The first section of Parashat Masei lists the sites where Benei Yisrael encamped from the Exodus until their final encampment along the Jordan River, prior to entering Canaan. Among the final stations listed is a place called Divon Gad (33:45). The Meshekh Chokhmaidentifies Divon Gad as the site “Divon” which the Torah mentions earlier, in the final verses of Parashat Matot (32:34), as one of the places built by the tribe of Gad. After God agreed to allow the tribes of Reuven and Gad to permanently settle in the region east of the Jordan River which Benei Yisrael had captured from the Emorite kingdom, Reuven and Gad developed the area. The Torah lists several sites which were built by these tribes, and Divon was among the places built by the tribe of Gad. Divon Gad, then, is the place mentioned earlier among the areas developed by the tribe of Gad. The Meshekh Chokhma notes that the title “Divon Gad” is used in order to differentiate this site with the city of Divon which was in the territory allocated for Reuven (Yehoshua 13:17).
However, while this identification of Divon Gad seems intuitive and reasonable, it raises questions concerning the sequence ofBenei Yisrael’s encampments as presented here in Parashat Masei. In this list, Divon Gad is the first station where Benei Yisrael arrived after leaving a site called Iyei Ha-avarim. We are familiar with Iyei Ha-avarim from a series of verses in Parashat Chukat (21:10-16) which list Benei Yisrael’s encampments before their confrontation with the Emorites. It is clear from that list that Benei Yisrael encamped in Iyei Ha-avarim several stations before the war with the Emorites which resulted in the conquest of the territory ultimately settled by Reuven and Gad. And it is clear from the events leading up to this war that Benei Yisrael did not enter the Emorites’ territory before capturing this region. The question thus arises as to how the Torah in Parashat Masei lists Divon Gad as Benei Yisrael’s first station after Iyei Ha-avarim, if in Parashat Chukat we read that several stops were made after Iyei Ha-avarim before Benei Yisrael seized the Emorite region where Divon Gad was situated.
The answer, perhaps, is that the name “Divon” refers to a large region which spanned territory both within and outside the Emorite kingdom. Benei Yisrael made several stops within this region, but in listing the nation’s encampments, the Torah in Parashat Masei chose to include them all under the general area of Divon. This area became known as Divon Gad after the tribe of Gad developed the portion included in the Emorite kingdom which Gad settled and developed.
It should be noted that Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel translates the name “Divon Gad” as “Divon Beit Mazla” (“Divon, the site of good fortune”). Targum Yonatan clearly understood the word “Gad” in “Divon Gad” not as a reference to the tribe of Gad, but rather as meaning “good fortune.” Apparently, according to Targum Yonatan, Divon Gad was the site of some kind of pagan worship or oracle, but in any event, it is not related to the area developed by the tribe of Gad, as the Meshekh Chokhmaclaimed.
(Based on Rav Simcha Maimon, Shiurei Chumash)
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il