The Amorites: The Original Conquest Of Transjordan (Jordan) By Israelites and What They Copied

 ;Nadene Goldfoot                                               

How did Moses assign land to the east of the Jordan River to several tribes before he had reached the land?  He died outside Canaan.

Moses assigned the land east of the Jordan River because the Israelites had already conquered the territories of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og.  

Sihon ruled in the land later called Transjordan between the rivers Jabbok and Arnon, his capital being at Heshbon.  Sihon conquered much of this area  from the Moabites.   (Num. 21:21).  He was defeated and killed by the Israelites after refusing them passage across his territory,, and his land was partitioned between the tribes of Reuben and Gad. 

Moabites were related to the Israelites, being traditionally descended-------like the Ammonites---------from Lot (Gen.29-37.  Their language was similar to biblical Hebrew.  They had settled in the Rephaim's land (Deut.2:10-11), It was originally divided into small kingdoms.    Their 2nd ruler was BALAK  who had summoned BALAAM  to curse the Israelites.  Under their king-Eglon, the Moabites extended their territory to the Jericho region until Eglon was killed by EHUD, a judge of the tribe of Benjamin, saved Israel from the oppression of Eglon, king of Moab.  Balak ruled Moab according to biblical chronology around the late 15th to 13th century BC (traditionally estimated around 1407 BCE), though secular historians view him as a legendary or traditional figure rather than one with verified historical reign dates.  

Biblical Timeline: In the Book of Numbers, Balak (the son of Zippor) was king of Moab when the Israelites reached the plains of Moab at the end of their forty-year wilderness wanderings.

The Balaam Narrative: Fearing the advancing Israelites after their victories over the Amorites, Balak famously hired the diviner Balaam to curse Israel, though Balaam ultimately blessed them instead. 

    Mesha Stele has word-YHWH on it (G-d)

Academic View: Modern archaeologists note that there is no independent, extra-biblical consensus for the exact years of his reign. While some researchers have proposed reinterpreting ancient inscriptions like the Mesha Stele to suggest Balak was a historical regional ruler, most scholars treat the biblical dates as part of sacred history rather than fixed historical chronology.

Israelite leaders of Reuben and Gad sent emissaries to Sihon asking permission to pass through their land, including that they would not turn off to field or vineyard, nor drink well water.  We shall travel on your road until we pass through your border. 

But Sihon would not permit the Israelites of the  two and a half tribes entrance and instead he assembled his entire people and went out against Israel to the Wilderness.  He arrived at Jahaz and waged war against the Israelites.  

        Israelites killed him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land, from Arnon to Jabbok to the children of Ammon------for the border of the children of Ammon was powerful.  Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the Amorite cities, in Heshbon and all its suburbs. 

Their history is told by poets:  Sihon had taken Ar of Moab, the masters of Arnon's heights.  Woe to you, O Moab, you are lost, 

O people of Chemosh!  He made his sons fugitives and his daughters captives of the king of the Amorite, Sihon. He had lost his Heshbon, it was removerd from Dibon, andd we laid waste to Nophah, which reaches up to Medeba. 

    So, Israelites ten settled in the land of the Amorite.  Moses sent to spy out Jazer and they conquered its suburbs, and they drove away the Amorite that was there.  They turned and went up by way of Bashan;  Og, king of Bashan, who then went out against them, to fight at Edrei.    

Og was called the king of Rephaim in Bashan and Gilead.  He was noted for his stature and physique.  He attempted to interrupt the march  of the Israelites but was defeated (Num.21:33-35).  The Land of Og was a strongly fortified territory throughout the Middle and late Bronze Ages.  

     King Og and all his people fought against the Israelites and the Israelites killed them all, his sons and all his people,  until there was no survivor left and then they took possession of his land.

Gilead:  was a region of future Transjordan, settled by the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh (Num. 32;  Josh.22:9, 15).  After Solomon's reign, Gilead was part of the northern kingdom and, in 732 BCE, was captured by Assyria along with the 721BCE Israelite captives,  and then they also were sent into exile.  Its boundaries were not stable, and the area has not been precisely determined.  There was also a city named Gilead.   (Jug. 10:17), etc.  

Rephaim in Bashan were an ancient people living in Transjordania in the time of Abraham (Gen. 14:5).  some of them apparently settled near Jerusalem in the "Valley of Rephaim."  The Rephaim were an ancient, mysterious group described in the Hebrew Bible and other Near Eastern texts as a race of unusually tall, strong giants, and in poetic passages as the shades or spirits of the dead.  

