Gen 30:11, 46:16, Num 32, Deu 33:20-21, Jos 13:8, Judg 10-11 | ESV | STEP | And Leah said , Good fortune has come ! so she called his name Gad .

1 Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of ^dJazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. 2 So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, 3 ^e“Ataroth, ^fDibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, ^gNebo, and Beon, 4 the land ^hthat the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”

6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? 8 Your fathers did this, ⁱwhen I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them. 10 ^jAnd the Lord’s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, ^kfrom twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give ^lto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the ^mKenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for ⁿthey have wholly followed the Lord.’ 13 And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them ^owander in the wilderness forty years, until ^pall the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone. 14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! 15 For if you ^qturn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”

16 Then they came near to him and said, ^r“We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but ^swe will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 ^tWe will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, ^ubecause our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” 20 So ^vMoses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, 21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has ^wdriven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and ^xthis land shall be your possession before the Lord. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and ^ybe sure your sin will find you out. 24 ^zBuild cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 ^aaOur little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27 ^abbut your servants will pass over, every man who is ^acarmed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.”

28 So ^adMoses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to ^aeJoshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the Lord, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 30 However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. 32 We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”

33 And ^afMoses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. 34 And the people of Gad built ^agDibon, ^ahAtaroth, ^aiAroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, ^ajJazer, Jogbehah, 36 ^akBeth-nimrah and Beth-haran, ^alfortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the people of Reuben built ^amHeshbon, ^anElealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 ^aoNebo, and ^apBaal-meon ( ^aqtheir names were changed), and ^arSibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. 39 And the sons of ^asMachir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 And Moses ^atgave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. 41 And ^auJair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair. ^{▼▼ Havvoth-jair means the villages of Jair} 42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Deuteronomy 33:20-21

20 And ^awof Gad he said,

“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!
Gad crouches ^axlike a lion;
he tears off arm and scalp.
21 ^ayHe chose the best of the land for himself,
for there a commander’s portion was reserved;
and ^azhe came with the heads of the people,
with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord,
and his judgments for Israel.”

Joshua 13:8

The Inheritance East of the Jordan

8 With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh ^{▼▼Hebrew With it} the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, ^bbwhich Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them:

Judges 10

Tola and Jair

1 After Abimelech there arose to ^bcsave Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in ^bdthe hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir.

3 After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who ^berode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, ^bfwhich are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

Further Disobedience and Oppression

6 ^bgThe people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ^bhand served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, ^bithe gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they ^bjforsook the Lord and did not serve him. 7 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and ^bkhe sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

10 And the people of Israel ^blcried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because ^bmwe have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you ^bnfrom the Egyptians and ^bofrom the Amorites, ^bpfrom the Ammonites and ^bqfrom the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and ^brthe Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I ^bssaved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have ^btforsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out ^buto the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and ^bvhe became impatient over the misery of Israel.

17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at ^bwMizpah. 18 And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? ^bxHe shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Judges 11

Jephthah Delivers Israel

1 Now ^byJephthah the Gileadite was ^bza mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of ^caTob, and ^cbworthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of ^ccTob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and ^cdbe our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ^ce“The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people ^cfmade him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words ^cgbefore the Lord at ^chMizpah.

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, ^ci“Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the ^cjArnon to the ^ckJabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” 14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: ^clIsrael did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness ^cmto the Red Sea and ^cncame to Kadesh. 17 ^coIsrael then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ ^cpbut the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel ^cqremained at Kadesh.

18 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and ^crwent around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and ^csarrived on the east side of the land of Moab and ^ctcamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 ^cuIsrael then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20 but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what ^cvChemosh your god gives you to possess? ^cwAnd all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. 25 Now are you any better than ^cxBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived ^cyin Heshbon and its villages, and ^czin Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. ^daThe Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29 ^dbThen the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah ^dcmade a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever ^{▼▼Or whoever} comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites ^deshall be the Lord’s, and ^dfI will offer it ^{▼▼Or him} up for a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of ^dhMinnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at ^diMizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him ^djwith tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, ^dkand I cannot take back my vow.” 36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, ^dlwho did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.