Numbers 32:1-42

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32:1 U MIKNEH RAV HAYAH LIVNEY RE'U-VEN VE LIVNEY GAD ATSUM ME'OD VA YIR'U ET ERETS YA'ZER VE ET ERETS GIL'AD VE HINEH HA MAKOM MEKOM MIKNEH

וּמִקְנֶה רַב הָיָה לִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן וְלִבְנֵי גָד עָצוּם מְאֹד וַיִּרְאוּ אֶת אֶרֶץ יַעְזֵר וְאֶת אֶרֶץ גִּלְעָד וְהִנֵּה הַמָּקוֹם מְקוֹם מִקְנֶה

KJ (King James translation): Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

BN (BibleNet translation): Now the Beney Re'u-Ven and the Beney Gad had an enormous amount of cattle, and when they saw the land of Yazer, and the land of Gil'ad, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle...


Do we assume that all this cattle was acquired as booty in the war with Midyan described in the last chapter? Where else would they have acquired cattle, wandering for 38 years in the wilderness and living on deity-provided manna?

But, at the same time, if they do have "an enormous amount of cattle", and it is based on the share-out of the booty, then so do all the other tribes; so why is it Re'u-Ven and Gad, and not, say, Asher, or... and half of Menasheh will go with them as well, later on.

MIKNEH: In the last chapter the word used was BAKAR, which I translated as beef-cattle; what precisely is the difference?

YAZER: see my notes at Numbers 26:30.

GIL'AD: See the link.


32:2 VA YAVO'U VENEY GAD U VENEY RE'U-VEN VA YOMRU EL MOSHEH VE EL EL-AZAR HA KOHEN VE AL NESI'EY HA EDAH LEMOR

וַיָּבֹאוּ בְנֵי גָד וּבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְאֶל נְשִׂיאֵי הָעֵדָה לֵאמֹר

KJ: The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,

BN: The Beney Gad and the Beney Re'u-Ven came and spoke to Mosheh, and to El-Azar the Kohen, and to the princes of the congregation, saying:


In the previous verse the Beney Gad were named first, but now it is the Beney Re'u-Ven - every other instance in the chapter will name Gad first (verses 6, 25, 31, 33). Re'u-Ven being the first born should logically come first.


32:3 ATAROT VE DIVON VE YA'ZER VE NIMRAH VE CHESHBON VE EL-ALEH U SEVAM U NEVO U VE'ON

עֲטָרוֹת וְדִיבֹן וְיַעְזֵר וְנִמְרָה וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן וְאֶלְעָלֵה וּשְׂבָם וּנְבוֹ וּבְעֹן

KJ: Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,


BN: "Atarot, and Divon, and Yazer, and Nimrah, and Cheshbon, and El-Aleh, and Sevam, and Nevo, and Ve'on...


All these are towns, settlements, oases, caravanserai, in Gil'ad - see adjacent map.

ATAROTSee the link.

DIVONSee the link.

YAZER: already named at verse 1.

NIMRAHSee the link.

CHESHBON: See the link.

EL-ALEHSee the link.

SEVAMSee the link.

NEVOSee the link.

BE'ON: See the link.


32:4 HA ARETS ASHER HIKAH YHVH LIPHNEY ADAT YISRA-EL ERETS MIKNEH HI VE LA AVADEYCHA MIKNEH

הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הִכָּה יְהוָה לִפְנֵי עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶרֶץ מִקְנֶה הִוא וְלַעֲבָדֶיךָ מִקְנֶה

KJ: Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:

BN: "The land which YHVH smote before the congregation of Yisra-El, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle."


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32:5 VA YOMRU IM MATSANU CHEN BE EYNEYCHA YUTAN ET HA ARETS HA ZOT LA AVADEYCHA LA ACHUZAH AL TA'AVIREYNU ET HA YARDEN

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִם מָצָאנוּ חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ יֻתַּן אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לַעֲבָדֶיךָ לַאֲחֻזָּה אַל תַּעֲבִרֵנוּ אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן

KJ: Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.

BN: And they said: "If we have found favour in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants for a possession; do not make us go across the Yarden."


BE EYNEYCHA: They have come to address more than just Mosheh (see verse 2), but they use the second person singular.

TA'AVIYRENU: In the Hiphil form, which is causative.


32:6 VA YOMER MOSHEH LIVNEY GAD U LIVNEY RE'U-VEN HA ACHEYCHEM YAVO'U LA MILCHAMAH VE ATEM TESHVU PHOH

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה לִבְנֵי גָד וְלִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן הַאַחֵיכֶם יָבֹאוּ לַמִּלְחָמָה וְאַתֶּם תֵּשְׁבוּ פֹה

KJ: And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?

BN: Then Mosheh said to the Beney Gad and to the Beney Re'u-Ven: "Shall your brothers go to war, and you sit here?..


Which is actually a very good answer, and an entirely reasonable question for him to ask. But surely it is not the correct answer, which should be: "YHVH brought us out of Mitsrayim to give us the land of Kena'an for our inheritance. Gil'ad is not in Kena'an. Would you anger YHVH by insisting on this? This cannot be your land unless YHVH wills it, and he has not done so. I am forbidden from entering this Promised Land because I did not do as YHVH commanded..." Then maybe, from a theologian's perspective, this is also why Gad, Re'-u-Ven and half-Menasheh disappeared from history quite so quickly as they did (theywere absorbed into Edom and Mo-Av and Amon long before Sennacherib took away the other tribes)! They rejected YHVH, and so they were rejected by him.


32:7 VE LAMAH TENIY'UN ET LEV BENEY YISRA-EL ME AVOR EL HA ARETS ASHER NATAN LAHEM YHVH

וְלָמָּה תנואון (תְנִיאוּן) אֶת לֵב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעֲבֹר אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָהֶם יְהוָה

KJ: And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?

BN: "And why will you turn away the heart of the Beney Yisra-El from crossing over into the land which YHVH has given them?..


Clear recognition that these are not parts of the land which YHVH has "promised" them as their "inheritance"; is it not then a fault, a sin even, if not a fully-fledged act of disobedience, for Gad and Re'u-Ven to "reject" YHVH in this manner, and for Mosheh and El-Azar and the princes of the congregation to endorse it? Is this any different from taking booty (see chapter 31) - or maybe these lands too can become a "memorial" in the form of an "unburnt offering" (31:54). These verses are the ones that politicians mean when they say that history is written by the victors. Theology too, it transpires.


32:8 KOH ASU AVOTEYCHEM BE SHALCHI OTAM MI KADESH BARNE'A LIROT ET HA ARETS


כֹּה עָשׂוּ אֲבֹתֵיכֶם בְּשָׁלְחִי אֹתָם מִקָּדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ לִרְאוֹת אֶת הָאָרֶץ

KJ: Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.

BN: "Which is exactly what your fathers did, when I sent them from Kadesh Barne'a to spy out the land...


Meaning the twelve spies (Numbers 13). 


32:9 VA YA'ALU AD NACHAL ESHKOL VA YIR'U ET HA ARETS VA YANIY'U ET LEV BENEY YISRA-EL LE VILTI VO EL HA ARETS ASHER NATAN LAHEM YHVH

וַיַּעֲלוּ עַד נַחַל אֶשְׁכּוֹל וַיִּרְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וַיָּנִיאוּ אֶת לֵב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבִלְתִּי בֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָהֶם יְהוָה

KJ: For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

BN: "For when they went up into the valley of Eshkol, and saw the land, they turned away the heart of the Beney Yisra-El, that they should not go into the land which YHVH had given them...


All the right arguments - thus far.


32:10 VA YICHAR APH YHVH BA YOM HA HU VA YISHAVA LEMOR

וַיִּחַר אַף יְהוָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וַיִּשָּׁבַע לֵאמֹר

KJ: And the LORD'S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,

BN: "And YHVH's anger was kindled that day, and he made a vow, saying:


32:11 IM YIR'U HA ANASHIM HA OLIM MI MITSRAYIM MI BEN ESRIM SHANAH VA MA'LAH ET HA ADAMAH ASHER NISHBATI LE AV-RAHAM LE YITSCHAK U LE YA'AKOV KI LO MILU ACHARAI

אִם יִרְאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים הָעֹלִים מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה אֵת הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב כִּי לֹא מִלְאוּ אַחֲרָי

KJ: Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:

BN: "'Surely none of the men that came up out of Mitsrayim, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Av-Raham, to Yitschak, and to Ya'akov; because they have not wholly followed me...


Cf Numbers 14:26 ff.


32:12 BILTI KALEV BEN YEPHUNEH HA KENIZI VIY'HOSHU'A BEN NUN KI MIL'U ACHAREY YHVH

בִּלְתִּי כָּלֵב בֶּן יְפֻנֶּה הַקְּנִזִּי וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן כִּי מִלְאוּ אַחֲרֵי יְהוָה

KJ: Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.

BN: "'Save Kalev ben Yephuneh the Kenizi, and Yehoshu'a bin Nun, because they have wholly followed YHVH'...


Which, now that I am reading it in this context rather than the original tale, I realise must have included Mosheh - long before the sin of Merivah


32:13 VA YICHAR APH YHVH BE YISRA-EL VA YENI'EM BA MIDBAR ARBA'IM SHANAH AD TOM KOL HA DOR HA OSEH HA RA BE EYNEY YHVH

וַיִּחַר אַף יְהוָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְנִעֵם בַּמִּדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה עַד תֹּם כָּל הַדּוֹר הָעֹשֶׂה הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה

KJ: And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

BN: "And YHVH's anger was kindled against Yisra-El, and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness for forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of YHVH was consumed...


32:14 VE HINEH KAMTEM TACHAT AVOTEYCHEM TARBUT ANASHIM CHATA'IM LISPOT OD AL CHARON APH YHVH EL YISRA-EL

וְהִנֵּה קַמְתֶּם תַּחַת אֲבֹתֵיכֶם תַּרְבּוּת אֲנָשִׁים חַטָּאִים לִסְפּוֹת עוֹד עַל חֲרוֹן אַף יְהוָה אֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל

KJ: And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.

BN: "And now you have risen up in place of your fathers, a brood of sinful men, to augment still further the fierce anger of YHVH towards Yisra-El...


We have heard and seen YHVH angry, but never Mosheh, or not quite like this anyway. And in truth he is making the case that I made in my comments at verses 6 and 7; but with one difference: that he will yield to their wishes.


32:15 KI TESHUVUN ME ACHARAV VE YASAPH OD LE HANIYCHO BA MIDBAR VE SHICHATEM LE CHOL HA AM HA ZEH

כִּי תְשׁוּבֻן מֵאַחֲרָיו וְיָסַף עוֹד לְהַנִּיחוֹ בַּמִּדְבָּר וְשִׁחַתֶּם לְכָל הָעָם הַזֶּה

KJ: For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

BN: "For if you turn away from following him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and so you will destroy all this people."


Which is all the right argument, but Mosheh nonetheless relents, and YHVH then does none of these things - or not for several hundred years, which doesn't really count.

The argument used by Mosheh, which is essentially a scare-mongering technique, is little different from the one used by consecutive governments in London to frighten the Scots and Welsh into remaining in the United Kingdom, and the governments in Madrid ditto for the Basque and Catelan regions, and Paris regarding Brittany.

samech break


32:16 VA YIGSHU ELAV VA YOMRU GIDROT TSON NIVNEH LE MIKNENU POH VE ARIM LE TAPEYNU

וַיִּגְּשׁוּ אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמְרוּ גִּדְרֹת צֹאן נִבְנֶה לְמִקְנֵנוּ פֹּה וְעָרִים לְטַפֵּנוּ

KJ: And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:

BN: And they approached him and said: "We will build sheepfolds here for our flocks, and habitats for our little ones...


GIDROT TSON: I am amused by the KJ translation, trying to imagine the dairy cows kicking down the walls of the sheepfold when the human hand squeezing the full udder causes a knee-jerk (it is a very standard reaction). Oddly, the KJ doesn't repeat the oddity in verse 24, though the Yehudit is identical.

ARIM: The word appears to have evolved over time, from "settlement" in the earliest times, to "city" later on. Probably the intention here is the former, but we cannot know how large - hamlet, ham, village, ville, town, stowe, berg- so I have gone for the general "habitats". 


