Numbers 32:3

3 "At'aroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elea'leh, Sebam, Nebo, and Be'on,

Numbers 32:3 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 32:3

Ataroth, Dibon, and Jazer
These were places which belonged to the Amorites, and were taken from Sihon, their king: of Ataroth we read nowhere else but in this chapter; of Dibon see ( Isaiah 15:2 ) , Jazer was a city, from whence the land about it had its name; it is the same with Jaazer, ( Numbers 21:32 ) and stood about fifteen miles from Heshbon F11, the capital city of the kingdom of Sihon:

and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon;
these were all places in the same country; of Heshbon see ( Numbers 21:25 Numbers 21:26 ) ( Isaiah 15:4 ) , Nimrah is the same with Bethnimrah, ( Numbers 32:36 ) and sometimes called Nimrim, famous for its water, ( Isaiah 15:6 ) . Jerom says F12 the name of it in his time was Benamerium, and lay to the north of Zoar; Elealeh, according to the same writer F13 was but a mile from Heshbon, of which see ( Isaiah 15:4 ) . Shebam is the same with Shibmah, ( Numbers 32:36 ) , and seems to be a place famous for vines, ( Isaiah 16:8 ) ( Jeremiah 48:32 ) ; it is thought to be the same with the Seba of Ptolemy F14, and according to Jerom F15, there were scarce five hundred paces between this place and Heshbon; Nebo, the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call the grave of Moses, because on a mountain of this name Moses died, and where it is supposed he was buried; but it is certain he was buried not on a mountain, but in a valley, ( Deuteronomy 34:6 ) , this perhaps had its name from the mountain near which it was, and of which see ( Isaiah 15:2 ) . Beon is the same that is called Baalmeon, ( Numbers 32:38 ) and Bethbaalmeon, ( Joshua 13:17 ) , where was very probably a temple of Baal; it was about nine miles from Heshbon F16.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 Jerom. de loc. Heb. fol. 92. G.
F12 lbid. K.
F13 Ibid. fol. 91. A.
F14 Geograph. l. 5. c. 19.
F15 Comment. in Esaiam, c. 16. 8.
F16 Eusebius apud Reland: Palest. Illustr. par. 2. l. 3. p. 611.

Numbers 32:3 In-Context

1 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for cattle.
2 So the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Elea'zar the priest and to the leaders of the congregation,
3 "At'aroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elea'leh, Sebam, Nebo, and Be'on,
4 the land which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle; and your servants have cattle."
5 And they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession; do not take us across the Jordan."
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.