Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Parallel Translations
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Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
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And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
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And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Cross-references (2)
Passages linked to Numbers 32:42 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar which is in the king’s valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in memory.” He called the pillar after his own name. It is called Absalom’s monument, to this day.
- Psalms 49:11 Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Nobah, who though not elsewhere named, was doubtless an…
Nobah, who though not elsewhere named, was doubtless an eminent person of the tribe of Manasseh.
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 Now the children of Reuben and the children of…
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle,.... By which it seems that they had more in proportion than any of the other tribes; by what means it is not easy to say; very probably they were more addicted to the pastoral life, and took more delight in breeding cattle, and were more diligent in taking care of them: however, the reason for this observation presently follows:
and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead; Jazer was in the kingdom of Sihon, and Gilead in the kingdom of Og, which had been both conquered by the Israelites:
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that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; where much cattle was fed, there being a great deal of good pasturage for them: Jazer appears to be a well watered country, Jer 48:32, and Gilead and Bashan which joined and belonged to the same country of Og, who was king of Bashan, were famous for good feeding of cattle: hence we read of the bulls of Bashan, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats on Mount Gilead that looked plump and sleek; see Mic 7:14.
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 Nobah - Who, though not else where named, was…
Nobah - Who, though not else where named, was doubtless an eminent person of the tribe of Manasseh. 'Tis observable, that these tribes, as they were placed before the other tribes, so they were displaced before them. They were carried captive by the king of Assyria, some years before the other tribes. Such a proportion does providence frequently observe, in balancing prosperity and adversity.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Kenath - Now Kenawat, an important site near the…
Kenath - Now Kenawat, an important site near the southern extremity of the tract el-Lejah, and on the western slopes of the mountains of the Hauran. The name given to it by its conqueror, as in other cases, fell ere long into disuse, and the old name has held its ground to this day.
The notices, both Scriptural and traditional, of the conquest of northeastern Gilead and Bashan by the Machirites, plainly intimate that it was effected by a few chiefs of great military prowess, who overran rapidly a far larger district than they could colonize. The father of Jair, however, Segub, was of the tribe of Judah (compare Num 27:1, and note; 1Ch 2:21-22), and it is likely that the Manassite leaders induced many of the more adventurous of this tribe, and some possibly of other tribes, to join them in their enterprise against Bashan (see Jos 19:34).
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The Machirites did not exterminate the whole population of this district (see Jos 13:15, etc.). The conquest of the district east of Jordan seems never to have been so effectually accomplished as that on the other side.
During the troublous times of the Judges the eastern Manassites rendered good service to the nation; compare Jdg 5:14. Gideon, and probably Jephthah, were of this tribe, and reflect in a later generation the warlike and adventurous spirit which Jair and Nobah exhibited in the days of Moses.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Canath. This town is reckoned among those of Jair,…
Canath. This town is reckoned among those of Jair, (1 Paralipomenon ii. 23,) either because Nobe conquered it under his banners, or because it fell to the share of Jair, after the death of Nobe. (Calmet)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Nobah--also a distinguished person connected with the eastern branch…
Nobah--also a distinguished person connected with the eastern branch of the tribe of Manasseh.
Next: Numbers Chapter 33
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 42. Nobah — An Israelite warrior, probably a Manassite.…
42. Nobah — An Israelite warrior, probably a Manassite. Jewish tradition says that he was born in Egypt, and was buried during the passage of the Jordan. The site of Kenath has been recovered with tolerable certainty at Kenawat, a ruined town in the southern extremity of the Lejah. “The wall, still in many places almost perfect, follows the top of the cliffs for nearly a mile, and then sweeps round in a zigzag course, enclosing a space about half a mile wide. The general aspect of the city is very striking; temples, palaces, churches, theatres, and massive buildings whose original use we cannot tell are grouped together in picturesque confusion, while beyond the walls, in the glen, on the summits and sides of the wooded peaks, away in the midst of oak forests, are clusters of columns, massive towers, and lofty tombs. Many of the ruins are beautiful and interesting. In no other city of Palestine did I see so many statues as there are here. Unfortunately, they are all mutilated. A colossal head of Ashteroth, sadly broken, lies before a little temple, of which probably it was once the chief idol. The leading streets are wide and regular, and the roads radiating from the gates are unusually wide and spacious.” — Rev. J.L. Porter. “It was built in the crevices of a great island of lava which has split, in cooling, into innumerable fissures, through whose labyrinths no enemy could penetrate.
