Passing By Ammon (Deuteronomy 2:18-23).
Ammon, Moab's brother tribe, had also been given possession of their land by Yahweh, because of His love for Abraham. Thus they too were not to be molested. And they were to note that in giving them the land He had dealt with the Zamzummim, a people of the Rephaim, the equal of the Anakim. Yahweh had had no problem with dealing with the Anakim.
The passage may be analysed as follows:
a They were ‘this day' (at this time) to pass over Ar, the border of Moab (Deuteronomy 2:18).
b They must not vex Ammon or contend with them, for He would not give Israel their land (Deuteronomy 2:19 a).
c For the land of Ammon had been given by Him to the children of Lot for a possession (Deuteronomy 2:19 b).
d It was accounted as the land of the Rephaim who had dwelt there previously, although the Ammonites had called them Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20).
e They were a people great, and numerous and tall like the Anakim but Yahweh had destroyed them, and Ammon had succeeded them and dwelt there instead of them (Deuteronomy 2:21).
e This was in the same way as he had done for the children of Esau who dwelt in Seir when He destroyed the Horites from before them, and they also had succeeded them and dwelt there instead of them (Deuteronomy 2:22).
d And the Avvim who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza were destroyed by Cretans who then dwelt there instead of them (Deuteronomy 2:23).
c They were therefore to rise up and cross over the Arnon valley, through which the River Arnon flowed) for He had given Sihon, the king of the Amorites into their hand, together with his land, and they were to possess his land (Deuteronomy 2:24 a).
b They were to contend with him in battle (Deuteronomy 2:24 b).
a For at this time He was going to put the fear of them into the hearts of all peoples, who would hear about them and tremble, and be in anguish because of them (Deuteronomy 2:25).
Note that in ‘a' they were to cross over the border of Moab. This was the commencement of their military campaign (see Deuteronomy 13-17). Thus in the parallel Yahweh was about to spread the terror of their reputation. In ‘b' they must not contend with Ammon, but in the parallel they are to do battle with Sihon. In ‘c' that land of Ammon is for Ammon's possession, but in the parallel the land of Sihon is to be possessed by Israel. In ‘d' the land of Ammon had been accounted as the land of the Rephaim who had dwelt there previously, (although the Ammonites had called them Zamzummim). In the parallel the Avvim (a parallel tribe) had been destroyed by the incoming Cretans (the Caphtorim and Philistines, compare Genesis 10:14). In ‘e' the Zamzummim were a people great, and numerous and tall like the Anakim but Yahweh had destroyed them, and Ammon had succeeded them and dwelt there instead of them, while in the parallel he had done a similar thing for the children of Esau who dwelt in Seir when He destroyed the Horites from before them, and they also had succeeded them and dwelt there instead of them (Deuteronomy 2:22).
We note here not only the chiasmus but also the repetition in the second part of ‘had succeeded them and dwelt there instead of them'. This is a pattern (chiasmus containing repetition in the second part) that can also be observed in Exodus 18:21-22 a with Exodus 18:25-26 a; Numbers 18:4 with Numbers 18:7, and Numbers 18:23 with Numbers 18:24.
‘ So it came about that when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, Yahweh spoke to me, saying,'
We have repeated these verses in order to retain the connection, although strictly this passage begins with the last word, ‘Saying'.
Once the last of unbelieving Israel died (with the exception of Caleb, Joshua and Moses), their bodies buried one by one in the wilderness, the order came to advance across the Zered and along the border between Moab and Ammon.
“ You (thou) are this day to pass over Ar, the border of Moab, and when you (thou) come nigh over against the children of Ammon, do not annoy them, or contend with them, for I will not give you (thee) of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.”
It would appear that Ar was on the southern border of Moab, and they passed it by on their journey round Moab and along the border until they reached the border with Ammon. Others see Ar as synonymous with Moab.
Ammon too were to be safe from molestation, for their land too had been given to them by Yahweh, and permanently belonged to them as their possession. They too were a reminder of Yahweh's faithfulness to Abraham and his family, and the certainty of His fulfilment of His will. For the use of the singular pronoun see on Deuteronomy 2:9.
‘ That also is accounted a land of Rephaim. Rephaim dwelt in it previously, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, a people great, and many, and tall, like the Anakim, but Yahweh destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their place, as he did for the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them, and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their place even to this day, and the Avvim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their place.'
Once again it is stressed that peoples like the Anakim have been defeated, this time by Ammon. They were not invincible. Here they were called Zamzummim. These too were the dreaded Rephaim. But Yahweh had destroyed them from before them, and as with Edom, had enabled them to dwell safely in their land in their place (as He would with Israel).
“And the Avvim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their place.” This possibly refers to similar tall people who had settled in the Coastal Plain, the Avvim. In their case their defeat was at the hands of the Sea People who came from Caphtor (possibly Crete or the Greek coastlands). These latter were possibly the first wave of the equivalent of the Philistines. Joshua came across them in his later life. Compare Joshua 13:2-3. If the full invasion of the Philistines was in mind then this last part may be a note made by Joshua at a later date. But note how it fits in with the analysis.
Thus while passing by these nations Israel were to learn from them a number of lessons. Firstly that God is able to give land to whom He will, and ensure their safe possession of it. And secondly that God is well able to deal with even the most fearsome of opponents, whether they be Horim (Deuteronomy 2:12; Deuteronomy 2:22), Emim (Deuteronomy 2:10-11), Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20), or Avvim (Deuteronomy 2:23) even though they be as tall as the Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:10-11; Deuteronomy 2:21). And at the same time they are to remember that Yahweh has shown them great blessing in the wilderness, while at the same time dealing severely with their disobedient fathers. The point behind all this is, let the lessons be learned!