Numbers 32–33

TRANSJORDAN SETTLEMENTS

32The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer^c and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock. ²So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of the community and said, ³“The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,^{d 4}which the Lord struck down^e before the community of Israel,^f is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.” ⁵They said, “If we have found favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don’t make us cross the Jordan.”

⁶But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? ⁷Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them? ⁸That’s what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.^{g 9}After they went up as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. ¹⁰So the Lord’s anger burned that day, and he swore an oath:^{h 11}‘Because they did not remain loyal to me,ⁱ none of the men twenty years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob^j—¹²none except Caleb^k son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua^l son of Nun, because they did remain loyal to the Lord.’ ¹³The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight was gone.^{m 14}And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your ancestors’ place adding even more to the Lord’s burning anger against Israel. ¹⁵If you turn back from following him,ⁿ he will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them.”

¹⁶Then they approached him and said, “We want to build sheep pens here for our livestock and cities for our dependents. ¹⁷But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place.^o Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance.^{p 19}Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.”^q

²⁰Moses replied to them, “If you do this—if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, ²¹and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies from his presence, ²²and the land is subdued before the Lord—afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord. ²³But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you. ²⁴Build cities for your dependents and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”^r

²⁵The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. ²⁶Our dependents, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead, ²⁷but your servants are equipped for war before the Lord and will go across to the battle as my lord orders.”

²⁸So Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes. ²⁹Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.^{s 30}But if they don’t go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.”

³¹The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “What the Lord has spoken to your servants is what we will do. ³²We will cross over in battle formation before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan.”

³³So Moses gave them—the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land including its cities with the territories surrounding them.^{a 34}The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran^b as fortified cities, and built sheep pens. ³⁷The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.

³⁹The descendants of Machir^c son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled in it.^{d 41}Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair’s Villages.^{Ae 42}Nobah went and captured Kenath with its surrounding villages and called it Nobah after his own name.

WILDERNESS TRAVELS REVIEWED

33These were the stages of the Israelites’ journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ²At the Lord’s command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:

³They traveled from Rameses^f in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover^g the Israelites went out defiantly^h in the sight of all the Egyptians. ⁴Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the Lord had struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against their gods.^{i 5}The Israelites traveled from Rameses and camped at Succoth.^j

⁶They traveled from Succoth and camped at Etham,^k which is on the edge of the wilderness.

⁷They traveled from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.^l

⁸They traveled from Pi-hahiroth^B and crossed through the middle of the sea^m into the wilderness. They took a three-day journey into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.ⁿ

⁹They traveled from Marah and came to Elim.^o There were twelve springs and seventy date palms at Elim, so they camped there.

¹⁰They traveled from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

¹¹They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.^p

¹²They traveled from the Wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah.

¹³They traveled from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim,^q where there was no water for the people to drink.^r

¹⁵They traveled from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.^s

¹⁶They traveled from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.^t

¹⁷They traveled from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.^u

¹⁸They traveled from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

¹⁹They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.

²⁰They traveled from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²²They traveled from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵They traveled from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸They traveled from Terah and camped at Mithkah.

²⁹They traveled from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰They traveled from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹They traveled from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.^a

³²They traveled from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.

³³They traveled from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴They traveled from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.^b

³⁶They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin^c (that is, Kadesh).

³⁷They traveled from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor^d on the edge of the land of Edom. ³⁸At the Lord’s command, the priest Aaron climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt.^{e 39}Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. ⁴⁰At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan,^f heard the Israelites were coming.

⁴¹They traveled from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴²They traveled from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³They traveled from Punon and camped at Oboth.^g

⁴⁴They traveled from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.^h

⁴⁵They traveled from Iyim^A and camped at Dibon-gad.ⁱ

⁴⁶They traveled from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.^j

⁴⁷They traveled from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the Abarim^k range facing Nebo.^l

⁴⁸They traveled from the Abarim range and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.^{m 49}They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimothⁿ to the Acacia Meadow^Bo on the plains of Moab.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR OCCUPYING CANAAN

⁵⁰The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, ⁵¹“Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵²you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images^p and cast images,^q and demolish all their high places. ⁵³You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land^r to possess. ⁵⁴You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes. ⁵⁵But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs for your eyes and thorns for your sides; they will harass you in…