Numbers 32 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - Numbers) Free Bible Online

Numbers 32

1 - Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock. When they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that behold, the place was a place for livestock;
2 - the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying,
3 - "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
4 - the land which the LORD struck before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock; and your servants have livestock."
5 - They said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Don't bring us over the Jordan."
6 - Moses said to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to the war, and shall you sit here?
7 - Why do you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them?
8 - Your fathers did so when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land.
9 - For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.
10 - The LORD's anger burned in that day, and he swore, saying,
11 - 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me,
12 - except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have followed the LORD completely.'
13 - The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander back and forth in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, who had done evil in The LORD's sight, was consumed.
14 - "Behold, you have risen up in your fathers' place, an increase of sinful men, to increase the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.
15 - For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all these people."
16 - They came near to him, and said, "We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones;
17 - 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.
18 - We will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have each inherited their inheritance.
19 - For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward; because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan eastward."
20 - Moses said to them, "If you will do this thing, if you will arm yourselves to go before the LORD to the war,
21 - and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before The LORD, until he has driven out his enemies from before him,
22 - and the land is subdued before The LORD; then afterward you shall return, and be guiltless towards The LORD, and towards Israel; and this land shall be to you for a possession before The LORD.
23 - "But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against The LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.
24 - Build cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth."
25 - The children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, "Your servants will do as my lord commands.
26 - Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;
27 - but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord says."
28 - So Moses commanded concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' households of the tribes of the children of Israel.
29 - Moses said to them, "If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man who is armed to battle, before The LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession;
30 - but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan."
31 - The children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, "As the LORD has said to your servants, so will we do.
32 - We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan."
33 - Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according to its cities and borders, even the cities of the surrounding land.
34 - The children of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
35 - Atrothshophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
36 - Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran: fortified cities, and folds for sheep.
37 - The children of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
38 - Nebo, and Baal Meon, (their names being changed), and Sibmah. They gave other names to the cities which they built.
39 - The children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were therein.
40 - Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he lived therein.
41 - Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its villages, and called them Havvoth Jair.
42 - Nobah went and took Kenath, and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

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Numbers Images and Notes

The Book of Numbers

Numbers 14:14 - And they will tell [it] to the inhabitants of this land: [for] they have heard that thou LORD [art] among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and [that] thy cloud standeth over them, and [that] thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survery - Numbers
Hebrew Name - Bemidhbar "in the wilderness"
Greek Name - Numbers "numberings"
Author - Moses
Date - From 1490-1451 BC Approximately
Theme - The Journey to the Promised Land
Types and Shadows - In Numbers Jesus is the Pillar of Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night

Photo of the Sinai Wilderness
Photo of the Sinai Wilderness

Summary of The Book of Numbers

The book of Numbers takes its name from the account of the census that happened two times among the congregation of Israel in Numbers 1-4 and Numbers 26. The Greek title was used even though there is really no connection with the "numberings." The original Hebrew title which means "in the wilderness," is much more accurate, because the book of Numbers is it's really an accurate history of the events that happened during the period of wandering in the wilderness and not necessarily a book about statistics. The book of Numbers seems to follow naturally after the book of Leviticus in the order of the books of Moses in the Old Testament. After the children of Israel received the laws at Mount Sinai, they began the journey as described in the book of Exodus, and they were ready to march directly into the land of Canaan. The book of Numbers reveals how the children of Israel became prepared, and went to various trials, and how they were sinful in not trusting the Lord. Their sinful ways resulted in 37 years of wandering through the harsh wilderness. The book of Numbers concludes with the children of Israel once again at the edge of the land of Canaan, where they received instructions for the conquest of Canaan and the division of the land.

Quick Reference Map
 Map of the Route of the Exodus
Map of the Possible Route of the Exodus (Click to Enlarge)

The principle divisions of the book are as follows:

Outline of the Book of Numbers

1) The preparation for the departure from Sinai (1:1-10:10). The events described here took place in nineteen days. In this time a census was taken of all men who were over twenty and who could serve in military efforts (1-4). The total obtained was 603,550 (1:46). This would indicate that the total population of the group was probably near three million. The census was followed by the cleansing and blessing of the congregation (5-6), the offering of gifts from the various tribes (7), the consecration of the Levites (8) and the observance of the Passover at Sinai (9:1-14).

2 ) The journey from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea (10:11-14:45). This section includes the account of the coming of the quail (11), the rebellion against Moses by Miriam and Aaron (12), and the fateful mission of the spies (13, 14).

3) The wanderings of the desert wilderness (15-19). As noted above, this covered a period of thirty-seven years, from the end of the second to the beginning of the fortieth year in the wilderness. Ch. 15 includes various laws and a record of capital punishment for Sabbath breaking. The rebellion of Korah (ch. 16) and the budding of Aaron's rod (ch. 17) are also mentioned here.

4 ) The history of the last year, from the second arrival of the Israelites at Kadesh till they reach "the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho" (20-36: 13). Notable sections of this are the story of Balaam (22:2-24:25), the zeal of Phinehas (ch. 25), the second census (26:1-51) , instructions for dividing the land (26:52-27: 11), the appointment of Joshua as Moses' successor (27: 12-23), various laws concerning offerings and vows ( 28-30 ), the war with Midian (ch. 31), the settlement of the tribes east of the Jordan (ch. 32), a review of the locations at which Israel had camped during their wanderings (33: 1-49), more instructions concerning the conquest and division of Canaan (33:50-34:29 ), the appointment of the cities of refuge (ch. 35) and instructions concerning the marriage of land-owning Israelite women (ch. 36).

ARCHAEOLOGY

Ancient Bronze Snake

Bronze Snake from Lachish

Bronze Snake from Lachish, Late Bronze Age

Quick Reference Maps - Numbers

The Exodus of the Hebrews

Mount Horeb

The Red Sea

Canaan Before Joshua

Kadesh barnea

Moab and Ammon

 

Numbers Resources

The Wilderness Wanderings

More About the Book of Numbers
Numbers in the Picture Study Bible
Timeline of the Ancient World
Back to the Old Testament
Back to Bible History Online
 

Bibliography Information

Free Bible Online - Picture Study Bible, King James Version. New York: American Bible Society: www.free-bible.com, 1995-2013. Bible History Picture Study Bible. Nov 25, 2024.

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