Stature and Strength: Biblical texts describe the Rephaim as towering people of giant proportions. A famous example is King Og of Bashan, whose giant iron bedstead measured roughly 13 to 14 feet long. 
Regional Names: Neighboring ancient groups had different names for them. The Moabites called them Emim, the Ammonites called them Zuzim or Zamzummim, and the Canaanites referred to related groups as Anakim. 
Locations: They lived across parts of the Levant, particularly east of the Jordan River in Bashan and Transjordan, as well as parts of Canaan and a valley near Jerusalem named the Valley of Rephaim. 
History: According to the biblical narrative, successive regional groups and Israelite leaders—such as Moses, Joshua, and David's warriors—fought and eventually defeated remaining pockets of the Rephaim.

Spirits of the Dead

Shades in the Netherworld: In later poetic and prophetic books of the Bible (such as Isaiah and Psalms), the word rephaim is also used to mean "shades" or the lifeless, inactive spirits of the dead residing in Sheol (the underworld). 
Ancient Near Eastern Context: In neighboring Ugaritic and Phoenician texts from the Bronze Age, the rpum (Rephaim) were similarly viewed as semi-divine heroic ancestors or deceased kings worthy of honor in the afterlife

                               The Conquest of Transjordan

Defeated Kingdoms: Before Moses died, Israel fought and won battles east of the Jordan River. They took control of the lands belonging to King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan. 
The Request: The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh saw that this conquered region was ideal for their large herds of livestock. They asked Moses to give them this territory as their inheritance instead of taking land west of the Jordan.
Military Vow: Moses initially worried their request would discourage the rest of Israel. The tribes promised to leave their families in fortified towns on the east side and send their armed fighting men across the Jordan to help conquer the rest of Canaan. 
The Grant: Satisfied with this promise, Moses officially assigned the Transjordan lands to the two-and-a-half tribes while camped on the plains of Moab before his death.  
The Israelites had traveled to camp in the plains of Moab on the bank of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.  
Now the Amorites will not be up to fighting against the Israelites when it starts, even though "Amorites" meant all of Syria and Palestine. From the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE, there was an Amorite state in central and Southern Syria incorporating the Lebanese Mountains and important harbor towns.   It was the link between Egypt and Mesopotamia.  After a long struggle between Egypt and the Hittite Kingdom, it was annexed to the Hittites.  
Ammorites lived on both sides of the Jordan River, especially in mountainous regions.  The Israelites won the battle over the two kings of Heshbon and Bashan. At this period, the Amorites were no longer a pure Western Semitic element but mixed with other strains in Palestine, especially the Horites and Hittites.  
"The ways of the Amorite" is a term applied to rabbinic and medieval literature to folk-practices alien to the spirit of Judaism.  "The ways of the Amorite" (Darkhei ha-Emori) in Jewish rabbinic tradition refers to non-Jewish magical, superstitious, and idolatrous customs, whereas Judaism strictly forbids divination, folk magic, and following pagan statutes.  
What Were "The Ways of the Amorite"?
Superstitious Practices: Rabbinic texts like the Mishnah and Tosefta use this term as a broad category for folk customs, charms, and omens. 
Examples of Prohibited Acts: Hanging an animal's afterbirth on a tree, burying objects at crossroads, or wearing protective animal charms like a fox's tooth or a locust's egg. 
The Medicinal Exception: The Talmud rules that actions performed strictly for proven healing or medical purposes are exempt and not considered forbidden Amorite superstition. 
Historical Context: Originally an ancient Canaanite and Mesopotamian people group, the term later became a rabbinic rhetorical category for superstitious behaviors that Israelites or Jews might be tempted to practice. 
How They Differ from Judaism
Source of Authority: The ways of the Amorite rely on magic, demons, and mantic (divinatory) rituals. Judaism relies on divine revelation, Torah law, and direct prayer to God. 
Prohibition of Magic: Biblical law explicitly commands Jews not to walk in the customs or statutes of the surrounding nations (Leviticus 18:3), banning sorcery, divination, and witchcraft. 
Agency and Faith: Superstitions attribute power to inanimate objects, charms, or lucky locations (like intersections). Judaism teaches monotheism and that protection and healing come directly from God rather than magical items.
Resource:
The Stone Edition, The Torah, etc.
The New Standard Jewish Encycloopedia




 death.