20 Of Gad he said, "He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm, yes, the crown of the head.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And of Gad he said. In the blessing of the tribe of Gad, mention is only made of the hereditary portion, which it had obtained without casting of lots. He therefore celebrates the blessing of God, because He had accorded to the Gadites an ample dwelling-place; for the word "enlargeth" refers to the extent of their possession. But inasmuch as in that extremity of the land beyond Jordan, they were on a hostile border, he declares that they would be warlike, and hence compares them to a lion, which tears its prey sometimes from the head, and sometimes from the arm. Since, then, that position would not be so peaceful as any other region in the midst of Canaan, he declares that they should be safe and sound, through their own audacity. And although it is not a very pleasant condition to be harassed by constant wars, still, in such a disagreeable case, God's grace was not to be despised, which made them formidable to their enemies, and of great valor, whereby they might not only repel hostile invasions, but be willing of themselves to make predatory expeditions. If any should object that license for rapine was quite unsuitable for God's children, the solution is obvious, that reference is not here made to what was lawful, or what was desirable and praiseworthy, but that a consolation was offered them by way of protection against the incursions and annoyances of their enemies. Besides, the lust for booty is not made permissible, but praise is merely given to their courage in overcoming their enemies.
i. e., Blessed be God who shall grant to Gad a spacious territory. Compare the blessing of Shem Genesis 9:26.
With the crown - Rather, yea, the crown. The warlike character of this tribe is shown by their leading the van in the long campaigns of Joshua (compare Joshua 4:12-13; Joshua 22:1-4). Compare also 1-Chronicles 5:18-22; 1-Chronicles 12:8 ff, and the acts of Jehu, the Gadite, in 2 Kings 9; 10.
Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad - As deliverance out of distress is termed enlarging, (see Psalm 4:1), this may refer to God's deliverance of the tribe of Gad out of that distress mentioned Genesis 49:19, and to the enlargement obtained through means of Jephthah, Judges 11:33, and probably also to the victories obtained by Gad and Reuben over the Hagarites, 1-Chronicles 5:18-20.
He dwelleth as a lion - Probably the epithet of lion or lion-like was applied to this tribe from their fierce and warlike disposition. And on this supposition, 1-Chronicles 12:8, will appear to be a sufficient comment: And of the Gadites there were men of might, men of war 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. Tearing the arm or shoulder with the crown of the head seems simply to mean that no force should be able to prevail over them, or stand against them; as the arm or shoulder signifies dominion, and the crown of the head, sovereign princes.
And of Gad he said,.... The tribe of Gad, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem:
blessed be he that enlargeth Gad; that is, the Lord, to whom the praise and glory were to be given, who had appointed to Gad a large inheritance on the other side Jordan, and had settled him in it, and which became larger by the conquest of the Hagarites, and others, 1-Chronicles 5:18,
he dwelleth as a lion; bold and courageous, secure, and without fear of any of his enemies, though near him, on his borders, as the Moabites and Ammonites were; of the same spirit and temper were the men of the tribe of Gad in the times of David, 1-Chronicles 12:8,
and teareth the arm with the crown of the head, at once, just as a lion tears its prey; which figurative phrases are expressive of this tribe conquering and destroying strong and mighty men, signified by the "arm", in which the strength of a man lies, and of kings and governors, pointed at by the "crown of the head"; as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; which was done in the times of Joshua, when with and under him they subdued and destroyed the kings and princes of the land of Canaan.
of Gad he said--Its possessions were larger than they would have been had they lain west of Jordan; and this tribe had the honor of being settled by Moses himself in the first portion of land conquered. In the forest region, south of the Jabbok, "he dwelt as a lion" (compare Genesis 30:11; Genesis 49:19). Notwithstanding, they faithfully kept their engagement to join the "heads of the people" [Deuteronomy 33:21] in the invasion of Canaan.
