Deuteronomy 3:12-17

Distribution of the Transjordanian Allotments

3:12 This is the land we brought under our control at that time: The territory extending from Aroer ¹  by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites. ²  3:13 The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. ³  (All the region of Argob, ⁴  that is, all Bashan, is called the land of Rephaim. 3:14 Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites ⁵  and Maacathites ⁶  (namely Bashan) and called it by his name, Havvoth-Jair, ⁷  which it retains to this very day.) 3:15 I gave Gilead to Machir. ⁸  3:16 To the Reubenites and Gadites I allocated the territory extending from Gilead as far as Wadi Arnon (the exact middle of the wadi was a boundary) all the way to the Wadi Jabbok, the Ammonite border. 3:17 The Arabah and the Jordan River ⁹  were also a border, from the sea of Chinnereth ¹⁰  to the sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea), ¹¹  beneath the watershed ¹²  of Pisgah ¹³  to the east.

[3:12]  ¹ tn The words “the territory extending” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:12]  ² sn Reubenites and Gadites. By the time of Moses’ address the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had already been granted permission to settle in the Transjordan, provided they helped the other tribes subdue the occupants of Canaan (cf. Num 32:28-42).

[3:13]  ³ sn Half the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe of Manasseh split into clans, with half opting to settle in Bashan and the other half in Canaan (cf. Num 32:39-42; Josh 17:1-13).

[3:13]  ⁴ sn Argob. See note on this term in v. 4.

[3:14]  ⁵ sn Geshurites. Geshur was a city and its surrounding area somewhere northeast of Bashan (cf. Josh 12:5 ; 13:11, 13). One of David’s wives was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur and mother of Absalom (cf. 2 Sam 13:37; 15:8; 1 Chr 3:2).

[3:14]  ⁶ sn Maacathites. These were the people of a territory southwest of Mount Hermon on the Jordan River. The name probably has nothing to do with David’s wife from Geshur (see note on “Geshurites” earlier in this verse).

[3:14]  ⁷ sn Havvoth-Jair. The Hebrew name means “villages of Jair,” the latter being named after a son (i.e., descendant) of Manasseh who took the area by conquest.

[3:15]  ⁸ sn Machir was the name of another descendant of Manasseh (cf. Num 32:41; 1 Chr 7:14-19). Eastern Manasseh was thus divided between the Jairites and the Machirites.

[3:17]  ⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in vv. 20, 25).

[3:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from Chinnereth.” The words “the sea of” have been supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[3:17]  ¹¹ sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea (cf. Gen 14:3; Josh 3:16).

[3:17]  ¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term אַשְׁדֹּת (’ashdot) is unclear. It is usually translated either “slopes” (ASV, NAB, NIV) or “watershed” (NEB).

[3:17]  ¹³ sn Pisgah. This appears to refer to a small range of mountains, the most prominent peak of which is Mount Nebo (Num 21:20; 23:14; Deut 3:27; cf. 34:1).