Parashat Mattoth

(Numbers 30:1 - 32:42)

The heads needed to take responsibility for the people under them. The corporate drawing-near outlined in ch. 29 depends on Israel being built of trustworthy individuals. They had recently broken their vow to YHWH and had an adulterous "affair" with Ba'al-Peor. Pin'has stopped YHWH's wrath, but the stench of adultery is still on the people. So He addresses the issue at the most basic level--the personal one:

Break his word: literally, "profane his word"--make it common rather than holy. The term also means to wound by piercing. The nation as a whole had promised to do all that YHWH had spoken. (Ex. 19:7; 24:3) The covenant itself was based on these words (Ex. 24:7-8), and but them Israel’s soul was bound to YHWH. Our ancestors bound us to Him by that oath as well. When we broke it, not only our own words were pierced; YHWH’s word, the torah, was defiled, and in order to repair this breach, Y’shua, “the Word” (Yochanan 1:1, 14) had to be pierced. (Yoch. 19:34) Ecclesiastes 5:4 tells us to fulfill our vows since YHWH has no pleasure in fools. Lev. 5:4 tells us that if someone forgets his vow, he becomes responsible to do something about it as soon as he remembers. Scripturally, a vow usually refers to something in regard to the Temple--that is, a vow is made to YHWH Himself. This is why Y'shua stressed how wrong it was to say that to swear by one thing was binding but to swear by another was not. His brother Yaaqov would echo that such a man is a spring that gives two kinds of water; if one cannot trust someone when he speaks plainly (a simple "yes" or "no", Mat. 5:33), his word is worthless. Y’shua says it is better not to make any oath at all. One has not committed a wrong if he refrains from making any vows (Deut. 23); it was a voluntary means of expressing his love for YHWH in a deeper way than was required, but when it came to be expected and one had to resort to such circumlocution to excuse himself from responsibility, Y'shua had to take stringent measures to correct it. We bind our lives to the recipient of the covenant, which is why we are forbidden to enter into covenants with anyone other than the people of Israel. (Ex. 23:32) This does not apply to business contracts, of course, for, as Sha'ul (Paul) said, in that case we would have to leave the world altogether. We are to speak the truth to all men (except in war or to save a life), since we belong to the Truth; but we must never allow these to yoke us unequally with those who are without Torah (2 Cor. 6:14-18). If we have made a promise that would require us to miss an appointment with YHWH or break His Torah, we must find a way out of this yoke. (Prov. 6:1-5) Actions, too, can indicate that we have made such an agreement. Our main focus is to be on our "neighbors" (those of the same flock and to whom we have direct responsibility). Being "called out" is all about becoming "one new man", in which "your tongue is mine". Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 9 tells us the outcome if there is untruth within the Body: no one will trust his brother or neighbor. If that takes place, the whole Body suffers, and every member’s relationship with YHWH is marred. Who is empowered then? The one new Man, or the "father of lies"? His main point is, "If you have said it, then carry it out." If we have “cut deals” with YHWH, saying, “If You get me out of this crisis, I will…” or “next time I will do better”, these obligations apply. The Hebrew word for "vow" is rooted in the word "completion", so vowing something means it can be considered "done", and depended upon. But anything that comes out of the mouth of a holy person changes things in the spirit world; it is as strong as a vow, and commits us, or "imprisons our life" (an alternate reading of "bind his soul"); i.e., we have opened a door in the spirit, walked through it, and it is shut behind us. We no longer have a say in whether we will do the thing once we have said we will do it. Avraham called heaven and earth to witness when he made a vow (Gen. 24:2), and that meant heaven and earth would both come against him if he broke it. Anything less desecrates YHWH's name. (Lev. 19:12). Giving credit to “luck” or “opportunity”, or saying things like “fortunately it happened…” robs YHWH. So we must weigh our words very carefully BEFORE they come out of our mouths.

Bound herself with an obligation: Aramaic, "assuming a prohibition". Her father’s house: The most basic building-block of leadership in Israelite society. There are then leaders of tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands within each tribe (Ex. 18:25). Israel also agrees to have one king over all (Hoshea 1:11), the leader of the tribe of Yehudah, though in Y’hezq’el 45-46 we see him called a prince instead of a king, suggesting that once all is put underHis feet He will revert to a shared leadership style, since many in ancient Israel were called by that title.

