Numbers 32:31

31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, As the Lord hath spoken to his servants, so we shall do;

Numbers 32:31 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 32:31

And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered,
&c.], The word is in the singular number, and shows their unanimity, that they agreed to what Moses said, and replied all of them as one man, as Jarchi expresses it; and it may be there was one that was the mouth of them all, and answered for them:

saying, as the Lord hath said unto thy servants, so will we do;
here they make use of the word Jehovah, taking what Moses had said unto them as from the Lord, and therefore should strictly and punctually observe it, as if they heard the Lord himself speak it.

Numbers 32:31 In-Context

29 and he said to them, If the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben, go all armed with you [over Jordan], to (do) battle before the Lord, and the land be made subject to you, give ye to them Gilead into possession; (and he said to them, If the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben, all go armed with you across the Jordan River, to do battle before the Lord, and the land be made subject to you, give ye to them Gilead for their possession;)

30 but if they will not pass (over) with you (armed,) into the land of Canaan, take they then places to dwell among you. (but if they do not cross over with you, ready for battle, then they shall take places to live among you, in the land of Canaan.)

31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, As the Lord hath spoken to his servants, so we shall do;

32 we shall go armed before the Lord, into the land of Canaan, and we acknowledge, that we have taken now possession over Jordan. (we all shall go armed before the Lord, into the land of Canaan, and we acknowledge, that we have now received our possession, here on the eastern side of the Jordan River).

33 And so Moses gave to the sons of Gad, and of Reuben, and to half the lineage of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the realm of Sihon, king of Amorites, and the realm of Og, king of Bashan, and their land(s), with their cities, by compass.