12 “When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning (A)at Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with (B)its cities. 13 (C)The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is, (D)all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All that portion of Bashan is called the land of (E)Rephaim. 14 (F)Jair the Manassite took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of (G)the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called the villages (H)after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 To Machir (I)I gave Gilead, 16 and to the Reubenites (J)and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok, (K)the border of the Ammonites; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from (L)Chinnereth as far as (M)the Sea of the Arabah, (N)the Salt Sea, under (O)the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

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Distribution of the Transjordanian Allotments

12 This is the land we brought under our control at that time: The territory extending from Aroer[a] by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites.[b] 13 The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh.[c] (All the region of Argob,[d] that is, all Bashan, is called the land of Rephaim. 14 Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites[e] and Maacathites[f]—namely Bashan—and called it by his name, Havvoth Jair,[g] which it retains to this very day.) 15 I gave Gilead to Machir.[h] 16 To the Reubenites and Gadites I allocated the territory extending from Gilead as far as Wadi Arnon (the exact middle of the wadi was a boundary) all the way to the Wadi Jabbok, the Ammonite border. 17 The rift valley[i] and the Jordan River[j] were also a border, from the Sea of Kinnereth[k] to the sea of the rift valley (that is, the Salt Sea),[l] beneath the slopes[m] of Pisgah[n] to the east.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 3:12 tn The words “the territory extending” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.sn Aroer. See note on this term in Deut 2:36.
  2. Deuteronomy 3:12 sn Reubenites and Gadites. By the time of Moses’ address the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had already been granted permission to settle in the Transjordan, provided they helped the other tribes subdue the occupants of Canaan (cf. Num 32:28-42).
  3. Deuteronomy 3:13 sn Half the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe of Manasseh split into clans, with half opting to settle in Bashan and the other half in Canaan (cf. Num 32:39-42; Josh 17:1-13).
  4. Deuteronomy 3:13 sn Argob. See note on this term in v. 4.
  5. Deuteronomy 3:14 sn Geshurites. Geshur was a city and its surrounding area somewhere northeast of Bashan (cf. Josh 12:5 ; 13:11, 13). One of David’s wives was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur and mother of Absalom (cf. 2 Sam 13:37; 15:8; 1 Chr 3:2).
  6. Deuteronomy 3:14 sn Maacathites. These were the people of a territory southwest of Mount Hermon on the Jordan River. The name probably has nothing to do with David’s wife from Geshur (see note on “Geshurites” earlier in this verse).
  7. Deuteronomy 3:14 sn Havvoth Jair. The Hebrew name means “villages of Jair,” the latter being named after a son (i.e., descendant) of Manasseh who took the area by conquest.
  8. Deuteronomy 3:15 sn Machir was the name of another descendant of Manasseh (cf. Num 32:41; 1 Chr 7:14-19). Eastern Manasseh was thus divided between the Jairites and the Machirites.
  9. Deuteronomy 3:17 sn The rift valley extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. The Jordan River runs through it from Galilee to the Dead Sea, so the rift valley, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea work together naturally as a boundary.
  10. Deuteronomy 3:17 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in vv. 20, 25).
  11. Deuteronomy 3:17 tn Heb “from Kinnereth.” The words “the sea of” have been supplied in the translation as a clarification.sn Kinnereth. This is another name for the Sea of Galilee, so called because its shape is that of a harp (the Hebrew term for “harp” is כִּנּוֹר, kinnor).
  12. Deuteronomy 3:17 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea (cf. Gen 14:3; Josh 3:16).
  13. Deuteronomy 3:17 sn The slopes (אֲשֵׁדוֹת, ʾashedot) refer to the ascent from the rift valley, generally in the region of the Dead Sea, up to the flatlands (or wilderness).
  14. Deuteronomy 3:17 sn Pisgah. This appears to refer to a small range of mountains, the most prominent peak of which is Mount Nebo (Num 21:20; 23:14; Deut 3:27; cf. 34:1). Pisgah is east of the northern tip of the Dead Sea. The slopes ascend approximately 3600 feet from the Dead Sea to Pisgah, while the plains to the east lie only a few hundred feet below these heights.