person
Sihon
סִיחוֹן
Sihon was the Amorite king of Heshbon who refused to let the Israelites pass through his land and was subsequently defeated by them.
- verses
- 34
- first named
- Numbers 21:21
- last named
- Jeremiah 48:45
- period
- Egypt and Wilderness
- tribe
- Sinai
Description
Who was Sihon?
Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, is mentioned in several passages in the Old Testament, particularly in the books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 Kings, Nehemiah, Psalms, and Jeremiah. He ruled over the territory east of the Jordan River, which the Israelites sought to pass through on their way to the Promised Land.
When Moses sent messengers to Sihon requesting permission to pass through his land peacefully, Sihon refused and instead gathered his army to attack the Israelites (Num.21.21-23; Deu.2.26-30). In response, the Israelites fought against Sihon and his army, defeating them and conquering his territory (Num.21.24-25; Deu.2.31-37). The victory over Sihon was seen as a significant milestone in the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land and a demonstration of God's power and faithfulness to His people.
The conquest of Sihon's kingdom, along with that of Og, king of Bashan, allowed the Israelites to settle in the Transjordan region, with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh receiving their inheritance there (Num.32.33; Jos.13.10, 21, 27). The defeat of Sihon and Og is remembered as a testament to God's deliverance and is celebrated in the Psalms (Psalm Jos.135.11; 136.19).
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 16 are drawn. All 16 are listed below.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 34, across 8 books. The name is written 37 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- Numbers 21Sihon refused Israel passage, brought out his army, and was defeated at Jahaz.
- Deuteronomy 1Sihon, king of the Amorites, was defeated by Moses before the speech began.
- Deuteronomy 2Sihon refused Israel's offer of peaceful passage, brought his army out at Jahaz, and was defeated with his sons and all his army.
- Deuteronomy 4Sihon lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites.
- Deuteronomy 29Sihon came out against Israel in battle and lost his land.
- Joshua 12Sihon ruled from Heshbon across the land east of the Jordan until Israel struck him down.
- Joshua 13Sihon reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him.
- Judges 11Sihon gathered his people at Jahaz and fought Israel, but was delivered into Israel’s hand.
2 more chapters, from Psalms 135 to Psalms 136
Sources