For the tribe of the sons of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the sons of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh: The Hebrew particle ki rendered for introduces the reason why only nine and one-half Israelite tribes will inherit the land of Canaan. The other two and one-half tribes have already received their land in the Transjordan. For fathers’ houses, see 1.2. Have received their inheritance is literally “have taken their inheritance” (New Revised Standard Version). Reina-Valera revisida, RCV, and Buber have preserved this nuance of deliberate decision as well. A model for this sentence based on Good News Translation is “The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of Manasseh have taken their property, divided according to their families.”

The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance: Good News Translation omits this phrase since it repeats what has just been said. However, this repetition is used for emphasis, so translators should express the emphasis in some way.

Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise refers to the east side of the Jordan River, that is, the Transjordan. See 22.1 and 32.19. Good News Translation provides a helpful model here, saying “on the eastern side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .