Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 13:23
And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border [thereof]. This [was] the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.
23. was Jordan ] i.e. “the boundary of the children of Reuben was the Jordan and adjoining land.” Comp. Num 34:6; Deu 3:16-17.
the villages thereof ] = “farm premises,” not enclosed, like a city, with walls. Thus the boundaries of the tribe of Reuben were, ( a) On the West, the Dead Sea; ( b) on the South, the country of Moab; (c) on the East, the kingdom of Ammon; ( d) on the North, the Arnon, or the Wady Mojeb. Here the tribe settled, “preferring pasturage to agriculture.” His subsequent history fulfils the prophecy of Jacob. “Unstable (or swelling) as water” (Gen 49:4), he vanishes away into a mere Arabian tribe; “his men are few” (Deu 33:6); it is all he can do “to live and not die.” The only events of the subsequent history of the tribe are ( a) the multiplication of “their cattle in the land of Gilead;” ( b) their wars with the Bedouin “sons of Hagar” (1Ch 5:10); ( c) their spoils “of camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand” (1Ch 5:21). In the chief struggle of the nation Reuben never took part. No judge, no prophet, no hero of the tribe is handed down to us. See Stanley’s Lectures, 1. 218.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 23. The cities and the villages] By villages, chatserim, it is likely that moveable villages or tents are meant, such as are in use among the Bedouin Arabs; places where they were accustomed to feed and pen their cattle.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the border thereof, i.e. those cities or places which bordered upon Jordan. Compare Num 34:6.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border [thereof],…. As their border eastward was Aroer on the river Arnon, so their border westward was the river Jordan:
this [was] the inheritance of the children of Reuben, after their families, the cities and the villages thereof; which Moses gave them on the other side Jordan; and next follow an account of the inheritance of the tribe of Gad in those parts.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“ And (this) was the boundary of the sons of Reuben, the Jordan and its territory,” i.e., the Jordan, or rather land adjoining it. The meaning is, that the territory of Reuben, viz., with the places mentioned last (Jos 13:20), reached to the territory of the Jordan; for so far as the principal part was concerned, it was on the east of the Dead Sea, as it only reached from the Arnon to Heshbon, i.e., up to the latitude of the northern extremity of the Dead Sea. “ The towns and their villages. ” , farm premises, used, as in Lev 25:31, to denote places not enclosed by a wall.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
23. This was the inheritance of Reuben The tribe of Reuben never did excel. Compare Gen 49:4. They were never noted for mighty deeds, and their indifference in the war with Sisera, when the mighty ones went up to battle and they “abode among the sheepfolds to hear the bleatings of the flocks,” is properly satirized in the song of Deborah.
Jdg 5:16, note. Their territory was overrun by the army of Tiglath-pileser, and they were carried away captive into upper Mesopotamia. 1Ch 5:26. Then their depopulated cities and country were repossessed by their ancient owners, the Moabites, and hence it is that we find so many cities of Reuben afterwards in possession of the Moabites.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and its border. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, its cities and villages.’
Literally ‘the border was — Jordan and a border.’ The phrase occurs in Jos 13:27; in Jos 15:12; Jos 15:47 of the Great Sea; Num 34:6 of the Great Sea; Deu 3:16-17 of the Arnon in its valley and of Jordan. It seems to be a technical term to describe water as forming a continuing border.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The sacred historian is particular to enumerate these things concerning the portion of the two tribes and half; because it is a confirmation of what Moses had before done. Joshua only confirms the appointment. Some of those places were in after ages made more memorable. Jazer was near the borders of the half tribe of Manasseh.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 13:23 And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border [thereof]. This [was] the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.
Ver. 23. See Trapp on “ Jos 13:18 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Reciprocal: Exo 6:14 – these be