Joshua 13:15-23·~1 min

Reuben’s Inheritance

Moses' gift to Reuben is laid out town by town across the Arnon region and the plateau beyond Medeba. The inheritance is described as a settled geography of named places.

T¹⁵his is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben: ¹⁶The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, ¹⁷to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, ²⁰Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth—

The section gathers Reuben's cities under the former rule of Sihon, recalls Moses' victory, and notes Balaam's death with the others. The Jordan marks the edge of the inheritance.

²¹all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land. ²²The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. ²³And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan.

Section summaryReuben's inheritance is listed across the plateau from Aroer through Heshbon and its surrounding towns to the Jordan. The account ties this territory to the defeat of Sihon and also notes the death of Balaam among those put to the sword.

Role in the chapterThis section gives Reuben a defined eastern border and roots that allotment in Israel's earlier victories. It begins the detailed tribal distributions east of the Jordan.