Paragraph 13:8-14

13:8a

The other half of Manasseh: The phrase The other half of Manasseh indicates those people from the tribe of Manasseh who chose to live on the east side of the Jordan River. This story is first told in Numbers 32.

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of 8a and 8b, for example:

The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received their land ⌊on the east side of the Jordan River⌋

13:8b

along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance: The terms the Reubenites and Gadites indicate the tribe of Reuben and the tribe of Gad.

Here is another way to translate these names:

the tribe of Reuben and the tribe of Gad

13:8c

Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east: The phrase beyond the Jordan to the east indicates that the land Moses gave these tribes was on the east side of the Jordan River.

13:8d

just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them: The phrase Moses the servant of the LORD was used in Joshua 1:1 and you should translate it the same way in both places.

Verse 8d repeats information from 8c, and some English versions combine these two phrases together. Here is another way to translate this verse:

The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received the land that Moses, the Lord ’s servant, had given them; it was on the east side of the Jordan River. (Good News Translation)

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