32:17 VA ANACHNU NECHALETS CHUSHIM LIPHNEY BENEY YISRA-EL AD ASHER IM HAVI'ONUM EL MEKOMAM VE YASHAV TAPEYNU BE AREY HA MIVTSAR MI PENEY YOSHVEY HA ARETS

וַאֲנַחְנוּ נֵחָלֵץ חֻשִׁים לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם הֲבִיאֹנֻם אֶל מְקוֹמָם וְיָשַׁב טַפֵּנוּ בְּעָרֵי הַמִּבְצָר מִפְּנֵי יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ

KJ: But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

BN: "But we ourselves will be ready to go, fullyarmed, as the vanguard  of the Beney Yisra-El, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land...


A rather splendid historical parallel, this and modern Israel, made viable through the 1920s and 1930s when the Peel Commission was trying to determine the future of Palestine when the British Mandate ended; the existence of the kibbutzim, which were farming settlements, proved key, and those early kibbutzniks - the chalutsim as they were called (and see verse 21) - all lived, so to speak, with one hand on the cow's udder and the other on the trigger of the rifle.


32:18 LO NASHUV EL BATEYNU AD HITNAHEL BENEY YISRA-EL ISH NACHALATO

לֹא נָשׁוּב אֶל בָּתֵּינוּ עַד הִתְנַחֵל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִישׁ נַחֲלָתוֹ

KJ: We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.

BN: "We will not return to our houses, until every last one of the Beney Yisra-El has obtained his inheritance...


This is not how it in fact worked out. According to the texts of Joshua and Judges, which are specific on these matters, several of the tribes never succeeded in fully conquering their territories, but dwelled among the indigenes, while Dan got completely booted out, and had to find another home; but in the meanwhile Re'u-Ven and Gad had long ago gone home.


32:19 KI LO NINCHAL ITAM ME EVER LA YARDEN VE HAL'AH KI VA'AH NACHALATENU ELEYNU ME EVER HA YARDEN MIZRACHAH

כִּי לֹא נִנְחַל אִתָּם מֵעֵבֶר לַיַּרְדֵּן וָהָלְאָה כִּי בָאָה נַחֲלָתֵנוּ אֵלֵינוּ מֵעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן מִזְרָחָה

KJ: For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

BN: But we will not inherit with them on the far side of the Yarden, nor in the land beyond it, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Yarden."


Those parts of the Torah which state that the land promised extends through Levanon and east to the Euphrates would also insist that Yazer and Gil'ad, where Gad and Re'u-Ven are planning to stop, and further north onto the Golan, where half-Menasheh will later choose to stop, are a part of that promised inheritance. The texts conflict of course, but at this moment our text has Mosheh unacceptant of these territories as part of the divine covenant (click here for the full debate)

pey break


32:20 VA YOMER ALEYHEM MOSHEH IM TA'ASUN ET HA DAVAR HA ZEH IM TECHALTSU LIPHNEY YHVH LA MILCHAMAH

וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם מֹשֶׁה אִם תַּעֲשׂוּן אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אִם תֵּחָלְצוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה לַמִּלְחָמָה

KJ: And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,

BN: Then Mosheh said to them: "If you are ready to make this commitment, to arm yourselves to go, loyal to YHVH, into battle...


DAVAR is such a difficult word to translate, because it is used in so many different ways in the texts. Most translations go for the least on this occasion, rendering it as "do this thing"; but this is DAVAR in the sense of word.

And for those in modern Israel seeking a religious argument that the yeshivah scholars should not be exempt from military service, look no further than this verse.


32:21 VE AVAR LACHEM KOL CHALUTS ET HA YARDEN LIPHNEY YHVH AD HORIYSHO ET OYEVAV MI PANAV

וְעָבַר לָכֶם כָּל חָלוּץ אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן לִפְנֵי יְהוָה עַד הוֹרִישׁוֹ אֶת אֹיְבָיו מִפָּנָיו

KJ: And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,

BN: "And every armed man amongst you will cross over the Yarden, loyal to YHVH, until he has driven out his enemies from before him...


CHALUTS: today we understand it to mean a "pioneer", one of those settlers of Turkish Falastina in the late 19th century who established kibbutzim along the borders and drained the Hula and Yazar-El (Jezreel) swamps, and worked "with a rifle in one hand, a ploughshare in the other"; but here it means only the rifle. The ploughshare is in the next verse.


