Numbers 32:17 — compare Bible translations

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Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐνοπλισάμενοι προφυλακὴν πρότεροι τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, ἕως ἂν ἀγάγωμεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν ἑαυτῶν τόπον· καὶ κατοικήσει ἡ ἀποσκευὴ ἡμῶν ἐν πόλεσι τετειχισμέναις διὰ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν.
(Kai haʸmeis enoplisamenoi profulakaʸn proteroi tōn huiōn Israaʸl, heōs an agagōmen autous eis ton heautōn topon; kai katoikaʸsei haʸ aposkeuaʸ haʸmōn en polesi teteiⱪismenais dia tous katoikountas taʸn gaʸn.)

BrTr and we will arm ourselves and go as an advanced guard before the children of Israel, until we shall have brought them into their place; and our possessions shall remain in walled cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

ULT And we, we will be equipped, being hurried, to the face of the sons of Israel, until whenever we have brought them to their place. And our children will dwell in the cities of the fortification from the face of the dwellers of the land.

UST As for us who can be soldiers, we will quickly prepare to lead the rest of the Israelites to fight their enemies. We will fight along with them until they can live in the area we conquer. Meanwhile, our families will be safe from the people who live nearby because they will live in the towns we fortified.

BSB But we will arm ourselves and be ready[fn] to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our little ones will remain in the fortified cities for protection from the inhabitants of the land.

32:17 LXX we will arm ourselves for battle

OEB No OEB NUM 32:17 book available

WEBBE but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

NET but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land.

LSV but we are armed, hastening before the sons of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our infants have dwelt in the cities of defense because of the inhabitants of the land;

FBV But we will still get ourselves ready for battle, and we will be prepared to lead the Israelites until they can safely occupy their land. In the meantime, our children will stay behind, living in the fortified towns to protect them from the local people.

T4T Then our families will live in strong cities with walls around them, and they will be safe from the people who live in this land. Then we will get ready to fight battles. We will help the other Israelis to get land on the other side of the river.

LEB but we ourselves will become armed and ready before the _⌊Israelites_⌋[fn] until we have brought them to their place, and our little children will live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

32:17 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

BBE But we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel till we have taken them to their place: but our little ones will be safe in the walled towns against the people of the land.

Moff No Moff NUM 32:17 book available

JPS but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

ASV but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

DRA And we ourselves will go armed and ready for battle before the children of Israel, until we bring them in unto their places. Our little ones, and all we have, shall be in walled cities, for fear of the ambushes of the inhabitants.

YLT and we — we are armed hasting before the sons of Israel till that we have brought them in unto their place; and our infants have dwelt in the cities of defence because of the inhabitants of the land;

Drby but we ourselves will go with diligence armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the strong cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

RV but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

SLT And we will arm ourselves, basting on before the sons of Israel, till we brought them to their place: and our little ones shall dwell in fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

Wbstr But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities, because of the inhabitants of the land.

KJB-1769 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

KJB-1611 But we ourselues will goe ready armed before the children of Israel, vntill wee haue brought them vnto their place: and our litle ones shall dwell in the fenced cities, because of the inhabitants of the land.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps But we our selues wyl go redy armed before the children of Israel, vntyll we haue brought them vnto their place: And our children shall dwell in the fensed cities, because of the inhabiters of the lande.
(But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: And our children shall dwell in the fortified cities, because of the inhabitants of the land.)

Gnva But we our selues will be readie armed to go before the children of Israel, vntill we haue brought them vnto their place: but our childre shall dwell in the defenced cities, because of the inhabitants of the lande.
(But we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: but our children shall dwell in the defenced cities, because of the inhabitants of the land.)

Cvdl As for oure selues, we will go ready armed before the children of Israel, tyll we haue broughte them vnto their place: Oure childre shal remayne in the fenced cities, because of ye indwellers of the londe.
(As for ourselves, we will go ready armed before the children of Israel, till we have brought them unto their place: Our children shall remain in the fenced cities, because of ye/you_all inhabitants of the land.)

Wycl Forsothe we vs silf schulen be armed `to defence, and schulen be gird `with armeris to asailyng, and schulen go to batel bifor the sones of Israel, til we bryngen hem in to her places; oure litle children and what euer thing we moun haue, schulen be in strengthid cytees, for the tresouns of the dwelleris.
(For_certain/Truly we us self should be armed to defence, and should be gird with arms/weapons to assailing, and should go to battle before the sons of Israel, till we bringing hem in to her places; our little children and what ever thing we may/can have, should be in strengthened cities, for the treasons of the dwellers.)

Luth wir aber wollen uns rüsten vorn an vor die Kinder Israel, bis daß wir sie bringen an ihren Ort. Unsere Kinder sollen in den verschlossenen Städten bleiben um der Einwohner willen des Landes.
(we/us but want us/to_us/ourselves equip in_front at/to before/in_front_of the children Israel, until that we/us they/she/them bring/get at/to your(pl) place/location. Our children should in the sealed cities remain/stay around/by/for the/of_the resident will(v) the lands.)

