Editing Sihon

{{Short description|Amorite king mentioned in the Hebrew Bible}}
'''Sihon''' was an [[Amorite]] king mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]], king of Ashtaroth, who refused to let the [[Israelites]] pass through his country. Chronicled in Numbers, he was defeated by [[Moses]] and the Israelites at the battle of Jahaz. He and [[Og]] were said to be the two kings Moses defeated on the east side of the [[Jordan river]].

==Biblical accounts==
[[File:Tissot The Conquest of the Amorites.jpg|thumb|''The Conquest of the Amorites'' (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)]]
The [[Book of Numbers]] recounts that as the [[Israelites]] making their [[The Exodus|Exodus]] journey came to the country [[Transjordan (Bible)|east]] of the [[Jordan River|Jordan]], near [[Heshbon]], King Siḥon of the [[Amorites]] refused to let them pass through his land:

:"But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to [[Jahaz]] and fought against Israel. Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the [[Arnon (western Jordan)|Arnon]] to the [[Jabbok]], as far as the people of [[Ammon]] ..." ({{bibleverse||Numbers|21:23-24|HE}})

[[Moses]] allocated the land of Sihon, the king of [[Heshbon]], to the [[Tribe of Gad]] in the allocation of land to the Israelite tribes ({{bibleverse||Joshua|13:24-28|HE}}).

In a similar way, the Israelites took the country of [[Og]], and these two victories gave them possession of continuous land [[Transjordan (Bible)|east of the Jordan]], from the [[Wadi Mujib|Arnon]] to the foot of [[Mount Hermon]]. These victories, among the earliest successful campaigns of the Israelites, became [[legend]]ary among them, and are referred to numerous times in the [[Hebrew Bible]] as prototypical examples of God-given victory—for example in {{bibleverse|Psalm|135:11}} and {{bibleverse|Psalm|136:19-20}}.

==Analysis==
Biblical historian Joel S. Baden has discussed the similarities between the encounter with Sihon and the earlier encounter with the king of [[Edom]] ({{bibleverse||Numbers|20:14-21|HE}}), as well as a later parallel passage ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|2:2-3:11|HE}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=Baden |first=Joel |title=J, E, and the Redaction of the Pentateuch |year=2009 |publisher=Paulist Press International |isbn=9783161499302 |page=137}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
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[[Category:Monarchs in the Torah]]
[[Category:Amorite kings]]
[[Category:Massacres in the Bible]]