Numbers 32:1-33:39
New American Standard Bible
Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead
32 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a (A)very large number of livestock. So when they saw the land of (B)Jazer and the land of Gilead, that [a]it was indeed a place suitable for livestock, 2 the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3 “(C)Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the land (D)which the Lord [b]conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as our property; do not take us across the Jordan.”
6 But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Should your brothers go to war while you remain here? 7 (E)And why are you discouraging the [c]sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the Lord has given them? 8 This is what your fathers did when I sent them from (F)Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to (G)the [d]Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the [e]sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them. 10 So (H)the Lord’s anger burned on that day, and He swore, saying, 11 ‘(I)None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun; (J)for they have followed the Lord fully.’ 13 (K)So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord came to an end. 14 Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, born of sinful men, to add still more to the burning (L)anger of the Lord against Israel. 15 For if you (M)turn away from following Him, He will once more leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”
16 Then they approached him and said, “We will build sheepfolds for our livestock here and cities for our little ones; 17 (N)but we ourselves will be armed, hurrying ahead of the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 (O)We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has gained possession of his inheritance. 19 But we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us (P)on this side of the Jordan toward the east.”
20 (Q)So Moses said to them, “If you will do [f]this, if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, 21 and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven His enemies out from Him, 22 (R)and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be [g]free of obligation toward the Lord and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours as property before the Lord. 23 But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure that (S)your sin will find you out. 24 Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and sheepfolds for your sheep, and (T)do [h]what you have promised.”
25 Then the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. 26 (U)Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall [i]remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27 while your servants, that is, everyone who is armed for war, (V)cross over in the presence of the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.”
28 So Moses gave the command regarding them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, everyone who is armed for battle, cross with you over the Jordan in the presence of the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as their property; 30 but if they do not cross over with you armed, they shall instead be settled among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do. 32 We ourselves will cross over armed in the presence of the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the property of our inheritance shall remain with us across the Jordan.”
33 (W)So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad, the sons of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities with their [j]territories, the cities of the surrounding land. 34 And the sons of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, (X)Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 (Y)Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and sheepfolds for sheep. 37 The sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 (Z)Nebo, and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built. 39 The sons of (AA)Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 So Moses gave (AB)Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. 41 Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its [k]towns, and called them [l](AC)Havvoth-jair. 42 Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and named it Nobah, after (AD)his own name.
Review of the Journey from Egypt to Jordan
33 These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out of the land of Egypt by their armies, [m]under (AE)the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the [n]command of the Lord, and these are their journeys according to their starting places. 3 (AF)Now they journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the sons of Israel (AG)started out [o]boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians, 4 while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had fatally struck among them. The Lord had also executed judgments (AH)against their gods.
5 Then (AI)the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth. 6 (AJ)They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7 (AK)Then they journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon; and they camped before Migdol. 8 (AL)They journeyed [p]from Pi-hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea to the wilderness; and (AM)they went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. 9 (AN)They journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 10 They journeyed from Elim and camped by the [q]Red Sea. 11 And they journeyed from the [r]Red Sea and camped in (AO)the wilderness of Sin. 12 They journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 They journeyed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 And they journeyed from Alush and camped (AP)at Rephidim; now it was there that the people had no water to drink. 15 And they journeyed from Rephidim and camped in (AQ)the wilderness of Sinai. 16 They journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai, and camped at (AR)Kibroth-hattaavah.
17 They journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at (AS)Hazeroth. 18 They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 They journeyed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 20 They journeyed from Rimmon-perez and camped at (AT)Libnah. 21 They journeyed from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 They journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. 23 They journeyed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 They journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25 They journeyed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 They journeyed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 They journeyed from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 They journeyed from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 They journeyed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 They journeyed from Hashmonah and camped at (AU)Moseroth. 31 They journeyed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. 32 They journeyed from (AV)Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. 33 They journeyed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at (AW)Jotbathah. 34 They journeyed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 They journeyed from Abronah and camped at (AX)Ezion-geber. 36 They journeyed from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of (AY)Zin, that is, Kadesh. 37 They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at (AZ)Mount Hor, (BA)at the edge of the land of Edom.
38 (BB)Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the [s]command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel had come from the land of Egypt, on the first day in the fifth month. 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.
Footnotes
- Numbers 32:1 Lit behold, the place, a place of
- Numbers 32:4 Lit struck
- Numbers 32:7 Lit heart of the sons
- Numbers 32:9 Or wadi
- Numbers 32:9 Lit heart of the sons
- Numbers 32:20 Lit this thing
- Numbers 32:22 Lit blameless toward
- Numbers 32:24 Lit that which has gone out of your mouth
- Numbers 32:26 Lit be
- Numbers 32:33 Lit borders
- Numbers 32:41 Lit tent villages
- Numbers 32:41 I.e., the towns of Jair
- Numbers 33:1 Lit by the hand
- Numbers 33:2 Lit mouth
- Numbers 33:3 Lit with a high hand
- Numbers 33:8 Many mss and some ancient versions; MT from before Hahiroth
- Numbers 33:10 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Numbers 33:11 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Numbers 33:38 Lit mouth
Numbers 32:1-33:39
New Living Translation
The Tribes East of the Jordan
32 The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds, 2 they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the community. They said, 3 “Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah,[a] Nebo, and Beon. 4 The Lord has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock. 5 If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River.”
