Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 21:32
And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that [were] there.
32. The capture of Jazer stands in a curiously isolated position, after the general statement in Num 21:31. It is probably taken from another source which described the capture of several individual towns. It is not mentioned either in Deuteronomy 2 or Judges 11.
Jazer ] The site is unknown, and more than one suggestion has been made for its identification. Isa 16:8 suggests that it was some distance from Heshbon. It appears to have lain to the east, near the Ammonite border (Num 32:35, Jos 13:25).
33 35 (D ). The defeat of Og the king of Bashan.
This defeat is mentioned in the following passages of the Hexateuch: Num 32:33, Deu 1:4; Deu 3:1-13; Deu 4:47; Deu 29:7; Jos 9:10; Jos 12:4; Jos 13:30. Of these the first and last are assigned to P , and all the others are Deuteronomic. If the present passage is compared with Deu 3:1-3 it will be seen that it agrees almost verbatim with the latter, except for the substitution of the third person for the first. In the Pesh. version there are several insertions in Numbers of passages from Deut., and this is probably an earlier instance in the Heb. text. It is to be noticed also that there is no reference to Og in Num 22:2. The account of the conquest of Bashan, therefore, is not preserved in any tradition earlier than Deut., and many writers on that account doubt if it is historical. The question cannot be decided with certainty; but there is nothing in the nature of the case to render such a conquest improbable. Bashan was a fertile and attractive district; and there is no evidence that Israel stayed east of the Jordan such a short time as to make an advance to the north improbable. See G. A. Smith, H. G. [Note: . G. Historical Geography of the Holy Land.] 575 f. and Appendix III.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jaazer – To he identified probably with the ruins Sir or es-Sir 10 miles north of Heshbon. The occupation of it by the Israelites virtually completed their conquest of the Amorite kingdom; and prepared the way for the pastoral settlements in it which they not long after established Num 32:35.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Num 21:32-35
Og the king of Bashan went out against them.
War with the king of Bashan
When God had removed one great rub out of Israels way to Canaan, namely, Sihon, king of Heshbon, now starts up another remora, greater (at least in person) than the former, namely, Og king of Bashan, who came forth to war against them (Num 21:33-35), but more largely described (Deu 3:1-22), wherein Gods kindness to Israel in that war with the king of Bashan is amply characterised.
1. The occasion of the war. Og came forth and gave the first assault against Israel, before they assaulted him or his people (Num 21:2), together with which we are told what a formidable adversary this king was, being a man of prodigious stature, whereof a conjecture may easily be collected from the vast length of his bed (Num 21:11).
2. The management of this war.
(1) God doth encourage Israel with comfortable words, and enabled them to do the deed in conquering the enemy (Num 21:2-3).
(2) Then Israel (thus encouraged and enabled by the Lord of Hosts) went forth in the strength of the Lord (Psa 71:16), and smote them taking all their cities and villages, walled and unwalled, and their whole country, destroying all ages and sexes, and taking the spoil of all their cattle (Num 21:4-10).
3. The event of this conquest, which was the consequence of the victory, namely, the distribution of this new conquered country to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh (verses 12-17), and the terms upon which this country was thus distributed to those tribes (verses 18-20), which happy event was a pledge for encouraging Joshua to be confident of all his future conquests (verses 21, 22). From this whole history arises this following, namely, when one evil or impediment in our way to heaven is removed, God often permits another and worse to spring up for our new exercise; as it was here with Israel, no sooner had they vanquished Sihon (who stood in their way to Canaan), but immediately Og starts up to make them a new opposition. His formidable stature might have made Israel to fly, as niter Goliath made them, for want of faith (1Sa 17:24). He was likely one of the remnant of those Rephaims, or giants, whom Chedorlaomer and his company of kings smote in Ashtoreth (Gen 14:5, with Jos 13:12), for Og reigned there. (C. Ness.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Jaazer; one of the cities of Moab, formerly taken from them by Sihon, and now taken from him by the Israelites, Num 32:1,3,35; and after the decay or destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes, repossessed by the Moabites, Jer 48:32.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer,…. Or Jazer, as it is called in Isa 16:9, another city that belonged to the Amorites, and which they had taken from the Moabites; and which came into the hands of the latter again, after the captivity of the ten tribes, as appears from the above places; according to Jerom s, it was fifteen miles distant from Heshbon:
and they took the villages thereof; not the spies, as Jarchi, but the Israelites under Moses; who upon the return of the spies, and the report they made, marched towards it, and took it, and all the towns and villages round about it; for it seems to have been a principal city:
and drove out the Amorites that were there; that dwelt there, and were in possession of it; otherwise they would not have attacked it, had it, and its villages, been in the hands of the Moabites.
s De locis Heb. fol. 92. G.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
32. Jaazer See Jos 13:25. After this reconnaissance it was captured and destroyed, as we infer from Num 32:35.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2). The Defeat of Og, King of Bashan ( Num 21:32-35 ).
