And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.

And he saw his pre-eminence, that in his portion the teacher was laid up: who was with the princes of the people, and did the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.

And he provided the first part for himself, For there was reserved the portion of the lawgiver; And he came with the heads of the people; The justice of Jehovah and his judgments Hath he executed with Israel.

And he provided the first part for himself, For there was the lawgiver's portion reserved; And he came with the heads of the people, He executed the justice of the LORD, And his judgments with Israel.

And he provideth the first part for himself, For there the portion of the lawgiver is covered, And he cometh with the heads of the people; The righteousness of Jehovah he hath done, And His judgments with Israel.

He kept for himself the first part, for his was the ruler's right: he put in force the righteousness of the Lord, and his decisions for Israel.

And he chose a first part for himself, For there a portion of a ruler was reserved; And there came the heads of the people, He executed the righteousness of the LORD, And His ordinances with Israel. .

And he has seen his own pre-eminence, which his teacher has stored up as his portion. He was with the princes of the people, and he accomplished the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel."

Et vidit principium sibi, quod illic portio legislatoris tecta, veniet autem cum principibus populi: justitiam Jehovae faciet, et judicia ejus cum Israele.

And he provided the first part for himself. Others translate it not badly, the first-fruits. Jerome's rendering, pre-eminence (principatum,) however, is quite out of the question. The word beginning (principium,) however, is very suitable, for Moses thus signifies that the Gadites were beforehand in seeking a dwelling-place for themselves; for before possession of the land was accorded to the people, they asked for the kingdom of Sihon for themselves. It is afterwards added, in what way they were provident in choosing their abode, namely, because God suggested to them that Moses was at liberty to assign this portion to them. For it is called the "portion of the lawgiver," as being that respecting which Moses might lawfully decide, since he appropriated it to the Gadites, not by hazard, nor otherwise than by God's command. It is called the hidden portion, [1] as not having been included by God in His promise. The sum is, that although God's will was not yet revealed, with respect to this addition to the land, still they obtained it through His secret liberality. And Moses desires flint his decision with regard to the Gadites remaining on this side Jordan should be thus confirmed, since disputes might have otherwise arisen, inasmuch as God's promise had assigned the boundaries of the whole people on the opposite bank. Theirs is a poor exposition who explain it that Moses was buried there; and those also violently wrest the words, who understand by "the lawgiver" the chiefs of the Amorites, and render the words "hidden portion," the ceiled palaces; [2] nor would they have been thus extravagant in their notions, if the natural meaning which I have given had occurred to them. The other clause of the verse is added by way of qualification; for Moses shows that this advantageous provision was made for the children of Gad, on condition that they should accompany the other tribes, and not return home until the land of Canaan was at peace, and their enemies subdued. And we have already seen that, when they sought for themselves this location outside the land, in the kingdom of the Amorites, they were severely rebuked by Moses, until they promised that they would share the war with their brethren until its conclusion. This is what Moses means by "executing the justice of God, and his judgments with Israel;" not only because it was but just that they should share the war with their brethren, and assist them in obtaining possession of the land, but because God ordained that His just vengeance should be executed upon those heathen and wicked nations by the whole of Israel, and had chosen all the tribes generally to be the ministers of His judgment; as it is said, in Psalm 149:7, 8, 9, that they were charged "to execute vengeance upon the heathen, to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written;" for it was no common honor to be appointed to be, as it were, the judges of the ungodly, so as to destroy them all, and thus to purify the land.

Footnotes

1 - A. V., "seated;" marg., "Heb. ceiled." See [51]next note.

2 - sphvn. Part. pahul, sphn, to bide. S. M., ("Pro legislatore) abscondendo." C. learnt from the notes of S. M. that Rabbi Salomon expounds this clause, "He saw that in that land the legislator, Moses, would be buried," and that Aben-Ezra had interpreted shvqq, great, and sphvn, a house with a dome-like roof, and had then paraphrased the clause, as meaning, "there is the place suitable for the great and noble, who dwell in palaces." -- W

The first fruits of the conquest made by Israel were assigned to Gad and Reuben by Moses, at their own request.
Because seated - Render, because there was the leader's portion reserved, i. e., there was reserved the fitting portion for Gad as a leader in war.
And he came - i. e., he joined the other leaders to fulfill the commands of God respecting the conquest of Canaan (compare Numbers 32:17, Numbers 32:21, Numbers 32:32; Joshua 1:14). Moses regards the promise of the Gadites to do this as already redeemed.

He provided the first part - That is, he chose for himself a very excellent portion, viz., the land of Sihon and Og, in which this tribe had requested to be settled by the lawgiver, viz., Moses, from whom they requested this portion, Numbers 32:1-5.
He came with the heads of the people - Notwithstanding this portion fell unto them on the east side of Jordan, yet they proceeded with the heads of the people, the chiefs of the other tribes.
To execute the justice of the Lord - To extirpate the old inhabitants of the country, according to the decree and purpose of the Lord. See on Numbers 32 (note).

And he provided the first part for himself, because there, [in] a portion of the (o) lawgiver, [was he] seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
(o) So the portion of the Gadites, and others on this side of the Jordan was God's, though it was not so known.

And he provided a first part for himself,.... That is, the portion of the land of Sihon and Og, as Jarchi rightly interprets it; which was the beginning or firstfruits of the subduing of the land that was promised; this he looked at, chose, and desired it as his inheritance, Numbers 32:1,
because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; or in the portion and part of the inheritance of Israel was he placed by Moses the lawgiver, according to the will of God; or because there were in it palaces and towers of great personages, lawgivers, kings, and princes, well covered and strongly fortified; or here he was "hid", or "protected", i.e. their families, wives, and children, while they assisted their brethren in subduing Canaan:
and he came with the heads of the people; either "to" them, to Moses, Eleazar, and the seventy elders, and the heads of the tribes of Israel, to ask leave to have his part and portion on the other side Jordan, or "with" them, as we supply it; came with them over Jordan armed, to assist in the conquest and subduing of the land of Canaan:
he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel; that is, either he justly and truly fulfilled all his promises and engagements, on condition of which he was placed on the other side; or he, together with the rest of the Israelites, executed the righteous judgment of God upon the Canaanites, in the expulsion and destruction of them.

The first part - The first fruits of the land of promise, the country of Sihon, which was first conquered, which he is said to provide for himself, because he desired and obtained it of Moses. Of the law - giver - Of Moses, whose portion this is called, either because this part of the land beyond Jordan was the only part of the land which Moses was permitted to enter upon: or because it was given him by Moses, whereas the portions beyond Jordan were given to the several tribes by Joshua according to the direction of the lot. Seated - Hebrews. hid or protected: for their wives and children were secured in their cities, while many of their men went over to the war in Canaan. He came - He went, or he will go, to the war in Canaan, with the princes, or captains, or rulers of the people of Israel, that is, under their command and conduct, as indeed they did; or with the first of the people; or, in the front of the people, as the Syriack renders it; for this tribe and their brethren whose lot fell beyond Jordan, were to march into Canaan before their brethren. He executed - The just judgment of God against the Canaanites, as the rest of the Israelites did.