If her father knows of a way in which her well-meant vow (or mere agreement, which, as we have seen, is the same in YHWH’s eyes) will disrupt the life of the (extended) family as a whole, he has the right and responsibility to overrule it. His silence (which could be translated "acting as deaf") implies his consent. The father has no option to be lazy and decide not to make the decision right away. Stand: or "be established".

Forbids: or "restrains". Biblically, a son is not accountable or expected to act on his own until age 20; but a daughter or wife remains under authority. The theme of taking responsibility for those entrusted to us, seen in verse 1, continues here. The constituted authority of one who has one's best interests at heart takes precedence over personal vows. A loving father may nullify rash words on the part of his immature daughter. On the day he hears: not necessarily the day she makes the vow, but the day he finds out about it. The one in authority had to make immediate response, because after that day he had no recourse and must bear the responsibility if it turns out to be a foolish vow. These laws in regard to vows are self-explanatory on the literal level, but on a deeper level they define our relationship with our Father, YHWH, and our "husband", Y'shua.

Belonged in any way: i.e., was either betrothed or had gone on to the second, fuller stage of marriage.

A bride under authority is a picture of Y'shua's called-out congregation; someone has to bear the guilt for iniquity, and Y'shua did this for us, relieving us of the death that was due us. But Yaaqov (James) stresses how important our words are Indeed, Y'shua, our Head, is even called "the Word", so our words too must be true.

Render null: literally, "split by cracking". YHWH annulled the implied "vows" of His bride to a false elohim (Ba'al-Peor) to whom she had bound herself. (25:3) Y'shua gave his students the authority to "bind and loose", so their words are binding on us; however, if one vows to never eat meat, he would "nullify Torah", which tells us to eat lamb at one festival (when there is a Temple) and priests to eat their portion of the sacrifices. Vowed: LXX, bound herself. Bound herself: LXX, "contracted upon her soul".

She is not under any direct authority who can revoke a vow for her. She must therefore, being older than the other women mentioned, exercise that maturity and be more careful what she says, for she alone is responsible for what comes out of her mouth.

11. "and her husband has remained silent when he heard it rather than forbidding her, then all her vows will stand; every obligation to which she has bound herself will also stand.

12. "But if her husband has indeed rendered them void on the day which he heard [of] them, then whatever went forth from her lips concerning the obligation of her soul will not stand; her husband has nullified them, and YHWH will forgive her.

Rendered them void: LXX, utterly canceled. But it would have been better for her to have made no vow.

Humble herself: or weaken her desires, be busy with or respond to her soul; often an idiom for fasting, especially in regard to Yom Kippur. (29:7; Lev. 16:29) Ironically, the Hebrew term for fasting itself means to cover one’s mouth—seemingly the opposite of a vow, in which one opens it. Yeshayahu 58:5-6 tells us that the purpose of such fasting is to break every yoke. Yoking ourselves to self or to security keeps us from being bound to one another. Y’shua tells us to take His yoke (Mat. 11:27-30), which is lighter and easier than anything else we might yoke ourselves to, even though it means taking up our execution-stake and dying to self daily. (Luke 9:23; 1 Cor. 15:31)

15. "But if after hearing them, he in any way violates them, then he shall bear her guilt."

LXX: "If he cancels them after the day in which he heard them..." The husband is given the right to nullify her words, but "of him to whom much is given, much is required"; he bears full responsibility if he does nothing about a foolish vow as soon as he hears it. There is a price to pay, and he may even have to carry out the oath in her stead. Y'shua, ironically, paid the price and made reparation for our ancestors' adultery with foreign deities by remaining silent. (Isa. 53:7) He nullified the oaths they and we had made to all the pagan elohim we had worshipped, but since the day had passed, He had to bear the crookedness of the one He loved. He had the authority to do so since the head of the House of David is also the ruler over all Israel.

CHAPTER 31

2. "Carry out the avenging of the descendants of Israel from the Midyanites, and afterward you will be gathered to your people."

