And the Reubenites and the Gadites had much livestock…And the Gadites and the Reubenites came to Moses…saying, “your servants have livestock….let this land be given to your servants as a holding. Do not make us cross the Jordan…” In describing their vast livestock, first the verse mentions the tribe of Reuben and then the tribe of Gad. As Reuben was Jacob’s first son, this makes good sense. However, when describing the request these tribes made, the verse switches the order and first mentions Gad. Ibn Ezra explains that it was Gad’s idea to settle the other side of the Jordan, and Reuben just followed their lead. By originally mentioning Reuben first, the Torah is presenting the natural order, and by then mentioning Gad first, the Torah shows us that by taking the initiative we can free ourselves from the natural order of things.