1Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me; and we encircled Mount Seir many days.
2Yahweh spoke to me, saying, 3“You have encircled this mountain long enough. Turn northward. 4Command the people, saying, ‘You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore be careful. 5Don’t contend with them; for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession. 6You shall purchase food from them for money, that you may eat. You shall also buy water from them for money, that you may drink.’”
7For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has known your walking through this great wilderness. These forty years, Yahweh your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.
8So we passed by from our brothers, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
9Yahweh said to me, “Don’t bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you any of his land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.”
10(The Emim lived there before, a great and numerous people, and tall as the Anakim. 11These also are considered to be Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. 12The Horites also lived in Seir in the past, but the children of Esau succeeded them. They destroyed them from before them, and lived in their place, as Israel did to the land of his possession, which Yahweh gave to them.)
13“Now rise up and cross over the brook Zered.” We went over the brook Zered.
14The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the middle of the camp, as Yahweh swore to them. 15Moreover Yahweh’s hand was against them, to destroy them from the middle of the camp, until they were consumed. 16So, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, 17Yahweh spoke to me, saying, 18“You are to pass over Ar, the border of Moab, today. 19When you come near the border of the children of Ammon, don’t bother them, nor contend with them; for I will not give you any of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.”
20(That also is considered a land of Rephaim. Rephaim lived there in the past, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, 21a great people, many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them from before Israel, and they succeeded them, and lived in their place, 22as he did for the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place even to this day. 23Then the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza: the Caphtorim, who came out of Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.)
24“Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. 25Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.”
26I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27“Let me pass through your land. I will go along by the highway. I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left. 28You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink. Just let me pass through on my feet, 29as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me, until I pass over the Jordan into the land which Yahweh our God gives us.” 30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as it is today.
31Yahweh said to me, “Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you. Begin to possess, that you may inherit his land.” 32Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33Yahweh our God delivered him up before us; and we struck him, his sons, and all his people. 34We took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones. We left no one remaining. 35Only the livestock we took for plunder for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities which we had taken. 36From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. Yahweh our God delivered up all before us. 37Only to the land of the children of Ammon you didn’t come near: all the banks of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill country, and wherever Yahweh our God forbade us.
The Jabbok (יַבֹּֽק, yabbōq) Brook in Jordan
EncyclopediaJABBOK
jab'-ok (yabboq, "luxuriant river"): A stream in Eastern Palestine first named in the history of Jacob, as crossed by the patriarch on his return from Paddan-aram, after leaving Mahanaim (Genesis 32:22). On the bank of this river he had his strange conflict with an unknown antagonist. The Jabbok was the northern boundary of the territory of Sihon the Amorite (Numbers 21:24). It is also named as the border of Ammon (Deuteronomy 3:16). It is now called Nahr ez-Zerqa, "river of blue," referring to the clear blue color of its water. It rises near to `Amman-Rabbath Ammon-and makes a wide circuit, flowing first to the East, then to the Northwest, until it is joined by the stream from Wady Jerash, at which point it turns westward, and flows, with many windings, to the Jordan, the confluence being just North of ed-Damiyeh. It drains a wider area than any other stream East of the Jordan, except the Yarmuk. The bed of the river is in a deep gorge with steep, and in many places precipitous, banks. It is a great cleft, cutting the land of Gilead in two. It is lined along its course by a luxuriant growth of oleander which, in season, lights up the valley with brilliant color. The length of the stream, taking no account of its innumerable windings, is about 60 miles. The mouth of the river has changed its position from time to time. In the lower reaches the vegetation is tropical. The river is fordable at many points, save when in full flood. The particular ford referred to in Genesis 32 cannot now be identified.
W. Ewing
JABBOK, river, rises 25 ms. n.e. of the Dead Sea, flows easterly at first around in a great circle to the w. It is about 75 to 80 ms. long, now called the Zerka, or blue, is perennial near the Jordan. Its mouth is 40 ms. n.e. from Jerusalem.
Strong's HebrewH2999: Yabboq
a river East of the Jordan