as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. And they renamed the cities they rebuilt.
Parallel translations
- WEB Nebo, and Baal Meon, (their names being changed), and Sibmah. They gave other names to the cities which they built.
- KJV And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
- NKJV Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built.
- NASB Nebo, and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built.
- NLT Nebo, Baal-meon, and Sibmah. They changed the names of some of the towns they conquered and rebuilt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Reuben rebuilds Nebo, Baal Meon, and Sibmah, renaming some cities whose names carried pagan associations. They reshape the land's identity around their own settlement.
Overview
Reuben rebuilds further cities and changes certain names, likely because places like Nebo and Baal Meon bore the names of pagan deities. The renaming may reflect a desire to distance themselves from Canaanite idolatry. While the text notes this only briefly, it hints at the call of God's people to reject false gods and claim the land for the worship of the LORD alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 46:1Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Num 32:3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
- Exod 23:13Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
- Josh 23:7So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them.
- Gen 26:18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them.
- Num 22:41The next morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see the outskirts of the camp of the people.
- Ps 16:4Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 32:38 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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