Numbers 32:1

The Petition of the Reubenites and Gadites

32:1 ¹ Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, ² 

Numbers 32:40

32:40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir, son of Manasseh, and he lived there. ³ 

Joshua 17:1-2

17:1 The tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn son, was also allotted land. ⁴  The descendants of Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and the father of Gilead, received land, for they were warriors. ⁵  They were assigned Gilead and Bashan. ⁶  17:2 The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land ⁷  by their clans, including the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

Joshua 2:9

2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. ⁸  We are absolutely terrified of you, ⁹  and all who live in the land are cringing before ¹⁰  you. ¹¹ 

¹ sn While the tribes are on the other side of Jordan, the matter of which tribes would settle there has to be discussed. This chapter begins the settlement of Israel into the tribal territories, something to be continued in Joshua. The chapter has the petitions (vv. 1-5), the response by Moses (vv. 6-15), the proposal (vv. 16-27), and the conclusion of the matter (vv. 28-42). For literature on this subject, both critical and conservative, see S. E. Loewenstein, “The Relation of the Settlement of Gad and Reuben in Numbers 32:1-38, Its Background and Its Composition,” Tarbiz 42 (1972): 12-26; J. Mauchline, “Gilead and Gilgal, Some Reflections on the Israelite Occupation of Palestine,” VT 6 (1956): 19-33; and A. Bergmann, “The Israelite Tribe of Half-Manasseh,” JPOS 16 (1936): 224-54.

² tn Heb “the place was a place of/for cattle.”

³ tn Heb “in it.”

⁴ tn Heb “and the lot belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph.”

⁵ tn Heb “to Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war.”

⁶ tn Heb “Gilead and Bashan belonged to him.”

⁷ tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Manasseh who remained.”

⁸ tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.

⁹ tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”

¹⁰ tn Or “melting away because of.”

¹¹ tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”