Numbers 21:25

And Israel took all these cities,.... Which lay between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok; their particular names may be seen in Numbers 32:3, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites; being

And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. Israel dwelt in all the cities - such as Beth-gamul, Bozrah, Kerioth, etc.

Having destroyed the ancient inhabitants, .

(25) And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites.—If, as appears most probable, this and the thirty-first verse form a part of the original narrative, the word which is rendered dwelt should be rendered sojourned, or abode, and understood, in accordance with the frequent use of the word (as, e.g., in Numbers 22:5; Numbers 22:8), of a temporary occupation or encampment. The permanent occupation of the eastern side of the Jordan by the Israelites was subsequent to the death of Moses.

25. all the cities] No Amorite cities have as yet been mentioned. It is probable that a portion of the narrative, which must have contained a list of captured cities, has been lost. the Amorites] The name Amurrâ occurs in Babylonian and Assyrian texts and in the Tell-el-Amarna tablets for the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine in general, before the time of the Exodus. But the natives whom the Israelites found in and around Palestine on their arrival were by no means homogeneous, and various names, such as Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites and others, frequently appear. The name ‘Amorite’ is sometimes used for the native inhabitants generally: see Genesis 15:16; Genesis 48:22, Joshua 24:15, Amos 2:9, 1 Kings 21:26, 2 Kings 21:11. But sometimes it denotes natives in particular localities; e.g. in Canaan west of the Jordan (Joshua 5:1; Joshua 7:7); in the district afterwards occupied by Judah (Joshua 10:5 f., 12, Judges 1:34-36); in the Negeb and to the south and east of the Dead Sea (Genesis 14:7, Deuteronomy 1:7; Deuteronomy 1:44). Most frequently, however, it denotes the inhabitants of the district east of the Jordan, under the rule of Sihon and Og. Whether they were the original inhabitants who had been driven out by Moab and Ammon, but had regained their footing under the leadership of these two kings, or whether they had only first gained their territory by driving out Moab and Ammon, we do not know. Heshbon] The modern Ḥ ?esbân, standing some 2940 feet above the sea, about 18 miles from the Jordan, opposite to Jericho. all the towns thereof] R.V. marg. ‘daughters’ is the literal meaning of the Heb. The word denotes the small towns and villages near, and dependent upon, Heshbon; cf. Numbers 21:32, Numbers 32:42, Judges 1:27.

Heshbon - Now Heshban, a ruined city, due east of the point where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea; conspicuous from all parts of the high plateau on which it stands, but concealed, like the rest of

25. Heshbon — See Joshua 13:17, note. Villages — Hebrew, daughters, that is, lesser towns.