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The passuk in Devarim 3:14 says:

יָאִ֣יר בֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁ֗ה לָקַח֙ אֶת־כׇּל־חֶ֣בֶל אַרְגֹּ֔ב עַד־גְּב֥וּל הַגְּשׁוּרִ֖י וְהַמַּֽעֲכָתִ֑י וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֹתָ֨ם עַל־שְׁמ֤וֹ אֶת־הַבָּשָׁן֙ חַוֺּ֣ת יָאִ֔יר עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

Jair son of Manasseh received the whole Argob district (that is, Bashan) as far as the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and named it after himself: Havvoth-jair—as is still the case.

But it seems that this war was in the same time of the war with Og and Sihon, so just some days/months before this speech of Moshe! So why does he say "as is still the case"/"עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה"?

I'm also surprised that no one of the mefarshim ask this question, that seems obvious. The only one (on sefaria) is Birkat Asher, who answers that it can be a trope for "and it will remain so"; but it does not seem to be the case in the Tanah.

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Besides for the answer @Chatzkel brought, I'm aware of two other answers:

  1. As I wrote in that answer of mine that @DoubleAA linked in the comments, there are some commentators - such as the student of Rasag and Rabbi Yehudah Hachassid and his father (see here for sources) - that hold that the conquests of Yair and Novach took place centuries before the later conquests of the descendants of Machir. Therefore, "until this day" would mean until the time of the re-capture of these territories - those areas were still regarded as the chavot (villages) of Yair.

  2. Ibn Ezra asks this question in the beginning of the parsha and gives his famous "Secret of the Twelve" answer, which is that he hints that there are twelve places in the Torah which were written by a later prophet and not Moshe - Yehoshua, possibly (this is an extension of the "last eight verses of the Torah" question/answer). Incidentally, Rabbi Yehudah Hachassid seems to have also held this view, as did a commentator known as "Yitzchaki", whom Ibn Ezra did not like. For more info, see here.

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    Hazak oubaruh'. The second answer is a huge hiddush for me, I didn't think that "orthodoxs" could have this opinion.
    – EzrielS
    Aug 1, 2021 at 9:32
  • @EzrielS Yes, it's considered a controversial subject in some Orthodox circles (when asked about the possibility that Rabbi Yehudah Hachassid also suggested this idea, Rabbi Feinstein wrote in his responsa that it was impossible and likely a wronged student wrote that in the name of his rabbi. However, there are those who believe that a wronged student actually edited that answer into Rabbi Feinstein's responsa...so, complicated, in short).
    – Harel13
    Aug 1, 2021 at 9:35
  • @EzrielS For more info on this controversy, I recommend Rabbi Prof. Shnayer Leiman's lecture here and Rabbi Amnon Bazak's book "Until This Day", chapter 2.
    – Harel13
    Aug 1, 2021 at 9:46
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The Metzudat Dovid Yehoshua 4:9

עד היום הזה רצה לומר, עד עולם, כי כל קורא הפסוק הזה בזמנו, אומר עד היום הזה, והוא כלל גדול בדברי הנביאים:

Although he mentions Neviim, seemingly it would apply here as well

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  • The question already mentions this (in the name of the Birkas Asher).
    – msh210 ♦
    Jul 22, 2021 at 9:28
  • The question mentions it and adds that he was the only one. Im pointing out that there are others as well. The question says that it doesn't seem to be that way in Tanach, I'm pointing out that it actually is that way in Tanach
    – Chatzkel
    Jul 22, 2021 at 10:12

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