permission from Moses to settle on the east side of the Jordan River (Num. 32:1–42). That permission was granted on the condition that the men from those tribes would fight with the army of Israel until the land west of the Jordan was conquered. This was a matter of obedience to the Lord. Moses had told the two and a half tribes that failure to fight with their brethren would mean sinning against the Lord. He had put it in these terms: ‘But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against