ClVg nos autem ipsi armati et accincti pergemus ad prælium ante filios Israël, donec introducamus eos ad loca sua. Parvuli nostri, et quidquid habere possumus, erunt in urbibus muratis, propter habitatorum insidias.
(us however themselves armed and girded we_will_continue to battle before children Israel, until we_may_introduce them to places his_own. Children our, and whatever to_have we_can, they_will_be in/into/on cities walled, because inhabitants ambush.)

BMM BibleMapper.com Maps:

Poster Map of the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (East)

Though technically not part of the land promised to the Israelites in Numbers 34, the land immediately east of the Jordan River and the northern basin of the Dead Sea (often referred to today as the Transjordan) was conquered by the Israelites as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 21:21-35; 32:1-42; Deuteronomy 2:24-37; Judges 11:19-22). Moses agreed to allot this land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, provided that they continued to help the other tribes conquer the land of Canaan (Numbers 32:1-42; Deuteronomy 3:12-20). The area allotted to Reuben had been ruled by King Sihon of the Amorites, who had taken this land years earlier from the Moabites (Numbers 21:26). Moab’s prior rule over the territory allotted to Reuben explains why the plain to the northwest of this region continued to be referred to as the plains of Moab even during the time of Joshua (Joshua 13:32). This region also appears to have been claimed by the Ammonites (Judges 11:13), though it is not clear whether they ever actually controlled it. Sihon had also taken from the Ammonites the area later allotted to Gad (Joshua 13:25; see “Sodom and Gomorrah Are Destroyed” map). North of this was the area of Bashan, which had been ruled by King Og, who was among the last of the Rephaites (Deuteronomy 3:11-13; Joshua 12:4; 13:12). All of this was captured by the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land (Joshua 12:1-6; Deuteronomy 3:1-11).

As far as the specific borders of each of the three eastern Israelite tribes, those of Reuben are delineated in Joshua 13:15-23, those of Gad are delineated in Joshua 13:24–28 (note that Joshua 13:25 asserts that Aroer literally “faced” Rabbah, which in this context meant that it lay west of it, not east), and those of half the tribe of Manasseh are delineated in Joshua 13:29–31. Interestingly, Numbers 32:34-36 notes that Gad rebuilt the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer, which Joshua 13:15-23 places within the boundaries of Reuben, but perhaps Gad rebuilt the towns prior to being formally allotted their territory further north. Several other passages also note that Ramoth-gilead, a city of refuge, belonged to Gad (Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:8; Joshua 21:38; 1 Chronicles 6:80).

It is also interesting to note that virtually all of the eastern land of Manasseh was conquered under the leadership of Jair, who was actually a Judahite by his father’s lineage but was typically regarded a Manassite through his mother’s lineage (Numbers 32:40-42; Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 13:30; Judges 10:3-5; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chronicles 2:22-23; see “Bashan” map). This may be in keeping with the Manassite tradition of allowing daughters to receive an inheritance (and, presumably, recognition of their descendants) just as they allowed sons to receive an inheritance (Numbers 27; Joshua 17:1-6; see also “The Towns and Clans of Eastern Judah, circa 1200 B.C.”).

Further insight into the allotments of the Transjordan is gained through 1 Chronicles 5, which notes that Gad’s territory extended as far as Salecah. This requires that its territory was notably larger than it is depicted on most Bible maps today, which typically limit its eastern boundary to the border of Ammon. This may seem at odds with several other passages that mention the Jabbok River as the northern boundary of Sihon’s land and make no mention of Salecah and the land northwest of the Jabbok River (Numbers 21:24; Deuteronomy 3:16; Joshua 12:2; Judges 11:13-22). But, as noted above, several other passages also note that Ramoth-gilead belonged to Gad, which is (like Salecah) located far north of the Jabbok River. This author has concluded that the northeastern boundary between Gad and Manasseh almost certainly followed the Yarmuk River all the way to Salecah and also passed through Tob.

First Chronicles 5 also notes that later, under the reign of Saul, the Israelite eastern tribes joined together to capture territory east of Gilead, which was inhabited by the nomadic descendants of Hagar and her son Ishmael (1 Chronicles 5:10-22; see also “Nomadic Range of Ishmael’s Descendants”), who are often referred to in Scripture as “peoples of the East” (Genesis 29:1; Judges 6-8; 1 Kings 4:30; Job 1:3; Isaiah 11:14; Jeremiah 4:28; Ezekiel 25:4; 25:10). It is not clear, however, that this territory was ever formally considered to belong to the territory of Israel.

Also located within the territory of the Transjordanian tribes were the enclaves of Geshur, Maacah, and the land of Tob. Geshur and Maacah are mentioned among those who remained as non-Israelite enclaves within Israel’s territory ((Joshua 12:5; 13:1-13). The land of Tob must have functioned similarly within Israel as well, because it contributed troops to the Ammonite and Aramean alliance that fought against David’s forces (2 Samuel 10:6). This also makes better sense of Jephthah’s decision to retreat to the land of Tob after he was driven away by his brothers (Judges 11:3).

Parallel NUM 32:17

Poster Map of the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (East)