The Meaning of Numbers 21:28 Explained

Numbers 21:28

KJV: For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

YLT: For fire hath gone out from Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon, It hath consumed Ar of Moab, Owners of the high places of Arnon.

Darby: For there went forth fire from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of the Arnon.

ASV: For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon: It hath devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For there is a fire  gone out  of Heshbon,  a flame  from the city  of Sihon:  it hath consumed  Ar  of Moab,  [and] the lords of the high places  of Arnon. 

What does Numbers 21:28 Mean?

Context Summary

Numbers 21:21-35 - Victory Over The Amorites
Two great victories opened the eastern lands to the possession and settlement of two tribes and a half. It is not enough to know our heritage in Christ; we must possess our possessions.
Sihon, the king of the Amorites, made an unprovoked attack on Israel; and his action was the less excusable, because he had himself been an invader. As a proof of this, a passage is quoted from one of their national songs, in which the poet describes his invasion of the land, the burning of Heshbon and Ar, and the erection of new cities in their stead, Numbers 21:27-30. See also Judges 11:13-27. Sihon and Og suffered the same fate at the hands of Israel. General Gordon, when crossing the Sudan to attack the slave-trader, often heard these words in his heart: "Fear him not, for I have delivered him into thy hand." See Psalms 135:11; Psalms 136:19-20. Behind all history is divine and everlasting love! [source]

Chapter Summary: Numbers 21

1  Israel destroys the Canaanites at Hormah
4  The people murmuring are plagued with fiery serpents
7  They repenting are healed by a bronze serpent
10  Various journeys of the Israelites
21  Sihon is overcome
33  And Og

What do the individual words in Numbers 21:28 mean?

For fire went out from Heshbon a flame from the city of Sihon it consumed Ar of Moab the lords of the heights of the Arnon
כִּי־ אֵשׁ֙ יָֽצְאָ֣ה מֵֽחֶשְׁבּ֔וֹן לֶהָבָ֖ה מִקִּרְיַ֣ת סִיחֹ֑ן אָֽכְלָה֙ עָ֣ר מוֹאָ֔ב בַּעֲלֵ֖י בָּמ֥וֹת אַרְנֹֽן

אֵשׁ֙  fire 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
יָֽצְאָ֣ה  went  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
מֵֽחֶשְׁבּ֔וֹן  from  Heshbon 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶשְׁבֹּון  
Sense: the capital city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, located on the western border of the high plain and on the border line between the tribes of Reuben and Gad.
לֶהָבָ֖ה  a  flame 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: לֶהָבָה  
Sense: flame.
מִקִּרְיַ֣ת  from  the  city 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: קִרְיָה 
Sense: city, town.
סִיחֹ֑ן  of  Sihon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: סִיחֹון  
Sense: king of the Amorites at the time of the conquest and defeated by Moses in Transjordan.
אָֽכְלָה֙  it  consumed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
עָ֣ר  Ar 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עָר  
Sense: a city of Moab located south of the Arnon river; perhaps the capital.
מוֹאָ֔ב  of  Moab 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מֹואָב 
Sense: a son of Lot by his eldest daughter.
בַּעֲלֵ֖י  the  lords 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בָּעַל 
Sense: owner, husband, lord.
בָּמ֥וֹת  of  the  heights 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: בָּמָה  
Sense: high place, ridge, height, bamah (technical name for cultic platform).
אַרְנֹֽן  of  the  Arnon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַרְנׄון  
Sense: a river and surrounding valley in south Palestine, forms the border between Moab and the Amorites.