וּמִקְנֶ֣ה ׀ רַ֗ב הָיָ֞ה לִבְנֵ֧י רְאוּבֵ֛ן וְלִבְנֵי־גָ֖ד עָצ֣וּם מְאֹ֑ד וַיִּרְא֞וּ אֶת־אֶ֤רֶץ יַעְזֵר֙ וְאֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ גִּלְעָ֔ד וְהִנֵּ֥ה הַמָּק֖וֹם מְק֥וֹם מִקְנֶֽה׃
Ang mga anak ni Ruben at ang mga anak ni Gad ay may napakaraming hayop, isang kawan na lubhang malaki. Nakita nila ang lupain ng Jazer at ang lupain ng Gilead, at narito, ang lugar ay angkop na lugar para sa mga hayop.
Or HaChaim
ומקנה רב היה לבני ראובן, And the members of the tribe of Reuven had a great amount of cattle, etc. The Torah had to give us this information in order to justify their request to settle in the lands which used to belong to Sichon and Og. The Torah simply testifies that their claim was based on solid facts. The reason that these two tribes had so much more cattle than the other tribes was that the soldiers of these tribes were exceedingly brave and captured more loot than the soldiers of the other tribes.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ומקנה רב היה לבני ראובן ולבני גד, “and the tribes of Reuven and Gad possessed large amounts of livestock.” The tribe who was a descendant of Leah is mentioned first although the tribe of Gad was the instigator of this request (Ibn Ezra).
Kli Yakar
And the children of Reuben had a multitude of cattle and the children of Gad had exceedingly mighty ones. Since the text did not combine them to say “And they had a great and mighty multitude of cattle, etc.,” we can infer that each description stands on its own: the children of Reuben had a multitude of cattle in number, and the children of Gad had cattle that were mighty in strength, similar to what is said and his livestock have increased in the land (Job 1:10): His goats would kill wolves, as mentioned in Taanit (25a) “let the goats bring the bears by their horns.” Similarly, Gad had cattle that were very mighty in strength and power, and therefore they chose to dwell at the border and had no fear of enemies before their eyes, nor were they concerned that wolves might take their cattle, because they trusted in their strength.
From this, we can learn some defense for them regarding why they prioritized the cattle before the children in their statement, We will build sheepfolds for our cattle and cities for our children. For they were saying that near the border we will first build sheepfolds for our cattle, and afterward, inside the land, we will build cities for our children. This way, the children will dwell securely, because if enemies come, they will first encounter the sheepfolds, and in the meantime, the children will escape. And the cattle at the border are not afraid of wolves.
Nevertheless, Moses rebuked them and said, “If so, you are not trusting in God’s salvation. Instead, do this: build cities for your children first near the border, and sheepfolds for your flocks inside the land, and your brothers, all the house of Israel, will see that you trust in God’s salvation, and by this, you will give courage to your brothers’ hearts that they will all trust in God’s salvation.”
From this, we can learn some defense for them regarding why they prioritized the cattle before the children in their statement, We will build sheepfolds for our cattle and cities for our children. For they were saying that near the border we will first build sheepfolds for our cattle, and afterward, inside the land, we will build cities for our children. This way, the children will dwell securely, because if enemies come, they will first encounter the sheepfolds, and in the meantime, the children will escape. And the cattle at the border are not afraid of wolves.
Nevertheless, Moses rebuked them and said, “If so, you are not trusting in God’s salvation. Instead, do this: build cities for your children first near the border, and sheepfolds for your flocks inside the land, and your brothers, all the house of Israel, will see that you trust in God’s salvation, and by this, you will give courage to your brothers’ hearts that they will all trust in God’s salvation.”