What the Bible Says About Gad, the Tribe Of

On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered:

His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:

One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

The children of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites: of Haggi, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the family of the Shunites:

Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites:

Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites.

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,

Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have 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 Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?

And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? discourage: Heb. break

Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.

For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

And the LORD'S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,

Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: wholly: Heb. fulfilled after me

Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.

And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.

For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

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.

For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,

And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,

And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.

But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.

Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:

But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.

So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:

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 ours.

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.

And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.

And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.

And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;

And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir;

And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.

This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.

And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.

And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.

And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,

And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel. chief: Heb. house of the father

And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,

Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?

Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,

But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.

Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.

Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.

Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,

The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,)

That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;

And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? In time: Heb. To morrow

For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.

Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:

But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.

Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.

God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.

The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war. valiant: Heb. sons of valour

And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.

And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.

And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand. took: Heb. led captive men: Heb. souls of men

For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.

And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; of war: Heb. of the host as swift: Heb. as the roes upon the mountains to make haste

Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,

Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh.

These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. one: or, one that was least could resist an hundred, and the greatest a thousand

These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west. overflown: Heb. filled over

Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done? inhabitant: Heb. inhabitress

Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,

And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,

And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.