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Gad, the Tribe of.

From: The New Topical Textbook By: Reuben Archer Torrey

• 1 min. read • grade level: 11

Descended from Jacob's seventh son. Gen. 30:11¹¹And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. (Genesis 30:11).

Predictions respecting. Gen. 49:19¹⁹Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. (Genesis 49:19). Deut. 33:20, 21²⁰And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. ²¹And 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. (Deuteronomy 33:20‑21).

PERSONS SELECTED FROM

To number the people. Num. 1:14¹⁴Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. (Numbers 1:14).

To spy out the land. Num. 13:15¹⁵Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. (Numbers 13:15).

Strength of, on leaving Egypt. Num. 1:24, 25²⁴Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ²⁵Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty. (Numbers 1:24‑25).

The rear of second division of Israel in their journeys. Num. 10:18-20¹⁸And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. (Numbers 10:18‑20).

Encamped south of the tabernacle under the standard of Reuben. Num. 2:10, 14¹⁰On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. (Numbers 2:10)
¹⁴Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel. (Numbers 2:14).

Offering of, at the dedication. Num. 7:42-47⁴²On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered: ⁴³His 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: ⁴⁴One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁴⁵One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: ⁴⁶One kid of the goats for a sin offering: ⁴⁷And 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. (Numbers 7:42‑47).

Families of. Num. 26:15-17¹⁵The 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: ¹⁶Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites: ¹⁷Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites. (Numbers 26:15‑17).

Strength of, on entering Canaan. Num. 26:18¹⁸These are the families of the children of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred. (Numbers 26:18).

On Ebal, said amen to the curse. Deut. 27:13¹³And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. (Deuteronomy 27:13).

Sought and obtained its inheritance east of Jordan. Num. 32:1-33¹Now 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; ²The 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, ³Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, ⁴Even the country which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: ⁵Wherefore, 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. ⁶And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? ⁷And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? ⁸Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹For 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. ¹⁰And the Lord's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, ¹¹Surely 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: ¹²Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the Lord. ¹³And 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. ¹⁴And, 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. ¹⁵For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. ¹⁶And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: ¹⁷But 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. ¹⁸We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. ¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward. ²⁰And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war, ²¹And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, ²²And 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. ²³But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. ²⁵And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. ²⁶Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: ²⁷But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord saith. ²⁸So 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: ²⁹And 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: ³⁰But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. ³¹And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the Lord hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. ³²We 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. ³³And 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. (Numbers 32:1‑33).

Bounds of its inheritance. Josh. 13:24-28²⁴And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families. ²⁵And 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; ²⁶And from Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir; ²⁷And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, 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. ²⁸This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages. (Joshua 13:24‑28).

Cities built by. Num. 32:34-36³⁴And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, ³⁵And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, ³⁶And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fenced cities: and folds for sheep. (Numbers 32:34‑36).

Assisted in conquest of Canaan. Josh. 4:12, 13¹²And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: ¹³About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. (Joshua 4:12‑13).

After the conquest, returned home. Josh. 22:9⁹And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses. (Joshua 22:9).

Assisted in building the altar of witness, which excited the jealousy of Israel. Josh. 22:10-29¹⁰And 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. ¹¹And 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. ¹²And 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. ¹³And 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, ¹⁴And 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. ¹⁵And 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, ¹⁶Thus 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? ¹⁷Is 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, ¹⁸But 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. ¹⁹Notwithstanding, 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. ²⁰Did 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. ²¹Then 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, ²²The 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,) ²³That 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; ²⁴And 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? ²⁵For 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. ²⁶Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: ²⁷But 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. ²⁸Therefore 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. ²⁹God 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. (Joshua 22:10‑29).

Many from other tribes sought refuge with, from the Philistines. 1 Sam. 13:7⁷And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. (1 Samuel 13:7).

Eleven of, swam the Jordan, and joined David in the hold. 1 Chron. 12:8-15⁸And 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; ⁹Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹⁰Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹¹Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹²Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹³Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh. ¹⁴These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. ¹⁵These 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. (1 Chronicles 12:8‑15).

Some of, at coronation of David. 1 Chron. 12:37, 38³⁷And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand. ³⁸All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. (1 Chronicles 12:37‑38).

David appointed rulers over. 1 Chron. 26:32³²And his brethren, men of valor, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king. (1 Chronicles 26:32).

Spoiled the Hagarites. 1 Chron. 5:18 -22¹⁸The 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. ¹⁹And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab. ²⁰And 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 entreated of them; because they put their trust in him. ²¹And 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. ²²For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity. (1 Chronicles 5:18‑22).

Subdued by Hazael king of Syria. 2 Kim 10:33.

Taken captive to Assyria. 2 Kin. 15:29. With 1 Chr. 5:22, 26²²For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity. (1 Chronicles 5:22)
²⁶And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day. (1 Chronicles 5:26).

Land of seized by the Moabites and Ammonites. Jer. 48:18-24¹⁸Thou 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. ¹⁹O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done? ²⁰Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, ²¹And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, ²²And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, ²³And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon, ²⁴And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. (Jeremiah 48:18‑24). Jer. 49:1¹Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? (Jeremiah 49:1).

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The New Topical Textbook

• Fig-Tree, the.

• First-Born, the.

• First-Fruits, the.

• Forgetting God.

• Forgiveness of Injuries.

• Forsaking God.

• Fortresses.

• Foundation.

• Fountains and Springs.

• Gad, the Tribe of.

• Genealogies.

• Gibeonites.

• Gift of the Holy Ghost, the.

• Gifts of God, the.

• Glorifying God.