Numbers 32:16
in Numbers 32Then the Gadites and Reubenites approached Moses and said, “We want to build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our little ones.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
KJV
And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
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This verse in Numbers 32
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWe will build - cities for our little ones - It was impossible for these, numerous as they might be, to build cities and fortify them for the defense of their families in their absence. Calmet supposes they meant no more than repairing the cities of the Amorites which they had lately taken; which work might have been very easily accomplished in the time which they spent on this side of Jordan, before they went over with their brethren, to put them in possession of the land.
This site's exposition
We will build sheepfolds here
on Numbers 32:16-17
They come near and answer with a plan rather than a defence. Their word order puts the sheepfolds before the cities and the cattle before the little ones, and Moses turns both around at verse 24. Going armed before the children of Israel means going in the front rank, and Joshua 4:12-13 records about forty thousand of them crossing that way, ahead of the nation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they came near unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Whether they had really meditated such a withdrawal from all share in the war of invasion, or the effect of their leader's expostulation was to drive them from their original purpose, they now, in answer to his impressive appeal, declared it to be their sincere intention to co-operate with their brethren; but, if so, they ought to have been more explicit at first.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But, perceiving, from the tenor of his discourse, that his objection was grounded only on the supposition that they would not cross the Jordan to assist their brethren, they became emboldened to approach him with assurances of their goodwill. We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones--that is, rebuild, repair.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּגְּשׁ֤וּ | vaiyigeshu | and they drew near | H5066 → | 125 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַ֣יֹּאמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| גִּדְרֹ֥ת | gidrot | folds of | H1448 → | 9 times |
| צֹ֛אן | tzon | sheep | H6629 → | 274 times |
| נִבְנֶ֥ה | nivneh | we will build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| לְמִקְנֵ֖נוּ | lemiknenu | for livestock our | H4735 → | 76 times |
| פֹּ֑ה | poh | here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| וְעָרִ֖ים | vearim | and cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לְטַפֵּֽנוּ׃ | letapenu | for little one[s] our | H2945 → | 42 times |
וַיִּגְּשׁ֤וּand they drew near
vaiyigeshuH5066 →125 times
אֵלָיו֙to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וַ֣יֹּאמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
גִּדְרֹ֥תfolds of
gidrotH1448 →9 times
צֹ֛אןsheep
tzonH6629 →274 times
נִבְנֶ֥הwe will build
nivnehH1129 →376 times
לְמִקְנֵ֖נוּfor livestock our
lemiknenuH4735 →76 times
פֹּ֑הhere
pohH6311 →82 times
וְעָרִ֖יםand cities
vearimH5892 →1090 times
לְטַפֵּֽנוּ׃for little one[s] our
letapenuH2945 →42 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 33:17but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.
it leads to
- Joshua 13:27
and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of…
- Psalms 60:6
God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
- Judges 8:5
So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
- Judges 8:16
Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.
- Judges 8:8
From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
- Joshua 13:27
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.