Amorites

So why does YHWH instruct Moses to conquer the Transjordanian territory of King Sihon? Deuteronomy knows that Israelites lived in the Transjordan and claims that they applied the Deuteronomic law of ḥerem to Amorites living there. Thus, YHWH hardens Sihon’s heart, forcing him to fight the Israelites, giving them a reason to annihilate the local Amorites and ensuring that they would not be led astray by their idolatry.

The Israelites travel to the east of Moab, through the wilderness, specifically to avoid encountering them. And yet, we are told that they travel through Ar-Moab, and even buy food and water from the locals. Do they walk through Moabite territory or not?

Describing the Israelites crossing the Arnon Stream into Amorite territory, the Torah quotes the Book of YHWH’s Battles that speaks of “Waheb in Suphah,” a phrase that appears nowhere else in the Bible. Many creative explanations have been given, but based on a survey on the ground we can identify it as the “Town in the Stream,” an ancient biblical town whose name had long been forgotten.

The Mesha Inscription describes Omri’s conquest of the mishor in the Transjordan, and Moab’s subsequent (re)taking of it, in the 9th century B.C.E. Reading Numbers 21 in conversation with archaeological findings confirms much of this and offers us a glimpse at the history of this region before the Omride conquest.