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.

Numbers 21:13-15

21:13 From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends from the regions ³  of the Amorites, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 21:14 This is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

“Waheb in Suphah ⁴  and the wadis,

the Arnon 21:15 and the slope of the valleys ⁵ 

that extends to the dwelling of Ar, ⁶ 

and falls off at the border of Moab.”

Jude 1:18-21

1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ⁷  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ⁸  1:19 These people are divisive, ⁹  worldly, ¹⁰  devoid of the Spirit. ¹¹  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ¹²  1:21 maintain ¹³  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ¹⁴  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ¹⁵ 

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 Or “border.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ sn The place is unknown; it is apparently an important city in the region.

⁷ tn Grk “be.”

⁸ tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

⁹ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

¹⁰ tn Or “natural,” that is, living on the level of instincts, not on a spiritual level (the same word occurs in 1 Cor 2:14 as a description of nonbelievers).

¹¹ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

¹² tn The participles in v. 20 have been variously interpreted. Some treat them imperativally or as attendant circumstance to the imperative in v. 21 (“maintain”): “build yourselves up…pray.” But they do not follow the normal contours of either the imperatival or attendant circumstance participles, rendering this unlikely. A better option is to treat them as the means by which the readers are to maintain themselves in the love of God. This both makes eminently good sense and fits the structural patterns of instrumental participles elsewhere.

¹³ tn Or “keep.”

¹⁴ tn Or “waiting for.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “unto eternal life.”