Numbers 20:17

20:17 Please let us pass through ¹  your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway; ²  we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’” ³ 

Numbers 21:23

21:23 But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he ⁴  gathered all his forces ⁵  together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When ⁶  he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

[20:17]  ¹ tn The request is expressed by the use of the cohortative, “let us pass through.” It is the proper way to seek permission.

[20:17]  ² sn This a main highway running from Damascus in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, along the ridge of the land. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been given by the later Assyrians (see B. Obed, “Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordan after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglathpileser III,” JNES 29 [1970]: 177-86). Bronze Age fortresses have been discovered along this highway, attesting to its existence in the time of Moses. The original name came from the king who developed the highway, probably as a trading road (see S. Cohen, IDB 3:35-36).

[20:17]  ³ tn Heb “borders.”

[21:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “Sihon.”

[21:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[21:23]  ⁶ tn The clause begins with a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, but may be subordinated to the next preterite as a temporal clause.