And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Numbers 32:42 stands in the account of the two and a half tribes that proposed to settle east of the Jordan rather than crossing with the rest of Israel. That proposal was met with a solemn warning to keep their vows to God and to fulfill their pledged duty to their brethren in the conquest of Canaan. The whole account stands as an example that departure from God brings lasting sorrow and ruin. The taking of Kenath and its villages and the naming of it after Nobah belongs to that larger history of covenant obligation, warning, and consequence.
Numbers 32:42 stands in the account of the two and a half tribes that proposed to settle east of the Jordan rather than crossing with the rest of Israel. That proposal was met with a solemn warning to keep their vows to God and to fulfill their pledged duty to their brethren in the conquest of Canaan. The whole account stands as an example that departure from God brings lasting sorrow and ruin. The taking of Kenath and its villages and the naming of it after Nobah belongs to that larger history of covenant obligation, warning, and consequence.