Aroer

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ar'oer. (Ruins).

1. A city on the torrent Arnon, the southern point of the territory of Sihon king of the Amorites and afterwards of the tribe of Reuben,  Deuteronomy 2:36;  Deuteronomy 3:12;  Deuteronomy 4:48;  Joshua 12:2;  Joshua 13:9;  Joshua 13:16;  Judges 11:26;  2 Kings 10:33;  1 Chronicles 5:8, but later again in possession of Moab.  Jeremiah 48:19. It is the modern Ara'Ir, upon the very edge of the precipitous north bank of the Wady Mojeb.

2. Aroer, "that is 'facing' Rahbah" (Rabbah of Ammon), a town built by and belonging to Gad.  Numbers 32:34;  Joshua 13:25;  2 Samuel 24:5. This is probably the place mentioned in  Judges 11:33 which was shown in Jerome's time.

3. Aroer, in  Isaiah 17:2 if a place at all, must be still farther north than either of the two already named.

4. A town in Judah, named only in  1 Samuel 30:28 perhaps Wady Ar'Arah, on the road from Petra to Gaza.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("ruins, places with the foundations laid bore".) (See Arnon .)

1. The city taken from Sihon, king of the Amorites, and assigned to Reuben ( Deuteronomy 2:36;  Joshua 13:9;  Joshua 13:16). Afterward in Moab's possession ( Jeremiah 48:19), though Aroer may there be regarded as only lying in Moab's way, when fleeing into the desert, and as asking the cause of Moab's flight. With Aroer is associated some "city that is in the midst of the river." Mr. Grove suggests that at the Arnon junction with the Lejum, one hour E. of Arair or Aroer, the hill with ruins on it may be the site of the city in question; no city could have stood in such a position immediately near Aroer.

2. Aroer facing Rabbbah of Ammon: "built," i.e. restored and enlarged, by Gad ( Numbers 32:34;  Judges 11:33); now perhaps Ayra.  Isaiah 17:2 refers to this Aroer with its dependent "cities," then "forsaken" through Tiglath Pileser's having carried away the inhabitants ( 2 Kings 15:29).

3. A town in Judah ( 1 Samuel 30:28) to which David sent portions after his victory over the Amalekites at Ziklag. In the wady Ararah, 20 geographical miles S. of Hebron, on the road from Petra to Gaza.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Aroer ( Ăr'O-Er, or A-Rô'Er ), Ruins, Or Juniper. 1. A city on the northern bank of the Arnon. Its ruins are still called AraʾIr . If Aroer be meant by "the city in the midst of the river,"  Joshua 13:9, it may have originated in the circumstance that the city stood partly on the bank, and partly extending into the river.  Deuteronomy 2:36;  Deuteronomy 3:12;  Deuteronomy 4:48;  Joshua 12:2;  Joshua 13:16;  Judges 11:28;  Jeremiah 48:19. 2. Another city, situated farther north, over against Rabbah of Ammon, on a brook of Gad, a branch of the Jabbok. The site is still called Ayra,  Numbers 32:34;  Joshua 13:25;  2 Samuel 24:5;  Isaiah 17:2; but possibly another city near Damascus. 3. A city of the south of Judah; the inhabitants were called "Aroerites." The ruins are still called ArʾArah .  1 Samuel 30:28;  1 Chronicles 11:44.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

AROER . Three distinct places. 1 . ‘Aroer which is by the brink of the river Arnon’ (  Deuteronomy 2:36 ) is probably the ruin ‘Arâ‘ir , on the north bank of the Wady Mojib (Arnon). In such a position it necessarily became a frontier town, and as such is mentioned (cf.   Deuteronomy 2:36 ,   2 Kings 10:33 etc.). It was captured by Sihon, king of the Amorites (  Deuteronomy 2:36;   Deuteronomy 4:48 ,   Joshua 12:2;   Joshua 13:9 ,   Judges 11:26 ); when conquered by Israel it was assigned to Reuben (  Deuteronomy 3:12 ); it was taken by Hazael, king of Syria (  2 Kings 10:33 ), and apparently later on by Moab (  Jeremiah 48:19 ). 2 . A city of Judah (  1 Samuel 30:28 ), perhaps the ruin ‘Ar‘âra , 12 miles east of Beersheba. 3 . A city of Gad near Rabbah, i.e. ‘Amman (  Joshua 13:25 ,   Judges 11:33 ). The site is unknown.

E. W. G. Masterman.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Joshua 13:9 Joshua 13:16 Numbers 32:34 Deuteronomy 3:12 Deuteronomy 4:48 Joshua 12:2 Judges 11:26 2 Kings 10:33 Isaiah 17:2 Jeremiah 48:19

2. A city of the tribe of Gad ( Joshua 13:25 ) near Rabbah, capital of the Ammonites. This may be the Aroer where Jephthah defeated the Ammonites ( Judges 11:33 ).

