Numbers 32:25
in Numbers 32The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “Your servants will do just as our lord commands.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
KJV
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
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This verse in Numbers 32
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Thy servants will do as my lord
on Numbers 32:25-27
The Hebrew verb behind their answer is singular, which John Gill reads as the two tribes speaking with one voice or through one spokesman. Verse 27 repeats the crossing clause almost word for word, and the same clause comes round again at verses 29, 31 and 32. Repetition is how the terms get fixed, since nobody in this negotiation wants the wording left loose.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the 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, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
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 children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying,.... In answer to his speech: thy servants will do as my lord commandeth; both with respect to their march before the Lord to battle, and with respect to their provision for their children and flocks.
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| גָד֙ | gad | Gad | H1410 → | 72 times |
| וּבְנֵ֣י | uvenei | and [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רְאוּבֵ֔ן | reuven | Reuben | H7205 → | 72 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ | ʾavadeikha | servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יַעֲשׂ֔וּ | yaasu | they will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֖י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| מְצַוֶּֽה׃ | metzaveh | [is] commanding | H6680 → | 494 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
בְּנֵי־[the] descendants of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
גָד֙Gad
gadH1410 →72 times
וּבְנֵ֣יand [the] descendants of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
רְאוּבֵ֔ןReuben
reuvenH7205 →72 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
עֲבָדֶ֣יךָservants your
ʾavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
יַעֲשׂ֔וּthey will do
yaasuH6213 →2628 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
אֲדֹנִ֖יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
מְצַוֶּֽה׃[is] commanding
metzavehH6680 →494 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.