Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Reubenites and Gadites, abounding in cattle, ask that the land of Gilead be given to them as their portion, since it was suitable for pasturing; Moses rebukes them, but having recognized the sincerity of their intention, he acquiesces and gives them Gilead; but on the condition that they themselves should go armed before the other tribes and lead them into Canaan.
Vulgate Text: Numbers 32:1-42
1. Now the sons of Reuben and Gad had much cattle, and their substance in livestock was immense. And when they had seen the lands of Jazer and Gilead, suitable for feeding animals, 2. they came to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and the princes of the multitude, and said: 3. Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 4. the land which the Lord struck in the sight of the children of Israel, is a very rich region for the pasturing of animals: and we your servants have very many livestock; 5. and we pray, if we have found favor before you, that you give it to us your servants as a possession, and do not make us cross the Jordan. 6. Moses answered them: Shall your brothers go to battle, and you sit here? 7. Why do you undermine the resolve of the children of Israel, that they may not dare to cross into the place which the Lord will give them? 8. Did not your fathers do likewise, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land? 9. And when they had come as far as the valley of the Cluster, having surveyed the whole region, they subverted the hearts of the children of Israel, so that they would not enter the borders which the Lord had given them. 10. And He, being angry, swore, saying: 11. These men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall not see the land which I promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for they were unwilling to follow Me, 12. except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun: these fulfilled My will. 13. And the Lord, being angry against Israel, led them about through the desert for forty years, until the entire generation which had done evil in His sight was consumed. 14. And behold, He said, you have risen up in place of your fathers, offspring and pupils of sinful men, to increase the fury of the Lord against Israel. 15. And if you are unwilling to follow Him, He will abandon the people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of the death of all. 16. But they came near and said: We will build sheepfolds and stalls for livestock, and fortified cities for our children; 17. but we ourselves, armed and girded, will go forth to battle before the children of Israel, until we bring them to their places. Our children, and whatever we may possess, will be in walled cities, because of the ambushes of the inhabitants. 18. We will not return to our homes until the children of Israel possess their inheritance: 19. nor will we seek anything beyond the Jordan, because we already have our possession on its eastern side. 20. Moses said to them: If you do what you promise, go forth armed before the Lord to battle; 21. and let every fighting man cross the Jordan armed, until the Lord overthrows His enemies, 22. and all the land is subjected to Him: then you shall be guiltless before the Lord and before Israel, and you shall obtain the regions you desire before the Lord. 23. But if you do not do what you say, there is no doubt that you will sin against God: and know that your sin will find you out. 24. Build therefore cities for your children, and folds and stalls for your sheep and cattle: and fulfill what you have promised. 25. And the sons of Gad and Reuben said to Moses: We are your servants; we will do what our Lord commands. 26. Our children, and women, and flocks, and livestock we will leave in the cities of Gilead; 27. but we your servants will all go forth armed to war, as you, lord, speak. 28. So Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel, and said to them: 29. If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben cross the Jordan with you, all armed for war before the Lord, and the land is subjected to you, give them Gilead as a possession. 30. But if they are unwilling to cross over armed with you into the land of Canaan, let them receive places to dwell among you. 31. And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered: As the Lord has spoken to His servants, so we will do; 32. we ourselves will go armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and we acknowledge that we have already received our possession beyond the Jordan. 33. So Moses gave to the sons of Gad and Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and their land with its cities round about. 34. Therefore the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 35. and Atroth, and Shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah, 36. and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for their flocks. 37. And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim, 38. and Nebo, and Baal-meon, with changed names, Sibmah also, imposing names upon the cities which they had built. 39. And the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and laid it waste, slaying the Amorite inhabitants. 40. So Moses gave the land of Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, who dwelt in it. 41. And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its villages, which he called Havvoth-Jair, that is, the Towns of Jair. 42. Nobah also went and seized Kenath with its small towns; and he called it Nobah after his own name.
Verses 1-2: The Request of Reuben and Gad
1 and 2. NOW THE SONS OF REUBEN AND GAD HAD MUCH CATTLE, etc., AND WHEN THEY HAD SEEN THE LANDS OF JAZER AND GILEAD, SUITABLE FOR FEEDING ANIMALS, THEY CAME TO MOSES -- to request that these lands be given to them as their lot and inheritance. These were the lands of Jazer and Gilead, on this side of the Jordan, in the territory which the Hebrews had taken from Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, chapter xxi, verse 24. Therefore the Reubenites and Gadites, abounding in cattle, request their land as pastureland, and Moses gave it to them, together with the half-tribe of Manasseh, to possess.
