Settling the East Side

32 The sons of Reuben and Gad had very large herds and flocks, and, they saw that the territory of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for livestock. ² So the sons of Reuben and Gad came and said to Moses, Eleazar the kohen, and the princes of the community saying, ³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon— ⁴ the territory Adonai conquered before the community of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”

⁵ Then they said, “If we have found favor in your eyes, let this territory be given to your servants as a possession. Don’t make us cross the Jordan.”

⁶ Moses replied to the sons of Gad and Reuben, “Should your countrymen go to war while you dwell here? ⁷ Why do you dishearten Bnei-Yisrael from going across to the land that Adonai has given to them? ⁸ Your fathers did this when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. ⁹ They went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, but they discouraged the hearts of Bnei-Yisrael not to enter the land which Adonai had given them. ¹⁰ The anger of Adonai was aroused that day, and He swore an oath saying: ¹¹ ‘The men who came out of Egypt, from 20 years old and upward, will not see the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for they have not followed after Me with a whole heart— ¹² except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they were wholehearted after Adonai.’ ¹³ The anger of Adonai burned against Israel and He caused them to wander in the wilderness 40 years until all the generation doing that evil in Adonai’s sight was gone.

¹⁴ “Now look, here you stand in the place of your fathers as a brood of sinful men to add more to Adonai’s great wrath against Israel! ¹⁵ If you turn away from Him, He will repeat again leaving this people in the wilderness, you being the cause of this people’s destruction.”

¹⁶ Then they came up to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our children. ¹⁷ But we are prepared to arm ourselves and go ahead of Bnei-Yisrael until we have brought them to their place. Our children will live in the cities fortified against the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until each one of Bnei-Yisrael has received his inheritance. ¹⁹ Yet we will not inherit with them on the side beyond the Jordan, since our inheritance has come on the east side of the Jordan.”