| Barnes' Notes on the Bible Rather, "And Geshur and Aram (i. e. the Geshurites Deuteronomy 3:14 and Syrians) took the villages of Jair from them:" recovered, that is, from the new settlers the places which Jair had conquered. All these belonged to the sons of Machir - Rather, "All these were sons of Machir," i. e. Segub and Jair, with their descendants, were reckoned sons of Machir, rather than sons of Hezron, although only descended from Machir on the mother's side. The reason of this seems to have been that they cast in their lot with the Manassites, and remained in their portion of the trans-Jordanic region.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them,.... Cities or countries which the Geshurites and Aramaeans, or Syrians, before inhabited; and which he took from them, together with other towns, which, being taken by him, were called after his name; the Targum is, the Geshurites and Aramaeans took the villages of Jair from them; that is, from the sons of Jair in later times; see Joshua 12:5. with Kenath, and the towns thereof; which Jair took by Nobah his general, and called it after his name, Numbers 32:42, even sixty cities; see Deuteronomy 3:4. all these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead: being given him by Moses, Numbers 32:40.
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old TestamentThese cities named Jair's-life were taken away from the Jairites by Geshur and Aram, i.e., by the Arameans of Geshur and of other places. Geshur denotes the inhabitants of a district of Aram, or Syria, on the north-western frontier of Bashan, in the neighbourhood of Hermon, on the east side of the upper Jordan, which had still its own kings in the time of David (2 Samuel 3:3; 2 Samuel 13:37; 2 Samuel 14:23; 2 Samuel 15:8), but which had been assigned to the Manassites by Moses; cf. Joshua 13:13. The following וגו את־קנת must not be taken as an explanatory apposition to יאיר את־חוּת: "Jair's-life, Kenath and her daughters, sixty cities" (Berth.). For since מאתּם refers to the collective name Jair, Geshur and Aram could not take away from Jair sixty cities, for Jair only possessed twenty-three cities. But besides this, according to Numbers 32:42, Kenath with her daughters had been conquered by Nobah, who gave his own name to the conquered cities; and according to Deuteronomy 3:4, the kingdom of Og in Bashan had sixty fenced cities. But this kingdom was, according to Numbers 32:41, and Numbers 32:42, conquered by two families of Manasseh, by Jair and Nobah, and was divided between them; and as appears from our passage, twenty-three cities were bestowed upon Jair, and all the rest of the land, viz., Kenath with her daughters, fell to Nobah. These two domains together included sixty fenced cities, which in Deuteronomy 3:14 are called Jair's-life; while here, in our verse, only twenty-three cities are so called, and the remaining thirty-seven are comprehended under the name of Kenath had her daughters. WE must therefore either supply a w copul. before את־קנת, or we must take את־ק in the signification "with Kenath," and refer עיר שׁשּׁים to both Jair's-life and Kenath. Cf. herewith the discussion on Deuteronomy 3:12-14; and for Kenath, the ruins of which still exist under the name Kanuat on the western slope of the Jebel Hauran, see the remarks on Numbers 32:42. The time when these cities were taken away by the Arameans is not known. From Judges 10:4 we only learn that the Jair who was judge at a later time again had possession of thirty of these cities, and renewed the name Jair's-life. כּל־אלּה is not all these sixty cities, but the before-mentioned descendants of Hezron, who are called sons, that is offspring, of Machir, because they were begotten with the daughter of Machir. Only two names, it is true, Segub and Jair, are enumerated; but from these two issue the numerous families which took Jair's-life. To these, therefore, must we refer the כּל־אלּה.
Geneva Study BibleAnd he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, {g} from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. (g) That is, the Geshurites and Syrians took the towns from Jair's children.