The defeat of Sihon did not pass unnoticed and when Israel advanced even further northwards Og, king of Bashan decided that enough was enough. Gathering his forces he came down from the north, from northern Gilead and Bashan, and faced up to Israel. Og was probably a giant of a man, and connected with a race similar to the Anakim (Deu 3:11). But that made no difference to Yahweh. Og was defeated and Gilead and Bashan were both taken and occupied and their cities subdued. The description is brief but the actual carrying out of it would again take some time.
Analysis.
a Moses spies out Jazer (Num 21:32 a).
b He defeats the Amorites there and captures their cities (Num 21:32 b).
c Og, king of Bashan, comes out to face up to Israel (Num 21:33).
c Yahweh assures Moses of victory (Num 21:34).
b He defeats Og and they possess his land (Num 21:35)
a They journey to the plains of Moab (Num 22:1).
Num 21:32
‘ And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its towns, and drove out the Amorites who were there.’
After the defeat of Sihon Moses sent scouts to spy out Jazer, an Amorite city in Sihon’s kingdom. It was taken with its towns and the Amorites were ‘driven out’, possibly fleeing across the Jordan. Or they may have gone as refugees to Bashan thus prompting Og’s subsequent action.
Num 21:33
‘And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.’
The advance of the Israelite army then continued on ‘the way of Bashan’. It may be that they were pursuing the Amorites who had fled from Jazer. This prompted Og to bring his army to Edrei, possibly in response to pleas for help, and there they met in battle. Edrei is modern Dura.
Num 21:34
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Fear him not, for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land, and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’
We are told that Yahweh had given Moses especial assurance of victory. This may have been because of the imposing stature of Og, who would be enough to frighten the Israelites, or it may simply have been an added encouragement on the way. In their enthusiasm over their victories it was important that they recognised that their victories came from Yahweh. Either way the promise was that Og and his people would be delivered into their hands, and would have done to them what had been done to Sihon and his Amorites.
Num 21:35
‘So they smote him, and his sons and all his people, until none were left remaining to him, and they possessed his land.’
The end result was total defeat for Og. He and his sons were slain, and all the people exterminated, according to God’s requirement for all ‘Canaanites’ and ‘Amorites’. And finally they possessed his land. Although described so briefly it would in fact be an extended campaign.
More details of this conquest are given in Deu 3:1-11. While the details are here only given in summary form we must not underestimate the significance of the victories. They comforted Israel with the fact that they were well able to meet formidable foes and capture fortified cities, and they confirmed the power of Yahweh. And once they were completed and the land settled they were able to rejoice in the fact that Yahweh had given them the firstfruits of the land of milk and honey.
So quite unexpectedly as far as Israel were concerned they found themselves potential possessors of a huge area of fertile land which had plenty of water. It would still have to be settled, and parts would have to be reconquered in the future as the defeated former residents moved back while Israel were busy elsewhere, but it was a glorious firstfruits of what the future held for them. The taking over of this land by Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh is described in Numbers 32.
The clear lesson we learn from this is that it matters not how superior our antagonists may appear to be. If God is on our side we have nothing to fear. Nothing is too hard for Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Num 21:32. And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer Another city belonging to Moab, but now in the possession of the Amorites, which the Israelites did not take at first. It should seem, from ch. Num 32:1. 2Sa 24:5-6 and 1Ch 26:31 to have been situated not far from mount Gilead. St. Jerome places it about fifteen miles distant from Heshbon. After the captivity of the ten tribes, it fell again into the hands of the Moabites, Jer 48:32.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jaazer: Num 32:1, Num 32:35, Isa 16:8, Isa 16:9, Jer 48:32, Jazer
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 21:32. Jaazer One of the cities of Moab, formerly taken from them by Sihon, and now taken from him by the Israelites.