Numbers 21:13
in Numbers 21From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
From thence they journeyed, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that cometh out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
KJV
From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
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This verse in Numbers 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Arnon, now the Wady Mojeb, an impetuous torrent, divided the territory which remained to the Moabites from that which the Amorites had wrested from them, Num 21:26.
This site's exposition
the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth
on Numbers 21:10-13
Four stages carry Israel from the desert to the border of Moab, and one of them carries the end of the sentence passed at Kadesh. Deuteronomy 2:14 says the space from Kadesh-barnea until they came over the brook Zered was thirty and eight years, until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host. Arnon is named as the border between Moab and the Amorites, and that line decides whom Israel may fight, since Deuteronomy 2:9 forbids any quarrel with Moab.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This is added to reconcile two seemingly contrary commands of God, the one that of not meddling with the land of the Moabites, Deut. ii, 9, the other that of going over Arnon and taking possession of the land beyond it, Deut. ii, 24, because, saith he, it is not now the land of the Moabites, but of the Amorites.
It is well that there are more ways than one to Canaan. The enemies of God's people may retard their passage, but cannot prevent their entrance into the promised rest. Care is taken to let us know that the Israelites in their march religiously observed the orders which God gave them to use no hostility against the Moabites ( Deut. ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Arnon - Another river which takes its rise in the mountains of Moab, and, after having separated the ancient territories of the Moabites and Ammonites, falls into the Dead Sea, near the mouth of Jordan.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Arnon was a city which belonged to Moab, [located] near the end of the Amorite border and the beginning of the border of Moab, and it was situated on brooks that flowed through it. 258 Verse: and Arnon among the brooks.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The simple meaning of [the expression] in the book of the wars of the Eternal. Ibid.: Therefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Eternal.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִשָּׁם֮ | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| נָסָעוּ֒ | nasau | they set out | H5265 → | 146 times |
| וַֽיַּחֲנ֗וּ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| מֵעֵ֤בֶר | meever | from [the] other side of | H5676 → | 90 times |
| אַרְנוֹן֙ | ʾarnon | Arnon | H769 → | 25 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר | bamidbar | [is] in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| הַיֹּצֵ֖א | haiyotze' | which goes out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִגְּב֣וּל | migevul | from [the] border of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| הָֽאֱמֹרִ֑י | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַרְנוֹן֙ | ʾarnon | Arnon | H769 → | 25 times |
| גְּב֣וּל | gevul | [is] [the] border of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| מוֹאָ֖ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וּבֵ֥ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הָאֱמֹרִֽי׃ | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
מִשָּׁם֮from there
mishamH8033 →834 times
נָסָעוּ֒they set out
nasauH5265 →146 times
וַֽיַּחֲנ֗וּand they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
מֵעֵ֤בֶרfrom [the] other side of
meeverH5676 →90 times
אַרְנוֹן֙Arnon
ʾarnonH769 →25 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר[is] in the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 times
הַיֹּצֵ֖אwhich goes out
haiyotze'H3318 →1067 times
מִגְּב֣וּלfrom [the] border of
migevulH1366 →240 times
הָֽאֱמֹרִ֑יthe Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →87 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אַרְנוֹן֙Arnon
ʾarnonH769 →25 times
גְּב֣וּל[is] [the] border of
gevulH1366 →240 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
בֵּ֥יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
מוֹאָ֖בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וּבֵ֥יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
הָאֱמֹרִֽי׃the Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →87 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 22:36When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.
it leads to
- Isaiah 16:2
Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 28:15
The brothers there had heard about us and traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and gave thanks to…
- Isaiah 16:2
Through
Judges 11:18Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon.…
it leads to
- Numbers 21:4–13
Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey
- Deuteronomy 2:1–8
Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir.
- Numbers 21:4–13
Through
Deuteronomy 2:24“Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in…
it leads to
- Judges 11:18–21
Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon.…
- Jeremiah 27:5
By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Daniel 4:17
This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it…
- Ezekiel 29:20
I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD.
- Judges 11:18–21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.