Therefore the poets say, Come to Heshbon; let the city of Sihon be built and established.
Israel has just taken Heshbon from Sihon and settled in his cities. Then the story stops to repeat the victory boast of the beaten king — why?
The lines that follow belong to the Amorites. They had celebrated their capture of Heshbon from Moab in verse, and Israel now repeats that celebration back at them.
The Amorite boasted against Moab. Israel now boasts over the Amorite, turning their boasting back on them in mockery. They had a national song celebrating the capture of Heshbon, and Israel takes it up as a proverb against them. Sihon seems to have made the captured city the point from which, in his boasting song, fire went out and consumed Ar of Moab.
The same writer notes that verse 29 is not certain: it may still be the Amorite boast, or it may be Israel's lament over Moab.
Whoever the speakers are, the song does not end the way Sihon meant it to.
Verses 27-30 record the words of the "ballad singers," showing Moab's defeat by Sihon (vs. 28-29), for Moab's pride could not resist the smooth talk of the Amorites. However, verse 30 introduces a "But." In other words, Israel changed everything. They had shot at the Amorites, and Heshbon had perished instead of consuming Moab (v. 28). Israel laid the country of the Amorites waste and took possession.
There is a legal reason for quoting a song Israel did not write. Everything depended on proving whose land this was when Israel arrived. An enemy's own song was evidence no one could accuse Israel of inventing.
These are well known records, quoted to prove that the country in question was in the hands of the Amorites, and not of Moab, when Israel took possession. This mattered enormously, because Israel was forbidden to touch Moab, while the country of the Amorites was given to them. Israel's own statements, whatever weight they carried for Israel, would have been no record against their enemies. So, to hold Israel's title to these lands, the account preserves memorials the whole region knew: the earlier conquest of Moab by the Amorites, how the Amorites gained this territory, and where the border ran at that time.
That record mattered later. When the Ammonites demanded this territory back, Jephthah answered them from the history this proverb preserves.
Jephthah's title was plain and sure. Israel had not taken these lands from Ammon at all. They had taken them from the Amorite. If the Amorite first got them from Ammon, as was no doubt the fact, that was a matter between Ammon and Sihon, not between Israel and Ammon. It was the business of the Ammonites to defend their claims as best they could against the Amorites... They had won the land in a fight the Amorite provoked and drew them into. They had sought peace, and Sihon wanted war.
Some writers look for meaning in the names themselves. Sihon's name is debated, but Heshbon — the city the proverb calls to rebuild — carries the sense of thought and reasoning.
There is not much agreement about his name. The most likely sense from the Hebrew root is "sweeping off," perhaps "refuse," "off-scouring" — which is what the wisdom of the world really is, the very wisdom that would count God's wisdom as refuse. Or it may mean "sweeping away," as pride of intellect would sweep away the things of God. He is always spoken of as king of Heshbon, where he lived. Older English translations render that word only as "account," "device," or "reason." It clearly gives the thought of mental work.
Read that way, Israel is meant to take the land these kings held and keep it.
Both of these kings — Sihon and Og — occupy a land which by the gift of God Israel may seize and hold; indeed, Israel should do so. Do not give up reason because Satan is using it against the truth of God, and do not refuse natural blessings because men turn them into self-indulgence and disorder. Whatever God has given, we may take from His hand without suspicion — if it really is from His hand.
- Boast. The words belong to the Amorites, who set them to music after taking Heshbon from Moab.
- Borrowed. Israel repeats the enemy's own song back at him, and the fire that once went out from Heshbon ends by consuming Heshbon.
- Deed. A song from outside Israel proved the land was Amorite, not Moabite — the one witness Israel's enemies could not dismiss.
- Tested. Later, when Ammon claimed this land, Jephthah answered from this same history: the quarrel was Ammon's with Sihon, never Israel's.
- Held. Heshbon speaks of reasoning. Do not abandon what an enemy has misused; take it from God's hand as His gift.
For there went forth fire from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of the Arnon.
This verse sits inside a song Israel did not write: verses 27–30 quote an old ballad about fire going out from Heshbon to burn up Moab. So why does Scripture record a foreign war-song, and what does it mean that the city that sent the fire has now burned?
The line belonged to the Amorites. They had taken Heshbon from Moab and sang about the victory. Israel now picks up that same song and turns it back on the singers.
The Amorite boasted against Moab. Israel now boasts over the Amorite, and mockingly turns their own boast against them. They had a national song about the capture of Heshbon, and Israel takes it up as a proverb against them. In his boasting song, Sihon seems to have made the captured city the place from which fire went out and consumed Ar of Moab. Whether the next verse continues the Amorite's boast, or is Israel's lament over Moab, it declares that Chemosh, the god of Moab, was powerless… If fire came from Heshbon and destroyed Ar of Moab, fire came from Israel and Heshbon perished.
There is a legal reason for the quotation. Moab and Ammon later claimed the land east of the Jordan. Israel needed proof that it had not been theirs. An enemy's own song settles the matter.
