Deuteronomy 3:14

3:14 Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites 1  and Maacathites 2  (namely Bashan) and called it by his name, Havvoth-Jair, 3  which it retains to this very day.)

Deuteronomy 13:2

13:2 and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods” – gods whom you have not previously known – “and let us serve them.”

Deuteronomy 19:9

19:9 and then you are careful to observe all these commandments 4  I am giving 5  you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities 6  to these three.

1 sn Geshurites. Geshur was a city and its surrounding area somewhere northeast of Bashan (cf. Josh 12:5 ; 13:11, 13). One of David’s wives was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur and mother of Absalom (cf. 2 Sam 13:37; 15:8; 1 Chr 3:2).

2 sn Maacathites. These were the people of a territory southwest of Mount Hermon on the Jordan River. The name probably has nothing to do with David’s wife from Geshur (see note on “Geshurites” earlier in this verse).

3 sn Havvoth-Jair. The Hebrew name means “villages of Jair,” the latter being named after a son (i.e., descendant) of Manasseh who took the area by conquest.

4 tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).

5 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”

6 sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.