Arnon

Biblical Occurrences

The Arnon first appears in the account of Israel, led by Moses, reaching the east side of the Jordan at the end of the wilderness journey.

• Numbers: Israel encamped on the other side of the Arnon, and the text describes the Arnon as "the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites" (Numbers 21:13). Numbers 21:14 quotes a passage mentioning the brooks of Arnon from "the book of the wars of the LORD," a work no longer extant. Israel then defeats Sihon, king of the Amorites, and takes possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok (Numbers 21:24). Balak, king of Moab, goes out to meet Balaam at "a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon" (Numbers 22:36).
• Deuteronomy: God commands Israel to pass over the river Arnon and fight Sihon (Deuteronomy 2:24), and the conquered land north of the Arnon is given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad (Deuteronomy 3:12, 3:16).
• Joshua: The Arnon is named as the southern limit of the territory conquered east of the Jordan and as a boundary of the territory of the tribe of Reuben (Joshua 12:1–2; 13:16).
• Judges: Responding to the Ammonite king's demand that the land be returned, Jephthah answers that Israel did not take the land of Moab and that the land north of the Arnon had been won from Sihon (Judges 11:13–26).
• 2 Kings: In the days of Jehu, Hazael, king of Aram, struck as far as Aroer, which is by the river Arnon (2 Kings 10:32–33).
• Prophetic books: Isaiah 16:2 and Jeremiah 48:20 mention the Arnon in speaking of the judgment that would come upon Moab.

Background

The Arnon is a gorge cut deeply into the plateau east of the Dead Sea, draining into the Dead Sea. It is generally identified with the Wadi al-Mujib in present-day Jordan. The Hebrew text calls it a nahal, a term that denotes both a valley and the stream flowing through it; for this reason, Korean Bible translations use both "the Arnon River" and "the Arnon Valley." Some connect the name with the idea of "flowing noisily," but this interpretation is uncertain.

Because the gorge was deep and difficult to cross, it naturally became a political boundary. The stele of Mesha, king of Moab, discovered at Dibon in 1868, is reported to state that he built a road at the Arnon. This inscription is frequently cited as extrabiblical evidence that the Arnon region was long contested between Moab and Israel.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Arnon marks the starting point of Israel's first acquisition of land east of the Jordan. Earlier, God had commanded Israel not to harass Moab, the descendants of Lot (Deuteronomy 2:9), so Israel bypassed the Moabite land south of the Arnon and took only the Amorite land to its north. The Arnon is therefore read as a marker showing that Israel respected the boundaries God had assigned to each nation. Jephthah's argument also rests on this understanding of the boundary. The Arnon does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretive Issues

• Control of the land bounded by the Arnon changed over time. Before Sihon it was Moabite territory (Numbers 21:26), and after the conquest it became the territory of the tribe of Reuben. By the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah, the towns north of the Arnon are again called Moabite towns. Scholars regard this as a reflection of actual territorial changes.
• "The book of the wars of the LORD" is known only by its title. Descriptions of its content or character are conjectural and are not stated directly in the biblical text.