Wesley's Notes 2:23 Sons of Machir - Partly to his own sons, and partly to his son - in - law Jair, who by reason of that dear affection which was betwixt them, and his forsaking his own tribe and kindred to fight for them and to dwell with them, is here reckoned as his own son.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary23. he took-rather "he had taken." This statement is accounting for his acquisition of so large a territory; he got it by right of conquest from the former possessors. Kenath-This place, along with its group of surrounding villages, was gained by Nobah, one of Jair's officers sent by him to capture it (Nu 32:1, 2). All these belonged to the sons of Machir-In their number Jair is included as having completely identified himself by his marriage and residence in Gilead with the tribe of Manasseh.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary2:1-55 Genealogies. - We are now come to the register of the children of Israel, that distinguished people, who were to dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations. But now, in Christ, all are welcome to his salvation who come to him; all have equal privileges according to their faith in him, their love and devotedness to him. All that is truly valuable consists in the favour, peace, and image of God, and a life spent to his glory, in promoting the welfare of our fellow-creatures.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible CommentaryVerses 18-55 The persons mentioned in the former paragraph are most of them such as we read of, and most of them such as we read much of, in other scriptures; but very few of those to whom this paragraph relates are mentioned any where else. It should seem, the tribe of Judah were more full and exact in their genealogies than any other of the tribes, in which we must acknowledge a special providence, for the clearing of the genealogy of Christ. 1. Here we find Bezaleel, who was head-workman in building the tabernacle, Ex. 31:2. 2. Hezron, who was the son of Pharez (v. 5), was the father of all this progeny, his sons, Caleb and Jerahmeel, being very fruitful, and he himself likewise, even in his old age, for he left his wife pregnant when he died, v. 24. This Hezron was one of the seventy that went down with Jacob into Egypt, Gen. 46:12. There his family thus increased, as other oppressed families there did. We cannot but suppose that he died during the Israelites' bondage in Egypt; and yet it is here said he died in Caleb-Ephratah (that is, Bethlehem), in the land of Canaan, v. 24. Perhaps, though the body of the people continued in Egypt, yet some that were more active than the rest, at least before their bondage came to be extreme, visited Canaan sometimes and got footing there, though afterwards they lost it. The achievements of Jair, here mentioned (v. 22, 23), we had an account of in Num. 32:41; and, it is supposed, they were long after the conquest of Canaan. The Jews say, Hezron married his third wife when he was sixty years old (v. 21), and another afterwards (v. 24), because he had a great desire of posterity in the family of Pharez, from whom the Messiah was to descend. 3. Here is mention of one that died without children (v. 30), and another (v. 32), and of one that had no sons, but daughters, v. 34. Let those that are in any of these ways afflicted not think their case new or singular. Providence orders these affairs of families by an incontestable sovereignty, as pleaseth him, giving children, or withholding them, or giving all of one sex. He is not bound to please us, but we are bound to acquiesce in his good pleasure. To those that love him he will himself be better than ten sons, and give them in his house a place and a name better than of sons and daughters. Let not those therefore that are written childless envy the families that are built up and replenished. Shall our eye be evil because God's is good? 4. Here is mention of one who had an only daughter, and married her to his servant an Egyptian, v. 34, 35. If it be mentioned to his praise, we must suppose that this Egyptian was proselyted to the Jewish religion and that he was very eminent for wisdom and virtue, otherwise it would not have become a true-born Israelite to match a daughter to him, especially an only daughter. If Egyptians become converts, and servants do worthily, neither their parentage nor their servitude should be a bar to their preferment. Such a one this Egyptian servant might be that she who married him might live as happily with him as if she had married one of the rulers of her tribe. 5. The pedigree of several of these terminates, not in a person, but in a place or country, as one is said to be the father of Kirjath-jearim (v. 50), another of Bethlehem (v. 51), which was afterwards David's city, because these places fell to their lot in the division of the land. 6. here are some that are said to be families of scribes (v. 55), such as kept up learning in their family, especially scripture-learning, and taught the people the good knowledge of God. Among all these great families we are glad to find some that were families of scribes. Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets-all the families of Israel families of scribes, well instructed to the kingdom of heaven, and able to bring out of their treasury things new and old! |
