Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Deuteronomy · About this commentary
The Land East of the Jordan
Deuteronomy 3:1-20
1 Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan. Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. · WEB
Two and a half tribes receive their inheritance first and are required to fight for everyone else's before they may enjoy it.
The victories are summarized and the territory is divided, and the arithmetic is impressive: sixty walled cities in one region alone, fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides unwalled villages Deuteronomy 3:4–5.
The land runs from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon Deuteronomy 3:8, and Moses allocates it — Reuben and Gad in the south, half of Manasseh in the north Deuteronomy 3:12–13. This is the only land he ever distributes, and it is on the wrong side of the river.
Then the condition, and it is the point of the section.
All of you men of valor shall pass over armed before your brothers Deuteronomy 3:18. The families and the livestock stay in the towns they have just been given; the fighting men cross the Jordan , and they go in front.
They have their inheritance. They are told they may not settle into it until everyone else has theirs — until Yahweh gives rest to your brothers, as to you Deuteronomy 3:20. Only then may each man go home.
The principle is stated without argument and it is worth naming. A portion received early does not release the receiver from the campaign; it obliges him to it, and it obliges him at the front of the column rather than the rear. The men with the most secure position are the ones sent first into the least secure one.
Moses' aside about their livestock is affectionate and slightly dry: I know that you have much livestock Deuteronomy 3:19. He is aware of exactly why they wanted this particular grazing country.
The charge to Joshua then follows, and its logic is the same as everything in the first address. Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings. So shall Yahweh do to all the kingdoms where you go over Deuteronomy 3:21.
The argument runs from what has been observed to what has not yet happened. Joshua is not asked to believe something new; he is asked to extend a pattern he has watched with his own eyes. And the ground of the courage is not his own competence: Yahweh your God himself fights for you Deuteronomy 3:22.
settled What this mark means