Deuteronomy 2:19: Did Israel Steal Ammon's Land? Solving a Biblical "Contradiction"

Deuteronomy 2:19: Did Israel Steal Ammon’s Land? Solving a Biblical “Contradiction” Did God tell Israel not to take any of Ammon’s land, only for Joshua to later say that the tribe of Gad received “half the land of Ammon”? At first glance, that sounds like a contradiction. In this episode, Lance Smith examines the geography and history behind Deuteronomy 2:19 and Joshua 13:25. Israel did not conquer Ammon’s homeland. Instead, Israel defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, and received the territory that Sihon controlled—including land that had previously been associated with Ammon. By looking at Numbers 21, Deuteronomy 2, Joshua 13, and Jephthah’s later explanation in Judges 11, we can see why these passages are not necessarily describing the same piece of land. The episode also highlights an important lesson from the story: God gave Israel victory, but He also gave them boundaries. Israel had to trust God enough to fight when He said “go”—and trust Him enough to stop when He said “no.” Sometimes what looks like a biblical contradiction is really a geography problem. And sometimes, putting the map on the table makes all the difference. References to items discussed and/or used on this podcast may be found at the following: buymeacoffee.com/lancesmith  The Bible Difficulties and Answers Website The Bible Difficulties and Answers Facebook Page Email Address: [email protected]  Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas Howe. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties. Baker Books, 1992. Available at: https://a.co/d/7shn4hI  Guzik, David. “Deuteronomy 2 Commentary: Moses Remembers the Wilderness.” Enduring Word. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/deuteronomy-2/ GotQuestions.org. “What is the significance of the land of Ammon in the Bible?” https://www.gotquestions.org/Ammon-in-the-Bible.html Cogan, Mordechai. “Transjordan Is Not the Promised Land, Even in Deuteronomy.” TheTorah.com. https://www.thetorah.com/article/transjordan-is-not-the-promised-land-even-in-deuteronomy Ben-Gad HaCohen, David. “Jephthah’s Wandering Biblical Message to the King of Ammon.” TheTorah.com. https://www.thetorah.com/article/jephthahs-wandering-biblical-message-to-the-king-of-ammon Klein, Reuven Chaim. “Between the Rivers Arnon and Jabbok.” Jewish Bible Quarterly. https://www.jewishbible.org/articles/between-the-rivers-arnon-and-jabbok/ Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:19. https://www.bibliaplus.org/en/commentaries/254/cambridge-bible-for-schools-and-colleges/deuteronomy/2/19 MacDonald, Burton. “East of the Jordan”: Territories and Sites of the Hebrew Scriptures. American Schools of Oriental Research, 2000. https://www.bu.edu/asor/pubs/books-monographs/macdonald.pdf Fisher, James Roger. Ammon in the Hebrew Bible: A Textual Analysis and Archaeological Context of Selected References to the Ammonites of Transjordan. PhD dissertation, Andrews University, 1998. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=dissertations Wood, Bryant G. “New Light on the ‘Forgotten’ Conquest.” Associates for Biblical Research, 14 April 2011. https://biblearchaeology.org/research-articles/new-light-on-the-forgotten-conquest/