Bible Strands
Numbers 32:5
“If we have found favor in your sight,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Reubenites and Gadites address Moses after describing the conquered territory near the Jordan as ideal for their livestock. They make this request at the moment the Israelite camp prepares to cross into Canaan.
The words — The phrase מָצָ֤אנוּ חֵן (ma.Tza.nu chen) translates to "we have found favor," while the jussive יֻתַּן (yu.Tan) means "let it be given." These terms structure the proposal as a conditional petition for permanent territorial rights.
The thread — The appeal for favor appears in Genesis 19:19 where Lot seeks protection, while the desire to remain east of the Jordan parallels Moses’ own denied petitions in Deuteronomy 3:25 and God’s declaration in Deuteronomy 1:37.
Why it lands — The text records a conditional land request that explicitly refuses to cross the Jordan. It requires the reader to evaluate whether tribal convenience should supersede the collective military obligation of the covenant community.
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
Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.
Cross-references
- Genesis 19:19 Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.
- Deuteronomy 1:37 The LORD was also angry with me on your account, and He said, “Not even you shall enter the land.
- Deuteronomy 3:25 Please let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that pleasant hill country as well as Lebanon!”
- Joshua 7:7 “O, Lord GOD,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
- Ruth 2:10 At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”
- 1 Samuel 20:3 But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”
- 2 Samuel 14:22 Joab fell facedown in homage and blessed the king. “Today,” said Joab, “your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his request.”
- Esther 5:2 As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
- Jeremiah 31:2 This is what the LORD says: “The people who survived the sword found favor in the wilderness when Israel went to find rest.”