Numbers 32:2

2 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses and to Eleazar, the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,

Numbers 32:2 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 32:2

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake
unto Moses
The children of Gad are mentioned first, though Reuben was the firstborn, and had a standard under which Gad pitched: it may be, as Aben Ezra thinks, the Gadites were the first authors of this counsel, the contrivers of this scheme; who first moved it to the Reubenites, which they had an opportunity of doing, lying encamped by them; or however, they might be the most busy and active in this affair, or the best spokesmen; for it could be only some, in the name of the whole, that addressed Moses on this account, and spoke to him about it:

and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation;
who perhaps were the seventy elders, and with Moses the chief ruler, and Eleazar the high priest, made up the grand sanhedrim, or great council of the nation, and were undoubtedly the most proper persons to apply unto:

saying:
as follows.

Numbers 32:2 In-Context

1 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock, and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, it seemed unto them that the place was a place for livestock.

2 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses and to Eleazar, the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,

3 Ataroth and Dibon and Jazer and Nimrah and Heshbon and Elealeh and Shebam and Nebo and Beon,

4 the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and thy slaves have livestock.

5 Therefore, they said, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy slaves for a possession and do not make us pass the Jordan.