One of the clans of the tribe of Manasseh was that of Machir son of Manasseh; and this territory east of the Jordan went to half of the clans descended from Machir. For other references to the clan of Machir, see Numbers 32.39-40; Deuteronomy 3.15.

As a comparison between Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version will indicate, the Hebrew text is somewhat redundant. But it is possible to be even more economical than Good News Translation: “To this half-tribe of Manasseh, which descended from Manasseh’s son Machir, Moses gave half of Gilead, together with the cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei, where king Og had once ruled.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .