The border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and its villages.
Moses gave to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families. Their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer that is near Rabbah; and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; and in the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan’s bank, to the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward. This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and its villages.
Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families. Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities. Half Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families.
These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v24 24. And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of…
24. And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, etc The observation made above applies also to the tribe of Gad, namely, that their legitimate boundaries were carefully defined in order to prevent disputes as to their possession. Meanwhile God is extolled for his liberality in having expelled nations of great celebrity, and substituted them in their stead. This is expressed more clearly in regard to the half tribe of Manasseh, when sixty cities are enumerated as included in their inheritance. Hence, too, it is manifest that Moses was not munificent through mistake, because it was well known to God how many cities he was giving them out of his boundless liberality. In a short clause the tribe of Levi is again excluded, that the Levites might not be able at some future period to pretend that the grant which the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh had obtained without the casting of lots, belonged in common to them also; for they are expressly forbidden to share with their brethren. This made it easy for them to interpret shrewdly for their advantage, that they were entitled to share with others. Here, however, it is not the sacrifices, as a little before, but God Himself that is said to be their inheritance; if they are not satisfied with it, they only convict themselves of excessive pride and insufferable fastidiousness.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv27, 31 That is, in the land of Moab.
That is, in the land of Moab.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv23–32 Jos 13:23 And the border of the children of…
Jos 13:23 And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border [thereof]. This [was] the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.
Ver. 23. {See Trapp on "Jos 13:18"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 And the border thereof, i.e. those cities or places…
And the border thereof, i.e. those cities or places which bordered upon Jordan. Compare Num 34:6.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv23–32 And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad,....…
And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad,.... On the other side Jordan, as he did to Reuben:
even unto the children of Gad, according to their families: according to the number and largeness of them, dividing to each their part and portion.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 The border thereof - That is, those cities or…
The border thereof - That is, those cities or places which bordered upon Jordan.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32 Verse 23. The cities and the villages] By villages,…
Verse 23. The cities and the villages] By villages, חצרים chatserim, it is likely that moveable villages or tents are meant, such as are in use among the Bedouin Arabs; places where they were accustomed to feed and pen their cattle.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 30, 31 Jos 13:25. All the cities of Gilead — All…
Jos 13:25. All the cities of Gilead — All the cities of eminence; all the cities properly so called, which lay in that part of Gilead; and thus what is here assured may well agree with Jos 13:31, where half the country of Gilead is said to be given to the Manassites, for there is no mention of any cities being there. Half the land of the children of Ammon — Not of that which was now theirs, for that the Israelites were forbidden to meddle with; but of that which was anciently theirs, till taken from them by the Amorites, from whom the Israelites took it. Aroer — The border between them and Moab. Rabbah — The chief city of the Ammonites.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 27, 30
CHAPTER XIII.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 23. This was the inheritance of… Reuben — The…
23. This was the inheritance of… Reuben — The tribe of Reuben never did excel. Compare Gen_49:4. They were never noted for mighty deeds, and their indifference in the war with Sisera, when the mighty ones went up to battle and they “abode among the sheepfolds to hear the bleatings of the flocks,” is properly satirized in the song of Deborah.
Jdg_5:16, note. Their territory was overrun by the army of Tiglath-pileser, and they were carried away captive into upper Mesopotamia. 1Ch_5:26. Then their depopulated cities and country were repossessed by their ancient owners, the Moabites, and hence it is that we find so many cities of Reuben afterwards in possession of the Moabites.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 23. was Jordan] i.e. “the boundary of the children…
23. was Jordan] i.e. “the boundary of the children of Reuben was the Jordan and adjoining land.” Comp. Num_34:6; Deu_3:16-17.