Carry out: or accomplish--not avenging themselves (Deut. 32:35-43), but being the instrument of YHWH's justice. (Deut. 32:35) Though many have twisted Y’shua’s words to make it seem that we should let the wicked have the upper hand and always forgive even when there is no repentance, this simply does not agree with the rest of Scripture. (e.g., Psalm 58:10) David also made sure deserved recompense was carried out just before he died. (1 Kings 2) We are forbidden from taking vengeance on our fellow Israelites (Lev. 19:17), but those who cause Israel to stumble must be paid back. For those within Israel, proper court procedures for restitution as found in the Torah preclude the need for personal grudges. Yirmeyahu 50:28-32 shows that it is those who escape the enemy who are to call on YHWH to avenge them. (Compare Rev. 6:10.) But He usually uses His people as His instrument, unless they are in sin, in which case He may call on an outside nation (Deut. 32:21). The Midyanites’ name means “people of strife”, and Moshe is representative of the Torah, whose work it is to put an end to strife. This account only pertains to the part of their population that had come to assist Balaq in his campaign against Israel. (22:4) It would not apply to Moshe’s in-laws, who lived near Mt. Sinai in Midyan’s original territory, whom tradition even says were actually outcasts from among their people since Yithro, once their priest, had turned to the true worship of YHWH. Though they are outside the Land of Israel, and would probably pose no direct threat to Israel anymore, they do not escape YHWH's notice, because they were the ones who "set His wife up with another man", so they must serve as an example for all. Moshe had begun to “cramp” them (25:16), but needed to finish the job before he could go on to the Kingdom and be reunited with his ancestors. Gathered: or "added" (LXX) to one’s people is an idiomatic reference to his death; his soul's energy would thus strengthen the whole nation more fully.

Equipped: armed, strengthened. To battle...Midyan: Aram., "for an army directed against Midyan".

5. So from the thousands of Israel, a thousand per tribe were assigned: 12,000 equipped to go out to battle,

This is multiplied exponentially in Revelation chapter 7. The Levites did not go to battle since they were the “personal bodyguards” of YHWH’s sanctuary. But there was one exception:

Priest to the army: or "war priest". This "warrior for YHWH" (see chapter 25) was the first recorded "army chaplain". There was no one better to carry out this task, and it would appear he was "immortal" until his days were fulfilled, since he was given a "covenant of completeness." Vessels of the sanctuary: or, holy weaponry. But the feminine form of the word “vessels’ is the Hebrew word for kidneys, which is used in Scripture as the equivalent of “mind”. (Psalms 7:9; 16:7; 26:2; 73:21; Prov. 23:16) So on a deeper level, we can read that Pin’has was the one with a set-apart mind, for YHWH had already praised his attitude of caring more for YHWH’s reputation than his own. (25:12) Such a leader deserved to be out in front, motivating the armies of Israel to do what he himself had already done. He would direct the movements of the army through the particular soundings on the trumpets. (Compare 1 Cor. 14:8.)

Killed all the males: could also read, "destroyed all remembrance", since the male line is the "remembered" one, while most mothers are not recorded in genealogies. If their name is erased, it is as if they had never existed.

Diversity: variegated or of mixed colors--the very byword of the "New World Order". The kings of Midyan: not the entire people of Midyan, because they show up again in the days of Gid'on the judge, but the portion of them who harassed the Israelites. Why would they kill Bilaam, who had blessed Israel so many times? (ch. 22-24) Because when he saw that YHWH was with Israel, he should have allied himself with them. Instead, he remained with the people who had paid him to find a way to destroy Israel. Though he only prophesied what YHWH had said, on the side he gave their enemies a clue as to where to find the back door, which was not as securely guarded. (v. 16) He was still motivated by his greed, so YHWH finally punished it.

Even Bilaam's faithful donkey thus became an "Israelite"!

Fortifications: or strongholds; the Aramaic Targum Onqelos renders it "houses of worship", where they kept their idol sanctuaries "under guard" (the Aramaic root). Their memory had to be erased as completely as possible, and they were near the memorial at the place where Israel crossed the Yarden. (Y’hoshua 4) To have this utter destruction of a people who marred the community life of Israel right at the gateway to the Land would be a sober warning to any who would try to do the same again.

12. and they had all the captives, booty, and spoils brought to Moshe, El'azar the cohen, and the congregation of the descendants of Israel at their encampment on the transitional lands of Moav which are by the Yarden of Yericho.