Tropologically, Saint Gregory, XXVII Morals chapter x: "Those whom many entanglements of the world occupy," he says, "do not wish to cross the Jordan: because they do not seek the dwelling-place of the heavenly homeland." See the rest in his work.
Verse 4: We Have Very Many Livestock
4. WE HAVE VERY MANY LIVESTOCK (that is, cattle).
Verses 6-9: Moses' Rebuke
6, 7, 8, and 9. Moses ANSWERED THEM (thinking that out of fear of the Canaanites and of the wars to be waged with them, they did not wish to proceed across the Jordan into Canaan): "Why do you subvert the minds of the children of Israel, that they may not dare to cross over," etc.? "Did not your fathers do likewise?" etc. "They subverted" (that is, turned away, broke, dissolved -- for the Hebrew heni means to break, turn away, dissolve, frustrate) "the hearts of the children of Israel" -- who were ready to enter the promised land; but having heard the spies, they were struck with fear and, not daring to go forward, wished to go back to Egypt; as if to say: See that you do not do the same.
Verse 9: That They Would Not Enter the Borders
9. SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT ENTER THE BORDERS WHICH THE LORD HAD GIVEN THEM. -- The word ut signifies not the intention, but the consequence and outcome of the matter: for from the persuasion of the spies arose the murmuring of the people, from the murmuring came the punishment and just sentence of God, that all should die in the desert and none of them should enter Canaan.
Verse 11: From Twenty Years Old and Above
11. THESE MEN WHO CAME UP OUT OF EGYPT, FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD AND ABOVE, SHALL NOT SEE THE LAND, etc. -- The phrase "from twenty years" refers not to "who came up out of Egypt," but to "these men." For those who at the time of the exodus from Egypt had not yet reached their twentieth year, but had reached it at the time of the murmuring, are included in and punished by this sentence, as I said at chapter xiv, verse 29.
THEY WERE UNWILLING TO FOLLOW ME. -- In Hebrew, "they did not fulfill after Me," that is, they did not fully follow Me, so as to obey Me continually and constantly and proceed under My guidance into Canaan; but they halted on the way and turned away from Me, wishing to turn back the journey to Egypt.
Verse 13: Led Them About for Forty Years
13. AND THE LORD, BEING ANGRY AGAINST ISRAEL, LED THEM ABOUT THROUGH THE DESERT FOR FORTY YEARS. -- The Septuagint most expressively conveys this whirling instability of being led about, when they translate "He spun them around like a rhombus" through the desert for forty years, where the gyrations of the Hebrews in the desert are aptly compared to a rhombus, as Eugubinus notes, whether you take rhombus as the fish (for it turns about in a marvelous way) or as the women's three-sided and cross-shaped spindle, on which they unwind and spread out the balls of yarn they have spun, so that the weavers can easily unwind and weave the threads, which the Belgians call den haspel. For the Hebrews made such reversed turns and very many revolutions continually for 40 years, as is clear from the tables of Adrichomius.
Verse 14: Offspring and Pupils of Sinful Men
14. AND BEHOLD, HE SAID, YOU HAVE RISEN UP IN PLACE OF YOUR FATHERS, OFFSPRING AND PUPILS OF SINFUL MEN. -- Instead of "offspring and pupils," in Hebrew there is tarbut, which literally signifies "multitude" or "multiplication," but metaphorically is attributed to pupils and disciples; for so the Septuagint, Chaldean, and our Vulgate translate it here: whence also rab, or rabbi, derived from the same root, signifies a master, who is "great," that is, eminent, and spreads and multiplies his teaching through his disciples. The meaning therefore is, as if to say: You are the sons and disciples of impious men for the purpose of increasing sins and filling up the measure of your fathers; you admirably propagate their impious stock, as well as their crimes, and make them grow.
