Wanderings in the Wilderness

1“And setting out from there, we arrived at the wilderness which leads to the Red Sea, just as the Lord had spoken to me. And we encompassed Mount Seir for a long time. 2And the Lord said to me: 3‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north. 4And instruct the people, saying: You shall cross through the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, and they will fear you. 5Therefore, take care diligently, lest you be moved against them. For I will not give to you from their land even as much as the step that one foot can tread upon, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink. 7The Lord your God has blessed you in every work of your hands. The Lord your God, dwelling with you, knows your journey, how you crossed through this great wilderness over forty years, and how you have been lacking in nothing.’

8And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab. 9And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fight against the Moabites, nor should you go to battle against them. For I will not give to you anything from their land, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’ 10The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim. 11They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim. 12The Horites also formerly lived at Seir. When these had been driven out and destroyed, the sons of Esau lived there, just as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to him. 13Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place. 14Then, from the time that we advanced from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the torrent Zered, there were thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of the men who were fit for war had been consumed out of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn. 15For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp.

16Then, after all the fighting men had fallen, 17the Lord spoke to me, saying: 18‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar. 19And when you have arrived in the vicinity of the sons of Ammon, be careful that you do not fight against them, nor should you be moved to battle. For I will not give to you from the land of the sons of Ammon, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’ 20It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim. 21They are a people, great and numerous, and of lofty stature, like the Anakim, whom the Lord wiped away before their face. And he caused them to live there in place of them, 22just as he had done for the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, wiping out the Horites and delivering their land to them, which they possess even to the present time. 23Likewise the Hevites, who were living in small villages as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians, who went forth from Cappadocia, and they wiped them out and lived in their place.

The Defeat of Sihon
(Numbers 21:21–30)

24‘Rise up and cross the torrent Arnon! Behold, I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, into your hand, and so, begin to possess his land and to engage in battle against him. 25Today I will begin to send the terror and dread of you among the peoples who are living under all of heaven, so that, when they hear your name, they may be afraid, and may tremble in the manner of a woman giving birth, and may be gripped by anguish.’

26Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying: 27‘We will cross through your land. We will advance by the public way. We will not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left. 28Sell us food for a price, so that we may eat. Provide us with water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that you allow us to pass through, 29just as the sons of Esau have done, who live at Seir, and the Moabites, who abide in Ar, until we arrive at the Jordan, and we cross to the land which the Lord our God will give to us.’ 30And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, was not willing to grant passage to us. For the Lord your God had hardened his spirit, and had fastened his heart, so that he would be delivered into your hands, just as you now see. 31And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’

32And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people. 34And we seized all his cities at that time, putting to death their inhabitants: men as well as women and children. We left nothing of them, 35except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities, 36from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town which is situated in a valley, all the way to Gilead. There was not a village or city which escaped from our hands. The Lord our God delivered everything to us, 37except the land of the sons of Ammon, which we did not approach, and all that is adjacent to the torrent Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God prohibited to us.”