Numbers 21 Footnotes

21:21-32 As with Edom, the Israelites’ attempt at diplomacy to gain safe passage to the banks of the Jordan River through the Amorite kingdom of Sihon was met with forceful opposition. In the region north of the Arnon River and south of the Jabbok, Israel defeated Sihon and took possession of it. Critics had denied the authenticity of this account since nothing from earlier than the Iron I era was uncovered in the excavation of Tel Hesban. However, as with the city of Arad in southern Judah, city names were considered to designate the capitals of local regions, and several sites such as nearby Tel el-Umeiri and Tel Jalul contain Late Bronze materials that could be associated with the Amorite kingdom of Sihon.