Deuteronomy 3:16
in Deuteronomy 3and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley, and the border thereof, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
KJV
And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The sense is that the Reubenites and Gadites were to possess the district from the Jabbok on the north to the Arnon on the south, including the middle part of the valley of the Arnon, and the territory (“coast” or “border”) thereto pertaining.
This site's exposition
unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites
on Deuteronomy 3:16-17
The borders are drawn by water, the Arnon on the south, the Jabbok on the line of Ammon, and Jordan running between Chinnereth and the salt sea. Chinnereth is the lake the Gospels call the sea of Galilee, and the salt sea is the Dead Sea, so both ends of this eastern strip are places a modern map still carries. Ashdoth-pisgah closes the list and names the slope Moses is sent up in verse 27.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There the bounds of Sihon's kingdom, which was the same portion here mentioned as given to Reuben and Gad, are thus described, from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river of Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon.
And unto the Reubenites, and unto the Gadites,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
from Gilead--that is, not the mountainous region, but the town Ramoth-gilead, even unto the river Arnon half the valley--The word "valley" signifies a wady, either filled with water or dry, as the Arnon is in summer, and thus the proper rendering of the passage will be--"even to the half or middle of the river Arnon" (compare Jos 12:2).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלָרֻאוּבֵנִ֨י | velaruuveni | and to the Reubenite[s] | H7206 → | 18 times |
| וְלַגָּדִ֜י | velagadi | and to the Gadite[s] | H1425 → | 16 times |
| נָתַ֤תִּי | natati | I gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַגִּלְעָד֙ | hagilad | <the> Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| נַ֣חַל | nachal | [the] wadi of | H5158 → | 141 times |
| אַרְנֹ֔ן | ʾarnon | Arnon | H769 → | 25 times |
| תּ֥וֹךְ | tokh | [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַנַּ֖חַל | hanachal | the wadi | H5158 → | 141 times |
| וּגְבֻ֑ל | ugevul | and a border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| וְעַד֙ | vead | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| יַבֹּ֣ק | yabok | Jabbok | H2999 → | |
| הַנַּ֔חַל | hanachal | the wadi | H5158 → | 141 times |
| גְּב֖וּל | gevul | [is] [the] border of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּֽוֹן׃ | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
וְלָרֻאוּבֵנִ֨יand to the Reubenite[s]
velaruuveniH7206 →18 times
וְלַגָּדִ֜יand to the Gadite[s]
velagadiH1425 →16 times
נָתַ֤תִּיI gave
natatiH5414 →2011 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַגִּלְעָד֙<the> Gilead
hagiladH1568 →134 times
וְעַד־and to
vead-H5704 →1261 times
נַ֣חַל[the] wadi of
nachalH5158 →141 times
אַרְנֹ֔ןArnon
ʾarnonH769 →25 times
תּ֥וֹךְ[the] middle of
tokhH8432 →418 times
הַנַּ֖חַלthe wadi
hanachalH5158 →141 times
וּגְבֻ֑לand a border
ugevulH1366 →240 times
וְעַד֙and to
veadH5704 →1261 times
יַבֹּ֣קJabbok
yabokH2999 →
הַנַּ֔חַלthe wadi
hanachalH5158 →141 times
גְּב֖וּל[is] [the] border of
gevulH1366 →240 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּֽוֹן׃Ammon
amonH5983 →106 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 32:22During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
it leads to
- Joshua 12:2
Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 2:37
But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD…
- 1 Timothy 5:8
If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
- Joshua 12:2
Through
Deuteronomy 2:37But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD…
it leads to
- Genesis 32:22
During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 21:24
And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.
- Genesis 32:22
Through
2 Samuel 24:5They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:36
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God…
- Joshua 13:9
The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,
- Deuteronomy 2:36
Through
Numbers 21:24And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.
it leads to
- Amos 2:9
Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and…
- Amos 2:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.