And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh ,.... Whether at their request or of himself, there being land enough for them, and the two tribes of Gad and Reuben, is not certain: and this is the possession of the half tribe of Manasseh, by their families ; which is after related and described. read more
And their coast was from Mahanaim ,.... A place in the tribe of Gad, Joshua 13:26 ; which was the boundary of the half tribe that way: all Bashan ; so famous for its oxen, and for pasturage for them, and for its oaks, called by Josephus Batanea: all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan ; which, besides Bashan, took in the kingdom of Argob or Trachonitis, half the land of Gilead, all which was possessed by the half tribe of Manasseh: see Deuteronomy 3:13 , and all the towns of,... read more
And half Gilead ,.... The other half not given to the Gadites, who had that half of it which Sihon possessed, and the tribe of Manasseh that half of it which Og possessed, see Deuteronomy 3:12 , and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan ; which are particularly mentioned, because royal cities, Joshua 13:10 ; see Deuteronomy 1:4 , were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh ; and who was his only son; however, to his posterity only was... read more
The half tribe of Manasseh - When the tribes of Reuben and Gad requested to have their settlement on the east side of Jordan, it does not appear that any part of the tribe of Manasseh requested to be settled in the same place. But as this tribe was numerous, and had much cattle, Moses thought proper to appoint one half of it to remain on the east of Jordan, and the other to go over and settle on the west side of that river. read more
The towns of Jair - These were sixty cities; they are mentioned afterwards, and in 1 Chronicles 2:21 , etc. They are the same with the Havoth-jair mentioned Numbers 32:41 . Jair was son of Segub, grandson of Esron or Hezron, and great-grandson of Machir by his grandmother's side, who married Hezron of the tribe of Judah. See his genealogy, 1 Chronicles 2:21-24 . read more
The inheritance of Levi. I. THE TRIBE OF LEVI RECEIVED NO INHERITANCE OF LAND . II. THE TRIBE OF LEVI HAD ITS TEMPORAL WANTS ADEQUATELY PROVIDED FOR (see Joshua 13:14 ). (a) just ( 1 Corinthians 9:11 ), (b) necessary for unhindered service, and (c) not injurious to true devotion so long as the servant of God does not degrade his vocation into a trade by working for money instead of receiving money that he may have means for work. ... read more
The halftribe of Manasseh. The word used for "tribe" in the first and second half of this verse is not the same. Some German critics have derived an argument for the hypothesis that the historical and geographical portions of the book are not by the same hand, from the supposed fact that the former of these words is used almost exclusively in the first, or historical portion, and the latter in the second, or geographical portion, of the book. The word "almost" would be almost sufficient to... read more
The towns of Jair. Literally, Havoth-Jair, as in Numbers 32:41 ; Deuteronomy 3:14 . The word חַיִּת is derived from חוה to live, and the word is compared by Gesenius to the names Eisleben and the like in Germany. So we use the phrase "five," as synonymous with "dwell." Why the term is confined to these particular cities is not known. Gesenius regards it as equivalent to "nomadic encampment." But the ruins of the giant cities of Bashan, recently rediscovered in our own time,... read more
The one half of the children of Machir. See this question fully discussed in note on Joshua 17:5 , Joshua 17:6 . read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 13:7-33
Here we have, I. Orders given to Joshua to assign to each tribe its portion of this land, including that which was yet unsubdued, which must be brought into the lot, in a believing confidence that it should be conquered when Israel was multiplied so as to have occasion for it (Josh. 13:7): Now divide this land. Joshua thought all must be conquered before any must be divided. ?No,? said, God, ?there is as much conquered as will serve your turn for the present; divide this, and make your best of... read more