Hebrew word · H6177

עֲרֹעֵר, עֲדְעָדָה

me'aro'er

Aroer

A place name, probably connected to a word for a juniper or desert shrub (compare Jer 17:6). This Aroer is identified with Khirbet 'Ara'ir, on the north rim of Wadi Mujib.

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Aroer = "ruins"

a city on the north bank of the river Arnon, the southern point of the territory of Sihon the king of the Amorites and later of Reuben; modern 'Arair'

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 2:36

Range of meaning

A place name, probably connected to a word for a juniper or desert shrub (compare Jer 17:6). This Aroer is identified with Khirbet 'Ara'ir, on the north rim of Wadi Mujib.

Against the English

English versions agree on the name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Aroer is listed as a southern border point in Deut 3:12; 4:48; Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16. It was later assigned to Reuben, or rebuilt by Gad (Num 32:34). The Mesha Stele (line 26) says, 'I built Aroer, and I made the highway in the Arnon.' Excavations in the 1960s found an Iron Age fortress.

From the study of Isaiah 17:2

Range of meaning

The name of more than one place: a fortress on the north rim of the Arnon gorge east of the Dead Sea (the best known), a town near Rabbah in Ammon (Joshua 13:25), and a town in southern Judah (1 Samuel 30:28). A very similar word appears for a desert shrub or a destitute person (Jeremiah 17:6, 48:6; Psalm 102:17), though how it relates to the place name is not certain.

Against the English

Most English versions simply keep the name. NRSV instead follows the Greek and reads "forever," so Aroer disappears from its text altogether.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Arnon Aroer appears in Deuteronomy 2:36 and Joshua 13:9, 16. The Moabite king Mesha claims to have built it (Mesha Inscription, line 26), and Jeremiah 48:19 treats it as Moabite. Most significantly, 2 Kings 10:33 names it as the southern limit of the territory Hazael of Damascus seized from Israel. The Septuagint of Isaiah 17:2 has no Aroer.

From the study of Joshua 13:25

Range of meaning

'Aro'er may be connected to 'ar'ar, a juniper or desert shrub (Jer 17:6; 48:6), and more than one town had the name. 'Al-penei literally means "upon the face of." It can mean "in front of," "overlooking," "in the presence of," or, since Israel's orientation faced east, "east of" (Gen 25:18; 1 Kgs 11:7, the hill "east of Jerusalem").

Against the English

KJV and NASB say "before Rabbah," BSB, NIV and WEB "near Rabbah," ESV "east of Rabbah," YLT "on the front of Rabbah." "East of" is possible grammatically. But it would put the town east of the Ammonite capital, beyond Gad's land, which is why many translators prefer "near" or "facing."

Used elsewhere in the period

Other Aroers: Aroer on the Arnon (Deut 2:36; Josh 13:9, 16; on the Mesha Stele, where Mesha says he built Aroer), and Aroer in Judah (1 Sam 30:28). Judg 11:33 ("from Aroer to the neighbourhood of Minnith") may mean the northern Aroer near Rabbah. Num 32:34 says Gad built (re)fortified an Aroer, most likely the Arnon one. The site of the Aroer near Rabbah is unknown.

Where it appears

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 32:34 עֲרֹעֵֽר׃ Aroer

    And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

Deuteronomy · 3

  1. Deuteronomy 2:36 מֵֽעֲרֹעֵ֡ר from Aroer

    From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.

    Here: 'From' marks the southern starting point of the conquered land. Aroer was a fortified town on the north rim of the Arnon gorge, the southern border of Sihon's kingdom.

  2. Deuteronomy 3:12 מֵעֲרֹעֵ֞ר from Aroer

    So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.

  3. Deuteronomy 4:48 מֵעֲרֹעֵ֞ר from Aroer

    extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

Joshua · 4

  1. Joshua 12:2 מֵעֲרוֹעֵ֡ר from Aroer

    Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites), that is, half of Gilead,

    Here: The southern anchor point: a fortified town (Khirbet ʿAraʿir) sitting on the north rim of the Arnon canyon and guarding the road across it.

  2. Joshua 13:9 מֵעֲרוֹעֵ֡ר from Aroer

    The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,

  3. Joshua 13:16 מֵעֲרוֹעֵ֡ר from Aroer

    The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba,

  4. Joshua 13:25 עֲרוֹעֵ֕ר Aroer

    The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah;

    Here: Not the better-known Aroer on the Arnon gorge (vv. 9, 16). This is a second Aroer near the Ammonite capital, and the next phrase is there to tell the two apart. Where exactly it was is not known.

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 11:26 וּבְעַרְע֣וֹר and in Aroer

    For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time?

  2. Judges 11:33 מֵעֲרוֹעֵר֩ from Aroer

    With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 30:28 בַּעֲרֹעֵ֛ר [were] in Aroer

    to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 24:5 בַעֲרוֹעֵ֗ר at Aroer

    They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 10:33 מֵעֲרֹעֵר֙ from Aroer

    from the Jordan eastward through all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 5:8 בַּעֲרֹעֵ֔ר in Aroer

    and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 17:2 עֲרֹעֵ֑ר Aroer

    The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be left to the flocks, which will lie down with no one to fear.

    Here: A place name, and a surprising one in an oracle about Damascus, because the best-known Aroer lay far to the south on the Arnon gorge. It may mark how far Damascus's power once reached, or it may be the result of a copying change (see the notes).

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 48:19 עֲרוֹעֵ֑ר Aroer

    Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.