Numbers 21:14

the book of the Wars of Jehovah] It may be gathered from the title that the songs celebrated the battles which Jehovah -the God of hosts" had helped His people to win against His enemies. A similar collection of songs (which were probably handed down orally and not committed to writing till a later time) was called -the book of the Yâshâr(-Upright")," Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18; and Gray compares it with the Ḥamasaand similar collections of the Arabs.

Vaheb in Suphah The former apparently a town, and the latter a district; both are unknown; but the latter is possibly the same as Suph (Deuteronomy 1:1). In the original song Vaheb(as the Heb. shews) must have been governed by a verb, perhaps relating that Israel captured the town. But the writer here begins his quotation in the middle of the sentence, since the point of it for him lay only in the closing words. The rendering of Suphah as a substantive -storm" (R.V. marg.) is improbable. The A.V. follows the Vulg., which, in turn, is dependent upon the Targum.

the valleys of Arnon -Valley," Heb. naḥal, is a torrent-ravine or wady; see on Numbers 21:12. The expression stands for all the streams which unite to form the Arnon. Some of these have been mentioned in Numbers 21:12. Others are the Wady Babr-a, W. es-Sulṭân, W. Butmeh, W. Themed. -The whole plateau up to the desert is thus not only cut across, but up and down, by deep ravines, and a very difficult frontier is formed" (G. A. Smith, H. G.[Note:. G. Historical Geography of the Holy Land.] 558).