Verse 17: In Walled Cities
17. OUR CHILDREN, etc., WILL BE IN WALLED CITIES, BECAUSE OF THE AMBUSHES OF THE INHABITANTS (that is, of the neighbors). -- For the Reubenites and Gadites were neighbors to the Moabites, Edomites, Canaanites, and other enemies. Therefore there is no doubt that, together with the children, fighting men also remained for their protection, as will shortly become clearer.
Verse 20: Before the Lord
20. "Go forth equipped before the Lord" -- that is, in the presence of the Lord, namely before the ark and the pillar of cloud, which contains and represents the Lord.
Note: The phrase "to be before the Lord" signifies two things: first, to have the Lord as observer and witness. So it is taken in 2 Kings III, 38, Psalm LIII, 25, Ecclesiastes II, 26, and elsewhere. Second, "to be before the Lord" means to have the Lord approving and favoring: for so our Vulgate translates in Judges XVIII, 6, and elsewhere; and so it can be taken here as well.
Verse 21: Every Fighting Man Cross the Jordan
21. "Let every fighting man (among you) cross the Jordan armed." -- "Every," that is, every one who can conveniently cross. For it was not safe to leave the children and cattle and the rest of the family without protection, in the vicinity of so many enemies. So elsewhere "every" is often taken to mean "many"; whence from the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassites, only 40,000 crossed the Jordan for the battle against the Canaanites, as is clear from Joshua IV, 13, even though a little before, in all, 110,000 had been counted from among them, chapter xxvi, verse 18, and following: but the remaining 70,000 stayed in Gilead for the protection of the children, wives, and cattle. Therefore Moses here commands that these three tribes should not sit idly at home, out of range of weapons; but should accompany the others to battle, indeed go before them, and this, first, so that they might remove from others the suspicion of laziness and cowardice and give an example of boldness and courage. Second, lest that one Hebrew people, before the victory was won in war, the commonwealth established by the division of the inheritance, and finally the religion established by the placement of the ark and the inauguration of sacred rites, should be divided and the new Church split; which would plainly have happened if those (as was feared) who remained on this side of the Jordan should refuse to come across the Jordan to the wars and to the tabernacle and sacred rites of the other tribes, and should set up for themselves in Gilead their own tabernacle, altar, and sacred rites: whence also the altar later erected by them in the same place, although for a different reason, cast great suspicion of this on the rest and nearly gave occasion for civil war, as is clear from Joshua chapter XXII, verses 10 and 12.
Verse 23: Your Sin Will Find You Out
23. "But if you do not do what you say, there is no doubt that you will sin" (that you would sin: so the Septuagint. But the Chaldean and Hebrew have it in the past tense, "you have sinned," namely after you shall have refused the battle), "and know that your sin" (that is, the punishment of your sin) "will find you out" -- for the harm follows the head, and punishment accompanies guilt inseparably, as a lictor accompanies the accused.
Verse 26: In the Cities of Gilead
26. OUR CHILDREN, etc., WE WILL LEAVE IN THE CITIES OF GILEAD -- that is, in the land of Og and Sihon, assigned to us. Gilead therefore here is not taken for Gileadite territory strictly, or the land which is properly called Gilead; but more broadly: for it encompasses the entire allotment of the Gadites, Reubenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Verses 29-30: The Condition Imposed
29 and 30. "If the sons of Gad cross over the Jordan with you," etc. "Give them Gilead," etc. "But if not," etc. "Let them receive places to dwell among you" -- as if to say: If they have broken their word and refuse to go forth with you to battle, compel them to cross the Jordan, to fight and dwell with you.
Verse 31: As the Lord Has Spoken
31. AS THE LORD HAS SPOKEN -- namely God through Moses: this is clear from the Hebrew.
Verse 34: The Sons of Gad Built
34. THEREFORE THE SONS OF GAD BUILT DIBON, etc. -- "Built," that is, restored; for these cities had existed before, and the Gadites could not have built these cities from the foundations so quickly: for shortly after the death of Moses, which followed immediately upon these events, they themselves went forth with the other tribes across the Jordan into Canaan; whence also in verse 38, they are said to have changed the old names of these cities and imposed new ones: from which it is clear that these cities had existed previously, and had not been built by them but restored.