Transitional lands: the meaning of Aravah, the proper name of this section of the Great Rift Valley.

14. Moshe was displeased with the officers [appointed over] the force, the captains of thousands, and the centurions who came [back] from having served in the battle.

15. And Moshe said to them, "Have you let all the females live?!

Compare Ezra 10. They may have thought they could get away with this because Moshe had a Midyanite wife. They were apparently black women (12:1), though more beautiful because they were more exotic.

17. "So utterly destroy every male among the toddlers, and kill every woman who has become familiar with a man as far as the bed of a male,

They were even to kill prisoners of war, and killing toddlers sounds as bad as King Herod! Sometimes YHWH asks us to do things that seem repulsive to our natural minds, but the focus of our concern has to be on Israel more than on what is outside when a choice is necessary. (Gal. 6:10) Israelites would not drag out the death of innocent children. But male toddlers, though not particularly guilty themselves, still carried the seed of Midyan, and would thus keep its memory alive. As we proceed to higher levels of understanding and especially once we know we are Israel, we cannot bring with us the things we fought against. We must “slay” the things that are behind us so no one else is brought into bondage by them.

Toddler: since Midyanite rites of passage at puberty included "serving their time" as a temple prostitute, only the very young girls would still be virgins. Once taken by Israelites and put through the procedure YHWH had prescribed (Deut. 21:12), they were no longer Midyanites. They no longer had natural brothers, older sisters, and mothers; their relatives were now the people of Israel. (Compare Mat. 12:48-49) This is one of the first instances of the salvation YHWH wants to extend to the nations through Israel. A remnant even of evil Midyan is preserved through being grafted into the seed of Israel. (Gen. 28:14)

Wait: literally, "bend down", i.e., sit or lie. Purify from sin:. literally, "lose" or "miss"--i.e., let the guilt incurred both by the Midyanites' past idolatry or the Israelites' association with the carnage of battle be removed, probably through a ceremonial washing.

Spoils can be taken outside the Land as had been done when we left Egypt. Of course, they cannot remain in the form they were received in; these spoils in most cases were expressions of idolatry. They had to be melted down or taken apart thread by thread and recast into something appropriate to Israel. On the mystical level (because of their etymologies), these terms mean to purge ourselves of everything associated with deceitful treachery, skin ("the flesh" or the temporary substitute covering YHWH gave us in place of the light that covered Adam and Chawwah), everything demonic, and everything of corruptible human design. Goods and valuables from many nations will one day enter the New Yerushalayim (Rev. 21:24), especially the one-time exiles of Israel (Yeshayahu/Isa. 49:22), but undoubtedly all will have to go through such a purification from their association with the profane things of the world.

22. "The gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead--indeed

23. "everything that [can] go through the fire--you shall cause to pass through the fire, and it will be ceremonially pure, though indeed it shall be purified with the water of separation, while whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall cause to pass through the water.

YHWH is sensitive to the varying abilities of each person to tolerate the means He uses to sanctify us; He will not “boil a kid” in the milk of His Torah. Some can handle the more abrasive kinds of purification, but all must be washed with His Word. (Eph. 5:26) Yet we must aim for the highest calling; ultimately we only want to be involved in the things that are imperishable. Immersion in water was not enough (Yochanan 1:26ff), but the baptism by fire--the spirit--without the water as well would be "faith without works".

While we cannot skip the "third day"--the rebirth made possible only by Y'shua's resurrection, we will not have fully removed the sin from ourselves until the Kingdom (the seventh millennium, cf. Psalm 90:4); on the "eighth day" we may enter the New Yerushalayim which descends to earth only after everything that can be salvaged has been made suitable for YHWH's dwelling to be fully established among us. (Rev. 21:3)

26. "Take a count of the acquisitions that were captured, among human and animal--you, El'azar the cohen, and the heads of the fathers of the congregation--

Take a count: literally, "Lift the heads". Among human and animal: literally, "in Adam and in a beast"--the only two entitities that will be left by the time the time of the Restoration of All Things begins.

28. "Then have a tax levied for YHWH from the [mortal] men of war who go out to battle: one soul of five hundred, from men, herds, donkeys, and flocks.

