Text -- Numbers 21:14-35 (NET)

21:14 This is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis, the Arnon 21:15 and the slope of the valleys that extends to the dwelling of Ar, and falls off at the border of Moab.” 21:16 And from there they traveled to Beer; that is the well where the Lord spoke to Moses, “Gather the people and I will give them water.” 21:17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, sing to it! 21:18 The well which the princes dug, which the leaders of the people opened with their scepters and their staffs.” And from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah; 21:19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; 21:20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the country of Moab, near the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the wilderness.

The Victory over Sihon and Og

21:21 Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying, 21:22 “Let us pass through your land; we will not turn aside into the fields or into the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well, but we will go along the King’s Highway until we pass your borders.” 21:23 But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he gathered all his forces together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 21:24 But the Israelites defeated him in battle and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strongly defended. 21:25 So Israel took all these cities; and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 21:26 For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. Now he had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all of his land from his control, as far as the Arnon. 21:27 That is why those who speak in proverbs say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built. Let the city of Sihon be established! 21:28 For fire went out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has consumed Ar of Moab and the lords of the high places of Arnon. 21:29 Woe to you, Moab. You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites. 21:30 We have overpowered them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. We have shattered them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.” 21:31 So the Israelites lived in the land of the Amorites. 21:32 Moses sent spies to reconnoiter Jaazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. 21:33 Then they turned and went up by the road to Bashan. And King Og of Bashan and all his forces marched out against them to do battle at Edrei. 21:34 And the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand. You will do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. 21:35 So they defeated Og, his sons, and all his people, until there were no survivors, and they possessed his land.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Num 21:14

¹ tc The ancient versions show a wide variation here: Smr has “Waheb on the Sea of Reeds,” the Greek version has “he has set Zoob on fire and the torrents of Arnon.” Several modern versions treat the first line literally, taking the two main words as place names: Waheb and Suphah. This seems most likely, but then there would then be no subject or verb. One would need something like “the Israelites marched through.” The KJV, following the Vulgate, made the first word a verb and read the second as “Red Sea” – “what he did in the Red Sea.” But subject of the passage is the terrain. D. L. Christensen proposed emending the first part from אֶת וָהֵב (’et vahev) to אַתָּה יְהוָה (’attah yehvah, “the Lord came”). But this is subjective. See his article “Num 21:14-15 and the Book of the Wars of Yahweh,” CBQ 36 (1974): 359-60.

NET Notes: Num 21:15

¹ tc There are many variations in this text, but the MT reading of something like “the descent of the torrents/valleys” is preferable, since it is describing the topography.

² sn The place is unknown; it is apparently an important city in the region.

NET Notes: Num 21:16

¹ tn The words “they traveled” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied here because of English style. The same phrase is supplied at the end of v. 18.

² sn Isa 15:8 mentions a Moabite Beerelim, which Simons suggests is Wadi Ettemed.

NET Notes: Num 21:17

¹ tn After the adverb “then” the prefixed conjugation has the preterite force. For the archaic constructions, see D. N. Freedman, “Archaic Forms in Early Hebrew Poetry,” ZAW 72 (1960): 101-7. The poem shows all the marks of being ancient.

NET Notes: Num 21:18

¹ sn The brief song is supposed to be an old workers’ song, and so the mention of leaders and princes is unusual. Some think they are given credit because they directed where the workers were to dig. The scepter and staff might have served some symbolic or divining custom.

NET Notes: Num 21:20

¹ tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon.”

NET Notes: Num 21:21

¹ sn For this section, see further J. R. Bartlett, “Sihon and Og of the Amorites,” VT 20 (1970): 257-77, and “The Moabites and the Edomites,” Peoples of Old Testament Times, 229-58; S. H. Horn, “The Excavations at Tell Hesban, 1973,” ADAJ 18 (1973): 87-88.

² tc Smr and the LXX have “words of peace.”

NET Notes: Num 21:22

¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the singular in these verses to match the reference to “Israel.”

² tc Smr has “by the King’s way I will go. I will not turn aside to the right or the left.”

NET Notes: Num 21:23

¹ tn Heb “Sihon.”

² tn Heb “people.”

³ tn The clause begins with a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, but may be subordinated to the next preterite as a temporal clause.

NET Notes: Num 21:24

¹ tn The Hebrew text has “Israel,” but the verb is plural.

² tn Heb “with the edge of the sword.”

NET Notes: Num 21:25

¹ tn Heb “its daughters.”

NET Notes: Num 21:26

¹ sn There is a justice, always, in the divine plan for the conquest of the land. Modern students of the Bible often think that the conquest passages are crude and unjust. But an understanding of the ancient Near East is critical here. This Sihon was not a part of the original population of the land. He himself invaded the territory and destroyed the population of Moab that was indigenous there and established his own kingdom. The ancient history is filled with such events; it is the way of life they chose – conquer or be conquered. For Israel to defeat them was in part a turning of their own devices back on their heads – “those that live by the sword will die by the sword.” Sihon knew this, and he did not wait, but took the war to Israel. Israel wanted to pass through, not fight. But now they would either fight or be pushed into the gorge. So God used Israel to defeat Sihon, who had no claim to the land, as part of divine judgment.

NET Notes: Num 21:27

¹ sn Proverbs of antiquity could include pithy sayings or longer songs, riddles, or poems composed to catch the significance or the irony of an event. This is a brief poem to remember the event, like an Egyptian victory song. It may have originated as an Amorite war taunt song; it was sung to commemorate this victory. It was cited later by Jeremiah (48:45-46). The composer invites his victorious people to rebuild the conquered city as a new capital for Sihon. He then turns to address the other cities which his God(s) has/have given to him. See P. D. Hanson, “The Song of Heshbon and David’s Nir,” HTR 61 (1968): 301.

² tn Meaning, “rebuilt and restored.”

NET Notes: Num 21:28

¹ tc Some scholars emend to בָּלְעָה (bal’ah), reading “and devoured,” instead of בַּעֲלֵי (ba’aley, “its lords”); cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV. This emendation is closer to the Greek and makes a better parallelism, but the MT makes good sense as it stands.

NET Notes: Num 21:29

¹ sn The note of holy war emerges here as the victory is a victory over the local gods as well as over the people.

NET Notes: Num 21:30

¹ tc The first verb is difficult. MT has “we shot at them.” The Greek has “their posterity perished” (see GKC 218 §76.f).

² tc The relative pronoun “which” (אֲשֶׁר, ’asher) posed a problem for the ancient scribes here, as indicated by the so-called extraordinary point (punta extraordinaria) over the letter ר (resh) of אֲשֶׁר. Smr and the LXX have “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) here (cf. NAB, NJB, RSV, NRSV). Some modern scholars emend the word to שֹׁאָה (sho’ah, “devastation”).

NET Notes: Num 21:31

¹ tn Heb “Israel.”

NET Notes: Num 21:32

¹ tn Heb “Moses sent to spy out.”

² tn Heb “daughters.”

NET Notes: Num 21:33

¹ tn Heb “people.”

NET Notes: Num 21:35

¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Og) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “no remnant.”