Judges 11:19

19 Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, "Let us pass through your land to our country.'

Judges 11:19 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 11:19

And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites,
the king of Heshbon
Which was his royal city, where he had his palace, and kept his court, and is therefore particularly mentioned; and the rather, because he had taken it from the Moabites, and was part of that land now in dispute; and this Sihon was not only in possession of, when Israel sent messengers to him, but it was his royal seat, the metropolis of his kingdom, and he was called king of it:

and Israel said unto him, let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land
unto my place;
the land of Canaan, prepared and reserved for them when the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, promised by the Lord to their ancestors and to them, and given unto them, who is sovereign Lord of all; and all that Israel desired of Sihon was only a passage through his land to that, promising the same as to the king of Edom; see the history of it in ( Numbers 21:21-35 ) .

Judges 11:19 In-Context

17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Let us pass through your land'; but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.

18 Then they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, arrived on the east side of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

19 Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, "Let us pass through your land to our country.'

20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

21 Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.