Comentario sobre Números 7:42

אליסף בן דעואל. The name of the prince of the tribe of Gad includes a hint that this was the first tribe of the Israelites which was settled in their permanent home. Only the able-bodied men of that tribe crossed the Jordan to form the vanguard of the Israeli army at the time of the conquest. Furthermore, according to Sifri volume two item 299 the lands formerly owned by Sichon and Og were not part of the lands promised by G'd to Abraham. We also find in the rules pertaining to the laws of the land of Israel that the land is divided into three different districts, Transjordan being one of those districts (compare Sheviit 9,2). Please refer to my comments in Parshat Mattot on 32,3-4 where I have explained this in greater detail. Inasmuch as these lands had been "grabbed" by the Jewish people, the letters יסף in the name of its prince are an allusion to that tribe inheriting land which was not part of the heritage promised to the patriarchs. The word בן דעואל is a hint that that tribe as well as all the other tribes are fully loyal to G'd and His Torah, i.e. "know the Lord," compare Joshua 22,27 and 22,34.