Deuteronomy 3:16

16 And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave, from Gilead up to the wadi of Arnon, the middle of the wadi [as a] boundary and up to the Jabbok {River}, the boundary of the {Ammonites}.

Deuteronomy 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 3:16

And unto the Reubenites, and unto the Gadites
The tribes of Reuben and Gad:

I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon:
see ( Deuteronomy 3:12 )

half the valley and the border;
or rather half the river, the river Arnon; and so it is rendered "the middle of the river", in ( Joshua 12:2 ) and so here the middle of the torrent by the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions, and by Onkelos:

even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of
Ammon;
beyond which the land given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad reached not; see ( Deuteronomy 2:37 ) .

Deuteronomy 3:16 In-Context

14 Jair the descendant of Manasseh acquired the whole region of Argob, up to the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and he called it, [that is] Bashan, after his [own] name, Havvoth Jair, {as it still is today}.

15 And [also] I gave Gilead to Makir.

16 And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave, from Gilead up to the wadi of Arnon, the middle of the wadi [as a] boundary and up to the Jabbok {River}, the boundary of the {Ammonites}.

17 And the {Jordan Valley} [with] the Jordan [River as its] boundary, from Kinnereth up to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, [with] the slopes of Pisgah toward the east.

18 "And I charged you [all] at that time [when I] said, "Yahweh has given you--to [all of] you--this land to possess. All the {warriors} shall cross over, ready to fight, before your brothers, the {Israelites}.

Footnotes

• [a] Hebrew "Reubenite"
• [b] Hebrew "Gadite"
• [c] A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
• [d] A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
• [e] Literally "wadi," which here refers to a flowing river
• [f] Literally "sons/children of Ammon"