Bryant G. Wooda
After wandering in the wilderness of the Sinai peninsula for some 38 years, the Israelites proceeded up the east side of the Dead Sea to enter the Promised Land from the east. In the following pages we will travel with the children of Israel as they make their way from the Sinai to the Plains of Moab, the area from which they launched their Canaanite offensive.
The starting point for the drive to Canaan was Kadesh Barnea. The Israelites had spent considerable time at this desert oasis. It was here that Miriam, Moses’ sister, died and was buried (Nm 20:1); and it was also the place where Moses struck the rock to obtain water for his people (Nm 20:2–13).
Kadesh Barnea is generally thought to be Tell el-Qudeirat in the northeast Sinai. The name of the tell derives from the spring Ain el-Qudeirat, located at the largest oasis in northern Sinai. It is a lush green valley that has attracted travelers and a variety of permanent and semi-permanent residents for millennia. Excavations at Tell el-Qudeirat have uncovered pottery from the tenth century B.C. and the remains of a fortress from the period of the kingdom of Judah. No remains from the Israelite encampment have so far come to light, however.
In order to travel through Transjordan, Moses and the Israelites had to pass through a series of small kingdoms. The first two of these were Edom and Moab. The Edomites were descendents of Esau (Gen 36), while the Moabites descended from Lot (Gen 19:37). Moses sent messages to these nations requesting permission to pass through their land (Jgs 11:17). Only the message to the King of Edom, whose capital was at Seir, later known as Petra, is preserved for us in the Biblical record:
Let us pass. I pray thee. through thy country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells; we will go by the King’s Highway, we will not tam to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders (Nm 20:17).
But the king of Edom refused permission. This prompted the Israelites to send a second message:
We will go by the Highway; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it; I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet (Nm 20:19).
This time, the king of Edom sent his army out to make clear his answer: he did not want the Israelites to pass through his territory (Nm 20:20, 21). The Moabites likewise refused (Jgs 11:17).
It was Moses’ intent to travel on the King’s Highway to reach the Plains of Moab. This was the major north-south highway through Transjordan, transversing the plateau between the rift valley on the west (the Jordan Valley. Dead Sea and Arabah Valley) and the desert on the east. It made its way from the Gulf of Aqabah in the south to Biblical Rabbah (the modern city of Amman) in the north, passing through Edom. Moab, the Amorite Kingdom and Ammon, connecting the major cities along the way. From Rabbah, the road continued north to Damascus,
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with the northern section being called the Way of Bashan.
The King’s Highway is undoubtedly one of the most historic roads in the world. It is apparent, from the brief record in Genesis 14, that the coalition of four Mesopotamian kings who campaigned in Palestine in Abraham’s day, defeating the combined forces of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the Cities of the Plain in the process (see Bible and Spade, Summer 1974, pp. 77-79), used the King’s Highway. Possibly the road obtained its name from this historic event. After the time of Moses and the Israelites, Nabatean caravans operating out of Petra plied the road in the last centuries B.C. and the first century A.D. When the Roman emperor Trajan defeated the Nabateans in A.D. 106, he rebuilt the road in typical Roman fashion with distances being measured off with milestones, many of which can still be seen today. The road was incorporated into the Roman road system and it became known as Trajan’s Road.
As caravans moved north and south on the road desert people levied protective fees for guarding them against molestation by raiders. Armies used this road down through the centuries. The Crusaders marched on it, fought for it, retreated and charged up and down it; and Arab leaders and Lawrence of Arabia fought Turks along the road in World War I. Then came the automobile and truck, and the King’s Highway was macadamized, straightened, and bolstered to support the heavy vehicles. But it still follows the same basic route through southern Jordan and it is still called the King’s Highway.
The modern King’s Highway starts just south of Amman, the capital of Jordan which was the Roman Philadelphia of 2, 000 years ago, and ends at Aqaba, 209 miles straight south on the Red Sea. It is well paved and makes a most enjoyable trip. In recent times, government rest houses offering meals and lodging have been built near historic attractions along the way.
But it was not God’s plan for the Israelites to travel the easiest and shortest route through the richest and most bountiful part of the land. Undoubtedly there is a spiritual lesson here for those of us who read this account many centuries later. God wanted the Israelites to follow a route that would take them along the border of Edom and Moab, through a dry and barren land that would not support such a large group as the Israelites. This would force them to continue depending upon Him for their needs. God made His plan very clear when He told Moses:
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Map of the Promised Land showing the location of Edom, Ammon, and Moab. Note the three main rivers: Zered, Arnon and Jabbock. The Rift Valley (which begins in Africa) includes the Arabah, the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. The King’s Highway, in heavy use before the time of Abraham, has continued to be well-traveled through the centuries down to the present day.
Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you; take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau for a possession. Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness; these 40 years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing. (Dt 2:4–7).
So they set out on their journey around Edom and Moab. Their first stop was Mount Hor, on the border of Edom, and whose location is uncertain. Here Aaron died and was buried (Nm 20:22–29).
