The children of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manassah built a large altar by the borders of Jordan in the land of Canaan.
The people of Reuben and Gad said: This altar is a witness to all of us that Jehovah is God. Therefore they named it witness.
The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty men ready for military service, able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.
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They seized the livestock of the Hagrites, fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, and many others fell slain, because the battle was God's. And they occupied the land until the exile.
To the east they occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in Gilead. During Saul's reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the entire region east of Gilead.
Liberality » Instances of » Reubenites
No! We did it because we were afraid that in the future your descendants would say to ours: What do you have to do with Jehovah, the God of Israel? He made the Jordan a boundary between the people of Reuben and Gad and us. You have nothing to do with Jehovah. Then your descendants might make our descendants stop worshiping Jehovah. We did not built an altar to burn sacrifices or make offerings,
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but instead, as a sign for our people and yours, and for the generations after us, that we do indeed worship Jehovah. We do this before his sacred Tabernacle with our offerings to be burned and with sacrifices and fellowship offerings. This was to keep your descendants from saying that ours have nothing to do with Jehovah. We thought that if this should ever happen, our descendants could say: 'You see our ancestors made an altar just like Jehovah's altar. It was not for burning offerings or for sacrifice, but as a sign for our people and yours.' We would certainly not rebel against Jehovah or stop following him now by building an altar to burn offerings on or for grain offerings or sacrifices. We would not build any other altar than the altar of Jehovah our God that stands in front of the Tabernacle of his presence.
Obedience » Instances of » Reubenites
He said: You have done everything Jehovah's servant Moses ordered you to do. You have obeyed all my commands. You have never deserted the other Israelites. You have been careful to obey the commandments of Jehovah your God.
Korah son of Izhar, Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth dared to challenge Moses. Korah was a descendant of Kohath and Levi. Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben.
On the west their territory extended to the Jordan River, from Lake Galilee in the north down to the Dead Sea in the south and to the foot of (Mount) Pisgah on the east.
It included the region east of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea and east to the foot of Mount Pisgah.
And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and to the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth-pisgah:
The Levites have no part among you. The priesthood of Jehovah is their inheritance. Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the Jehovah gave them.
Next we headed for the land of Bashan. King Og of Bashan and all his army came to fight us at Edrei. Jehovah said to me: 'Do not be afraid of him. I will hand him, all his army, and his land, over to you. Do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.' So Jehovah our God also handed King Og of Bashan and all his army over to us. We defeated him and left no survivors.
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We captured all his cities. Not one was missed. We captured a total of sixty cities in the territory of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All of these cities were fortified with high walls and double-door gates with bars across the gates. We also captured a large number of unwalled villages. We destroyed all the towns and put to death all the men, women, and children. This was just as we did in the towns that belonged to King Sihon of Heshbon. We kept the livestock and took plunder from the towns. Sihon and Og ruled Amorite kingdoms east of the Jordan River. Their land stretched from the Arnon River Gorge in the south to Mount Hermon in the north. We captured it all. Mount Hermon is called Mount Sirion by the people of Sidon. The Amorites call it Mount Senir. All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, and Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan were captured. Of the Rephaim only King Og of Bashan was left. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It is still in the Ammonite city of Rabbah. We took possession of this land. I gave the tribes of Reuben and Gad the land north of Aroer near the Arnon Valley and half of the mountain region of Gilead with its cities. I assigned the rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, where Og had ruled, that is, the entire Argob region to half the tribe of Manasseh. Bashan was known as the land of the Rephaim. Jair, from the tribe of Manasseh, took the entire region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of Geshur and Maacah. He named the villages after himself, and they are still known as the villages of Jair. I assigned Gilead to the clan of Machir of the tribe of Manasseh. I assigned the territory from Gilead to the Arnon River to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The middle of the river was their southern boundary, and their northern boundary was the Jabbok River, part of which formed the Ammonite border. On the west their territory extended to the Jordan River, from Lake Galilee in the north down to the Dead Sea in the south and to the foot of (Mount) Pisgah on the east. Then I gave them the following instructions: 'Jehovah our God gave you the land east of the Jordan to occupy. Now arm your fighting men and send them across the Jordan ahead of the other tribes of Israel, to help them occupy their land. Your wives, children, and livestock, for you have a lot of livestock, will remain behind in the towns I assigned to you. Help the other Israelites until they occupy the land Jehovah is giving them west of the Jordan and until Jehovah lets them live there in peace, just as he has done here for you. After that, you may return to the land I assigned to you.'
Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families. Their coast was from Aroer that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba, Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon,
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And Jahazah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zareth-shahar in the mount of the valley, And Beth-peor, and Ashdoth-pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, All the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses killed with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, who were dukes of Sihon, living in the country. Balaam was also the son of Beor, the soothsayer. The children of Israel slayed him along with all who were slain with the sword. The border of the children of Reuben was Jordan and its border. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages there.
And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said: Remember the word Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you: 'Jehovah your God has given you rest, and has given you this land.' Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brothers armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them.
