lord has given them? Your [forefathers] did [this,] when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to [examine] the land. |
When they went up into the Valley of Eshcol & saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the [people] of Israel, [to] not go into the land [that] the Lord had given them. |
And the Lord’s anger [grew then] & He [swore,] saying, Surely, none of the men 20 years & above [who] came up out of Egypt, shall see the land [that] I [swore to] Abraham, Isaac & Jacob [a.k.a. Israel,] because they [haven’t totally] followed Me, [except for] Caleb, [Jephunneh’s] son, the Kenezite & Joshua, [Nun’s] son: for they have [totally] followed the Lord. |
The Lord’s anger [grew] against Israel & He made them wander in the wilderness 40 years, until all the generation [who] had done evil in the sight of the Lord, [were no longer alive.] |
[Look] you [have] risen up in your [forefather’s place,] a [group] of sinful men, [increasing] the [Lord’s] fierce anger toward Israel. If you turn away [from the Lord,] He will again leave them in the wilderness & you shall destroy all this people. |
They came near [Moses] & said, We will build [pens] here for our [livestock] & cities for our little ones. But we will go armed & ready before the [people] of Israel, until we have brought them into their [own] place & our little ones shall [live] in the fenced cities [protected from] the inhabitants of the land. |
We will not return to our houses, until the [people] of Israel [have taken possession] of [their] inheritance. For we won’t inherit on [the other] side [of] the Jordan [River with them,] because our inheritance [has been given] to us on this side [of the] Jordan [River] & eastward. |
Moses said to them, If you will do this thing & all of you will go armed before the Lord to war, over [the] Jordan before the Lord, until He has driven out His enemies from before Him & the Lord [has conquered] the land, then afterward, you shall return & be guiltless before the Lord & Israel & this land shall be your possession before the Lord. |
But if you [don’t] do so, you have sinned against the Lord & be sure your sins will [catch up with] you. Build cities for your little ones & [pens] for your sheep & do [all that you said you will do.] |
The [people] of Gad & Reuben [spoke] to Moses, saying, Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, & all our [livestock,] shall be there in the cities of Gilead. But [we,] your servants, will pass over [the river,] every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as [Moses says.] |
Moses commanded Eleazar, the priest, Joshua [Nun’s] son, & the chief fathers of the tribes of Israel, concerning them. Moses said to them, If the [people] of Gad & Reuben pass over the Jordan [River] with you, every man armed [for] battle, before the Lord & the land is [conquered] before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead [as their] possession. |
But if they won’t [cross] over with you armed, their possession shall be [with] you in the land of Canaan. [Both] the [people] of Gad & Reuben answered, saying, We will do [as] the Lord has said to your servants. |
We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, [so we inherit the property] of our inheritance on this side [of the] Jordan [River, which] may be ours. |
Moses gave to the [people] of Gad, Reuben & 1/2 of the tribe of Manasseh, [Joseph’s] son, the kingdom of Sihon, the [Amorite’s] king & Og, [Beshan’s] king, the land & the cities of [their] coasts & the cities of [the surrounding land.] |
The [people] of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, Atroth, Shophan, Jaazer, Jogbehah, Beth Nimrah, Beth Haran. [They built] fenced cities & [pens] for sheep. |
The [people] of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kirjathaim [a.k.a. Kiriathaim,] Nebo, Baal Meon, (their names [have] changed) & Shibmah [a.k.a. Sibmah.] [They] gave other names to the cities [that] they [built.] |
The children [people] of Machir, [Manasseh’s] son, went to Gilead & [captured] it & [drove out the Amorites that were there.] Moses gave Gilead to Machir, [Manasseh’s] son & he [lived in it.] |
Jair, [Manasseh’s] son, went & [captured Gilead’s] small towns & called them Havoth Jair. And Nobah went & [captured] Kenath & [its] villages & called it Nobah, after his own name. |