Numbers 21:31 (WEB)

Passage

Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:29 Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites.

Numbers 21:30 We have shot at them. Heshbon has perished even to Dibon. We have laid waste even to Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba.”

Numbers 21:31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.

Numbers 21:32 Moses sent to spy out Jazer. They took its villages, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

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

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "We have shot at them Heshbon has..." into verse 32's "Moses sent to spy out Jazer They...", so "thus" and "israel" 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 "thus" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.