The Meaning of Deuteronomy 3:12 Explained

Deuteronomy 3:12

KJV: And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

YLT: And this land we have possessed, at that time; from Aroer, which is by the brook Arnon, and the half of mount Gilead, and its cities, I have given to the Reubenite, and to the Gadite;

Darby: And this land we took in possession at that time. From Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and the half of mount Gilead, and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites;

ASV: And this land we took in possession at that time: from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill-country of Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And this land,  [which] we possessed  at that time,  from Aroer,  which [is] by the river  Arnon,  and half  mount  Gilead,  and the cities  thereof, gave  I unto the Reubenites  and to the Gadites. 

What does Deuteronomy 3:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Deuteronomy 3:1-22 - The Inheritance Of Reuben, Gad And Manasseh
Sihon's defeat, described in the previous chapter, compelled his ally Og to take the field and oppose the further advance of Israel. "He came out" against them. Perhaps also Joshua 24:12 affords a clue. Swarms of hornets harassed him and his people, and drove them out of their stone houses and fortifications; they preferred meeting the chosen race in the open to the scourge of these formidable creatures. When God says, "Fear not," He fights on our side.
Recent discoveries confirm these references to the many stone cities of Bashan, mentioned in Deuteronomy 3:4. The country is covered with ruins. Porter says that 500 ruined places attest the might of the Amorites. The royal bedstead is thought to mean coffin or bier. Its length of 13 1/2 feet would infer a stature of 11 or 12 feet.
These victories opened fertile and beautiful pasture-lands, including Hermon and Gilead. "The Lord delivered"¦ and we took." [source]

Chapter Summary: Deuteronomy 3

1  The conquest of Og, king of Bashan
11  This size of his bed
12  The distribution of his lands to the two tribes and half
23  Moses prays to enter into the land
26  He is permitted to see it

What do the individual words in Deuteronomy 3:12 mean?

And land this [which] we possessed at time that from Aroer which [is] by the River Arnon and half the mountains of Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenite and the Gadite
וְאֶת־ הָאָ֧רֶץ הַזֹּ֛את יָרַ֖שְׁנוּ בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֑וא מֵעֲרֹעֵ֞ר אֲשֶׁר־ עַל־ נַ֣חַל אַרְנֹ֗ן וַחֲצִ֤י הַֽר־ הַגִּלְעָד֙ וְעָרָ֔יו נָתַ֕תִּי לָרֻֽאוּבֵנִ֖י‪‬ וְלַגָּדִֽי

הָאָ֧רֶץ  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הַזֹּ֛את  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
יָרַ֖שְׁנוּ  [which]  we  possessed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural
Root: יָרַשׁ  
Sense: to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir.
בָּעֵ֣ת  at  time 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
הַהִ֑וא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
מֵעֲרֹעֵ֞ר  from  Aroer 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲרֹועֵר  
Sense: a city on the north bank of the river Arnon, the southern point of the territory of Sihon the king of the Amorites and later of Reuben; modern ‘Arair’.
אֲשֶׁר־  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
נַ֣חַל  the  River 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נַחַל 
Sense: torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley.
אַרְנֹ֗ן  Arnon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַרְנׄון  
Sense: a river and surrounding valley in south Palestine, forms the border between Moab and the Amorites.
וַחֲצִ֤י  and  half 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חֲצִי 
Sense: half.
הַֽר־  the  mountains 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
הַגִּלְעָד֙  of  Gilead 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּלְעָד  
Sense: a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called ‘Mount Gilead’ or the ‘land of Gilead’ or just ‘Gilead’.
וְעָרָ֔יו  and  its  cities 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
נָתַ֕תִּי  I  gave 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לָרֻֽאוּבֵנִ֖י‪‬  to  the  Reubenite 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: רְאוּבֵנִי  
Sense: a descendant of Reuben the son of Jacob.
וְלַגָּדִֽי  and  the  Gadite 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גָּדִי  
Sense: one of the tribe descended from Gad.