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 ¹  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 ²  and the wadis,

the Arnon 21:15 and the slope of the valleys ³ 

that extends to the dwelling of Ar, ⁴ 

and falls off at the border of Moab.”

Deuteronomy 2:36

2:36 From Aroer, ⁵  which is at the edge of Wadi Arnon (it is the city in the wadi), ⁶  all the way to Gilead there was not a town able to resist us – the Lord our God gave them all to us.

Deuteronomy 3:8

3:8 So at that time we took the land of the two Amorite kings in the Transjordan from Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 3:12

Distribution of the Transjordanian Allotments

3:12 This is the land we brought under our control at that time: The territory extending from Aroer ⁸  by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites. ⁹ 

Joshua 13:16

13:16 Their territory started at Aroer ¹⁰  (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba,

Jude 1:18

1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ¹¹  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ¹² 

[21:13]  ¹ tn Or “border.”

[21:14]  ² 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.

[21:15]  ³ 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.

[21:15]  ⁴ sn The place is unknown; it is apparently an important city in the region.

[2:36]  ⁵ 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).

[2:36]  ⁶ 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.

[3:8]  ⁷ sn Mount Hermon. This is the famous peak at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range known today as Jebel es-Sheik.

[3:12]  ⁸ tn The words “the territory extending” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:12]  ⁹ sn Reubenites and Gadites. By the time of Moses’ address the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had already been granted permission to settle in the Transjordan, provided they helped the other tribes subdue the occupants of Canaan (cf. Num 32:28-42).

[13:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their territory was from.”

[1:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ¹² tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”