Numbers 32:22
in Numbers 32then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the land is subdued before Jehovah; then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless towards Jehovah, and towards Israel; and this land shall be unto you for a possession before Jehovah.
KJV
And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.
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This verse in Numbers 32
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If ye will do this thing
on Numbers 32:20-22
Moses sets the terms as a chain of conditions, and the words before the Lord fall five times in these three verses. What they offered as service to their brethren he restates as service before the Lord, which puts the whole arrangement under an oath rather than a bargain. Guiltless at verse 22 is the language of a debt discharged, and the land becomes their possession only after Canaan is subdued.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They should have the land, and neither sin nor blame should cleave to it, neither sin before God nor blame before Israel; and, whatever possessions we have, it is desirable thus to come guiltless to them. He warns them of the danger of breaking their word: "If you fail, you sin against the Lord (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Jazer - A city and country of the Amorites; Gilead - A mountainous country, famous for pasturage 6. Ye sit here - In ease and peace, while your brethren are engaged in a bloody war.
And the land be subdued before the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Perhaps, however, the phrase is used merely in a general sense to denote their marching on an expedition, the purpose of which was blessed with the presence, and destined to promote the glory, of God.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֨ה | venikhbeshah | and it will be subdued | H3533 → | |
| הָאָ֜רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לִפְנֵ֤י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְאַחַ֣ר | veachar | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| תָּשֻׁ֔בוּ | tashuvu | you will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וִהְיִיתֶ֧ם | vihyitem | and you will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נְקִיִּ֛ים | nekiyim | free | H5355 → | |
| מֵיְהוָ֖ה | meyahweh | from Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּמִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | umiyisrael | and from Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְ֠הָיְתָה | vehayetah | and it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הָאָ֨רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַזֹּ֥את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| לַאֲחֻזָּ֖ה | laachuzah | to a possession | H272 → | 66 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֨הand it will be subdued
venikhbeshahH3533 →
הָאָ֜רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
לִפְנֵ֤י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְאַחַ֣רand after
veacharH310 →715 times
תָּשֻׁ֔בוּyou will return
tashuvuH7725 →1056 times
וִהְיִיתֶ֧םand you will be
vihyitemH1961 →3559 times
נְקִיִּ֛יםfree
nekiyimH5355 →
מֵיְהוָ֖הfrom Yahweh
meyahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּמִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑לand from Israel
umiyisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְ֠הָיְתָהand it will belong
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
הָאָ֨רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַזֹּ֥את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
לָכֶ֛םto <the> you
lakhem
לַאֲחֻזָּ֖הto a possession
laachuzahH272 →66 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Deuteronomy 3:20until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then…
it leads to
- Joshua 22:4
And now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them, you may return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 22:4
Through
Joshua 1:15until the LORD gives them rest as He has done for you, and your brothers also possess the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you may return to the land…
it leads to
- Philippians 2:4
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
- Numbers 32:17–22
But we will arm ourselves and be ready 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…
- Philippians 2:4
Through
Joshua 22:9So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead, which they had acquired according to…
it leads to
- Numbers 32:29
And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, with every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you are…
- Numbers 32:26
Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead.
- Numbers 32:1
Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.
- Numbers 32:29
Through
Joshua 22:4And now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them, you may return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you…
it leads to
- Numbers 32:18
We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has taken possession of his inheritance.
- Joshua 13:8
The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had…
- Numbers 32:18
About Numbers
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.