6 “Do you intend to stay here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?” Moses asked the men of Gad and Reuben. 7 “Why do you want to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the Lord has given them? 8 Your ancestors did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. 9 After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them. 10 Then the Lord was very angry with them, and he vowed, 11 ‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. 12 The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’
13 “The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died. 14 But here you are, a brood of sinners, doing exactly the same thing! You are making the Lord even angrier with Israel. 15 If you turn away from him like this and he abandons them again in the wilderness, you will be responsible for destroying this entire nation!”
16 But they approached Moses and said, “We simply want to build pens for our livestock and fortified towns for our wives and children. 17 Then we will arm ourselves and lead our fellow Israelites into battle until we have brought them safely to their land. Meanwhile, our families will stay in the fortified towns we build here, so they will be safe from any attacks by the local people. 18 We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their portions of land. 19 But we do not claim any of the land on the other side of the Jordan. We would rather live here on the east side and accept this as our grant of land.”
20 Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles, 21 and if your troops cross the Jordan and keep fighting until the Lord has driven out his enemies, 22 then you may return when the Lord has conquered the land. You will have fulfilled your duty to the Lord and to the rest of the people of Israel. And the land on the east side of the Jordan will be your property from the Lord. 23 But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. 24 Go ahead and build towns for your families and pens for your flocks, but do everything you have promised.”
25 Then the men of Gad and Reuben replied, “We, your servants, will follow your instructions exactly. 26 Our children, wives, flocks, and cattle will stay here in the towns of Gilead. 27 But all who are able to bear arms will cross over to fight for the Lord, just as you have said.”
28 So Moses gave orders to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the clans of Israel. 29 He said, “The men of Gad and Reuben who are armed for battle must cross the Jordan with you to fight for the Lord. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their property when the land is conquered. 30 But if they refuse to arm themselves and cross over with you, then they must accept land with the rest of you in the land of Canaan.”
31 The tribes of Gad and Reuben said again, “We are your servants, and we will do as the Lord has commanded! 32 We will cross the Jordan into Canaan fully armed to fight for the Lord, but our property will be here on this side of the Jordan.”
33 So Moses assigned land to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. He gave them the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and the land of King Og of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and surrounding lands.
34 The descendants of Gad built the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran. These were all fortified towns with pens for their flocks.
37 The descendants of Reuben built the towns of Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal-meon, and Sibmah. They changed the names of some of the towns they conquered and rebuilt.
39 Then the descendants of Makir of the tribe of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, and they drove out the Amorites living there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 The people of Jair, another clan of the tribe of Manasseh, captured many of the towns in Gilead and changed the name of that region to the Towns of Jair.[b] 42 Meanwhile, a man named Nobah captured the town of Kenath and its surrounding villages, and he renamed that area Nobah after himself.
Remembering Israel’s Journey
33 This is the route the Israelites followed as they marched out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places where they stopped along the way.
3 They set out from the city of Rameses in early spring—on the fifteenth day of the first month[c]—on the morning after the first Passover celebration. The people of Israel left defiantly, in full view of all the Egyptians. 4 Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn sons, whom the Lord had killed the night before. The Lord had defeated the gods of Egypt that night with great acts of judgment!
5 After leaving Rameses, the Israelites set up camp at Succoth.
6 Then they left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
7 They left Etham and turned back toward Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon, and camped near Migdol.
8 They left Pi-hahiroth[d] and crossed the Red Sea[e] into the wilderness beyond. Then they traveled for three days into the Etham wilderness and camped at Marah.
9 They left Marah and camped at Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees.
10 They left Elim and camped beside the Red Sea.[f]
11 They left the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin.[g]
12 They left the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.
13 They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14 They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15 They left Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.
16 They left the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.
17 They left Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
18 They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19 They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
20 They left Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.
21 They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22 They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23 They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24 They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25 They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26 They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27 They left Tahath and camped at Terah.
28 They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.
29 They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.
30 They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31 They left Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.
32 They left Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.
33 They left Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34 They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35 They left Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.
36 They left Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
37 They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the border of Edom. 38 While they were at the foot of Mount Hor, Aaron the priest was directed by the Lord to go up the mountain, and there he died. This happened in midsummer, on the first day of the fifth month[h] of the fortieth year after Israel’s departure from Egypt. 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died there on Mount Hor.
Footnotes
- 32:3 As in Samaritan Pentateuch and Greek version (see also 32:38); Hebrew reads Sebam.
- 32:41 Hebrew Havvoth-jair.
- 33:3 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
- 33:8a As in many Hebrew manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Latin Vulgate (see also 33:7); most Hebrew manuscripts read left from in front of Hahiroth.
- 33:8b Hebrew the sea.
- 33:10 Hebrew sea of reeds; also in 33:11.
- 33:11 The geographical name Sin is related to Sinai and should not be confused with the English word sin.
- 33:38 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in July or August.
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