After disposing of the Canaanites of the Negev (Nm 21:1–3), the Israelites left Mount Hor and journeyed up the Arabah desert, along the west border of Edom (Nm 21:4, Dt 2:8). Because of their discouragement and complaining while traveling through this arid wasteland, the Lord sent fiery serpents among them (Nm 21:4–6). At the Lord’s direction, “Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (Nm 21:9). Jesus used this event as an illustration when He spoke to Nicodemus: “As Moses lifted up
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the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:14, 15). In reality, what happened to Moses and the Israelites there in the desert foreshadowed the crucifixion of Christ, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pet 2:24).
After traveling the length of Edom, the Israelites then turned east into the valley of Zared, which formed the border between Edom and Moab (Nm 21:12). This is the modern Wadi Hesa which flows into the plain south of the Dead Sea, past the site of ancient Zoar (see Bible and Spade, Summer 1974, p. 82 and Winter 1977, pp. 24, 27). The crossing of the Zared was an important occasion for the Israelites, for it marked 38 years that the Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness. All those who had doubted that the Lord could bring them into the promised land 38 years before (Nm 13, 14) were now dead (Dt 2:14).
The sign marks the site of Iron Age, Roman, and Byzantine Heshbon. However, excavations have shown that this was not the Heshbon the Israelites encountered, for there was no Late Bronze occupation here. The correct site for Late Bronze Heshbon is likely nearby Tell Jalul.
As with Edom, God told Moses that the Israelites were to bypass Moab:
Distress not the Moabites. neither contend with them in battle for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession (De 2:9).
So they traveled up the Zared, then turned north, going along the east side of Moab, until they came to the Arnon Valley (modern Wadi Mojeb), which w as the border between Moab and the land of the Amorites (Nm 21:13 and Jgs 11:18).
The Arnon Valley is a spectacular canyon, often compared with the Grand Canyon. It is about two and one-half miles wide in the area where the King’s Highway crossed, with the river bed being 1,650 feet below the top of the cliffs. The many-colored strata and the complex erosion patterns make the Arnon Valley truly a magnificent sight. Further to the east where the Israelites crossed, however, the valley is much shallower and more narrow.
From the Amon, the Israelites had to go either through Ammon or the land of the Amorites to reach the Promised Land. God gave clear instructions to Moses:
Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day: and when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them; for I will not
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give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any posses sion; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession… Rise ye up, take your jointly, and pass over theriver Amon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. This day will begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish becanse of thee. (Dt 2:18, 19, 24, 25)
The Israelites sent a message to Sihon, king of the Amorites, again seeking permission to travel on the King’s Highway. The text of that message is preserved for us in Numbers 21:22 (cf. Dt 2:27–29):
Let me pass through thy land; we will not turn into the field s, or into the vineyards, we will not drink of the waters of the well; but we will go along by the King’s Highway, until we be past thy borders.
The modern highway, which closely follows the ancient King’s Highway, winds its way down the north side of Wadi Mojeb, the Bibl&al Arnon Valley.
Sihon’s answer was similar to that of the King of Edom—he brought his army out against the Israelites. But this time “the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country” (Jgs 11:21). At long last, the Israelites were able to set foot on the King’s Highway. By defeating Sihon, they also came into a lot of territory, for “they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Amon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan” (Jgs 11:22).
The Israelites were quick to occupy Heshbon, the capital, and the other Amorite cities (Nm 21:25, 26). A site named Hesban, 16 miles southwest of modem Amman, has been generally accepted as the site of Biblical Heshbon. A team from Andrews University carried out excavations there between 1968 and 1976 (see Bible and Spade, Spring 1974, pp. 56-58). Occupation from the time of Sihon and the Israelite conquest (the Late Bronze Age) was not found, however. The earliest evidence of occupation w as from the Iron I Age, ca. 1200-900 B.C. This period is
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represented by what seems to have been a fortification wall built of rough, tightly-fit-ting boulders, as well as by a large plastered cistern which contained only Iron I pottery sherds in its water-laid silt.
Remains from the period of the divided monarch, the Iron II Age (ca. 900-600 B.C .), were also found. Pottery from the ninth and eighth centuries B.C. came to light in two sites on the mound. One is an open-air water reservoir which is undoubtedly the largest such Iron Age reservoir on Jordan’s East Bank. The sections uncovered indicate that it is 50 feet square and I8 feet deep with a capacity of nearly 300,000 gallons. It was probably one of the pools mentioned in Song of Solomon 7:4: “Thy neck is as a tower of ivory: thine eyes like the fish pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim…”
The seventh and sixth centuries B.C. were well represented. Part of the ancient defense wall was discovered, founded on the original bedrock. In the reservoir, filled in during Hellenistic times, Ammonite pottery, known previously only from tombs excavated in and around Amman, was recovered. This fill also contained inscribed pottery sherds which have enriched our knowledge of the Ammonite dialect and script.
The absence of material from the time of Sihon puzzled the archaeologists. In order to have a better understanding of the area, a surface survey was conducted in the Hesban region. One major site, Jalul, was found nearby which did have pottery from the time of Sihon and the Israelite conquest. It is possible that Sihon’s Heshbon was at Jalul and that after its defeat by the Israelites a new site, more prominently located, was chosen and given the former name.