Verse 38: With Changed Names
38. WITH CHANGED NAMES. -- The Hebrews here, as religious victors, gave the names of their own nation to the cities of the Amorites, having abolished the former pagan names, especially because some of them appear to have been derived from idols, namely from Baal, such as Bamoth-Baal and Baal-meon; what those Hebrew names were, Scripture does not specify here, except two, namely Havvoth-Jair and Nobah, verses 41 and 42. For the other names are mostly found to be the same both before these times, Numbers xxi, verse 30 and following, and afterward, Joshua XIII, 17 and following.
Verse 40: Gilead Given to Machir
40. SO MOSES GAVE THE LAND OF GILEAD TO MACHIR, THE SON OF MANASSEH. -- "Machir," that is, to the descendants of Machir, or to the half-tribe of Manasseh descended from Machir; for Machir the son of Manasseh and grandson of Joseph had long since died. For if he had lived until now, he would have been at least 210 years old; an age which befell no one in that era.
Verse 41: Jair the Son of Manasseh
41. NOW JAIR THE SON OF MANASSEH -- not an immediate son, but a remote descendant. So often grandsons are called sons, as in Luke I, 5; Matthew I, 1.
Note first: Jair was descended by paternal line not from the tribe of Manasseh, but from Judah; for this is the genealogy: Judah begot Perez, he Hezron, he Segub, he Jair. But because Hezron married the daughter of Machir, son of Manasseh, and from her begot Segub, father of Jair, as is clear from 1 Chronicles II, 21, it came about that Jair followed the Manassites, because he was descended from the daughter of the most famous son of Manasseh, Machir: and in this sense Scripture here calls him a son of Manasseh.
Note second: This Jair was a very brave man; whence in Gilead he captured Havvoth-Jair, that is, towns, which he named Jair after his own name, and for this reason it came about that, although above in verse 1, only the Reubenites and Gadites had requested their lot on this side of the Jordan, the half-tribe of Manasseh was nevertheless added to them, since it had most valiantly lent its effort in conquering those cities; so Andreas Masius on Joshua XIII, 31. Furthermore, this Jair was different, and these towns of Jair were different, from the Jair and his towns, not captured but subdued, who are mentioned 300 years later in Judges chapter x, verse 4. See Abulensis here, Question XII.
Verse 42: Nobah Seized Kenath
42. NOBAH ALSO WENT AND SEIZED KENATH. -- Nobah here seems to have been from the tribe of Manasseh, just as Jair who preceded; whence the city was called Nobah after him, in which the tabernacle was later placed. Hence to this Nobah David, fleeing from Saul, came to Ahimelech the high priest, 1 Kings xxi, 1. So Abulensis.
Tropology: The Three States of the Church
Abulensis here at the end of the chapter brings a strict and fearful tropology. These three tribes, he says, signify three states of the Church, namely Reuben signifies Bishops and prelates: for Reuben in Hebrew means the same as "son of vision"; whence it denotes the rank of Prelates, who oversee the lives of others. Gad, as the strongest, signifies princes. Manasseh signifies wealthy monks, namely those who forget their state and vocation (for this forgetfulness is what Manasseh means in Hebrew). These three remain on this side of the Jordan, because the greatest number of those three states, of those living on this side of the promised land in heaven, remain on this earth and die here: while they seek stalls for their cattle, that is, glorious palaces, so that they may call their names upon their lands, and the pleasures of cattle, that is, pleasures derived from brutes and shared in common with brutes. These, if they sometimes lead others across the Jordan, into the promised land, that is, into heaven, by teaching and admonishing, they themselves nevertheless return across Jordan to their passing pleasures, and never go to heaven to dwell there: thus far Abulensis. Which should be suitably understood of those who, with the Gadites and Reubenites, gape after earth and earthly things. Of such persons also spoke that preacher of Emperor Albert I, who, seeing the nobles drowsily receiving his words, said in a raised voice: "The question is asked whether Princes can be saved." And after the matter was debated on both sides, and the sleep of the listeners shaken off: "Why not?" he said, "provided they die crying in the cradle after receiving baptism," as Aeneas Sylvius reports, book III of On the Deeds of Alphonsus. For it is certain that there is no lack of Bishops, Religious, and eminent Princes who aspire to heavenly things and surpass and shine before their own people in virtue and religion.
Furthermore, Saint Gregory, XXVII Morals x, applies this to the faithful who defend the faith but love and follow their own lusts; for these nourish brute animals outside the promised land.