Gad. - "Blessed be He that enlargeth Gad: like a lioness he lieth down, and teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head. And he chose his first-fruit territory, for there was the leader's portion kept; and he came to the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the Lord, and his rights with Israel." Just as in the blessing of Noah (Genesis 9:26) the God of Shem is praised, to point out the salvation appointed by God for Shem, so here Moses praises the Lord, who enlarged Gad, i.e., who not only gave him a broad territory in the conquered kingdom of Sihon, but furnished generally an unlimited space for his development (vid., Genesis 26:22), so that he might unfold his lion-like nature in conflict with his foes. On the figure of a lioness, see Genesis 49:9; and on the warlike character of the Gadites, the remarks on the blessing of Jacob upon Gad (Genesis 49:19). The second part of the blessing treats of the inheritance which Gad obtained from Moses at his own request beyond Jordan. ראה, with an accusative and ל, signifies to look out something for oneself (Genesis 22:8; 1-Samuel 16:17). The "first-fruit" refers here to the first portion of the land which Israel received for a possession; this is evident from the reason assigned, חלקת שׁם כּי, whilst the statement that Gad chose the hereditary possession is in harmony with Numbers 32:2, Numbers 32:6, Numbers 32:25., where the children of Gad are described as being at the head of the tribes, who came before Moses to ask for the conquered land as their possession. The meaning of the next clause, of which very different explanations have been given, can only be, that Gad chose such a territory for its inheritance as became a leader of the tribes. מחקק, he who determines, commands, organizes; hence both a commander and also a leader in war. It is in the latter sense that it occurs both here and in Judges 5:14. מחקק חלקת, the field, or territory of the leader, may either be the territory appointed or assigned by the lawgiver, or the territory falling to the lot of the leader. According to the former view, Moses would be the mechokek. But the thought, that Moses appointed or assigned him his inheritance, could be no reason why Gad should choose it for himself. Consequently מחקק חלקת can only mean the possession which the mechokek chose for himself, as befitting him, or specially adapted for him. Consequently the mechokek was not Moses, but the tribe of Gad, which was so called because it unfolded such activity and bravery at the head of the tribes in connection with the conquest of the land, that it could be regarded as their leaders. This peculiar prominence on the part of the Gadites may be inferred from the fact, that they distinguished themselves above the Reubenites in the fortification of the conquered land (Numbers 32:34.). ספוּן, from ספן, to cover, hide, preserve, is a predicate, and construed as a noun, "a thing preserved." - On the other hand, the opinion has been very widely spread, from the time of Onkelos down to Baumgarten and Ewald, that this hemistich refers to Moses: "there is the portion of the lawgiver hidden," or "the field of the hidden leader," and that it contains an allusion to the fact that the grave of Moses was hidden in the inheritance of Gad. But this is not only at variance with the circumstance, that a prophetic allusion to the grave of Moses such as Baumgarten assumes is apparently inconceivable, from the simple fact that we cannot imagine the Gadites to have foreseen the situation of Moses' grave at the time when they selected their territory, but also with the fact that, according to Joshua 13:20, the spot where this grave was situated (Deuteronomy 34:5) was not allotted to the tribe of Gad, but to that of Reuben; and lastly, with the use of the word chelkah, which does not signify a burial-ground or grave. - But although Gad chose out an inheritance for himself, he still went before his brethren, i.e., along with the rest of the tribes, into Canaan, to perform in connection with them, what the Lord demanded of His people as a right. This is the meaning of the second half of the verse. The clause, "he came to the heads of the people," does not refer to the fact that the Gadites came to Moses and the heads of the congregation, to ask for the conquered land as a possession (Numbers 32:2), but expressed the thought that Gad joined the heads of the people to go at the head of the tribes of Israel (comp. Joshua 1:14; Joshua 4:12, with Numbers 32:17, Numbers 32:21, Numbers 32:32), to conquer Canaan with the whole nation, and root out the Canaanites. The Gadites had promised this to Moses and the heads of the people; and this promise Moses regarded as an accomplished act, and praised in these words with prophetic foresight as having been already performed, and that not merely as one single manifestation of their obedience towards the word of the Lord, but rather as a pledge that Gad would always manifest the same disposition. "To do the righteousness of Jehovah," i.e., to do what Jehovah requires of His people as righteousness - namely, to fulfil the commandments of God, in which the righteousness of Israel was to consist (Deuteronomy 6:25). יתא, imperfect Kal for יאהת or יאתּה; see Ges. 76, 2, c., and Ewald, 142, c. "With Israel:" in fellowship with (the rest of) Israel.
Enlargeth - That bringeth him out of his straits amid troubles, which he was often engaged in, because he was encompassed with potent enemies. As a lion - Safe and secure from his enemies, and terrible to them when they rouse and molest him. Teareth the arm - Utterly destroys his enemies, both the head, the seat of the crown, their dignity and principality, and the arm, the subject of strength and instrument of action; both chief princes, and their subjects.
*More commentary available at chapter level.