Numbers 21:25

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 Amurrâoccurs 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., Joshua 10:12; 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 Ḥesbân, 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. Deu 1:21=' below Deuteronomy 31:8). Deuteronomy 1:29 takes these vbs. in the reverse order. The Pl. in this part of the v. is confirmed by Sam. The LXX has Sg. per incuriam.

doth go with thee Deuteronomy 20:4; before thee, Deuteronomy 1:30. Sam. confirms Sg. The LXX has Pl.

fail thee let thee drop; Deuteronomy 4:31: not fail nor forsake thee, so Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5 (deuter.), 1 Chronicles 28:20; Hebrews 13:5. Sg. is confirmed by Sam. LXX.