These foreign traditions are quoted on purpose, and for one unusual reason. They prove, from witnesses that Israel's fiercest opponents could not question, that the land in dispute did not belong to Ammon or Moab when Israel took it by conquest. It belonged to the doomed races of Canaan and the region around it… An enemy could dismiss a Jewish record of the land's earlier owners and of Israel's own victories as self-interested. But a quotation from the enemy's own popular songs settled the matter. And the Spirit of God is pleased to use such an extract for this purpose.
One writer weighs what the two names mean. Sihon's name is hard to pin down, while Heshbon points to the mind.
The most likely meaning of Sihon's name, from the Hebrew root, is "sweeping off" — perhaps "refuse" or "off-scouring." That is what the wisdom of the world really is, and that is how it would count God's wisdom. Or the name may mean "sweeping away," as pride of intellect would sweep away the things of God. He is always called king of Heshbon, where he lived. The older English version gives that word only as "account," "device," or "reason." It certainly gives the thought of mental work.
The song records a defeat. One writer takes it as a warning about the enemy that overcomes a self-satisfied people.
Heshbon, Sihon's chief city, had been captured from the Moabites. That is because the self-satisfied, lazy pride of man — as seen in Moab — will often give way before the persuasive talk of a deceiver. Our only protection from such things is a living knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
The boast did not stand. What Heshbon did to Ar, Israel has now done to Heshbon — and one writer sees more than a turn of fortune in it.
Upon the Amorite there was righteous retribution, for they had taken that land from Moab; and now Israel, by the will of God, takes it from them.
Verse 30 answers the boast with one word.
However, verse 30 introduces a "But." In other words, Israel changed matters decisively. They had shot at the Amorites, and Heshbon had perished instead of consuming Moab. Israel laid the Amorites' country waste and took possession.
Israel did not answer the boast with words.
So when Sihon and his army attacked, Israel did not meet him with talk, but with firm action. By the grace and power of God they defeated this proud enemy and took his cities. Israel was showing something of the courage of faith before they entered the land of Canaan. In this way God was preparing them for the conquest of the land.
Israel had asked only to pass through, and fought because they were attacked:
If we are attacked, we must defend ourselves; but we are not to be the aggressors. Israel wishes to pass quietly through the land of the Amorites; but they will not allow it, and they suffer the consequences of the war they sought against the people of God. Israel takes their cities, and begins already on this side of Jordan to realise, as if beforehand, the possession of the promise.
- Boast. The fire-from-Heshbon line is the Amorites' own victory song about beating Moab. Israel did not write it.
- Evidence. Scripture quotes it as proof no opponent could deny: the land was the Amorite's, not Moab's or Ammon's.
- Fall. Moab's pride gave way to persuasive talk; Heshbon changed hands before Israel ever arrived.
- Reversal. The city that sent out fire is burned by fire — righteous repayment, sealed by the "But" of the next verse.
- Possession. Israel answered the boast with action, took the Amorite cities, and learned the courage of faith before ever entering Canaan.
Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, people of Chemosh He gave his sons that had escaped, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon the king of the Amorites.
These lines come from an old battle song about Sihon's defeat of Moab, which Israel then sang back at the Amorites. Its centre is a jeer at Chemosh, Moab's god: what sort of god hands his own worshippers over to the enemy?
The song began as the Amorites' own boast, and Israel took it up after beating them. One commentator leaves open who speaks in verse 29:
The Amorite boasted against Moab. Israel now boasts over the Amorite, and in mockery turns their boasting against them. They had a national song celebrating the capture of Heshbon, and Israel takes it up as a proverb against them... The following verse (the 29th) may be the continuation of the Amorite's boast, or Israel's lament over Moab. Either way, it declares the powerlessness of their god Chemosh. In irony they say that Chemosh had played them false. He had given his sons and daughters (the Moabites) to the Amorite as captives. If these are Israel's own words, they only prove how deceitful the heart is. Israel later worshipped the god they despise here.
Moab had lost Heshbon to Sihon before Israel ever arrived. The song names the cause of that loss, and then the reversal that followed:
Verses 27-30 record the words of "those who speak in proverbs." They point to Moab's defeat by Sihon (vv. 28-29), for Moab's pride was unable to resist the smooth talk of the Amorites. However, verse 30 introduces a "But." In other words, Israel changed matters decisively. Israel had shot at the Amorites, and Heshbon had perished instead of consuming Moab (v. 28). The country of the Amorites was laid waste, and Israel took possession.
The verse calls Moab "the people of Chemosh" — a nation named after its god. A later prophecy against Moab says who that god was, and where he ends up:
Moab's national deity was Chemosh. The Ammonites, their sister nation, worshipped him too. Chemosh was probably the same as Molech. He is now to go forth into captivity with his priests and princes.
Why could a god like this not protect his people? Set him beside the living God and the answer is plain:
Idols are contrasted with Jehovah, but cannot for one moment be compared with the true God. Jehovah is the Maker, but an idol has to be made. Once made, it does not carry others; it has to be carried. Set in its place, it cannot move, cannot answer the cry of need, and cannot save from trouble.
