Joshua 13:25

13:25 Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half of Ammonite territory ¹  as far as Aroer near ²  Rabbah.

Joshua 13:31

13:31 Half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities in the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were assigned to the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh, to half the descendants of Makir by their clans.

Joshua 18:21-28

18:21 These cities belonged to the tribe ³  of Benjamin by its clans: Jericho, ⁴  Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 18:22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ⁵  18:23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 18:24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba – a total of twelve cities and their towns.

18:25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 18:26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, 18:27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 18:28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city ⁶  (that is, Jerusalem), ⁷  Gibeah, and Kiriath – a total of fourteen cities and their towns. ⁸  This was the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin ⁹  by its clans.

Joshua 18:1

The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ¹⁰  Though they had subdued the land, ¹¹ 

Joshua 5:1

5:1 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they ¹²  crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 49:1

Judgment Against Ammon

49:1 The Lord spoke about the Ammonites. ¹⁴ 

“Do you think there are not any people of the nation of Israel remaining?

Do you think there are not any of them remaining to reinherit their land?

Is that why you people who worship the god Milcom ¹⁵ 

have taken possession of the territory of Gad and live in his cities? ¹⁶ 

Amos 1:13

1:13 This is what the Lord says:

“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes ¹⁷  –

make that four! ¹⁸  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ¹⁹ 

They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women ²⁰ 

so they could expand their territory.

Micah 7:14

7:14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod, ²¹ 

the flock that belongs to you, ²² 

the one that lives alone in a thicket,

in the midst of a pastureland. ²³ 

Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, ²⁴ 

as they did in the old days. ²⁵ 

[13:25]  ¹ tn Heb “and half of the land of the sons of Ammon.”

[13:25]  ² tn Heb “in front of.”

[18:21]  ³ tn Heb “the sons,” here referring to the tribe.

[18:21]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[18:22]  ⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[18:28]  ⁶ tn The word “city” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[18:28]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[18:28]  ⁸ tn The structure of this list presents problems. In v. 28 no conjunction appears before “Haeleph” or “Kiriath” in the Hebrew text. This suggests they should be compounded with the preceding names, yielding “Zelah Haeleph” and “Gibeah Kiriath” respectively. This results in a list of only twelve cities, however, while the summary statement (v. 28) gives the number fourteen. One should note, however, that the city lists in chap. 15 do not consistently use the conjunction before the name of each city. See also Josh 19:7, where no conjunction appears before “Rimmon,” but the summary assumes that Ain and Rimmon are distinct.

[18:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin.”

[18:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

[18:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”

[5:1]  ¹² tc Another textual tradition has, “while we crossed.”

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “their heart[s] melted and there was no longer in them breathe because of the sons of Israel.”

[49:1]  ¹⁴ sn Ammonites. Ammon was a small kingdom to the north and east of Moab which was in constant conflict with the Transjordanian tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh over territorial rights to the lands north and south of the Jabbok River. Ammon mainly centered on the city of Rabbah which is modern Amman. According to Judg 11:13 the Ammonites claimed the land between the Jabbok and the Arnon but this was land taken from them by Sihon and Og and land that the Israelites captured from the latter two kings. The Ammonites attempted to expand into the territory of Israel in the Transjordan in the time of Jephthah (Judg 10-11) and the time of Saul (1 Sam 11). Apparently when Tiglath Pileser carried away the Israelite tribes in Transjordan in 733 b.c., the Ammonites took over possession of their cities (Jer 49:1). Like Moab they appear to have been loyal to Nebuchadnezzar in the early part of his reign, forming part of the contingent that he sent to harass Judah when Jehoiakim rebelled in 598 b.c. (2 Kgs 24:2). But along with Moab and Edom they sent representatives to plot rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar in 594 b.c. (Jer 27:3). The Ammonites were evidently in rebellion against him in 588 b.c. when he had to decide whether to attack Rabbah or Jerusalem first (Ezek 21:18-23 [21:23-28 HT]). They appear to have remained in rebellion after the destruction of Jerusalem because their king Baalis was behind the plot to assassinate Gedaliah and offered refuge to Ishmael after he did it (Jer 40:13; 41:15). According to the Jewish historian Josephus they were conquered in 582 b.c. by Nebuchadnezzar.

[49:1]  ¹⁵ tc The reading here and in v. 3 follows the reading of the Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13. The Hebrew reads “Malcom” both here, in v. 3, and Zeph 1:5. This god is to be identified with the god known elsewhere as Molech (cf. 1 Kgs 11:7).

[49:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Does not Israel have any sons? Does not he have any heir [or “heirs” as a collective]? Why [then] has Malcom taken possession of Gad and [why] do his [Malcom’s] people live in his [Gad’s] land?” A literal translation here will not produce any meaning without major commentary. Hence the meaning that is generally agreed on is reflected in an admittedly paraphrastic translation. The reference is to the fact that the Ammonites had taken possession of the cities that had been deserted when the Assyrians carried off the Transjordanian tribes in 733 b.c. assuming that the Israelites would not return in sufficient numbers to regain control of it. The thought underlying the expression “Why has Milcom taken possession…” reflects the idea, common in the OT and the ancient Near East, that the god of a people drove out the previous inhabitants, gave their land to his worshipers to possess, and took up residence with them there (cf., e.g., Deut 1:21; Judg 11:24 and line 33-34 of the Moabite stone: “Chemosh said to me, ‘Go down, fight against Hauronen.’ And I went down [and I fought against the town and took it], and Chemosh dwelt there in my time.” [ANET 321]).

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Because of three violations of the Ammonites, even because of four.”
On the three…four style that introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1-2 see the note on the word “four” in 1:3.

[1:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.

[1:13]  ²⁰ sn The Ammonites ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women in conjunction with a military invasion designed to expand their territory. Such atrocities, although repugnant, were not uncommon in ancient Near Eastern warfare.

[7:14]  ²¹ tn Or “with your scepter” (the Hebrew term can mean either “rod” or “scepter”).

[7:14]  ²² tn Heb “the flock of your inheritance.”

[7:14]  ²³ tn Or “in the midst of Carmel.” The Hebrew term translated “pastureland” may be a place name.

[7:14]  ²⁴ sn The regions of Bashan and Gilead, located in Transjordan, were noted for their rich grazing lands.

[7:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “as in the days of antiquity.”