to tell him, "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites. But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. 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. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border. And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’ But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country, seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it? Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us. Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time? I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
Then the Israelites set out and camped at Oboth. They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness opposite Moab to the east. From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. From 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. Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon, even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.” From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.” Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it! The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.” From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah, and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland. Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, “Let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified. Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. Heshbon 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.
Significance
Jephthah's comprehensive defense in Judges 11:15-27 draws extensively on Numbers 21:10-26, which details Israel's itinerary from Oboth through the Arnon Valley and their subsequent victory over Sihon king of Heshbon. The Numbers account demonstrates that the territory Israel occupied had already been taken from Moab by the Amorites (Num 21:26: "Heshbon was the city of Sihon"), so Israel took it from the Amorites, not from Moab or Ammon. Jephthah's use of this passage shows sophisticated legal reasoning: the Ammonites cannot claim land that was Amorite, not Ammonite, at the time of Israel's conquest.
Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Redemptive-Historical Progression — Jephthah argues from the Numbers 21:10-26 record as fixed prior history: the itinerary past Moab's border (Num 21:13; Judges 11:18), the messengers to Sihon (Num 21:21; Judges 11:19), and above all the notice that Heshbon was Sihon's city, already taken from Moab (Num 21:26) — so the land Israel received at that earlier stage was Amorite, and the Ammonite claim collapses on the Pentateuch's own account.
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