Full Bible Timeline
THE BIBLE TEACHERS CHOICE
Dating Numbers 21 supports Jephthah’s verified 300-year timeline
THE LAST YEAR IN THE WILDERNESS:
A Bioptic Chronology of the Battles with Sihon and Og and the Crossing of the Jordan
According to the calculations in The Full Bible Timeline, Jephthah makes his statement in the year 2793 AM - exactly 300 years previous in 2493 AM – this battle takes place, Moses dies, and the Jordan is crossed. These are extremely memorable anniversaries for the Israelites.
The dating of Numbers 21 becomes the very foundation of Jephthah’s historical argument in Judges 11:26. When Jephthah tells the king of Ammon, “For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, and all the towns along the Arnon… why did you not retake them during that time?” He is appealing directly to the events described in Numbers 21. Israel captured Sihon’s and Og’s territories in the final months of their fortieth year, immediately before crossing the Jordan. From that moment forward, the land east of the Jordan was possessed by Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh without interruption. Jephthah’s 300-year marker only makes sense if the Numbers 21 campaigns occurred precisely when Scripture places them—at the threshold of Canaan, forming an unbroken historical line from Moses to the judges.
“The land across the river waits for them, shimmering in the morning light. But before the soles of their feet rest upon Canaan’s soil, the last echoes of wilderness warfare fade—Sihon has fallen, Og has fallen, Moses has spoken his final blessing, and time itself stands on the threshold of promise.”
There are moments in biblical history when time compresses, and the narrative accelerates. The closing months of Israel’s forty-year wilderness journey form one such moment. Far from being events scattered across a decade, the battles recorded in Numbers 21—especially the defeat of Sihon and Og king of Bashan—occur in the same year as the crossing of the Jordan, forming a tightly unified sequence of events that moves directly from conquest to covenant renewal.
This essay blends narrative voice with historical demonstration, supported by Scripture, archaeology, and scholarly consensus, to show that the battles against Sihon and Og occur late in the fortieth year, shortly before Moses’ death, and only weeks before Joshua leads Israel across the Jordan.
I. The Setting: The Fortieth Year of Wandering
The plains of Moab stretched wide under the desert sun. Beyond the Jordan’s waters lay the first stronghold of Canaan—Jericho—its walls hidden behind the western rise. Israel stood on the threshold of promise. And all of this occurs, as the biblical texts insist, in the final year of wandering.
The chronological anchor begins with the recorded death of Aaron:
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Aaron dies in the 40th year, 1st day of the 5th month (Num. 33:38).¹
This firmly situates the narrative. After Aaron’s death, Israel travels around Edom and moves toward the lands of Sihon and Og. As multiple commentators note—Harrison, Wenham, Cole, Merrill—all post-Aaron events belong to the closing months of the fortieth year.²
Thus, the stage is set for the decisive military engagements that follow.
II. The Road to War: Sihon King of the Amorites
Israel’s request for peaceful passage through Sihon’s territory (Num. 21:21–22) was historically consistent with the region’s geopolitical patterns.³ Sihon’s refusal resulted in a battle at Jahaz, a site corroborated by ancient sources such as the Mesha Stele and supported by archaeological mapping in the Holman Bible Atlas.⁴
Israel’s victory is recorded succinctly in the text:
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“Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and possessed his land” (Num. 21:24).⁵
This battle is neither early nor isolated. Deuteronomy later identifies Sihon’s defeat as an event that had already occurred before Moses delivered his final speech (Deut. 1:3–4).⁶ This becomes a crucial chronological marker.
III. The Northern Giant: Og King of Bashan
Og, king of Bashan, is remembered in both biblical and Near Eastern traditions as a formidable ruler.⁷ The region of Bashan—known for its fortified cities—has been well documented archaeologically. Harvard University’s BASOR journal and the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary confirm that the sixty fortified cities listed in Deut. 3:4–5 match the basaltic fortress-cities typical of the Golan and Bashan region.⁸
Scripture describes Og’s approach:
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“Og, king of Bashan, marched out against them” (Num. 21:33).⁹
The Lord reassures Moses:
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“Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand” (Num. 21:34).¹⁰
Og’s defeat is swift, miraculous, and total.
And critically, Deuteronomy 1:4 asserts that Og’s destruction had already happened before Moses’ final address, given in the 11th month of the 40th year.¹¹ This fixes the battle’s timing firmly within Months 5–11 of that final year.
