Deuteronomy 3:18

18 Here is the command I gave at that time to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. I said, "The LORD your God has given you this land as your very own. But all of your strong men must be prepared for battle. They must cross over ahead of the rest of your fellow Israelites.

Deuteronomy 3:18 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 3:18

And I commanded you at that time
Not all Israel, but the tribes of Reuben and God, and the half tribe of Manasseh; for what follows only concerns them:

saying, the Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it;
the land before described, lately in the hands of Sihon and Og; this at their request Moses gave them, by the direction of the Lord, on the following condition:

you shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel,
all [that] are meet for the war;
that is, they should pass over Jordan with the rest of the tribes, being armed to assist them in the conquest of Canaan: for this phrase, which we render "before your brethren", does not signify that they went in the forefront of them, only that they were present with them, and joined them in their war against their enemies; see ( Numbers 32:29 Numbers 32:30 ) and therefore should be rendered "with your brethren" ^F1; even as many of them as were able to bear arms, at least as many as Joshua would choose to take of them; for he did not take them all by a great many; see ( Joshua 4:13 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (Mkyxa ynpl) "cum fratribus vestris", Noldius, p. 531, No. 1492.

Deuteronomy 3:18 In-Context

16 But I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory that reaches from Gilead down to the Arnon River valley. It reaches all the way to the Jabbok River. The Jabbok is the northern border of Ammon. The middle of the Arnon River valley is its southern border.

17 The western border of Reuben and Gad is the Jordan River in the Arabah Valley. It reaches from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. It runs below the slopes of Pisgah.

18 Here is the command I gave at that time to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. I said, "The LORD your God has given you this land as your very own. But all of your strong men must be prepared for battle. They must cross over ahead of the rest of your fellow Israelites.

19 "But your wives and children can stay in the towns I've given you. You can keep your livestock there too. I know you have a lot of livestock.

20 Let your families and livestock stay in those towns until the LORD gives peace and rest to the other tribes, just as he has given you peace and rest. And let them stay until the other tribes have taken over the land the LORD your God is giving them. That land is across the Jordan River. After that, each of you may go back to the land I've given you as your very own."