Numbers 21:21-32

Numbers 21:21-32

[21] And Israel  sent  messengers  unto Sihon  king  of the Amorites,  saying,  [22] Let me pass  through thy land:  we will not turn  into the fields,  or into the vineyards;  we will not drink  of the waters  of the well:  by the king's  high way,  until we be past  thy borders.  [23] And Sihon  would not suffer  Israel  to pass  through his border:  but Sihon  all his people  together,  and went out  against  Israel  into the wilderness:  and he came  to Jahaz,  and fought  against Israel.  [24] And Israel  smote  him with the edge  of the sword,  and possessed  his land  from Arnon  unto Jabbok,  even unto the children  of Ammon:  for the border  of the children  of Ammon  was strong.  [25] And Israel  took  all these cities:  and Israel  dwelt  in all the cities  of the Amorites,  in Heshbon,  and in all the villages  [26] For Heshbon  was the city  of Sihon  the king  of the Amorites,  who had fought  against the former  king  of Moab,  and taken  all his land  out of his hand,  even unto Arnon.  [27] Wherefore they that speak in proverbs  say,  Come  into Heshbon,  let the city  of Sihon  be built  and prepared:  [28] For there is a fire  gone out  of Heshbon,  a flame  from the city  of Sihon:  it hath consumed  Ar  of Moab,  of Arnon.  [29] Woe  to thee, Moab!  thou art undone,  O people  of Chemosh:  he hath given  his sons  that escaped,  and his daughters,  unto Sihon  king  of the Amorites.  [30] We have shot  at them; Heshbon  is perished  even unto Dibon,  and we have laid them waste  even unto Nophah,  which reacheth unto Medeba.  [31] Thus Israel  dwelt  in the land  of the Amorites.  [32] And Moses  sent  to spy out  Jaazer,  and they took  the villages  thereof, and drove out  the Amorites  that were there.

What does Numbers 21:21-32 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This account fits chronologically after Numbers 21:13. It records two great victories that God gave His people over two of the mighty Amorite kings.
"The term Amorite has various meanings in the OT: Canaanites generally (e.g, Genesis 15:16), inhabitants of the land west of the Jordan (e.g, Joshua 5:1), inhabitants of the regions of Judah (e.g, Joshua 10:5-6), inhabitants of the Negeb and the region to the southeast of the Dead Sea (e.g, Genesis 14:7), and very often, as here, the inhabitants east of the Jordan under the rule of Sihon and Og ..." [1]
Moses made his peaceful request for permission to pass through Sihon"s territory and into the Promised Land ( Numbers 21:22) realizing that Sihon would not allow this (cf. Deuteronomy 2:24-26). Compare Moses" request that Pharaoh would let the Israelites go in Exodus 5:1 (cf. Exodus 3:19).
". . . this was done simply to leave the decision of his fate in his own hand ..." [2]
Sihon then attacked Israel ( Numbers 21:23), but Israel defeated his army ( Numbers 21:24). Moses had very little to do with the acquisition of any land for Israel. [3] This victory gave the Israelites possession of all of Sihon"s territory. It extended south to the Arnon and north to the Jabbok, which flows into the Jordan River from the east about halfway between the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) and the Dead Sea. It included Jazer, a town that the Israelites defeated ( Numbers 21:32). This victory over one of the most powerful of the Canaanite city-states, Heshbon, inspired poets in Israel who wrote proverbs ( Numbers 21:27) to compose songs commemorating God"s deliverance ( Numbers 21:27-30).
"The summons to come to Heshbon and build this ruined city again [4], was not addressed to the Israelites, but to the conquered Amorites, and is to be interpreted as ironical ..." [5]
Chemosh ( Numbers 21:29) was the chief Moabite deity and was similar to the Ammonite god Molech (cf. Judges 11:24; 1 Kings 11:7). [4] See Deuteronomy 2:16-37 for another account of this victory. John Van Seters argued that Numbers 21:21-25 derives from conflation of Deuteronomy 2:26-37 and Judges 11:19-26. [7] John R. Bartlett countered that the Numbers passage is the source of the other two accounts. [8]