Numbers 21:26
in Numbers 21Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto the Arnon.
KJV
For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.
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This verse in Numbers 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseFor Heshbon was the city of Sihon, etc. - It appears therefore that the territory now taken from Sihon by the Israelites was taken from a former king of Moab, in commemoration of which an epikedion or war song was made, several verses of which, in their ancient poetic form, are here quoted by Moses.
This site's exposition
Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites
on Numbers 21:26-27
Heshbon was Moabite ground until Sihon took it from the former king of Moab, and the detail matters because Deuteronomy 2:9 had forbidden Israel to distress Moab or meddle with their land. Israel takes Heshbon from the Amorite who held it, and Judges 11:12-27 has Jephthah argue that whole case back at the king of Ammon three hundred years later. The chapter then hands the account over to the poets, they that speak in proverbs, and lets them tell it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
The Israelites did not take it out of the hands of the Moabites, they had before lost it to the Amorites, and were constrained to give up their pretensions to it; and, when Israel had taken it from the Amorites, they were under no obligation to restore it to the Moabites, whose title to it was long since extinguished.
15 , &c.), and turned to them for a testimony. What their achievements were, now that they pitched on the banks of the river Arnon, we are not particularly told, but are referred to the book of the wars of the Lord, perhaps that book which was begun with the history of the war with the Amalekites, Exod. xvii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Was the city of Sihon - This is added as a reason why Israel took possession of this land, because it was not now the land of the Moabites, but in the possession of the Amorites.
For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites,....
They are exalted but for a little while, Job xxiv. Og king of Bashan, instead of being warned by the fate of his neighbours to make peace with Israel, is instigated by it to make war with them, which proves in like manner to be his destruction.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חֶשְׁבּ֔וֹן | cheshbon | Heshbon | H2809 → | 38 times |
| עִ֗יר | ʾir | [was] [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| סִיחֹ֛ן | sichon | Sihon | H5511 → | 37 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָאֱמֹרִ֖י | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
| הִ֑וא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְה֣וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נִלְחַ֗ם | nilcham | he had waged war | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בְּמֶ֤לֶךְ | bemelekh | against [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מוֹאָב֙ | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן | harishon | <the> former | H7223 → | 182 times |
| וַיִּקַּ֧ח | vaiyikach | and he had taken | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַרְצ֛וֹ | ʾartzo | land his | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִיָּד֖וֹ | miyado | from hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אַרְנֹֽן׃ | ʾarnon | Arnon | H769 → | 25 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
חֶשְׁבּ֔וֹןHeshbon
cheshbonH2809 →38 times
עִ֗יר[was] [the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
סִיחֹ֛ןSihon
sichonH5511 →37 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
הָאֱמֹרִ֖יthe Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →87 times
הִ֑ואit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
וְה֣וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
נִלְחַ֗םhe had waged war
nilchamH3898 →177 times
בְּמֶ֤לֶךְagainst [the] king of
bemelekhH4428 →2525 times
מוֹאָב֙Moab
moavH4124 →181 times
הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן<the> former
harishonH7223 →182 times
וַיִּקַּ֧חand he had taken
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אַרְצ֛וֹland his
ʾartzoH776 →2504 times
מִיָּד֖וֹfrom hand his
miyadoH3027 →1618 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
אַרְנֹֽן׃Arnon
ʾarnonH769 →25 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.