the villages thereof] = “farm premises,” not enclosed, like a city, with walls. Thus the boundaries of the tribe of Reuben were, (a) On the West, the Dead Sea; (b) on the South, the country of Moab; (c) on the East, the kingdom of Ammon; (d) on the North, the Arnon, or the Wady Mojeb. Here the tribe settled, “preferring pasturage to agriculture.” His subsequent history fulfils the prophecy of Jacob. “Unstable (or swelling) as water” (Gen_49:4), he vanishes away into a mere Arabian tribe; “his men are few” (Deu_33:6); it is all he can do “to live and not die.” The only events of the subsequent history of the tribe are (a) the multiplication of “their cattle in the land of Gilead;” (b) their wars with the Bedouin “sons of Hagar” (1Ch_5:10); (c) their spoils “of camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand” (1Ch_5:21). In the chief struggle of the nation Reuben never took part. No judge, no prophet, no hero of the tribe is handed down to us. See Stanley’s Lectures, 1. 218.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv23–32 And the border thereof. These words have been omitted…
And the border thereof. These words have been omitted in the Vulgate, which does not understand them. The LXX translates, "And the borders of Reuben were the Jordan-border." This seems to be the meaning of the original. The phrase often occurs, as in Jos_15:12 Num_34:6. Knobel"s explanation is probably the correct one, that the phrase means to refer to the natural boundary marked out by the river or sea and its banks. "The boundary of the children of Reuben was Jordan and the natural boundary thus formed." As Dean Stanley reminds us in his "Lectures on the Jewish Church," Reuben, as predicted by Jacob and, (Gen_49:4) sank at once into insignificance. No ruler, no judge arose from this tribe and its territory. Villages. Hebrew yrexj, LXX epauleiv , Vulgate viculi. The original meaning is a piece of ground enclosed by a hedge or wall. Here it would mean, either with Gesenins and Keil, farm hamlets , or perhaps clearings of cultivated ground, which in Palestine would naturally be enclosed in some way, to prevent the ravages of wild beasts. In the primitive villages of Servia, where wild beasts are not entirely extirpated, not only are all the homesteads enclosed, but a fence is placed across the road, and removed when a vehicle has to pass through.
Or perhaps the primitive Jewish community was similar to the primitive Teutonic community as described by Marshall in his "Elementary and Practical Treatise on Landed Property," published in 1804, who described the early distribution of land in this country as follows: "Round the village lay a few small enclosures for rearing young stock. Further a field the best land for arable purposes was chosen, and divided into three parts, for the necessary, rotation of fallow, wheat or rye, and spring crops. The meadows near the water courses were set aside for the growth of fodder for the cattle or for pasturage for milch cows, etc. The irreclaimable lands were left for what we now call "common" uses for fuel, and the inferior pasturage." These arrangements are found to exist in India. (see Sir H. Maine, "Village Communities," sec. 4). But there, as in Palestine, the necessity for water was the cause of important modifications. Since the word is used to denote the court
Read full note →
(1) of a prison, Jer_32:2;
(2) of a palace, 1Ki_7:8;
(3) of a private house, 2Sa_17:18;
(4) of the temple in numberless places,
and as it is used of the enclosure of a nomadic camp, (Gen_25:16, where our version has towns; perhaps Deu_2:23, where our version has Hazerim, following the LXX which, however, alters the word to the more usual Hazeroth and the Vulgate; Isa_42:11, with which compare the expression tents of Kedar, Psa_120:5) the translation villages can hardly be the correct one here or elsewhere (see also ver. 28).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 27, 29, 32 Jazer ... Aroer ... Heshbon ... Ramath Mizpah ...…
Jazer ... Aroer ... Heshbon ... Ramath Mizpah ... Betonim ... Mahanaim ... Debir
These are the names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)
Read full note →
translationWords
Moses
Gad
Gilead
Ammon
Rabbah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 29, 30 13:24-28 Gad was Jacob’s seventh son, born to Zilpah,…
13:24-28 Gad was Jacob’s seventh son, born to Zilpah, Leah’s servant. Just as Gad’s position in his family was peripheral, the tribe of Gad was peripheral to Israel.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.