Deuteronomy 3:16
Ver. 16. And unto the Reubenites, and unto the Gadites,.... The tribes of Reuben and Gad:
I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon: see De 3:12
half the valley and the border; or rather half the river, the river Arnon; and so it is rendered "the middle of the river", in Jos 12:2 and so here the middle of the torrent by the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions, and by Onkelos:
even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; beyond which the land given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad reached not; see De 2:37. Deuteronomy 3:17Ver. 17. The plain also, and Jordan,.... The plain by Jordan, the plains of Moab on the side of it, together with the river:and the coast thereof; the country adjoining to it:from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, [even] the salt sea; that is, from Gennesaret, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, called the land of Gennesaret, Mt 14:34, from thence to the sea of Sodom, the sea of the plain, where the cities of the plain stood, Sodom, Gomorrah, &c. and the salt sea, so called from the salt and nitrous waters of it, the lake Asphaltites:under Ashdothpisgah eastward; mentioned among the cities given to the tribe of Reuben, Jos 13:20 rendered "the springs of Pisgah", De 4:49, the word having the signification of effusions, pourings out; so the Targums. Deuteronomy 3:18Ver. 18. And I commanded you at that time,.... Not all Israel, but the tribes of Reuben and God, and the half tribe of Manasseh; for what follows only concerns them:saying, the Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it; the land before described, lately in the hands of Sihon and Og; this at their request Moses gave them, by the direction of the Lord, on the following condition:you shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all [that] are meet for the war; that is, they should pass over Jordan with the rest of the tribes, being armed to assist them in the conquest of Canaan: for this phrase, which we render "before your brethren", does not signify that they went in the forefront of them, only that they were present with them, and joined them in their war against their enemies; see Nu 32:29 and therefore should be rendered "with your brethren" {a}; even as many of them as were able to bear arms, at least as many as Joshua would choose to take of them; for he did not take them all by a great many; see Jos 4:13.{a} Mkyxa ynpl "cum fratribus vestris", Noldius, p. 531, No. 1492. Deuteronomy 3:19Ver. 19. But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle,.... These were to be left behind: forI know that ye have much cattle; which made the countries of Gilead and Bashan, so famous for pasturage, agreeable to them; see Nu 32:1 these, under the care of servants, and also their wives and children,shall abide in your cities which I have given you; and which they rebuilt and repaired, Nu 32:34. Deuteronomy 3:20Ver. 20. Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you,.... Rest from their enemies, and habitations to dwell quietly in; so the land of Canaan is called a rest, De 12:9 typical of the rest which remains for the people of God:and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan; for so Canaan was with respect to Moses and the people with him, who were then in the plains of Moab; otherwise the country in which he was with respect to Canaan is usually called beyond Jordan; this the Lord had given in promise to Israel, and they were just now ready to enter into and possess it, by virtue of his gift, and which made it sure unto them:and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you; as accordingly they did, Jos 22:1. Deuteronomy 3:21Ver. 21. And I commanded Joshua at that time,.... After the conquest of the two kings, and the assignment of their countries to the above tribes; and after Moses had it made known to him that he should quickly die, and Joshua should be his successor; then, by the direction of God, he gave him the following charge:saying, thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto these two kings; Sihon and Og; how their kingdoms were taken from them, and given to Israel, and they slain with the sword; this Joshua was an eyewitness of, and was, no doubt, greatly concerned in the battles with them, being the general in the Israelitish armies; at least this was sometimes his post, and he cannot be thought to have been unemployed in these wars:so shall the Lord do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest; all the kingdoms in the land of Canaan, where there were many, thirty one at least; these would be all conquered and put into the hands of the Israelites, and their kings slain. Deuteronomy 3:22Ver. 22. Ye shall not fear them,.... On account of the numbers, strength, courage, and gigantic stature of the inhabitants, at least some of them; nor on account of their walled towns, and fortified cities:for the Lord your God he shall fight for you; as he did, particularly at Jericho, the walls of which city fell at the sound of rams' horns; and at Gibeon, when he cast down hailstones on their enemies, and more were slain by them than with the sword; and in all their battles it was he that gave them success and victory. Deuteronomy 3:23Ver. 23. And I besought the Lord at that time,.... When he was told he should die, and Joshua should succeed him; or when the two kings were slain, and their kingdoms conquered; this being the beginning, pledge, and earnest of what God had promised to do for the people of Israel; Moses was very desirous of living to see the work completed, and therefore sought the Lord by prayer and supplication:saying; as follows. Deuteronomy 3:24Ver. 24. O Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand,.... To give a specimen of the greatness of his power in subduing the two kings and their kingdoms, and delivering them up into the hands of the Israelites. Moses had seen instances of the mighty power of God in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness; but this was the beginning of his power, in vanquishing the Canaanites, and putting their land into the possession of the Israelites, as he had promised; of which the Amorites were a part, and a principal nation of them: and thus God, when