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Numbers 32

1The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great quantity of livestock. They saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and the place was suitable for livestock. 2The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the congregation: 3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon— 4the land Yahweh struck down before the congregation of Israel is livestock country, and your servants have livestock.” 5They said, “If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.” 6Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here? 7Why do you discourage the heart of the sons of Israel from crossing into the land Yahweh has given them? 8Your fathers did this when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9They went up to the Wadi Eshcol and saw the land, then discouraged the heart of the sons of Israel so that they would not enter the land Yahweh had given them. 10Yahweh's anger burned that day, and he swore, 11‘The men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, will certainly not see the ground I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they did not follow me fully— 12except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, because they followed Yahweh fully.’ 13Yahweh's anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that did evil in Yahweh's eyes had come to an end. 14Now look, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to Yahweh's burning anger against Israel! 15If you turn away from following him, he will again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy this whole people.”

16They approached him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock and towns for our little ones. 17But we ourselves will arm and hurry ahead of the sons of Israel until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones will remain in the fortified towns because of the land's inhabitants. 18We will not return to our houses until each of the sons of Israel has received his inheritance. 19For we will not inherit with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us here on the eastern side of the Jordan.” 20Moses said to them, “If you do this—if you arm yourselves before Yahweh for war, 21and every armed man among you crosses the Jordan before Yahweh until he has driven his enemies out before him, 22and the land is subdued before Yahweh—then afterward you may return, free of obligation toward Yahweh and Israel. This land will be your possession before Yahweh. 23But if you do not do this, look, you will have sinned against Yahweh, and know that your sin will find you. 24Build towns for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what has come out of your mouth.” 25The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals will remain there in the towns of Gilead, 27while your servants cross over, every man armed for the army, before Yahweh for war, as my lord says.”

28Moses gave instructions concerning them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the ancestral houses of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 29Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben cross the Jordan with you, every man armed for war before Yahweh, and the land is subdued before you, give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30But if they do not cross over armed with you, they must receive a possession among you in the land of Canaan.” 31The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, “What Yahweh has spoken to your servants, we will do. 32We will cross over armed before Yahweh into the land of Canaan, and our inherited possession will remain ours on this side of the Jordan.” 33Moses gave to them—to the sons of Gad, the sons of 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, the land with its towns and their territories, the towns of the surrounding land. 34The sons of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns, and built sheepfolds. 37The sons of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38Nebo and Baal-meon, whose names were changed, and Sibmah. They gave names to the towns they rebuilt. 39The sons of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled there. 41Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their settlements and named them Havvoth-jair. 42Nobah went and captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements, and named it Nobah after himself.

Translation notes 4

32:3–9 — Names; discouraged hearts. Sebam and Beon are retained as they occur in this list; Sibmah and Baal-meon occur later in the chapter. “Discourage the heart” preserves the bodily image and follows the Masoretic reading instruction at verse 7. The next reference to discouraging Israel in verse 9 uses the same verbal family.

32:11–15 — Oath and generation. The Hebrew oath begins literally “if they see”; as a negative oath it emphatically denies that they will see the land. The stated exceptions are retained. “Brood” renders a rare word for an increase or offspring; Moses accuses this generation of continuing the earlier sin rather than presenting their request as harmless from the start.

32:17–24 — Hurrying; obligation. “Arm and hurry” retains the base's combination of arming and haste; “in battle formation” is a proposed alternative involving a small textual change. Moses repeatedly says “before Yahweh.” Completion of the promised service releases the tribes from obligation toward Yahweh and Israel. The image “your sin will find you” is retained without replacing it with a named punishment.

32:28–42 — Conditional possession; settlements. The east-bank grant is conditioned on participation in the west-bank campaign. The half-tribe of Manasseh is included in the grant even though the earlier negotiation named Gad and Reuben. “Rebuilt” expresses building already named towns in this context. Havvoth-jair means “settlements of Jair.” The “daughters” of Kenath is an idiom for its surrounding settlements, not human children.