Reuben and Gad Request the Land
1The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great number of livestock. When they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, they realized that the place was a good place for livestock, 2so the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and said to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, 3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon — 4the land that Yahweh struck down 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.” 6But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? 7Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land that Yahweh has given them? 8That is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9They went up as far as the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, but then they discouraged the Israelites from going into the land that Yahweh had given them. 10So Yahweh’s anger burned on that day, and he swore, 11‘None of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not followed me wholeheartedly — 12none but Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they have followed Yahweh wholeheartedly.’ 13Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation that had done evil in Yahweh’s sight had perished. 14And now here you are, rising up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to Yahweh’s fierce anger against Israel! 15If you turn away from following him, he will once again leave this whole people in the wilderness, and you will be the ones who destroy them.” 16Then they came near to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and towns for our little ones, 17but we ourselves will arm quickly and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our little ones will stay in the fortified towns, safe from the inhabitants of the land. 18We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has taken possession of his inheritance, 19for we will not receive an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, since our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan, to the east.”
Moses’ Terms Accepted
20Moses said to them, “If you do this — if you arm yourselves before Yahweh for war, 21and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before Yahweh, until he has driven out his enemies before him, 22and the land is subdued before Yahweh — then you may return, and you will be free of obligation before Yahweh and before Israel, and this land will be your possession before Yahweh. 23But if you do not do this, you will have sinned against Yahweh, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24Build towns for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.” 25The sons of Gad and the sons 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 towns of Gilead, 27while your servants, every man armed for battle, cross over before Yahweh to fight, just as my lord says.” 28So Moses gave orders concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the ancestral houses of the tribes of Israel. 29Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben cross the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before Yahweh, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30But if they do not cross over armed with you, they will have to take their possession among you in the land of Canaan.” 31The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, “What Yahweh has spoken to your servants, that we will do. 32We will cross over armed before Yahweh into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance will remain with us on this side of the Jordan.”
The Towns East of the Jordan
33So Moses gave to the sons of Gad, to the sons of Reuben, and to half the 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 towns and the territories of the surrounding towns. 34The sons of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified towns, and folds for their flocks. 37The sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38Nebo, and Baal-meon — their names were changed — and Sibmah. They gave new names to the towns they built. 39The sons of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, driving out the Amorites who were there. 40So Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled there. 41Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their settlements, and named them the Villages of Jair. 42And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its surrounding villages, and named it Nobah after himself.