Israel mocked Chemosh here, and later bowed to him. Centuries after this song, Israel's wisest king built a shrine to that same idol:
The case of Solomon is the flagrant proof of how great a snare idolatry was for Israel in its brightest days. What could be more solemn or humbling? The pages of inspiration record that the wise king built the magnificent temple to Jehovah's glory, the house where God's glory was pleased to dwell. That same king also built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mount that is before Jerusalem, and another for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
- Song. These words began as the Amorites' victory song. Israel took their boast and turned it back on them as a proverb.
- Pride. Moab lost Heshbon through pride that could not stand up to Amorite smooth talk. Then verse 30 turns it all around with a single "But."
- Powerlessness. The jeer targets Chemosh. He handed his own sons and daughters — the Moabites — to the Amorite king. Someone must make an idol and then carry it; it cannot move, or answer, or save.
- Captivity. The god who gave his people away goes into captivity himself, with his priests and princes.
- Warning. The people who sang this mockery later worshipped that same god. Solomon built Chemosh a high place facing Jerusalem. Mocking an idol is no protection against taking it up.
And we have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon; and we have laid [them] waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.
Numbers 21:30 ends a piece of poetry quoted into the story, just after Israel defeats Sihon, king of the Amorites. The lines are short and the place names are strange. Two questions matter here: who is speaking, and why is an old war song in the Bible at all?
Israel did not write the song in verses 27–29. It was the Amorites' own victory chant about taking Heshbon from Moab. This closing line answers it.
The Amorite boasted against Moab. Now Israel boasts over the Amorite, and mockingly turns their own boast against them. They had a national song celebrating the capture of Heshbon, and Israel takes it up as a proverb against them… Verse 30 seems to be Israel's triumph over the Amorite… If fire came out of Heshbon and destroyed Ar of Moab, then fire came out of Israel and Heshbon perished.
The Hebrew opens this line with a sharp contrast. Everything before it describes what the Amorites did to Moab; here the subject changes.
Verses 27-30 record the words of the ballad singers. They point to Moab's defeat by Sihon (verses 28-29), because Moab's pride could not resist the smooth talk of the Amorites. However, verse 30 introduces a "But." In other words, Israel changed everything. Israel had shot at the Amorites, and Heshbon had perished instead of consuming Moab (verse 28). Israel laid the Amorites' country waste and took possession of it.
Israel had been forbidden to attack Moab. So the legal question mattered: did this land belong to Moab when Israel seized it? Quoting the enemy's own folk songs settles it in a way Israel's own records never could.
These are well known records. They are quoted to prove that the land in question was in the hands of the Amorites, and not of Moab, when Israel took possession. This mattered enormously. Israel was forbidden to touch Moab, but the country of the Amorites was given over to them. Israel's own statements, whatever weight they carried among themselves, would have proved nothing against their enemies. So, to establish Israel's title to these lands, the text gives well known popular records of how the Amorites had earlier conquered Moab and taken this territory, and of where the border ran at that time.
Centuries later this same argument was used in court, so to speak, when Ammon claimed the territory back.
A Jewish record of its previous possessors and of their own victories might be disputed as biased by an enemy; but a quotation from their own current proverbial songs was conclusive; and the Spirit of God stoops to use an extract to this end.
The verse names towns to mark how far the defeat reached. Dibon is known, and it changed hands again later.
City on the east of the Jordan in Moab, afterwards possessed by Gad; but near the time of the captivity it was again seized by Moab.
Morrish Bible Dictionary — on Dibon
Nophah is lost to us:
Ancient name of some place, probably near Heshbon.
Commentators differ on how far to press the meaning of these names. The writer below presses them, but admits the evidence is thin. He follows the song from Sihon's own city to the last place it names.
There is little agreement about his name. What seems to come most fairly from the Hebrew root is "sweeping off," perhaps "refuse," "sweepings" — which is what the wisdom of the world is, and what it would call God's wisdom. Or it may mean "sweeping away," as pride of intellect would sweep away the things of God. He is always called king of Heshbon, the city where he lived. That word is only translated "account," "device," or "reason" in the common English version, so it gives the thought of mental work… And in the song of victory the pursuit ends at Medeba, "quiet waters."
The same writer draws a practical lesson. Do not throw away a good thing because an enemy has misused it.
Do not give up reason because Satan is using it against the truth of God. Do not refuse natural blessings because people turn them into self-indulgence and disorder. Whatever God has given, you may take from His hand without suspicion, if it really is from His hand.
- Boast — The Amorites composed a song about the fire that went out from Heshbon and burned Moab. It was their own trophy.
- Reversal — This verse is the "but." The fire that went out from Heshbon came back on Heshbon. The city that burned Moab perished itself.
- Reach — Geography measures the defeat: as far as Dibon, as far as Nophah, as far as Medeba. Sihon's whole kingdom fell inside those lines.
- Title — The song stands as legal evidence. The land was Amorite, not Moabite. Israel's claim rests on words its enemies wrote.
- Possession — What God hands over is to be taken and held, not shunned. The enemy's misuse of a thing does not forfeit Israel's right to it.