29. "Take [it] from their half and give it to El'azar the cohen as a contribution [lifted off] for YHWH. Their half: i.e., the army’s. El’azar would wave it before YHWH to acknowledge that it was His, but then most of it would belong to the priesthood as their food, because that is how YHWH wants it used, since the priesthood is directly attached to Him even more than the rest of Israel is. (Ex. 29:24-27)

30. "Then from the children of Israel's half, take one grasping from fifty--from men, herds, donkeys, flocks, or any animal--and give them to the Levites who watch over what is kept under guard [belonging to] the Dwelling Place of YHWH."

Grasping: one "draw" with the hand.

32. and the acquisitions--the remainder of the spoils which the men of war had plundered-- [totalled] 675,000 sheep,

33. 72,000 cattle,

34. 61,000 donkeys,

35. and of human beings--of the women who had not become familiar with the bed of a male--the souls were 32,000.

36. Now the half apportioned to those who went out into battle numbered 337,500 sheep,

37. and the tribute for YHWH from [these] flock animals was 675;

38. the cattle [numbered] 36,000, [of which] the tribute to YHWH was 72;

39. the donkeys, 30,500, and their tribute to YHWH, 61;

40. and the human beings, 16,000, with their tribute to YHWH being 32 souls.

32 souls: Though the Levites may not marry outside their tribe, those given to YHWH would become part of that tribe and thus be available for marriage, not just as servants.

42. And the half [apportioned to] the descendants of Israel, which Moshe had divided from the men who had gone to fight--

Of those counted, there were 589,730 people to share the other half of the spoils divided with the 12,000 who went to war. So they received much less per capita, and had to give ten times as much to the Levites. (vv. 28, 30) Those who went to fight were rewarded by having less required of them.

44. 36,000 of the cattle;

45. 30,500 donkeys;

46. and 16,000 human beings.

47. Moshe received from the children of Israel's half the one grasped from fifty of human and animal, and delivered them to the Levites who watched over what was kept under guard [belonging to] the Dwelling Place of YHWH, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

48. Now the officers who were [appointed over] the thousands of the army--heads of thousands and centurions--approached Moshe,

49. and told Moshe, "Your servants have taken a census of the men of war who were under our jurisdiction, and not a man of us is unaccounted for!

Under our jurisdiction: literally, "in our hand". No one was missing when they came back from battle. When we do things YHWH's way, even if we lose our physical lives, Y'shua says "not a hair of our heards" will be missing in the final analysis. (Luk. 21:18)

It is easy to see why they would wish to bring a thanksgiving offering, but why did they need atonement (a covering)? Because even though it was the right thing to do, they had killed many people, especially women and innocent children, and had not paid any price for it in blood. When we experience His mercy in a dramatic way, we see more clearly that we do not deserve it and where we fall short and that we do need to express this in some way. Since we are all under guilt, we can all receive His mercy through Y’shua. (Rom. 11:32)

52. And all the gold of the contribution that they lifted off for YHWH [weighed] 16,750 sheqels from the captains of thousands and the centurions--

This may have been used to support the many new children and flocks the Levites and priests acquired. 32 more daughters were added to their household in one day.

54. So Moshe and El'azar the cohen received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and they brought it into the Tent of Appointment [to serve] as a memorial for the descendants of Israel before the face of YHWH.

CHAPTER 32

They had probably just added more livestock to their already-large herds when they took the spoils from the Midyanites (ch. 31). This newly-acquired wealth was starting to steal their attention, for they now had to care for them in order to remain so prosperous.

Gad is mentioned first here—the reverse of the order in v. 1, suggesting that this was originally Gad’s idea.

4. "the territory that YHWH has caused to be conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock!" 5. So they said, "If we have attained to acceptance in your eyes, let this territory be designated as your servants' [inherited] property; don't make us cross over the Yarden."

They may have been daunted by the prospect of having to lead so many animals across the river. But they had stopped focusing on the Land of Promise. When we start concentrating more on things other than Israel—not only physical possessions, but also knowledge, power, renown, or even YHWH’s gifts, we begin to serve those, to the detriment of the Kingdom. It would indeed best serve them and their families to stay on this side of the river, but it would not best serve the rest of Israel:

7. "And why would you discourage the descendants of Israel from crossing into the Land that YHWH has given them?

