seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Numbers 32:28 Then Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes. 29 He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the Lord, then when the land is subdued before you, you must give them the land of Gilead as their possession. 30 But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan.”
31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said. 32 We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan.”
33 Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites 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—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.
34 The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. 37 And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim, 38 as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39 The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair.(b) 42 And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself.
31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said. 32 We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan.”
33 Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites 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—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.
34 The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. 37 And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim, 38 as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39 The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair.(b) 42 And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself.
Numbers 32:41 Or them the settlements of Jair
Well, here again is the commentary from the easy English site.
Moses would die before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. He knew this (Numbers 27:12-14). So he gave instructions about this agreement to Eleazar, Joshua and the other leaders.
So each tribe built again towns in their land, which was east of the Jordan river. Half of Manasseh’s tribe had land there also. Reuben’s tribe settled in the south part. Gad’s tribe had land in the north. Manasseh’s tribe had land even further north (Joshua 13:15-33).
These tribes did what they promised to do. They helped the other tribes to fight for the land in Canaan. They continued to fight until those battles were over. Then they returned to their homes on the east side of the Jordan river.
So each tribe built again towns in their land, which was east of the Jordan river. Half of Manasseh’s tribe had land there also. Reuben’s tribe settled in the south part. Gad’s tribe had land in the north. Manasseh’s tribe had land even further north (Joshua 13:15-33).
These tribes did what they promised to do. They helped the other tribes to fight for the land in Canaan. They continued to fight until those battles were over. Then they returned to their homes on the east side of the Jordan river.
OK... here's a map that can be printed out for coloring. My Sunday School classes, both young and old, always liked it when there were crayons and something to color to go along with the story. I have a feeling that the location of the original twelve settlements might become important in the story.
Now, I'm not surprised that Rueben and Gad wanted to stay across the Jordan from the rest of that dysfunctional family. I am a little put off by the splitting of Manasseh's tribe. When I look at the map, I see that the tribe is split so that they don't share a border. It was a huge tribe.
Wait.... Joseph's son Manasseh was the father of two tribes. Look back at Numbers 26:29.
Numbers 26:29 The descendants of Manasseh:
through Makir, the Makirite clan (Makir was the father of Gilead);
through Gilead, the Gileadite clan.
through Makir, the Makirite clan (Makir was the father of Gilead);
through Gilead, the Gileadite clan.
Manasseh was Joseph's son. Manasseh inherited Joseph's share. So these would have been Joseph's grandsons and Jacob's great grandsons. That makes sense now that they wouldn't have to share a border.
That boring stuff pays off once in a while.... right?
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