32:22 VE NICHBESHAH HA ARETS LIPHNEY YHVH VE ACHAR TASHUVU VI HEYIYTEM NEKIYIM ME YHVH U MI YISRA-EL VE HAYETAH HA ARETS HA ZOT LACHEM LA ACHUZAT LIPHNEY YHVH

וְנִכְבְּשָׁה הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְאַחַר תָּשֻׁבוּ וִהְיִיתֶם נְקִיִּם מֵיְהוָה וּמִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וְהָיְתָה הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה לִפְנֵי יְהוָה

KJ: And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.

BN: "And the land has been subdued before YHVH - then, after that, you may return; then you shall be clear before YHVH, and before Yisra-El, and this land shall be to you for a possession before YHVH...


The hypocrisy of this is really quite staggering. YHVH has been promising this land, precisely this geographical domain, for centuries, and technically you are declining it, which is apostasy, mumarism, disobedience, and should be punished; but actually you'll be extending the territory, so YHVH gains, so he's prepared to accept disobedience on this occasion... all of which is of course just a convenient way of building your empire and claiming that god is on your side in doing it; all conquerors do that eventually, and then use the concept of "manifest destiny" to justify it.


32:23 VE IM LO TA'ASUN HINEH CHATATEM LA YHVH U DE'U CHATAT'CHEM ASHER TIMTSA ET'CHEM

וְאִם לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן כֵּן הִנֵּה חֲטָאתֶם לַיהוָה וּדְעוּ חַטַּאתְכֶם אֲשֶׁר תִּמְצָא אֶתְכֶם

KJ: But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

BN: "But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against YHVH -  and know your sin for it will find you...


Oh but there has to have been a slight pause before U DE'U, from the very tone of such a phrase - you have to imagine the scowl, the pointing finger, the implied lack of trust in Mosheh's voice, though he is going to go along with them... "but know this"; and then, of course, the threat, of being punished for disobedience if the contribution to the war-effort is not forthcoming: you'll get the reward, but you have to work for it. No turn up for the battle, no inheritance. Capisce?


32:24 BENO LACHEM ARIM LE TAPCHEM U GEDEROT LE TSONA'ACHEM VE HA YOTS'E MI PIYCHEM TA'ASU

בְּנוּ לָכֶם עָרִים לְטַפְּכֶם וּגְדֵרֹת לְצֹנַאֲכֶם וְהַיֹּצֵא מִפִּיכֶם תַּעֲשׂוּ

KJ: Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

BN: "Build habitats for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do what you have said you will."


32:25 VA YOMER BENEY GAD U VENEY RE'U-VEN EL MOSHEH LEMOR AVADEYCHA YA'ASU KA ASHER ADONI METSAVEH


וַיֹּאמֶר בְּנֵי גָד וּבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵאמֹר עֲבָדֶיךָ יַעֲשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר אֲדֹנִי מְצַוֶּה

KJ: And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.

BN: "And the Beney Gad and the Beney Re'u-Ven spoke to Mosheh, saying: "Your servants will do as my lord commands...


Move forward to the Books of Joshua and Judges, and read the maps that are presented, of Mo-Av and Edom and Gil'ad and Amon and the territory of Nachash, and Damasek (Damascus) - you will find neither Gad nor Re'u-Ven anywhere, never mentioned; they have simply disappeared into history - though a Prophet named Gad will appear from this region in King David's time. What happened to them? Absorbed. Assimilated. Within very few generations. When scholars speak of Sennacherib conquering the northern kingdom, and dating that as the time of the "loss of the ten tribes", really, it was only six and a half tribes: Shim'on long before absorbed into Yehudah or lost to the Pelishtim, and these two-and-a-half likewise long gone.


32:26 TAPEYNU NASHEYNU MIKNEYNU VE CHOL BEHEMTEYNU YIHEYU SHAM BE AREY HA GIL'AD

טַפֵּנוּ נָשֵׁינוּ מִקְנֵנוּ וְכָל בְּהֶמְתֵּנוּ יִהְיוּ שָׁם בְּעָרֵי הַגִּלְעָד

KJ: Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:

BN: "Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gil'ad...


32:27 VA AVADEYCHA YA'AVRU KOL CHALUTS TSAVA LIPHNEY YHVH LA MILCHAMAH KA ASHER ADONI DOVER

וַעֲבָדֶיךָ יַעַבְרוּ כָּל חֲלוּץ צָבָא לִפְנֵי יְהוָה לַמִּלְחָמָה כַּאֲשֶׁר אֲדֹנִי דֹּבֵר

KJ: But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.

