Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 33:21
And he provided the first part for himself, because there, [in] a portion of the lawgiver, [was he] seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
21. vow ] Heb. nadar, as the parallel nazar shows, means originally ‘to dedicate.’ The term and the idea are found in practically all the Semitic languages.
be slack ] Lit. be behind, delay. To pay, lit. to fulfil.
sin in thee ] Cp. Deu 15:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21. provided ] Lit. saw but = saw to.
first part ] Or the best, Heb. reshth. See above, Deu 33:15; and on Deu 18:4.
For there, etc.] Both the text of this line and the beginning of the next k sham elath m e oe saphun (so far confirmed by Sam.) wayyeth and the meaning, for there the lot of a ruler was laid up, and he came, etc., are very uncertain. The line is an odd one and may well be a gloss upon the preceding line.
If the Heb. text be accepted, the meaning is that although Gad had received his large and princely territory E. of Jordan yet he came with (Sam. associated himself with) the heads of the people to the conquest of W. Palestine, loyal to the righteous purpose of God, and executed His judgements on its peoples (Exo 23:31 ff.). Possible emendations are eloh m e ua, and his lot was ordained (Giesebrecht); hull e kah elath m e oeh (cp. LXX ), a ruler’s lot was allotted. The last word saphun, reserved or laid up, overloads the line and is by some ingeniously taken with wayyeth’ of the next line as an inversion of wayyith – ass e phun and there gathered themselves the heads of the peoples, LXX ; and the line is taken as a gloss, or as the repetition by a scribe’s error of the line in Deu 33:5. On the whole v. see Numbers 32.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21 23 ( 22 24). Of Vows. A vow once made shall be paid without delay. God requires it, neglect is a sin (Deu 33:21). To forbear to vow is no sin, but every uttered promise of this kind must be observed (Deu 33:22 f.). In the Sg., somewhat redundant, and probably expanded (see on Deu 33:23). Why it stands here is not evident; Steuern. draws attention to the presence of vow in Deu 33:18 (19) as apparently the reason. D has already stated that vows are to be paid at the one altar (Deu 12:6; Deu 12:11; Deu 12:17; Deu 12:26). There is no parallel in E, but one in P, Num 30:2 (3) with some identical phrases, the context of which deals with women’s vows in an elaborate fashion.
For the development of the casuistry thus begun see Mishna, ‘Nedarm.’ In ancient times the vow was regarded as an essential part of religion (also in mediaeval Christianity) and was usually associated with prayer, cp. the Greek , often conditionally on the prayer being granted. It might be a vow that the vower would devote himself to a god’s service, e.g. Jacob, Gen 28:20-22; Absalom, 2Sa 15:7 f.; or the dedication of a child, Hannah, 1Sa 1:11, or of other living thing, Jdg 11:30 (Jephthah), Mal 1:14, Leviticus 27, or houses or land, id. Cp. Psa 22:25 (26), Psa 50:14, Psa 61:8 (9), Psa 65:1 (2), Psa 66:13, Psa 76:11 (12), Psa 116:14; Psa 116:18; Job 22:27, Ecc 5:4 f. (based on our law). All these show that vows were a religious duty, that they were frequently and lightly made, and but indifferently performed. Cp. Mar 7:10 f., Mat 15:4 ff. For the Babylonians see Johns, op. cit. 137, Code of ammurabi, 181; and for the Arabs W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem. 314 f., 462 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The first fruits of the conquest made by Israel were assigned to Gad and Reuben by Moses, at their own request.
Because … seated – Render, because there was the leaders portion reserved, i. e., there was reserved the fitting portion for Gad as a leader in war.
And he came … – i. e., he joined the other leaders to fulfill the commands of God respecting the conquest of Canaan (compare Num 32:17, Num 32:21, Num 32:32; Jos 1:14). Moses regards the promise of the Gadites to do this as already redeemed.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. He provided the first part] That is, he chose for himself a very excellent portion, viz., the land of Sihon and Og, in which this tribe had requested to be settled by the lawgiver, viz., Moses, from whom they requested this portion, Nu 32:1-5.
He came with the heads of the people] Notwithstanding this portion fell unto them on the east side of Jordan, yet they proceeded with the heads of the people, the chiefs of the other tribes.