3. Town in southern Judah about twelve miles southeast of Beersheba with whose leaders David divided the spoil of battle ( 1 Samuel 30:28 ). This is located at modern Khirbet Arara. The text of  Joshua 15:22 may have originally read Aroer. Two of David's captains hailed from Aroer (  1 Chronicles 11:44 ).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1. An ancient city on the north side of the Arnon, in the southern border of the tribe of Reuben,  Deuteronomy 2:36   4:48   Joshua 13:9 . It was in the territory of the Amorites,  Joshua 12:2 , but seems to have fallen at a later day into the hands of Moab,  Jeremiah 48:19 . See Arnon .

2. A town in the tribe of God, probably east of Rabbath-Ammon,  Joshua 13:25 , and perhaps on the Jabbok,  2 Samuel 24:5 . It is mentioned in  Judges 11:33

3. A town of Judah, to which David sent presents,  1 Samuel 30:28   1 Chronicles 11:44 . Robinson found traces of it about sixteen miles south by west from Hebron.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. City 'before Rabbah,' that is, near Rabbath Ammon, in the valley of the Jabbok, built or rebuilt by the tribe of Gad.  Numbers 32:34;  Joshua 13:25;  2 Samuel 24:5 .

2. Moabite city on the north bank of the Arnon.  Deuteronomy 2:36;  Joshua 13:9,16;  Judges 11:26;  2 Kings 10:33 . Identified with Arair , 35 43' E 31 27' N .

3. District near Damascus.  Isaiah 17:2 .

4. City in Judah, S.E. of Beersheba.  1 Samuel 30:28 . Identified with Ararah, 34 56' E 31 11' N .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

A city in the south of Judah, 12 miles south-east of Beersheba, to which David sent presents after recovering the spoil from the Amalekites at Ziklag ( 1 Samuel 30:26,28 ). It was the native city of two of David's warriors ( 1 Chronicles 11:44 ). It is now called Ar'arah.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Aroer'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/a/aroer.html. 1897.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Aroer', עֲרוֹעֵר [once עִרְעוֹר ,  Judges 11:26], Ruins, as in  Jeremiah 48:6, "Heath;" Sept. Ἀρωήρ and Ἀροήρ ), the name of three places. In  Isaiah 17:2, "cities of Aroer" are mentioned; which some think should be translated " ruined cities," as Aroer was not a metropolis, but the name probably stands as a representative of the two towns in that region.

1. A town "by the brink," or "on the bank of" (both the same expression - Heb. "on the lip"), or "'by," i.e. on the north side of the torrent Arnon ( Deuteronomy 4:48;  Judges 11:26;  2 Kings 10:33;  1 Chronicles 5:8), and therefore on the southern border of the territory conquered from Sihon, which was assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad ( Deuteronomy 2:36;  Deuteronomy 3:12;  Joshua 12:2;  Joshua 13:9). The Amorites had previously dispossessed the Ammonites of this territory; and although the town seems to be given to Reuben ( Joshua 13:16), it is mentioned as a Moabitish city by Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 48:19). According to Eusebius (Onomast. s.v. Ἀροήρ ) it stood " on the brow of the hill." Burckhardt (comp. Macmichael, Journey, p. 242) found the ruins of this town, under the name of Araayr, on the edge of a precipice overlooking Wady Mojeb (Travels in Syria, p. 372). They are also mentioned under the name Arar in Robinson's Researches (App. to vol. iii, p. 170, and Map). Schwarz places it 15 miles from the Dead Sea (Palest. p. 226). Aroer is always named in conjunction with " the city that is in the midst of the river;" whence Dr. Mansford (Script. Gaz.) conjectures that, like Rabbath Ammon (q.v.), it consisted of two parts, or distinct cities; the one on the bank of the river, and the other in the valley beneath, surrounded, either naturally or artificially, by the waters of the river. For another explanation, (See Arnon).

