Numbers 32:1-5

E. REQUEST OF GAD AND REUBEN (Numbers 32:1-5)

TEXT

Numbers 32:1. 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.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 32:1. Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had an exceedingly large number of livestock. So when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that it was a suitable place for livestock, 2. the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3. Ataroth, Dobon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon, 4. the land which the Lord 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 for a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.

COMMENTARY

We may infer that the herds of Gad and Reuben had, by some means, grown more rapidly than had those of the other tribes, and their request must be based upon this situation. The land of Jazer, or Jaazer, is situated just east of the Jordan in the vicinity of Heshbon. Gilead is the common name for the greater portion of the territory beyond the Jordan, sometimes even including the land of Bashan which is east of the Sea of Galilee. In its most restrictive sense the term Gilead refers to the area from the northern tip of the Dead Sea to the Yarmuk River and the Sea of Galilee. The area is mountainous, but there are also occasional plateaus and plains, with large areas offering pasture land and tillable fields. It must certainly have looked most desirable to these shepherding people, after considering the relatively barren land through which they had come.

The nine settlements mentioned in Numbers 32:3 are all in the southern section of the eastern land; they were later divided with four going to Gad and five to Reuben. It is possible that the flocks and herds of the entire nation were grazing well within the area the cities described. At this time the tribes had not received their allocations. When Gad and Reuben asked for portions on the east of Jordan, the request would seem out of order. Whether they coveted the finest pasture land, or wanted to escape having to assist in driving the pagan tribes out of the land across the Jordan, or whether they had some other motive altogether is not told; Moses understood their reason to be the second of these. History would later show their choice, if not their faith, to have been faulty.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

580.

What reasons could the two tribes have had for wanting to settle east of the Jordan?

581.

Give the areas specified, and describe them, as Gad and Reuben made their requests.

582.

Follow the decay and downfall of the eastern tribes in later time, especially after the division of the Kingdom of Israel. Can this be traced in any way to their choice of territory?