It would indeed have been perhaps impossible for Israel to have overcome a people so strongly entrenched, but for the presence at that time of vast swarms of hornets, a plague common in Palestine, which drove the population into the open ground where they could be attacked.” — Geikie. See Jos_24:12, note.
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 42. And Nobah went and took Kenath] The clan…
42. And Nobah went and took Kenath] The clan Nobah appears to have given its name to a place, which is mentioned with Jogbehah (see Num_32:35) in Jdg_8:11. Kenath is identified by Euseb. and Jerome as Kanatha, the modern Ḳanawât, which lay on the western slope of Jebel Ḥaurân. This was far to the north, and would make the present passage imply that the Nobah clan left the district where Nobah lay and migrated. But 1Ch_2:23 places Kenath in close proximity with Ḥavvôth-Jair; and Jdg_8:11 can be most easily explained if Kenath and Jogbehah lay near one another.
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 Nobah. As this chieftain is nowhere else named, we…
Nobah. As this chieftain is nowhere else named, we may probably conclude that he was one of the companions of Jair, holding a position more or less subordinate to him. Kenath. The modern Kenawat, on the western slope of the Jebel Hauran, the most easterly point ever occupied by the Israelites. It is apparently the Nobah mentioned in Jud_1:8:11, but it has reverted (like so many others) to its old name. In spite of the uncertainties which hang over the conquest of this northeastern territory, there is something very characteristic in the part played by the Machirite leaders. That they acted with an independent vigour bordering on audacity, that they showed great personal prowess, and had great personal authority with the humbler members of their family, and held something like the position of feudal superiors among them, is evident from the way in which they are spoken of. And this is quite in keeping with the character of the Manassites in after times. The "governors" who came at the call of Barak, Gideon, the greatest of the warrior-judges, and probably Jephthah also ("the Gileadite"), as well as the younger Jail maintained the warlike and impetuous character of their race. If "Elijah the Tishbite" was really from this region (although this is extremely doubtful), we should find in him the characteristic daring and self-reliance of Machir transmuted into their spiritual equivalents.
Nobah the man and the place.
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This proceeding on the part of Nobah suggests a good deal of speculation as to the character, purposes, and actual achievements of the man. Concerning the children of Reuben, we are simply told in general terms that they gave names to the cities they builded (verse 38). Jair, the son of Manasseh, gave to the small towns of Gilead the name of Havoth-Jair, which seems to be a general indication of them as being the property of Jair. Then in the last verse of the chapter we come to a kind of climax as we read that Nobah boldly called by his own name the district he had gained. What did he mean by this? Perhaps it was for the sake of a fancied security. The rigorous, inexorable demands of Moses were going to take him away, he knew not how long, and he may have reckoned that giving" his name to his property before he went would be an excellent plan to guard himself against covetous and unscrupulous neighbours. How suspicious of one another selfish people are! When we busy ourselves laying up treasures on earth instead of in heaven, we have to use all sorts of schemes and devices in order to gain a security which in the end proves to be no security at all. Or Nobah may have been a man full of personal ambition. David tells us, in strains half-pitying, half-despising, of those infatuated, purse-proud grandees who call their lands after their own names. (Psa_49:11) From this we may infer that Nobah was not alone in his folly. Very possibly the name took root and lasted for generations; but even supposing it did, who in after days would trouble himself concerning the man Nobah? Calling a town or a street after a man will do nothing to preserve his memory if the man himself has been nothing more than a plutocrat. But if the man himself, by deeds and character, becomes memorable and glorious, then his birth-place and dwelling-place, however mean they otherwise may be, share in the glory of the man. How many obscure hamlets have thus become dignified in history, and chief among them stand Bethlehem, the little one among the thousands of Judah, and Nazareth, the mean, secluded village in the highlands of Galilee. "This place, dearest to the Christian heart of all on earth except Jerusalem, is not mentioned in the Old Testament, nor even by Josephus, who was himself on every side of it, and names the villages all about it, but seems yet totally ignorant of its existence. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.