And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad,.... On the other side Jordan, as he did to Reuben:

even unto the children of Gad, according to their families: according to the number and largeness of them, dividing to each their part and portion.

Inheritance of the tribe of Gad. - This tribe received Jazer (probably es Szyr: see at Numbers 21:32) and "all the towns of Gilead," i.e., of the southern half of Gilead, which belonged to the kingdom of Sihon; for the northern half, which belonged to the kingdom of Og, was given to the Manassites (Joshua 13:31), "and the half of the land of the sons of Ammon, to Aror before Rabbah," i.e., that portion of the land of the Ammonites between the Arnon and the Jabbok, which the Amorites under Sihon had taken from the Ammonites, namely, the land on the east of Gilead, on the western side of the upper Jabbok (Nahr Ammn: Deuteronomy 2:37; Deuteronomy 3:16; cf. Judges 11:13); for the land of the Ammonites, i.e., the land which they still held in the time of Moses, on the eastern side of Nahr Ammn, the Israelites were not allowed to attack (Deuteronomy 2:19). Aror before Rabbah, i.e., Ammn (see Deuteronomy 3:11), is Aror of Gad, and must be distinguished from Aror of Reuben on the Arnon (Joshua 13:16). It is only mentioned again in Judges 11:33 and 2 Samuel 24:5, and was situated, according to 2 Sam., in the valley of Gad, that is to say, in a wady or valley through which Gesenius supposes an arm of the Jabbok to have flowed, and Thenius the Jabbok itself, though neither of them has sufficient ground for his conjecture. It is also not to be identified with the ruin of Ayra to the south-west of Szalt, as this is not in a wady at all; but in all probability it is to be sought for to the north-east of Rabbah, in the Wady Nahr Ammn, on the side of the Kalat Zerka Gadda, the situation of which suits this verse and Judges 11:33. - In Joshua 13:26 the extent of the territory of Gad is first of all described from north to south: viz., from Heshbon (see Joshua 13:17) to Ramath-mizpeh, or Ramoth in Gilead (Joshua 20:8), probably on the site of the present Szalt (see at Deuteronomy 4:43), "and Betonim," probably the ruin of Batneh, on the mountains which bound the Ghor towards the east between the Wady Shaib and Wady Ajlun, in the same latitude as Szalt (V. de Velde, Mem. p. 298); and then, secondly, the northern boundary is described from west to east, "from Mahanaim to the territory of Lidbir." Mahanaim (double-camp: Genesis 32:2), which was given up by Gad to the Levites (Joshua 21:30), in which Ishbosheth was proclaimed king (2 Samuel 2:8-9), and to which David fled from Absalom (2 Samuel 17:24, 2 Samuel 17:27; 1 Kings 2:8), is not to be sought for, as Knobel supposes, in the ruins of Meysera, to the south of Jabbok, four hours and a half from Szalt, but was on the north of the Jabbok, since Jacob did not cross the ford of the Jabbok till after the angel had appeared to him at Mahanaim (Genesis 32:3, Genesis 32:23). It was in or by the valley of the Jordan (according to 2 Samuel 18:23-24), and has probably been preserved in the ruins of Mahneh, the situation of which, however, has not yet been determined (see at Genesis 32:3). Lidbir is quite unknown; the lamed, however, is not to be taken as a prefix, but forms part of the word. J. D. Michaelis and Knobel suppose it to be the same as Lo-debar in 2 Samuel 9:4-5; 2 Samuel 17:27, a place from which provisions were brought to David at Mahanaim on his flight from Absalom, and which is to be sought for on the east of Mahanaim.

And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.

13:7-33 The land must be divided among the tribes. It is the will of God that every man should know his own, and not take that which is another's. The world must be governed, not by force, but right. Wherever our habitation is placed, and in whatever honest way our portion is assigned, we should consider them as allotted of God; we should be thankful for, and use them as such, while every prudent method should be used to prevent disputes about property, both at present and in future. Joshua must be herein a type of Christ, who has not only conquered the gates of hell for us, but has opened to us the gates of heaven, and having purchased the eternal inheritance for all believers, will put them in possession of it. Here is a general description of the country given to the two tribes and a half, by Moses. Israel must know their own, and keep to it; and may not, under pretence of their being God's peculiar people, encroach on their neighbours. Twice in this chapter it is noticed, that to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance: see Nu 18:20. Their maintenance must be brought out of all the tribes. The ministers of the Lord should show themselves indifferent about worldly interests, and the people should take care they want nothing suitable. And happy are those who have the Lord God of Israel for their inheritance, though little of this world falls to their lot. His providences will supply their wants, his consolations will support their souls, till they gain heavenly joy and everlasting pleasures.