21:29 Woe to you, Moab.
You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! 1
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.
21:1 2 When the Canaanite king of Arad 3 who lived in the Negev 4 heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
48:7 “Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches.
So you too will be conquered.
Your god Chemosh 5 will go into exile 6
along with his priests and his officials.
48:46 Moab, you are doomed! 7
You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed.
Your sons will be taken away captive.
Your daughters will be carried away into exile. 8
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.
2 sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.
3 sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).
4 tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.
3 sn Chemosh was the national god of Moab (see also Numb 21:29). Child sacrifice appears to have been a part of his worship (2 Kgs 3:27). Solomon built a high place in Jerusalem for him (1 Kgs 11:7), and he appears to have been worshiped in Israel until Josiah tore that high place down (2 Kgs 23:13).
4 sn The practice of carrying off the gods of captive nations has already been mentioned in the study note on 43:12. See also Isa 46:1-2 noted there.
4 tn Heb “Woe to you, Moab.” For the usage of this expression see 4:13, 31; 13:17 and the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19.
5 tn Heb “Your sons will be taken away into captivity, your daughters into exile.”