he begins a work of grace upon the soul of man, begins to show the exceeding greatness of his power, and which is further exerted in carrying it on, and bringing it to perfection:for what God is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? here Moses speaks according to the notion of Heathens, who supposed there were other gods in heaven and in earth besides the true God; and upon this supposition observes, let there be as many as they will, or can be imagined, there is none of them like the Lord God of Israel for power and might; or are able to do such works as he has done, in nature, in the creation of all things out of nothing, in providence, in supporting what he has made, and in governing the world; and in those amazing instances of his power, in bringing down judgments upon wicked men, kings, and kingdoms; and in the deliverance of his own people from them, and putting them and their kingdoms into the possession of them; which were the wondrous works of might Moses had in view, and a sense of which was impressed on his mind at this time. Deuteronomy 3:25Ver. 25. I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan,.... The land of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey; a land which he describes as a most excellent one, De 8:7. To see this land, he was very desirous of going over the river Jordan, beyond which it lay with respect to the place where he now was:that goodly mountain, and Lebanon; or, "that goodly mountain, even Lebanon"; which lay to the north of the land of Canaan, and was famous for cedar and odoriferous trees. But if two distinct mountains are meant, the goodly mountain may design Mount Moriah, on which the temple was afterwards built, and of which Moses might have a foresight; and some by Lebanon think that is meant, which was built of the cedars of Lebanon, and therefore goes by that name, Zec 11:1 and a foreview of this made the mountain so precious to Moses, and desirable to be seen by him. So the Targum of Jonathan;"that goodly mountain in which is built the city of Jerusalem, and Mount Lebanon, in which the Shechinah shall dwell''to which agrees the note of Aben Ezra, who interprets the goodly mountain of Jerusalem, and Lebanon of the house of the sanctuary. In the Septuagint it is called Antilibanus. Mount Libanus had its name not from frankincense growing upon it, as some have thought; for it does not appear that any did grow upon it, for that came from Seba in Arabia Felix; but from the whiteness of it, through the continual snows that were on it, just as the Alps have their name for the same reason; and so Jerom says {b} of Lebanon, that the snow never leaves from the tops of it, or is ever so overcome by the heat of the sun as wholly to melt; to the same purpose also Tacitus {c} says, and Mr. Maundrell {d}, who was there in May, speaks of deep snow on it, and represents the cedars as standing in snow.{b} In Hieremiam, c. 18. 14. {c} Hist. l. 5. c. 6. {d} Journey from Aleppo, p. 139, 140. Deuteronomy 3:26Ver. 26. But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes,.... Not at this time, and for this prayer of his, but on account of he and Aaron not sanctifying him at the waters of Meribah; or of some expressions of unbelief, and unadvised words, which dropped from his lips through their provocation of him; see Nu 20:12and would not hear me; now, and grant the above request, having before declared that he and Aaron should not bring the people of Israel into the land he had given them; and Moses with all his entreaties could not prevail upon him to repeal the sentence:and the Lord said unto me, let it suffice; that he had seen the conquest of the two kings, and the delivery of their kingdoms into the hands of Israel; and that he had brought the people through the wilderness to the borders of the land of Canaan, and that he should have a distant sight of the land, as after directed:speak no more unto me of this matter; intimating it would be in vain, and to no purpose, to solicit such a favour, since it would never be granted; it was a determined point, and he would never recede from it. Deuteronomy 3:27Ver. 27. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah,.... Which was the highest eminence of Mount Nebo, and so a very proper place to take a prospect from; see De 32:49and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward; to all the four points of the heaven, and to all the four quarters and borders of the land of Canaan:and behold it with thine eyes; even the land of Canaan, and particularly Lebanon, though it lay to the north of it, that mountain he had such a desire to see. Moses, though old, his natural sight was very strong, and not in the least dim; and it is not improbable that it might be more than ordinarily increased and assisted at this time:for thou shall not go over this Jordan; into the land of Canaan; this affair, of not being suffered to enter there, Moses frequently takes notice of, no less than four or five times, it being what lay near his heart. Deuteronomy 3:28Ver. 28. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him,.... Charge him to take the care of the children of Israel, to introduce them into the good land, and put them into the possession of it; encourage him against all fear of his and their enemies, and strengthen him with promises of the presence of God, and of his gracious help and assistance:for he shall go over before this people; over the river Jordan, at the head of them, as their leader and commander; a type of Christ, the leader and commander of his people, who as their King goes forth at the head of them, and will introduce them all into his Father's kingdom and glory:and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see; and no more; not enter into, but Joshua should; and having conquered it, should divide it by lot for an inheritance to them, and their children after them; a type of Christ, in whom and by whom the saints obtain an inheritance by lot, Eph 1:11. Deuteronomy 3:29Ver. 29. So we abode in the valley over against Bethpeor. In the plains of Moab, over against a temple built for Baalpeor upon a mountain, so called from that idol, or that idol from the mountain; this is the valley where Moses was buried, De 34:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.