To execute the justice of the Lord] To extirpate the old inhabitants of the country, according to the decree and purpose of the Lord. See on Num. xxxii.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The first part; the first-fruits of the Land of Promise, the country of Sihon, which was first conquered, which he is said to provide for himself, because he desired and so obtained it of Moses, Num 32.
A portion of the lawgiver, i.e. of Moses, whose portion this is called, either because this part of the land beyond Jordan was the only part of the land which Moses was permitted to enter upon; or because it was given to him by Moses; whereas the portions beyond Jordan were given to the several tribes by Joshua, according to the direction of the lot.
Was he seated, Heb. hid or protected; for their wives and children were secured in their cities, whilst many of their men went over to the war in Canaan.
He came with the heads of the people, i.e. he went, or he will go, (the preter tense being put for the future, after the manner of the prophets,) to wit, to the war in Canaan, with the princes, or captains, or rulers of the people of Israel, i.e. under their command and conduct, as indeed they did; or with the first of the people; or, in the front of the people, as the Syriac renders it; for this tribe and their brethren, whose lot fell beyond Jordan, were to march, and did march, into Canaan before their brethren, as it is expressed, Jos 1:14. And the Hebrew word rosch oft signifies the beginning or first of a thing.
He executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel, i.e. he did or will execute the just judgment of God against the Canaanites, as the rest of the Israelites did; he will join in the war against them, as he promised to do, Num 32:27, and actually did, Jos 1:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he provided a first part for himself,…. That is, the portion of the land of Sihon and Og, as Jarchi rightly interprets it; which was the beginning or firstfruits of the subduing of the land that was promised; this he looked at, chose, and desired it as his inheritance, Nu 32:1;
because there, [in] a portion of the lawgiver, [was he] seated; or in the portion and part of the inheritance of Israel was he placed by Moses the lawgiver, according to the will of God; or because there were in it palaces and towers of great personages, lawgivers, kings, and princes, well covered and strongly fortified; or here he was “hid”, or “protected”, i.e. their families, wives, and children, while they assisted their brethren in subduing Canaan:
and he came with the heads of the people; either “to” them, to Moses, Eleazar, and the seventy elders, and the heads of the tribes of Israel, to ask leave to have his part and portion on the other side Jordan, or “with” them, as we supply it; came with them over Jordan armed, to assist in the conquest and subduing of the land of Canaan:
he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel; that is, either he justly and truly fulfilled all his promises and engagements, on condition of which he was placed on the other side; or he, together with the rest of the Israelites, executed the righteous judgment of God upon the Canaanites, in the expulsion and destruction of them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
21. And he provided the first part for himself. (322) Others translate it not badly, the first-fruits. Jerome’s rendering, pre-eminence ( principatum,) however, is quite out of the question. The word beginning ( principium, ) however, is very suitable, for Moses thus signifies that the Gadites were beforehand in seeking a dwelling-place for themselves; for before possession of the land was accorded to the people, they asked for the kingdom of Sihon for themselves. It is afterwards added, in what way they were provident in choosing their abode, namely, because God suggested to them that Moses was at liberty to assign this portion to them. For it is called the “portion of the lawgiver,” as being that respecting which Moses might lawfully decide, since he appropriated it to the Gadites, not by hazard, nor otherwise than by God’s command. It is called the hidden portion, (323) as not having been included by God in His promise. The sum is, that although God’s will was not yet revealed, with respect to this addition to the land, still they obtained it through His secret liberality. And Moses desires flint his decision with regard to the Gadites remaining on this side Jordan should be thus confirmed, since disputes might have otherwise arisen, inasmuch as God’s promise had assigned the boundaries of the whole people on the opposite bank. Theirs is a poor exposition who explain it that Moses was buried there; and those also violently wrest the words, who understand by “the lawgiver” the chiefs of the Amorites, and render the words “hidden portion,” the ceiled palaces; (324) nor would they have been thus extravagant in their notions, if the natural meaning which I have given had occurred to them.
