TEXT [Commentary]

3.   Reuben’s inheritance (13:15-23)

15 Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.

16 Their territory extended from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge (including the town in the middle of the gorge) to the plain beyond Medeba. 17 It included Heshbon and the other towns on the plain—Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill above the valley, 20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth.

21 The land of Reuben also included all the towns of the plain and the entire kingdom of Sihon. Sihon was the Amorite king who had reigned in Heshbon and was killed by Moses along with the leaders of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—princes living in the region who were allied with Sihon. 22 The Israelites had also killed Balaam son of Beor, who used magic to tell the future. 23 The Jordan River marked the western boundary for the tribe of Reuben. The towns and their surrounding villages in this area were given as a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.

NOTES

13:16 Aroer . . . Medeba. See note on 13:9.

13:17 Heshbon. See note on 12:2.

Dibon. See note on 13:9.

13:20 Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth. See note on 12:3.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The tribal inheritance of Reuben was not central and important, as would have been expected for the descendants of Jacob’s firstborn (Gen 29:32). The beginning of the explanation arises in Jacob’s life as he was building his family. First, we must note that Rachel—Jacob’s favorite wife and Reuben’s aunt—had given Bilhah, her handmaid (Gen 29:29), to Jacob as a concubine, when Rachel concluded she would be unable to bear children herself (Gen 30:3-8). Years later, Reuben slept with Bilhah; this may have been an attempt by Reuben to begin to establish himself as head of the family, as he fancied he saw his father beginning to decline. Jacob heard about Reuben’s act, but did not do or say anything at the time (Gen 35:22). Jacob’s response came many years later, upon his deathbed in Egypt. Acknowledging Reuben in glowing terms as his firstborn (Gen 49:3), Jacob nevertheless finally broke his silence over Reuben’s transgression, and demoted him from the firstborn’s place of honor and preeminence among his brothers (Gen 49:4) and, hence, that of his descendants among the tribes of Israel.

Reuben’s territory extended from the Arnon in the south to a small slice of southern Gilead in the north, to the desert in the east, and to the extreme southern end of the Jordan River on the west. It was fertile and potentially a very good inheritance, but early on, the tribe of Reuben experienced difficulty defending their inheritance from Moab, and eventually lost all the southern part. Other biblical references indicate close relationships with Judah and Benjamin, with some clan names overlapping. As a distinct geographical and tribal entity, Reuben eventually just faded away. Already in the Song of Deborah, Reuben is mentioned only to chide him for not heeding the call to arms (Judg 5:15-16). After Deborah’s war, Reuben is scarcely mentioned again, and then usually in perfunctory acknowledgment that Reuben was (or had been) a tribe within Israel (e.g., Ezek 48:6-7; Rev 7:5).

The five “leaders” of Midian (13:21) are called “kings” in Numbers 31:8. These five were clan or tribal leaders; in this pre-monarchial period (Iron Age I) the titles “leader” and “king” were interchanged more than in later times. These men probably were vassals of Sihon, but this verse is not intended to imply they died fighting by his side. In Numbers 31:8, their deaths are recorded some time after that of Sihon (Num 21:24).

Israel’s grievance against Balaam (13:22; cf. 24:9-10) was his successful plan to seduce Israel into sexually expressed idolatry, even after God had forbidden him to prophesy against Israel (Num 22–25; 31:8, 16). This specific treachery on the part of a prophet of God (albeit, not an Israelite) probably was fresh enough in Israel’s memory that it did not require mention here.

The phrase “the towns and their surrounding villages” in 13:23 expresses a typical settlement pattern throughout much of Israel’s history in the land. Many towns large enough to need and to build a defensive wall had a number of unwalled villages nearby. When danger threatened, the villagers sought refuge inside the town. In peaceful times, the picture was more idyllic. As 13:23 portrays, town and village alike were “a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.”