Numbers 32

Reuben and Gad Ask for Land East of the Jordan

1The descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad had very large herds of livestock. They saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and look—the place was a place for livestock. 2So the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon— 4the land that the LORD struck before the congregation of Israel—is a land for livestock, 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 make us cross the Jordan.”

Moses Warns Them Against Repeating the Rebellion

6Moses said to the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here? 7Why do you discourage the hearts of the Israelites from crossing into the land that the LORD has given them? 8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9They went up to the Wadi Eshcol and saw the land, but they discouraged the hearts of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land the LORD had given them.

10The anger of the LORD burned on that day, and the LORD swore, saying, 11‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that 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 the LORD fully.’ 13The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and the LORD made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the eyes of the LORD came to an end. 14And look, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of the LORD against Israel. 15For if you turn away from following the LORD, the LORD will again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”

They Promise to Cross Armed

16Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our little ones, 17but we ourselves will arm ourselves quickly before the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones will live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18We will not return to our houses until every Israelite has received an inheritance. 19For we will not inherit with them beyond the Jordan and farther on, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”

20Moses said to them, “If you do this—if you arm yourselves before the LORD for war, 21and every armed man among you crosses the Jordan before the LORD until the LORD has driven the enemies out from before him, 22and the land is subdued before the LORD—then afterward you may return and be free of obligation before the LORD and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23But if you do not do so, look—you have sinned against the LORD, and know that your sin will find you. 24Build cities for your little ones and folds for your flocks, and do what has gone out from your mouth.”

25The descendants of Gad and the descendants 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 cities of Gilead, 27but your servants will cross over, every one armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord says.”

The Agreement Is Established

28So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the ancestral houses of the tribes of the Israelites. 29Moses said to them, “If the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben cross the Jordan with you, everyone armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30But if they do not cross over with you armed, they shall receive a possession among you in the land of Canaan.” 31The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben answered, saying, “As the LORD has spoken to your servants, so we will do. 32We ourselves will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”

The Eastern Territory Assigned

33Moses gave to them—to the descendants of Gad, the descendants 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 cities and territories, the cities throughout the surrounding land. 34The descendants of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer, 35Atroth-shophan, Jazer, and Jogbehah, 36Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep.

37The descendants of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kiriathaim, 38Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they built. 39The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. 41Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair. 42Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.