Numbers 32:39

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Numbers 32:39 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.
Numbers 32:39 — American Standard Version

Context — Numbers 32

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
39And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, etc.] That part of it which Moses gave unto the half tribe of Manasseh, which till now was in the hand of the Amorites; for half Mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, were given to the Reubenites and Gadites, which is the land of Gilead they desired, and which was already conquered; for they call it the country which the Lord smote before Israel, (<043201>Numbers 32:1,4 <050312>Deuteronomy 3:12,13): and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it; for though they were driven out of one part of Gilead, yet not out of the whole.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Gilead--now Jelud.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The children of Machir - Machir, the son of Manasseh, was long since dead: even his sons had been brought up upon Joseph’s knees Genesis 50:23. But the renown acquired by his descendants raised his family almost to the dignity of a tribe; and the Machirites are in the next verse styled Machir, just as the children of Judah or of Ephraim are often spoken of as Judah or Ephraim. So in Judges 5:14 Machir is coupled with Ephraim and Zebulun. Went - i. e., “had gone:” the statement is preparatory to the ensuing record of the grant to them of the land they had won. Gilead - More strictly part of north Gilead; which, though inhabited by the Amorites, had belonged to the kingdom of Og. Gilead was…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“32:39-42 Three clans of Manasseh conquered part of Gilead and Bashan (cp. Deut 3:13-15; Josh 13:29-31). The location of Nobah remains uncertain (cp. Judg 8:11). • Towns of Jair: Hebrew Havvoth-jair (cp. Deut 3:14; Josh 13:30; Judg 10:4; 1 Kgs 4:13; 1 Chr 2:21-23).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Num 26:29; Gen 50:23; Jos 17:1 Numbers 32:40”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“Moses gave the Manassites the land which was conquered by them; in fact, the whole of the kingdom of Bashan, including not only the province of Bashan, but the northern half of Gilead (see at Num 21:33-34). Of this the sons of Machir received Gilead, the modern Jebel Ajlun, between the Jabbok (Zerka) and the Mandhur (Hieromax, Jarmuk), because they had taken it and driven out the Amorites and destroyed them (see Deu 3:13). The imperfects in Num 32:39 are to be understood in the sense of pluperfects, the different parts being linked together by w consec. according to the simple style of the Semitic historical writings explained in the note on Gen 2:19, and the leading thought being preceded…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification