Deuteronomy 3:12-18

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.

Instructions to the Transjordanian Tribes

3:18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites ¹⁴  equipped for battle.

Joshua 1:15

1:15 until the Lord gives your brothers a place like yours to settle and they conquer the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to them. Then you may go back to your allotted land and occupy the land Moses the Lord’s servant assigned you east of the Jordan.” ¹⁵ 

Joshua 13:8

Tribal Lands East of the Jordan

13:8 The other half of Manasseh, ¹⁶  Reuben, and Gad received their allotted tribal lands beyond the Jordan, ¹⁷  just as Moses, the Lord’s servant, had assigned them.

Joshua 13:29-32

13:29 Moses assigned land to the half-tribe of Manasseh ¹⁸  by its clans. 13:30 Their territory started at ¹⁹  Mahanaim and encompassed all Bashan, the whole realm of King Og of Bashan, including all sixty cities in Havvoth Jair ²⁰  in Bashan. 13:31 Half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities in the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were assigned to the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh, to half the descendants of Makir by their clans.

13:32 These are the land assignments made by Moses ²¹  on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho. ²² 

Joshua 22:9

22:9 So the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and headed home to their own land in Gilead, ²³  which they acquired by the Lord’s command through Moses.

[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).

[3:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your brothers, the sons of Israel.”

[1:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Then you may return to the land of your possession and possess it, that which Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave to you beyond the Jordan toward the rising of the sun.”

[13:8]  ¹⁶ tn The MT reads “with him,” which is problematic, since the reference would be to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh (not the half mentioned in v. 7).

[13:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “received their inheritance, which Moses had assigned to them beyond the Jordan.”

[13:29]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh, and it belonged to the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

[13:30]  ¹⁹ tn The words “their territory started at” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied for clarification.

[13:30]  ²⁰ sn The Hebrew name Havvoth Jair means “the tent villages of Jair.”

[13:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “These are [the lands] which Moses gave as an inheritance.”

[13:32]  ²² tn Heb “beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[22:9]  ²³ tn Heb “returned and went from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession.”