IV. The Plains of Moab: Israel’s Final Encampment
Numbers 22:1 states:
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“Israel camped in the plains of Moab on the Jordan across from Jericho.”¹²
This location does not change again until the Jordan crossing (Josh. 1–4). Nearly all scholars affirm that every event from Num. 22 through Deut. 34 occurs from this same encampment.¹³
This means:
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The Balaam narratives
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The second census
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The laws for the new generation
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Moses’ transfer of leadership
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Moses’ final speeches
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Moses’ death
—all occur in the same geographic place, and all after the victories over Sihon and Og.
The literary and geographical unity is airtight.
V. Moses Speaks: The Chronological Anchor of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy delivers the decisive temporal statement:
“In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people… after he had defeated Sihon and Og.” (Deut. 1:3–4)¹⁴
This text provides the clearest chronological framework.
It proves beyond dispute:
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The battles with Sihon and Og were already concluded.
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Moses’ speech occurs Month 11 of Year 40.
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The Jordan crossing, dated to Month 1, Day 10 of the following year (Josh. 4:19), follows within weeks.
Leading scholars (Craigie, Merrill, Kitchen, Wenham, Wright) all note that Deut. 1:3–4 compresses these events into a single chronological season.¹⁵
Thus, the wars of Numbers 21 are the immediate prelude to Moses’ farewell and the conquest under Joshua.
VI. Moses’ Final Ascent: Death on Nebo
After the book of Deuteronomy concludes with Moses’ blessings, he ascends Mount Nebo and dies (Deut. 34). Israel mourns:
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“thirty days” (Deut. 34:8).¹⁶
There is no textual or chronological gap between Moses’ death and Joshua’s leadership. Joshua rises immediately, and the preparations for the Jordan crossing begin.
Given that Moses spoke in Month 11, and Israel mourns 30 days, most scholars conclude that Moses’ death occurs near the end of Month 11 or early Month 12, leaving the crossing of the Jordan only days into the new year.¹⁷
Thus:
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Number 21’s battles
→ lead directly into -
Deuteronomy’s speeches
→ lead directly into -
Moses’ death
→ lead directly into -
Joshua’s crossing.
VII. Crossing the Jordan: The First Month, Tenth Day
Joshua 4:19 gives the final chronological key:
“The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.”¹⁸
This date corresponds, of course, with the month of the upcoming Passover (Josh. 5:10). This means:
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Moses dies shortly before the new year.
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Israel mourns for 30 days.
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Joshua assumes command.
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The spies are sent to Jericho.
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Israel crosses the Jordan on 1/10.
Therefore, the entire sequence—from the death of Aaron (Month 5), to the battles (Months 5–10), to Moses’ speech (Month 11), to Moses’ death, to the Jordan crossing—belongs to a single unified chronological window.
Nothing separates the wars of Numbers 21 from the crossing of Joshua 4 but a few months—and in some interpretations, only weeks.
VIII. Unified Chronology: A Summary Table
Death of Aaron (Num. 33:38) Month 5, Day 1 / Battle with Sihon (Num. 21:21–31) Months 5–10 / Battle with Og (Num. 21:33–35) Months 5–10 / Encampment in Moab (Num. 22:1) After battles / Moses’ final speech (Deut. 1:3–4) Month 11, Day 1 / Moses’ death (Deut. 34) Late Month 11 / Month 12 / Israel mourns 30 days (Deut. 34:8) Month 12 / Jordan crossing (Josh. 4:19) Year 41, Month 1, Day 10
The chronology is unbroken.
IX. Conclusion: Standing on the Edge of Promise
The battles against Sihon and Og were not distant preludes. They were the final acts of Moses’ leadership, the last wilderness wars, and the direct precursors to the conquest of Canaan. Biblical dating, geographic continuity, and scholarly consensus all demonstrate:
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Numbers 21 events occur late in Year 40, shortly before Moses’ death.
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Deuteronomy 1 fixes their completion before Month 11 of the same year.
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Joshua 4 dates the Jordan crossing to Month 1, Day 10 of the next year.
Thus, the battles, Moses’ farewell, his death, and the entrance into the Promised Land form a tightly unified chronological narrative, unfolding within a matter of months.
The river waited only a short time more.
FOOTNOTES:
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R.K. Harrison, Numbers (IVP);
Gordon Wenham, Numbers (Tyndale);
R. Dennis Cole, Numbers (NAC);
Eugene Merrill, Kingdom of Priests
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Merrill, Kitchen, Craigie, Wenham, Wright all treat Num. 22–Deut. 34 as a unified Moab encampment block.
Eugene Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC)
P.C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT)
K.A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament
Wright, The Old Testament and Archaeology
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Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC)
P.C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT)
K.A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament
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Craigie & Merrill note Moses’ death likely occurred in Month 11 or early 12.
Craigie
Merrill