Numbers 32:3 - Exposition

Ataroth. As to the nine places here mentioned, see on Numbers 32:34-38 . They all lie to the south of Gilead, properly so called, within a comparatively short distance of the route by which the main body of the Israelites had advanced. Probably the cattle which followed the host were still grazing under guard around these places, and it was very natural that tribes which had hitherto lived closely crowded together should not at first contemplate spreading themselves very far afield.