Lux Domini
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;

What does Numbers 32:1 mean?

Here is a proposal made by the Reubenites and Gadites, that the land lately conquered might be allotted to them.

Key themes

Justice and mercyHumilityPilgrimageRebellion

Read with

Keep this verse inside Numbers 32:1-5 and alongside a few nearby related passages.

Glossary

Gad Person

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

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

Jazer Place

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

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).