Aroer

A Transjordanian (east of the Jordan River) city existing from Moses’s time until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Aroer was one of the cities that Israel conquered from Sihon the Amorite and Og the Bashanite. Aroer was on the southern border of the area assigned to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and to half of Manasseh’s tribe (Joshua 13:9). It was located on the northern rim of the large Arnon Canyon (Deuteronomy 2:36; 3:12; 4:48; Joshua 13:9). Aroer was likely rebuilt after Israel destroyed it (compare Joshua 12:2; Numbers 32:34).

Aroer was the hub city for a number of villages (Judges 11:26). It was the city from which the census began under King David (2 Samuel 24:5). The Moabites gained control of it during the later monarchy and kept it until the time of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 48:19). King Hazael of Damascus captured Aroer, assuring Syrian control of Transjordan (2 Kings 10:33).

Aroer has been identified with a mound beside the village ’Ara’ir. This location is about 4.8 kilometers (three miles) southeast of Dibon on the east side of the ancient north-south Transjordan highway.

A city assigned to Gad’s tribe (Joshua 13:25), mentioned as a point of reference in Jephthah’s victory over the Ammonites (Judges 11:33). This Aroer has been tentatively placed in the area northwest of Amman and east of Rabbah.

A city in the Negev Desert area of Judah. Aroer was one of the villages receiving spoil taken in David’s victory over the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:28). Two of David’s “mighty men” were sons of Hotham the Aroerite (1 Chronicles 11:44). This Aroer has been identified with Khirbet ’Ar’areh, located about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of Beersheba.

A city near Damascus (Isaiah 17:2). The Hebrew text reads "the cities of Aroer," but the Septuagint (ancient Greek Old Testament) has "her cities forever" (a reading adopted by the Revised Standard Version).