Numbers 21:31 (DBY)

Passage

And Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, people of Chemosh: He gave his sons that had escaped, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon the king of the Amorites.

Numbers 21:30 And we have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon; and we have laid [them] waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.

Numbers 21:31 And Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

Numbers 21:32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took its dependent villages, and he dispossessed the Amorites that were there.

Numbers 21:33 And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, for battle to Edrei.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "dwelt", "land", and "amorites". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "dwelt", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "And we have shot at them Heshbon..." into verse 32's "And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer...", so "israel" and "dwelt" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "israel" and "dwelt" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.