BN: "But your servants will cross, every last man armed for war, loyal to YHVH, into battle, as my lord says."


ADONI: as in verse 25, this uses the first person singular, though we have had the first person plural throughout verse 26; evidently this is a spokesperson on behalf of the tribes, but we are not told who he was; can we go to the tribal lists elsewhere and deduce which Re'u-Venite or Gadite it is likely to have been?


32:28 VA YETSAV LAHEM MOSHEH ET EL-AZAR HA KOHEN VE ET YEHOSU'A BIN NUN VE ET RASHEY AVOT HA MATOT LIVNEY YISRA-EL

וַיְצַו לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה אֵת אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְאֵת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן וְאֶת רָאשֵׁי אֲבוֹת הַמַּטּוֹת לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

KJ: So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:

BN: So Mosheh gave a ruling in this matter to El-Azar the Kohen, and to Yehoshu'a bin Nun, and to the heads of the clans of the tribes of the Beney Yisra-El.


Yehoshu'a wasn't mentioned previously as being in this group, but it is... logical that he would be there, as he is has been appointed Mosheh's successor.... no, logical that he would have been in charge here, not Mosheh, because he has already been imaugurated (I shall keep on restating this,every time it occurs).


32:29 VA YOMER MOSHEH ALEYHEM IM YA'AVRU VENEY GAD U VENEY RE'U-VEN IT'CHEM ET HA YARDEN KOL CHALUTS LA MILCHAMAH LIPHNEY YHVH VE NICHBESHAH HA ARETS LIPHNEYCHEM U NETATEM LAHEM ET ERETS HA GIL'AD LA ACHUZAH

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֲלֵהֶם אִם יַעַבְרוּ בְנֵי גָד וּבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן אִתְּכֶם אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן כָּל חָלוּץ לַמִּלְחָמָה לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְנִכְבְּשָׁה הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵיכֶם וּנְתַתֶּם לָהֶם אֶת אֶרֶץ הַגִּלְעָד לַאֲחֻזָּה

KJ: And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:

BN: Then Mosheh said to them: "If the Beney Gad and the Beney Re'u-Ven are committing themselvs to crossing the Yarden 
with you, armed for battle to the last man, loyal to YHVH, and if the land that lies before you is indeed conquered, then you shall give them the land of Gil'ad for a possession.


32:30 VE IM LO YA'AVRU CHALUTSIM IT'CHEM VE NO'CHAZU VETOCH'CHEM BE ERETS KENA'AN

וְאִם לֹא יַעַבְרוּ חֲלוּצִים אִתְּכֶם וְנֹאחֲזוּ בְתֹכְכֶם בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן

KJ: But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.

BN: But if they do not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Kena'an.


And if they break their promise, having built their homes and their sheepfolds and established themselves, but don't send soldiers - what then? Mosheh makes no contingency for this. Is he simply naive, or just very trusting? Given that taking this land is, as he has confirmed, itself an act of disobedience, what grounds does he have for trusting them? Surely his response should have been: "but if they do not cross over with you armed, then they have demonstrated their disloyalty to YHVH and to their people, so to hell with them, let them rot in Gil'ad." Why would he impose "possessions in Kena'an" as a requirement upon the other tribes?


32:31 VA YA'ANU VENEY GAD U VENEY RE'U-VEN LEMOR ET ASHER DIBER YHVH EL AVADEYCHA KEN NA'ASEH

וַיַּעֲנוּ בְנֵי גָד וּבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן לֵאמֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֶל עֲבָדֶיךָ כֵּן נַעֲשֶׂה

KJ: And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.

BN: And the Beney Gad and the Beney Re'u-Ven answered, saying: "As YHVH has said to your servants, so will we do...


32:32 NACHNU NA'AVOR CHALUTSIM LIPHNEY YHVH ERETS KENA'AN VE ITANU ACHUZAT NACHALATENU ME EVER LA YARDEN

נַחְנוּ נַעֲבֹר חֲלוּצִים לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וְאִתָּנוּ אֲחֻזַּת נַחֲלָתֵנוּ מֵעֵבֶר לַיַּרְדֵּן

KJ: We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.

BN: "We will cross, armed, loyal to YHVH, into the land of Kena'an, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Yarden."


