Deuteronomy 3:14

Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, recounting the final territorial divisions of the Transjordan conquest before his death. He specifies how the half-tribe of Manasseh received Gilead and the former kingdom of Og.

The words — The Hebrew לָקַח (la.Kach) literally means he took, denoting the act of seizing and occupying territory. יָאִיר (ya.'Ir) identifies Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, as the tribal leader who executed this conquest and renamed the region.

The thread — This record of Jair’s capture and renaming of Bashan runs parallel to Numbers 32:41 and Joshua 13:13, which confirm the settlement and note the concurrent failure to drive out the Geshurites and Maacathites. The name Maacath also surfaces in 2 Samuel 3:3 as part of David’s genealogical records.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that territorial inheritance involved direct military action and administrative reorganization by designated leaders. It demands tracking how specific names and borders operate as historical markers of divine allocation and human execution.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan–havoth–jair, unto this day.

Cross-references

Numbers 32:41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair.
Joshua 13:13 but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.
2 Samuel 3:3 his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;
2 Samuel 10:6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
2 Samuel 13:37 Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But David mourned for his son every day.
1 Chronicles 2:21 Later, Hezron slept with the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead. He had married her when he was sixty years old, and she bore to him Segub.