Bible Strands
Numbers 32:38
as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. And they renamed the cities they rebuilt.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses lists the fortified cities assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad as they secure their Transjordan inheritance.
The words — The Hebrew מֽוּסַבֹּ֥ת (musabbōt) translates literally as "changed," documenting the deliberate alteration of the place names Nebo and Baal-meon.
The thread — This renaming practice aligns with the prohibition in Exodus 23:13 against retaining other gods' names and foreshadows Isaiah 46:1, which lists Nebo among the powerless idols of Babylon.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that Israel's territorial settlement included the systematic replacement of Canaanite religious nomenclature with Yahweh-centered identity.
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
And Nebo, and Baal–meon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 46:1 Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Numbers 32:3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
- Exodus 23:13 Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
- Joshua 23:7 So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them.
- Genesis 26:18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them.
- Numbers 22:41 The next morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see the outskirts of the camp of the people.
- Psalms 16:4 Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.