NACHNU: Is that an abbreviated form of ANACHNU, or simply a scribal error?


32:33 VA YITEN LAHEM MOSHEH LIVNEY GAD U LIVNEY RE'U-VEN VE LA CHATSI SHEVET MENASHEH VEN YOSEPH ET MAMLECHET SIYCHON MELECH HA EMORI VE ET MAMLECHET OG MELECH HA BASHAN HA ARETS LE AREYHA BI GEVULOT AREY HA ARETS SAVIYV

וַיִּתֵּן לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה לִבְנֵי גָד וְלִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן וְלַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט מְנַשֶּׁה בֶן יוֹסֵף אֶת מַמְלֶכֶת סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֶת מַמְלֶכֶת עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן הָאָרֶץ לְעָרֶיהָ בִּגְבֻלֹת עָרֵי הָאָרֶץ סָבִיב

KJ: And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.

BN: So Mosheh gave them - the Beney Gad, and the Beney Re'u-Ven, and the half-tribe of Menasheh ben Yoseph - the kingdom of Sichon, king of the Emori, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with its cities, within their borders, including the cities of the land round about.


Why was the half-tribe of Menasheh not mentioned before in this episode, given that we are now to understand that they are present and included in the deal? Is there any point at which we are told how and why a half-tribe can come to be formed? Was there a schism, a leadership dispute, another twin-rivalry? The whole thing simply makes it more likely that the tribal structure was artificially super-imposed at some later date, and these tales an attempt to give disparate groups (in Ezra's time) a feeling of belonging.

SICHON: see Numbers 21:26; and then see Judges 11:19-21.

OG...BASHAN: See the links.


32:34 VA YIVNU VENEY GAD ET DIVON VE ET ATAROT VE ET ARO'ER

וַיִּבְנוּ בְנֵי גָד אֶת דִּיבֹן וְאֶת עֲטָרֹת וְאֵת עֲרֹעֵר

KJ: And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

BN: And the Beney Gad built Divon, and Atarot, and Aro'er.


YIVNU: The root may or may not be the same as BEN = "son", and yet it includes BEN = son, which may be the reason why BEN could mean the son of a father (Jacob son of Isaac - Ya'akov ben Yitschak) or the resident of a town (Beney Chevron, Beney Be'er Sheva, Beney Tel Aviv etc), or the member of a guild (Beney Korach et al). The Levirate Law speaks of "building up" the name of a childless dead brother by fathering sons with the widow, and uses the same root.

What does built mean, in the context of these towns? Re-built after destroying them in the conquest? It takes many years to build towns, so we are being given a piece of history, retrospective from the viewpoint of the teller - yet the teller is supposedly YHVH on Mount Sinai, describing the future. Self-evidently this part of the Torah at least must be dated to decades if not centuries after the events.

And we know that these places did already exist before the Beney Gad "built" them, because they named most of them in verse 3.

ARO'ER is the only one not named in verse 3. See the link.


32:35 VE ET ATROT SHOPHAN VE ET YA'ZER VE YAGBEHAH

וְאֶת עַטְרֹת שׁוֹפָן וְאֶת יַעְזֵר וְיָגְבְּהָה

KJ: And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

BN: And Atrot-Shophan, and Yazer, and Yogbehah;


Very much not Yisra-Eli names!

ATROT in verse 3 was ATAROT; is this ATAROT-SHOPHAN as one hyphenated name, or two names? See the link.

YOGBEHAH: See the link.


32:36 VE ET BEIT NIMRAH VE ET BEIT HARAN AREY MIVTSAR VE GIDROT TSON

וְאֶת בֵּית נִמְרָה וְאֶת בֵּית הָרָן עָרֵי מִבְצָר וְגִדְרֹת צֹאן

KJ: And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.

BN: And Beit Nimrah, and Beit Haran; fortified cities, and sheepfolds.


BEIT NIMRAH: Is this the same as NIMRAH in verse 3 (I have used a different link)?  The name means "leopard", and they are still found on both sides of the Dead Sea - click here for more on this.

BEIT HARAN: See the link.