Discourage...from crossing: literally, "make the heart refuse to cross"--which is also the etymology of the English word "discourage". It could read "hold the hearts...back". Moshe was careful to reiterate that when going up to possess the Land, Israel not be discouraged. (Deut. 1:21) Being discouraged is essentially believing that YHWH cannot enable us to do what He has told us to do. (Of course, we need to make sure it is He who has told us!) They were indeed their brother's keepers. It wasn't that he needed the soldiers, one would think; they had needed only 12,000 to fight the five Midyanite kings (ch. 31). The problem was that the nation's unity would be broken, and the others would be discouraged as their parents had been by the ten "spies". Withholding one piece of the body handicaps the whole, especially when it is because of personal possessions. The enemy attacks at the undefended spots.

Like the ten spies, they were also slandering the Promised Land, saying that what they had found was satisfactory, and they did not really need to go kill more people. After all, the land they had already conquered was nearly as large as the Promised Land; why should they keep "pressing their luck"? A modern equivalent might be to ask why the Church isn't good enough, since it has programs for our children and the bare essentials; at least it teaches them decent morals. But they are not truly Hebrew until they "cross over". We are not called to settle down or be men of peace until the Time of Peace after Y'shua returns. (Mat. 10:34)

After all: the term for "would not go" includes the sense of frustrated or nullifying an existing plan.

11. "‘If the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and up, ever see the Land that I promised to Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov...! Because they have not fulfilled [their duty] to follow after Me--

Fulfilled their duty to follow: Hirsch; LXX, "not closely followed"; Aramaic, "did not completely follow". The fuller sense is that they did not satisfy YHWH's full intent as to what they were to accomplish.

13. "When YHWH's anger was ignited against Israel, He set them wandering in the uncultivated land [for] forty years until the whole generation that had done what was wrong in YHWH's eyes was finished off.

14. "And here you have proven to be under your parents--a brood of mortals who miss the mark, in order to stir up yet again the heat of YHWH's anger toward Israel!

Proven to be under: or "risen up in your parents' place". Had they learned nothing from their parents’ mistake? Were they about to bring the same punishment on the nation again? Stir up: or, add to.

Leave them: Aram., "delay them". The damage they would do by failing to remain united with the rest of Israel would extend further than he thought they anticipated. Do we forget to consider how our short-sighted wishes will affect the rest of Israel?

Came close: They were showing that they had gotten his point and received the rebuke. It is YHWH’s love that leads Him to rebuke us through His spokesmen. (Lev. 19:17) It is not meant to discourage us, but to heal us—to challenge us to line up with where we should have been by now. Teaching, in Hebrew, literally means prodding or goading, as a shepherd does to sheep. (Psalm 25:1-7) It can get people to do what they did not think they could do. We need to embrace the chastening, not just accept it, because it means YHWH wants us as his children and in His Kingdom. (Heb. 12:3-13) Psalm 94:12 says the one YHWH “beats with a rod” and teaches with His Torah is blessed. We sometimes need to use the sharp end of the Torah when we teach. We will either be broken by it (and able to be re-set) or crushed by it. (Luke 20:18) And receiving rebuke is the key to our returning home from exile. (Yirmeyahu/Jer. 31:16-20 in context) We have done shameful things, but there is hope of restoration if we respond to His correction.

Hurry before: Aram., "forge ahead in advance of"; Hirsch: "push forward in the van[guard]. The term connotes a sense of eagerness of enjoyment. They would not only go along; they would go first!

19. "since we will not take a share on the far side of the Yarden or beyond [there], because our share has turned out to be across the Yarden to the east."

20. So Moshe told them, "If you will do what [you have] said and arm yourselves for war in the presence of YHWH,

21. "and cross over the Yarden armed before the face of YHWH until He disinherits His enemies before Him,

Before the face of YHWH: i.e., if you are honestly, in His sight, planning to do just this.

23. "But if you do not do so, take note! You will have sinned against YHWH [Himself], and recognize the [punishment for] your sin that will catch up with you!

24. "Build cities for your toddlers, and folds for your flocks, [then]; carry out what has come out of your mouth."