In Numbers 21 we have recorded a poem, or song, celebrating Israel’s victory over the Amorites. It ends on this triumphant note: “We have shot at them: Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba” Num 21:30). Two of the cities mentioned here are known to us archaeologically: Dibon and Medeba, both of which lie along the King’s Highway.
Dibon is identified as modem Dhiban, south of Hesban. It is best known in the annals of archaeology as the site where the famous Moabite Stone, or Mesha Inscription, was found. The inscribed stone slab, three feet ten inches high, two feet wide, and 10 1/2 inches thick, came into the possession of an Arab sheikh at Dhiban. In August, 1868, the Arab sheikh showed the stone to a German missionary named F. Klein, who reported the find to the authorities.
Both the Germans and the French were interested in the stone and quickly dispatched consular officials to buy it from the Arabs. All attempts to purchase the inscription ended in failure. Finally, in desperation, the Turkish authorities dispatched soldiers to take it by force. When the Arabs heard of this, they built a fire under the stone, poured water over it, and broke it into pieces. Then they divided the fragments, which they believed would increase their grain crops.
Fortunately, during the prolonged negotiations, a paper “squeeze”, or impression, was made of the inscription before the stone was destroyed. Efforts were made to recover the fragments that had been scattered, and about two-thirds of the text was recovered. With the help of the squeeze, the stone was reconstructed and placed in the Louvre in Paris,
The inscription contains 39 lines of writing in Moabite, a language closely akin to Biblical Hebrew. In the inscription, Mesha. king of Moab, commemorates his revolt against the Omride dynasty of Israel. It is of importance to Biblical scholars for both linguistic and historical studies. It verifies Biblical records since it mentions kings and gods that are also mentioned in the Bible: Mesha, king of Moab; Omri, king of Israel; Chemosh, god of Moab; and Yahweh, God of the Israelites.
The revolt of King Mesha described in the inscription is also recorded in the Bible. Omri, king of Israel from about 885 to 874 B.C., defeated the Moabites and maintained control over them throughout his reign.
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Omri’s son Ahab succeeded him and also kept Moab under Israelite dominance. Following Ahab’s death, Moab revolted as recorded in 2 Kings 1:1, and 3:5, and on the Moabite Stone. (For more information, see Bible and Spade, Spring 1972, pp. 55-57.)
Of two mounds at Dhibon, the southern one is occupied by a village. The one on the north, which is the easier to defend because of wadis around it, is thought to preserve the remains of ancient Dibon. Excavations by the American Schools of Oriental Research between 1950 and 1956 revealed the general outline of the city’s history. Evidence of an Early Bronze Age level of occupation (ca. 3300-2300 B.C.), Iron Age (ca. 1200-600 B.C.), including from five to ten feet of rich Moabite remains, and later Nabatean levels were found. As at Hesban, evidence from the period of Sihon (Late Bronze Age) was not found.
Biblical Medeba is identified as the modem town of Madeba, located between Hesban and Dhiban on the King’s Highway. The town lies in the midst of rich farm lands so that most pre-Nabatean remains have been wiped out by the subsequent heavy occupation and cultivation. One tomb was found, however, containing remains dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age (ca. 1200 B.C.)
Madeba is most famous for its lovely mosaics which the early Christians built into the floors of their churches there. One of them constitutes the earliest known map of the Holy Land. dating to the sixth century. It is made up of thousands of pieces of colored stone fitted perfectly together, with certain colors used for certain features.., yellow, for example, for churches. The mosaic, which may be the most valuable map in the world, is inlaid in the floor of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in the center of town. There is no charge to see the mosaic, but the churchman who removes a thick rubber mat covering the mosaic, expects to
The city of Jerusalem as it appears on the mosaic floor of a Byzantine church in the town of Madaba, Jordan. The mosaic, in addition, shows the entire Holy Land as it appeared to 6th century artists.
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hear the clink of coins dropping into the Church poor box as the visitor departs. A government resthouse is across the street from the church, and a short drive west of Madeba is Mr. Nebo where Moses viewed the Promised Land (Dt 34:1–4).
The King’s Highway evidently ended just north of Heshbon, probably at Rabbah (modem Amman), for as the Israelites proceeded northward after their defeat of Sihon, they went by the Way of Bashan (Nm 21:33). Bashan was the area which is today northern Jordan and southern Syria.
As the Israelites came into Bashan, “Og the King of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei (Nm 21:33). The Israelites subsequently defeated Og and occupied the territory of Bashan as well as that of the Amorites. Edrei, the scene of the battle is modem Dera, in southern Syria, just a few miles from the Jordanian border. Although excavations have not been undertaken here, the site has many ruins and inscriptions and an ancient subterranean city.
After defeating Og and possessing his land, Moses and the Israelites retraced their steps south and camped in the Plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River just north of the Dead Sea. They remained here until the death of Moses (Nm 22–36, Dt 34). The Israelites then had no further use of the King’s Highway, for under the leadership of Joshua they embarked upon one of the most remarkable events in the history of mankind —the conquest of Canaan.
[Reprinted from Bible and Spade, Autumn 1978]
The Plains of Moab as seen from the top of Mount Nebo.
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