32:37 U VENEY RE'U-VEN BANU ET CHESHBON VE ET EL-ALEH VE ET KIRYATAYIM

וּבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן בָּנוּ אֶת חֶשְׁבּוֹן וְאֶת אֶלְעָלֵא וְאֵת קִרְיָתָיִם

KJ: And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,

BN: And the Beney Re'u-Ven built Cheshbon, and El-Aleh, and Kiryatayim.


KIRYATAYIM: Meaning "many villages" - see the link.

Just as a matter of interest, take a look at the Book of Ezra and see if any of these places or names are of significance there.


32:38 VE ET NEVO VE ET BA'AL ME'ON MUSABOT SHEM VE ET SIVMAH VA YIKRE'U VE SHEMOT ET SHEMOT HE ARIM ASHER BANU

וְאֶת נְבוֹ וְאֶת בַּעַל מְעוֹן מוּסַבֹּת שֵׁם וְאֶת שִׂבְמָה וַיִּקְרְאוּ בְשֵׁמֹת אֶת שְׁמוֹת הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר בָּנוּ

KJ: And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.

BN: And Nevo, and Ba'al Me'on - their names being changed - and Sivmah; and gave their names to the cities which they built.


BA'AL ME'ON: "The place where Ba'al lives" - so yes, obviously, we would expect them to change its name! (though actually there are many names in the later books that did not get changed, of which the most striking for us today would be Bethlehem - Beit Lechem Ephratah, "the shrine of the corn-god of the Euphrates": Tammuz, not Jesus.)

SIVMAH: See the link.


32:39 VA YELCHU BENEY MACHIR BEN MENASHEH GIL'ADAH VA YILKEDUHA VA YORESH ET HA EMORI ASHER BAH

וַיֵּלְכוּ בְּנֵי מָכִיר בֶּן מְנַשֶּׁה גִּלְעָדָה וַיִּלְכְּדֻהָ וַיּוֹרֶשׁ אֶת הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר בָּהּ

KJ: And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.

BN: And the children of Machir the son of Menasheh went to Gil'ad, and took it, and dispossessed the Emori who lived there.


EMORI: See the link.


32:40 VA YITEN MOSHEH ET GIL'AD LE MACHIR BEN MENASHEH VA YESHEV BAH

וַיִּתֵּן מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַגִּלְעָד לְמָכִיר בֶּן מְנַשֶּׁה וַיֵּשֶׁב בָּהּ

KJ: And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.

BN: And Mosheh gave Gil'ad to Machir ben Menasheh; and he dwelt there.


"Gave" and "dwelt" are terms that need a little explaining, as we will see in the next verse. I hereby bequeath Buckingham Palace and all the green fields of Kent to my grand-children. Doesn't mean they can automatically move in next Thursday.


MACHIR BEN MENASHEH: See the link, though this is not the "original" Machir ben Menasheh, who would have lived anywhere between 100 and 500 years before, depending on which piece of Torah you choose to regard as historically accurate.


32:41 VE YA'IR BEN MENASHEH HALACH VA YILKOD ET CHOTEYTEM VA YIKRA ET'HEN CHAVOT YA'IR

וְיָאִיר בֶּן מְנַשֶּׁה הָלַךְ וַיִּלְכֹּד אֶת חַוֹּתֵיהֶם וַיִּקְרָא אֶתְהֶן חַוֹּת יָאִיר

KJ: And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.

BN: And Ya'ir ben Menasheh went and captured all those villages, and named them Chavot Ya'ir.


YA'IR: See the link.

CHAVOT YA'IR: Changing the historical names of places to ones in your language that thereby assert your ownership is a conventional technique of conquest. See Brian Friel's play "Translations", which describes how the English did exactly this in Eireland. Illegal Anglo-Saxon settlements in occupied Maori, Aboriginal and Seminole lands elsewhere in the British Empire can tell similar stories.


32:42 VE NOVACH HALACH VA YILKOD ET KENAT VE ET BENOTEYHA VA YIKRA LAH NOVACH BISHMO

וְנֹבַח הָלַךְ וַיִּלְכֹּד אֶת קְנָת וְאֶת בְּנֹתֶיהָ וַיִּקְרָא לָה נֹבַח בִּשְׁמוֹ

KJ: And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

BN: And Novach went and captured Kenat, and all its villages, and named it Novach, after his own name.


NOVACH: See the link.

KENAT: See the link.

pey break


Numbers 1 2 3 4a 4b 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 25b 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36


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