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Your brothers will possess the land Jehovah gave them until Jehovah gives your brothers rest. Then you will return to the land you possess and enjoy it. This is the land Jehovah's servant Moses gave you on this side of Jordan toward the sunrise (to the east). They answered Joshua: All that you command us we will do. Wherever you send us we will go. Just as we listened to Moses in all things, we will listen to you in all things. May Jehovah your God be with you, as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your commandment, and does not listen to your words in all that you command him must be put to death. Be strong and of a good courage.
Joshua called together the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. He said: You have done everything Jehovah's servant Moses ordered you to do. You have obeyed all my commands. You have never deserted the other Israelites. You have been careful to obey the commandments of Jehovah your God.
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Jehovah your God has given the other Israelites peace as he promised. So go back home to the land you claimed for your own, the land on the east side of the Jordan, that Moses, Jehovah's servant, gave you. Be sure you obey the Law that Moses commanded you. Love Jehovah your God. Do his will. Obey his commandments and be faithful to him. Serve him with all your heart and with all your being (Nephesh: living being). Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel Tiglathpileser king of Assyria captured Ijon and Abelbethmaacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee and all the land of Naphtali. He took the people captive to Assyria.
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.
The children of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manassah built a large altar by the borders of Jordan in the land of Canaan. The children of Israel heard that the half tribe of Manasseh built an altar in the land of Canaan on the side belonging to the sons of Israel, at the Jordan when they passed by. When the people of Israel heard this, the whole community came together at Shiloh to go to war against the eastern tribes.
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Then the people of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh in the land of Gilead. Ten leading men went with Phinehas, one from each of the western tribes and each one the head of a family among the clans. They came to the land of Gilead, to the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, Speaking for the whole assembly of Jehovah's people they said: Why have you done this evil thing against the God of Israel? You have rebelled against Jehovah by building this altar for yourselves! You are no longer following him! Do you remember our sin at Peor, when Jehovah punished his own people with an epidemic? We are still suffering because of that. Was that not enough sin? Are you going to refuse to follow him now? If you rebel against Jehovah now, he will be angry with everyone in Israel. If your land is not fit to worship in, come over into Jehovah's land, where his Tabernacle is. Claim some land among us. But do not rebel against Jehovah or make rebels out of us by building an altar in addition to the altar of Jehovah our God. Remember how Achan son of Zerah would not obey the command about the things condemned to destruction. The whole assembly of Israel was punished for that. Achan was not the only one who died because of his sin. The people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh answered the heads of the families of the western tribes: The Mighty, Divine One is God of Gods! He is Jehovah! The Mighty, Divine One is God of Gods! He is Jehovah! He knows why we did this, and we want you to know too! If we rebelled and did not keep faith with Jehovah, do not allow us to live any longer! If we disobeyed Jehovah and built our own altar to burn sacrifices on or to use for grain offerings or fellowship offerings, let Jehovah himself punish us. No! We did it because we were afraid that in the future your descendants would say to ours: What do you have to do with Jehovah, the God of Israel? He made the Jordan a boundary between the people of Reuben and Gad and us. You have nothing to do with Jehovah. Then your descendants might make our descendants stop worshiping Jehovah. We did not built an altar to burn sacrifices or make offerings, but instead, as a sign for our people and yours, and for the generations after us, that we do indeed worship Jehovah. We do this before his sacred Tabernacle with our offerings to be burned and with sacrifices and fellowship offerings. This was to keep your descendants from saying that ours have nothing to do with Jehovah. We thought that if this should ever happen, our descendants could say: 'You see our ancestors made an altar just like Jehovah's altar. It was not for burning offerings or for sacrifice, but as a sign for our people and yours.' We would certainly not rebel against Jehovah or stop following him now by building an altar to burn offerings on or for grain offerings or sacrifices. We would not build any other altar than the altar of Jehovah our God that stands in front of the Tabernacle of his presence. Phinehas the priest and the ten leading men of the community with him, the heads of families of the western tribes, heard what the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh had to say, and they were satisfied. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to them: We know that Jehovah is with us. You have not rebelled against him. So you have saved the people of Israel from Jehovah's punishment. Phinehas and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead and went back to Canaan, to the people of Israel, and reported to them. The Israelites were satisfied and praised God. They no longer talked about going to war to devastate the land where the people of Reuben and Gad had settled. The people of Reuben and Gad said: This altar is a witness to all of us that Jehovah is God. Therefore they named it witness.
The roster of families and households for the descendants of Reuben, Israel's firstborn son, listed every man by name that was at least twenty years old and eligible for military duty. The total for the tribe of Reuben was forty-six thousand.
The leaders of Issachar came with Deborah. Issachar came and Barak too, and they followed him into the valley. But the tribe of Reuben was divided; they could not decide to come. Why did they stay behind with the sheep? Did they listen to shepherds calling the flocks? Yes, the tribe of Reuben was divided; they could not decide to come.
Next, the banner of the division led by the tribe of Reuben would start out, company by company. Elizur son of Shedeur was in command.
These were the families of Reuben. The total number of men was forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.
On the south side the armies led by Reuben will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Reuben is Elizur, son of Shedeur