The other clause of the verse is added by way of qualification; for Moses shows that this advantageous provision was made for the children of Gad, on condition that they should accompany the other tribes, and not return home until the land of Canaan was at peace, and their enemies subdued. And we have already seen that, when they sought for themselves this location outside the land, in the kingdom of the Amorites, they were severely rebuked by Moses, until they promised that they would share the war with their brethren until its conclusion. This is what Moses means by “executing the justice of God, and his judgments with Israel;” not only because it was but just that they should share the war with their brethren, and assist them in obtaining possession of the land, but because God ordained that His just vengeance should be executed upon those heathen and wicked nations by the whole of Israel, and had chosen all the tribes generally to be the ministers of His judgment; as it is said, in Psa 149:7, that they were charged “to execute vengeance upon the heathen, to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written;” for it was no common honor to be appointed to be, as it were, the judges of the ungodly, so as to destroy them all, and thus to purify the land.
(322) Lat., “And he saw the beginning (principium) for himself,” etc. Heb. וירא ראשית
(323) A. V. , “seated;” marg., “Heb. ceiled.” See next note.
(324) ספון. Part. pahul, ספן , to bide. S. M., (“Pro legislatore) abscondendo.” C. learnt from the notes of S. M. that Rabbi Salomon expounds this clause, “He saw that in that land the legislator, Moses, would be buried,” and that Aben-Ezra had interpreted סהוקק, great, and ספון , a house with a dome-like roof, and had then paraphrased the clause, as meaning, “there is the place suitable for the great and noble, who dwell in palaces.” — W
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) The first part.The first territory conquered by Moses was distributed between Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
A portion of the lawgiver is interpreted by Rashi as the field of the burial-place of the lawgiver. But this can hardly have been in the mind of Moses.
He came with the heads of the people.The Gadites with their companion tribes passed over Jordan to the conquest of Canaan by Moses order.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. He provided the first part for himself He chose the firstfruits for himself. The land on the east of the Jordan, the firstfruits of the conquest, was apportioned to Gad and Reuben. Comp. Numbers 32.
Because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated For these was the leader’s portion reserved; kept as an appropriate reward for so brave and successful a leader.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The seat here spoken of, probably referred to the situation of Gad, on the other side Jordan Deu 4:43 . Joshua dismissed the Gadites with a blessing after the war was over; see Joshua. Jos 4:12 with Jos 22:7-8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 33:21 And he provided the first part for himself, because there, [in] a portion of the lawgiver, [was he] seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
Ver. 21. In a portion of the lawgiver. ] That portion that Moses the lawgiver assigned him on the other side Jordan. Num 32:33
He executed the justice of the Lord,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
in. Omit.
was he seated = was reserved.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the first part: Num 32:1-6, Num 32:16, 17-42
a portion: Num 32:33, Jos 1:14, Jos 22:4
seated: Heb. cieled
he came: Num 32:16, Num 32:21, Jos 4:12, Jos 4:13, Jdg 5:2, Jdg 5:11
Reciprocal: Gen 30:11 – she Gen 46:16 – sons of Gen 49:19 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 33:21. He provideth the first part for himself The first-fruits of the land of promise, the country of Sion, which was first conquered, and which he is said to provide for himself, because he asked and obtained it of Moses, and was the first who viewed his portion in the promised land. There, in a portion of the lawgiver, &c. This is obscurely expressed, but the meaning seems to be, he was there settled in a portion or settlement allotted him by Moses the Jewish legislator himself, whereas the portions beyond Jordan were given to the several tribes by Joshua, according to the direction of the lot. Or perhaps this part of the land is termed a portion of the lawgiver, because, lying beyond Jordan, it was the only part which Moses was permitted to enter upon. Was he seated Hebrew, , sapun, covered, or protected: for their wives and children were secured in their cities, while many of the men went over to the war in Canaan. He came with the heads of the people, &c. Or with the princes, captains, or rulers of the people; that is, under their command and conduct. Or, as , roshee, may be understood, with the first, or in the front of the people, as the Syriac renders it; for this tribe and their brethren, whose lot fell beyond Jordan, were to march into Canaan before their brethren. Thus, again, he speaks, in the prophetic style, of a thing as already done, because he foresaw it would be done. He executed the justice of the Lord Or his just judgment against the Canaanites, as the rest of the Israelites did.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
33:21 And he provided the first part for himself, because there, [in] a portion of the {o} lawgiver, [was he] seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
(o) So the portion of the Gadites, and others on this side of the Jordan was God’s, though it was not so known.