Deuteronomy 2:36

2:36 From Aroer, ¹  which is at the edge of Wadi Arnon (it is the city in the wadi), ²  all the way to Gilead there was not a town able to resist us – the Lord our God gave them all to us.

Joshua 13:9

13:9 Their territory started ³  from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley), included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba as far as Dibon,

Joshua 13:16

13:16 Their territory started at Aroer ⁴  (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba,

Joshua 13:1

The Lord Speaks to Joshua

13:1 When Joshua was very old, ⁵  the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered.

Joshua 1:1

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:

Isaiah 17:2

17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. ⁶ 

They will be used for herds,

which will lie down there in peace. ⁷ 

¹ sn Aroer. Now known as àAraáir on the northern edge of the Arnon river, Aroer marked the southern limit of Moab and, later, of the allotment of the tribe of Reuben (Josh 13:9, 16).

² tn Heb “the city in the wadi.” This enigmatic reference may refer to Ar or, more likely, to Aroer itself. Epexegetically the text might read, “From Aroer…, that is, the city in the wadi.” See D. L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1–11 (WBC), 49.

³ tn The words “their territory started” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁴ tn Heb “their territory was from.”

⁵ tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following clause.

⁶ tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.

⁷ tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”