Ponderings of the Pentateuch #50 Sep. 17, 2011

RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Pentateuch

Parashah # 50 Ki Tavo “When you come”   

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 26:1-29:8

By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Deut. 29:7-8 And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.
Deut 3:12-13 And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites. And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.

Reuben, Gad and Manasseh inherited land East of Jordan River while the rest of the tribes settled across the Jordan on the West. Reuben, Gad and Manasseh were tough hombres, pioneers and warriors. For the land they took was from giants, descendants of demonic human hybrid called the Nephilim, the Fallen Ones (Gen. 6:1-4).

Num. 21:23-26, 31-34 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon…  Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there. And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and og the king of bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at edrei.And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

Deut.2:24, 31-34, 3:1-4,11 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle… And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain… Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan…  For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

For Reuben, Gad and Manasseh to be separated and live apart from reliance on the rest of the tribes, they must have been tenacious, tough and self sufficient. Obviously they were hard as nails, seeing as they killed off the rest of the giants, took and settled their land as well as crossed over Jordan to fight and drive out the inhabitance on the West side of the Jordan so as to allow their brethren of the other tribes to posses their inheritance in the Promised Land.

Num. 32:2a,5,16-18,29-33 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle… 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… And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance… And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be our's. And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the 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, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
Deut. 3:18-20 And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you; Until the LORD have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the LORD your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.

Jacob prophetically blessed Reuben Gad and Manasseh. He prophesied that they all would be scrapers and underdogs (Gen.48:17-19, 49:3-4,19) and out of the 3, Gad would come out on top, being equated with Judah by being called a Lion by Moses (Deut.33:20).
Moses prophetically blessed Reuben, Gad and Manasseh (Joseph) as well (Deut. 33:6,13,20) and again it appears Gad is the Alpha male leading the Pride.
Our Haftarah seems to root for the three underdogs.

Isa. 60:22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.

And the Brit Chadasha, we see in the future these three tribes will be reunited and come back into their own in the End of Days.

Rev. 5b-c, 6c …Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand… Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!

-- Rabbi Yehudah

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