Numbers 21:27

Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,.... The historical writers of those times, among the Amorites, who were usually poets, and wrote the history of the wars between the Moabites and Amorites

Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared: Wherefore they that speak in proverbs , [ hamoshªliym (H4911)] - parables, sententious

That speak in proverbs; the poets, or other ingenious persons, to wit, of the Amorites or Canaanites, who made this following song of triumph over the vanquished Moabites; which is here brought in partly as a proof that this was now Sihon’ s land, and partly as an evidence of the just judgment of God in spoiling the spoilers, and subduing these who insulted over their conquered enemies. Come into Heshbon: these are the words either of Sihon speaking thus to his people, or of the people exhorting one another to come and possess and repair the city which they had taken. The city of Sihon; that which once was the royal city of the king of Moab, but now is the city of Sihon.

Numbers 21:27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:Ver. 27. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs.] Or, Bywords; by way of derision, as Deuteronomy 28:17 Habakkuk 2:5. Ballad makers, petty poets, that penned popular songs, such as this was.

(27-30) Come into Heshbon.—These verses appear to commemorate first the victory of the Amorites over the Moabites, and then that of the Israelites over the Amorites. They may be rendered thus:— “Come ye to Heshbon! Let the city of Sihon be built up and restored! For a fire went out from Heshbon— A flame from the city of Sihon: It devoured Ar (or, the city) of Moab— The lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab!Thou art perished, O people of Chemosh: He (i.e., Chemosh) gave up his sons as fugitives,And his daughters into captivity,Unto Sihon, the King of the Amorites. We cast them down; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon: Yea, we laid them waste even unto Nophah, Which (reacheth) even unto Medcba.” Or, if we read esh (fire) instead of asher (which), a reading which derives some support from the Masoretic point over the last letter and from the context (Numbers 21:28), as well as from the LXX., the last words may be rendered, “With fire, even unto Medeba.” The Targum understands by “the lords of the high places of Arnon” the priests and worshippers in the temples and at the altars of the idols in Moab. Medeba, now Medaba, was situated at the south of Heshbon. The position of Nophah is unknown. It has been supposed that it may be the same as Nebo, which is mentioned in connection with Dibon and Medeba in Isaiah 15:2, or with Arneibah, which lies to the east of Medeba.

Verse 27. They that speak in proverbs] המשלים hammoshelim, from משל mashal, to rule, to exercise authority; hence a weighty proverbial saying, because admitted as an axiom for the government of life. The moshelim of the ancient Asiatics were the same, in all probability, as the Poetae among the Greeks and Latins, the [Arabic] shaara among the Arabs, who were esteemed as Divine persons, and who had their name from [Arabic] shaara, he knew, understood; whose poems celebrated past transactions, and especially those which concerned the military history of their nation. These poets were also termed [Arabic] sahebi deewan, companions or lords of the council of state, because their weighty sayings and universal knowledge were held in the highest repute. Similar to these were the bards among the ancient Druids, and the Sennachies among the ancient Celtic inhabitants of these nations. The ode from the 27th to the 30th verse is composed of three parts. The first takes in verses 27 and 28; the second verse 29; and the third verse 30. The first records with bitter irony the late insults of Sihon and his subjects over the conquered Moabites. The second expresses the compassion of the Israelites over the desolations of Moab, with a bitter sarcasm against their god Chemosh, who had abandoned his votaries in their distress, or was not able to rescue them out of the hands of their enemies. The third sets forth the revenge taken by Israel upon the whole country of Sihon, from Heshbon to Dibon, and from Nophah even to Medeba. See Isaiah 15:1-2. The whole poem, divided into its proper hemistichs, as it stands in Kennicott's Hebrew Bible, is as follows: - VERSE 27. PART I Come ye to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; The city of Sihon, let it be established. VERSE 28 For from Heshbon the fire went out, And a flame from the city of Sihon: It hath consumed the city of Moab, With the lords of the heights of Arnon. VERSE 29. PART II Alas for thee, O Moab! Thou hast perished, O people of Chemosh! He hath given up his fugitive sons And his daughters into captivity, To the king of the Amorites, Sihon. VERSE 30. PART III But on them have WE lifted destruction, From Heshbon even to Dibon; We have destroyed even to Nophah, The fire did reach to Medebah. See Kennicott's Remarks.

27. they that speak in proverbs say] they that recite ballads say. The Heb. mâshâl was ‘any suggestive saying that implied more than it actually said.’ This might be a ‘proverb,’ i.e. a sententious or pithy remark containing a proposition which was widely applicable in human life, or a didactic or authoritative utterance, as those of Balaam (chs. 23 f.), or a short song or ode with some special characteristic either in its contents or in its artistic construction, such as a dirge, a taunt-song over a fallen foe, or more generally a ballad. The present song is a ballad, which, if the above interpretation is correct, contains a taunt. The tense of the verb ‘say’ has a frequentative force, implying that the poem was frequently recited by the ballad-singers, and that the writer knew it not from any book but by hearing it from their lips. Let the city of Sihon] Poetical parallelism; Heshbon is the city of Sihon.

They that speak in proverbs - The original word is almost equivalent to “the poets.” The word supplies the title of the Book of Proverbs itself; and is used of the parable proper in Ezekiel 17:2; of

27. They that speak in proverbs — The ballad-singers. Here we have a scrap of Amorite poetry in three strophes: —“Come ye to Heshbon, Let the city of Sihon be built and established!For fire went