Numbers 21:21

"And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed thy border. And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto the Arnon. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,

Come ye to Heshbon;

Let the city of Sihon be built and established:

For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: It hath devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon.

Woe to thee, Moab! Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: He hath given his sons as fugitives, And his daughters into captivity, Unto Sihon king of the Amorites.

We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon,

And we have laid waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took the towns thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there."

Here the formal conquest of the land of Canaan began in earnest. Israel conquered the powerful kingdom of the Amorites and possessed their land as far north as the Jabbok (Numbers 21:24). Moses was still in charge of Israel for this campaign and also for that against Jazer, another satellite kingdom of the Amorites (Numbers 21:31,32).

Again, Moses mentioned the song (or proverbs) sung by the people in celebration of the victory. These amazing lines (fourteen) have somewhat the nature of a sonnet, the first eleven lines (Numbers 21:27-29) extolling the power and might of Heshbon and Sihon, and the last three (Numbers 21:30) extolling the utter destruction of Heshbon.

"Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh ..." (Numbers 21:29). "Chemosh was the national god of the Moabites (1 Kings 11:7; Jeremiah 48:7), and to some extent the god of the Ammonites (Judges 11:24)."[19] He is the same as Milcom, or Molech, and was worshipped with the sacrifice of children. Solomon built a shrine to this deity (1 Kings 11:7). "Jerome stated that Chemosh was only another name for Baal-Peor (see Numbers 26), a sun-god worshipped as a god of war."[20]