Moshe reverses their priorities (cf. v. 16), mentioning their children before their animals. Their response in the same manner is evidence that they accepted his rebuke.

26. "Our toddlers, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals will be there in the cities of Gil'ad,

27. "But, before YHWH, your servants will all cross over into battle, armed for war, just as my master says."

28. So Moshe gave orders to El'azar the cohen, Y'hoshua the son of Nun, and the chief heads of clans among the tribes of the descendants of Israel concerning them;

29. Moshe told them, "If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuven cross the Yarden with you, every one armed for battle before YHWH, then when the Land is subdued before you, give them the territory of Gil'ad as a possession.

Told them: because he would not be there to ensure that this was carried out. Though he recognized that these tribes had a point, he kept alive some suspicion of their motives. Y’hoshua would soon be the shepherd, and needed to recognize that though he could not see any wolves, there might still be some lurking in the bushes. Moshe had accepted his rebuke as well, and was not whining about being barred from the Land, but was setting everything in order so that everyone who could enter would do so in a way that pleased YHWH.

Will not: i.e., do not go willingly. That all depended on how they answered. They would not be harmed, but they would not get their wish either. They would indeed go into the Land, one way or the other, unless they kept the whole community from going. No one rests while Israel is still at war.

32. "We will cross over armed before YHWH [into the] Land of Kanaan so that the territory [on this] side of the Yarden may be our share to inherit."

Again they accepted their rebuke and repented immediately. They proved to Moshe that they were indeed a new generation, different from their parents. They not only were willing to go in, but rushed to be first. True repentance indeed adds "interest" to one's debt.

Why was some (and so much) land given to Menashe, when they had not asked for it? Partly because, as a son of Yoseyf, Menashe was more trustworthy than Reuven, so they were put there to keep an eye on the other two tribes. Also, because they would need it; Yaaqov had prophesied that Efrayim and Menashe would become a great multitude--indeed, a nation in themselves, possibly as part of the compensation for accepting the loss of the firstborn status graciously. (Gen. 48:16-19) Yoseyf’s own name means “He will add”, so added territory was one fulfillment of his lot. Menashe would also receive one of the largest territories within the Land, contiguous with their territory across the Yarden—possibly including the areas that would have otherwise been given to Reuven and Gad. Several able scholars have identified at least the preponderance of Menashe's descendants in our day with the United States of America. This large nation may also have been specifically set aside for the regathering of the House of Yoseyf that must take place before we return to the Land.

Rebuilt: or simply built, established, continued; Hirsch, "built out", i.e., extended.

36. Beyth Nimrah, and Beyth Haran--fortified cities--as well as sheepfolds,

37. while the sons of Reuven [re]built Heshbon, El'aleh, Qiryathayim [twin villages],

38. Nevo, and Baal-Meon (their names being changed), as well as Sibmah, and they called by name the names of the cities which they had built.

Changed: or "surrounded", perhaps meaning they exercised the right to do what they wished with what was now theirs, but the LXX simply says "surrounded" and interprets it as meaning adding walls, saying nothing about names. Called by name: the Aramaic targum interprets it as meaning they gave new names to the existing cities, but Hirsch renders it, "otherwise they kept the names of the cities that they had built out." The LXX is ambiguous: "they called the names of the cities which they had built after their own names", which probably means they named them after the clans of Reuven.

Since this land grant was unanticipated, they went to conquer it while their brother tribes rebuilt their cities. Dispossessing: or "expelling"; apparently they surrendered and left, still alive. The land was offered to them, but they had to do the taking. The same will be the case as latter-day Israel returns to fully claim the rest of the Land. Y’shua says it is His messengers who will take some away to judgment. (Mat. 13:41-42; Luke 17:34-36) This is not necessarily “angels”; it will probably be those of us who remain at that time. We must not move until He says to move, but He generally carries out His will through His people.

Bestowed upon: "gave", "granted to", or "entrusted with". Gil’ad (just south of the Golan Heights) is a large territory, and this one son of Menashe received it all. It was given to him because he was a man of war. (Y’hoshua 17:1; Deut. 3:15) But he did not look at how daunting the inhabitants were as more significant than how great the land was.

Their villages: i.e., the Gil'adites' villages, not the Makhirites'.