Lux Domini

Numbers 32

Chapter context

What is happening in Numbers 32?

pilgrimagerebellionjudgmentmercy

Numbers 32 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as the rise of a new generation on the edge of the land. Numbers combines census lists, camp order, priestly concerns, wilderness rebellion, judgment, mercy, and renewed preparation for entering the promised land. Read this chapter with the wider themes of pilgrimage, rebellion, and judgment in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;   2 The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,   3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,   4 Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:   5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.   6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?   7 And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?   8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.   9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.   10 And the LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,   11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:   12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.   13 And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.   14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.   15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.   16 And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:   17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.   18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.   19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.   20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,   21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,   22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.   23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.   24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.   25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.   26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:   27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.   28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:   29 And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:   30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.   31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.   32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.   33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.   34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,   35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,   36 And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.   37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,   38 And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.   39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.   40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.   41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.   42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.  

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Glossary

Gad Person v. 1-2, 6, 25, 29, 31, 33-34

Fortune; luck. (1. ) Jacob’s seventh son, by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and the brother of Asher ( Gen. 30:11-13 ; 46:16 , 18). In the Authorized Version of 30:11 the words, “A troop cometh: and she called,” etc.

Gilead Place v. 1, 26, 29, 39-41

Biblical region. Modern identification: Tell edh Dhahab esh Sherqiyeh.

Jazer Place v. 1, 3, 35

He (God) helps, a city of the Amorites on the east of Jordan, and assigned, with neighbouring places in Gilead, to Gad ( Num. 32:1 , 35; Josh. 13:25 ). It was allotted to the Merarite Levites (21:39). Modern identification: Khirbet Sara.

Reuben Person v. 1-2, 6, 25, 29, 31, 33, 37

Behold a son!, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah ( Gen. 29:32 ). His sinful conduct, referred to in Gen. 35:22 , brought down upon him his dying father’s malediction (48:4).

Eleazar Person v. 2, 28

God has helped. (1. ) The third son of Aaron ( Ex. 6:23 ). His wife, a daughter of Putiel, bore him Phinehas ( Ex. 6:25 ). After the death of Nadab and Abihu.

Ataroth Place v. 3, 34

Crowns. (1. ) A city east of Jordan, not far from Gilead ( Num. 32:3 ). (2. ) A town on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin ( Josh. 16:2 , 7), called also Ataroth-adar (16:5). Now ed-Da’rieh. Modern identification: Khirbet Ataruz.

Beon Place v. 3

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Ma‘in.

Dibon Place v. 3, 34

Pining; wasting. (1. ) A city in Moab ( Num. 21:30 ); called also Dibon-gad (33:45), because it was built by Gad and Dimon ( Isa. 15:9 ). Modern identification: Tall Dhiban.

Elealeh Place v. 3, 37

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Al ‘Al.

Heshbon Place v. 3, 37

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tell Hesban.

Nebo Place v. 3, 38

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Khirbet al Mukhayyat.

Nimrah Place v. 3

Pure, a city on the east of Jordan ( Num. 32:3 ); probably the same as Beth-nimrah ( Josh. 13:27 ). It has been identified with the Nahr Nimrin, at one of the fords of Jordan, not far from Jericho. Modern identification: Tall Bleibel.

Sibmah Place v. 3, 38

Coolness; fragrance, a town in Reuben, in the territory of Moab, on the east of Jordan ( Josh. 13:19 ); called also Shebam and Shibmah ( Num. 32:3 , 38). It was famous for its vines ( Isa. 16:9 ; Jer. 48:32 ). Modern identification: Qarn al Qubish.

Jordan Place v. 5, 19, 21-22, 29, 32

Biblical river. Modern identification: Jordan River.

Kadesh-barnea Place v. 8

Holy, or Kadesh-Barnea, sacred desert of wandering, a place on the south-eastern border of Palestine, about 165 miles from Horeb. It lay in the “wilderness” or “desert of Zin”. Modern identification: Ain el Qudeirat.

Valley of Eshcol Place v. 9

Bunch; brave. (1. ) A young Amoritish chief who joined Abraham in the recovery of Lot from the hands of Chedorlaomer ( Gen. 14:13 , 24). (2. ) A valley in which the spies obtained a fine cluster of grapes. Modern identification: Tel Rumeida.

Abraham Person v. 11

Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named ( Gen. 11:27 ) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises.

Egypt Place v. 11

The land of the Nile and the pyramids, the oldest kingdom of which we have any record, holds a place of great significance in Scripture. Modern identification: Ain Shams.

Isaac Person v. 11

Laughter. (1) Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes ( Amos 7:9 , 16). (2. ) The only son of Abraham by Sarah. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs ( Gen. 21:1-3 ).

Caleb Tribe v. 12

A dog. (1. ) One of the three sons of Hezron of the tribe of Judah. He is also called Chelubai ( 1 Chr. 2:9 ). His descendants are enumerated (18-20, 42-49). (2. ) A “son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah” ( 1 Chr. 2:50 ).

Jephunneh Person v. 12

Nimble, or a beholder. (1. ) The father of Caleb, who was Joshua’s companion in exploring Canaan ( Num. 13:6 ), a Kenezite ( Josh. 14:14 ). (2. ) One of the descendants of Asher ( 1 Chr. 7:38 ).

Joshua Tribe v. 12, 28

Jehovah is his help, or Jehovah the Saviour. The son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, the successor of Moses as the leader of Israel. He is called Jehoshua in Num. 13:16 (A. V. ), and Jesus in Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8 .

Nun Person v. 12, 28

Beyond the fact that he was the father of Joshua nothing more is known of him ( Ex. 33:11 ).

Canaan Place v. 30, 32

Biblical region. Modern identification: Canaan.

Amorites People v. 33

Highlanders, or hillmen, the name given to the descendants of one of the sons of Canaan ( Gen. 14:7 ), called Amurra or Amurri in the Assyrian and Egyptian inscriptions.

Bashan Place v. 33

Biblical region. Modern identification: Saham al Jawlan.

Aroer Place v. 34

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Arair.

Atroth-shophan Place v. 35

Hidden, or hollow, a town east of Jordan ( Num. 32:35 ), built by the children of Gad. This word should probably be joined with the word preceding it in this passage, Atroth-Shophan, as in the Revised Version. Modern identification: Rujm Ataruz.

Jogbehah Place v. 35

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Khirbet Jubeiha.

Beth-haram Place v. 36

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tall Iktanu.

Beth-nimrah Place v. 36

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tall Bleibel.

Kiriathaim Place v. 37

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Khirbet al Mukhayyat.

Baal-meon Place v. 38

Lord of dwelling, a town of Reuben ( Num. 32:38 ), called also Beth-meon ( Jer. 48:23 ) and Beth-baal-meon ( Josh. 13:17 ). It is supposed to have been the birth-place of Elisha. Modern identification: Ma‘in.

Havvoth-jair Place v. 41

Biblical region. Modern identification: Qamm.

Kenath Place v. 42

Possession, a city of Gilead. It was captured by Nobah, who called it by his own name ( Num. 32:42 ). Modern identification: Qanawat.

Nobah Place v. 42

Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Qanawat.