2. One of the towns "built," or probably rebuilt, by the tribe of Gad ( Numbers 32:34). It is said in  Joshua 13:25, to be "before ( עִלאּפְּנֵי ) Rabbah" [of Ammon]; but, as Raumer well remarks (Palistina, P. 249), this could not possibly have been in the topographical sense of the words (in which Before means East Of), seeing that Aroer, as a town on the eastern border of Gad, must have been west of Rabbah; while to a person in Palestine proper, or coming from the Jordan, Aroer would be Before Rabbah in the ordinary sense. It is (see Ritter, Erdk. 15: 1130) apparently the place discovered by Burckhardt (Syria, p. 335), who, in journeying toward Rabbath Ammon, notices a ruined site, called Ayra, about seven miles south-west from es-Salt; probably the same with the Array el-Emir visited by Legh (p. 246) on his way from Heshbon to es-Salt (comp. Schwarz, Palest. p. 231). It is also called Aireh in Robinson's Researches (iii, App. p. 169). Aroer of Gad is also mentioned in  Judges 11:33, and  2 Samuel 24:5, in which latter passage it is stated to have been situated on the ' river" (brook) of Gad, i.e. apparently on the Wady Nimrin (and not the Arnon, see Reland, Palsest. p. 533). Keil (Comment. On Joshua p. 339), approved by Van de Velde (Memoir, p. 288), fixes upon Kulat Zeska Gadda, as lying in a wady and east of Rabbah; but the passage in 2 Samuel (" and they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city, that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad. and toward Jazer") can only signify [if, indeed, the word אֲשֶׁר , Which, do not signify here merely "to wit," or rather be not altogether spurious] that the party of Joab encamped just across the Jordan, in the bed of one of the brooks of Gad (the Wady Nimrin), south of Aroer and not far from Jaazer. Jerome speaks of it as Aruir (Euseb. Ἀρουεί ) , a village still found on a hill 20 Roman miles south of Jerusalem (Onomast. s.v.); but this, if correct, can only mean south-east.

3. A city in the south of Judah (i.e. in Simeon), to which David sent presents after recovering the spoil of Ziklag ( 1 Samuel 30:26;  1 Samuel 30:28). It appears to have been the native city of two of David's warriors ( 1 Chronicles 11:44). At the distance of twenty geographical miles south by west from Hebron, Dr. Robinson (Researches, ii, 618) came to a broad wady where there are many pits for water, which are called Ararah, and which gave name to the valley. In the valley and on the western hill are evident traces of an ancient village or town, consisting only of foundations of unhewn stones, now much scattered, but yet sufficiently distinct to mark them as foundations. Small fragments of pottery are also everywhere visible. The same identification is proposed by Schwarz, who calls the place "the modern village Arar, two and a half English miles south of Moladah" (Palest. p. 113).

Aroer.

(See Heath).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Aroer, 1

Aro´er, a town on the north side of the river Arnon, and therefore on the southern border of the territory conquered from the Amorites, which was assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad ( Deuteronomy 2:36;  Joshua 12:2;  Joshua 13:9). The Amorites had previously dispossessed the Ammonites of this territory; and although in the texts cited the town seems to be given to Reuben, it is mentioned as a Moabitish city by Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 48:19). Burckhardt found the ruins of this town under the name of Araayr, on the edge of a precipice overlooking the river. Aroer is always named in conjunction with 'the city that is in the midst of the river;' whence it has been conjectured that, like Rabbath Ammon [RABBATH-AMMON], it consisted of two parts, or distinct cities; the one on the bank of the river, and the other in the valley beneath, surrounded, either naturally or artificially, by the waters of the river.

Aroer, 2

Aroer, one of the towns 'built,' or probably rebuilt, by the tribe of Gad ( Numbers 32:34). Burckhardt, in journeying from Szalt towards Rabbath Ammon, notices a ruined site, called Ayra, as 'one of the towns built by the tribe of Gad.' It is about seven miles south-west from Szalt. Aroer of Gad is also mentioned in  Judges 11:33, and  2 Samuel 24:5.

Aroer, 3

Aroer, a city in the south of Judah, to which David sent presents after recovering the spoil of Ziklag ( 1 Samuel 30:26;  1 Samuel 30:28). At the distance of twenty geographical miles S. by W. from Hebron, there is a broad valley called Ararah, in which are evident traces of an ancient village or town. The identity of name shows that this was the Aroer of Judah.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a - rō´ẽr ( ערוער , ‛ărō‛ēr  ; Ἀροήρ , Aroḗr ):

(1) A city of the Amorites which stood on the northern edge of the Arnon ( Deuteronomy 2:36 , etc.). Taken by Israel, it shared the vicissitudes of the country north of the river, and when last named ( Jeremiah 48:19 ) is again in the hands of Moab. It is one of the cities which Mesha claims to have built, i.e. fortified. It was within the territory allotted to Reuben, yet its building (fortification) is attributed to Gad ( Numbers 32:34 ). Thus far came the Syrian, Hazael, in his raid upon Israel ( 2 Kings 10:33 ). The Roman road across the valley lay about an hour to the West of Khirbet ‛Arā‛ir .

(2) A city in Gilead described as "before Rabbah," on the boundary between Gad and the Ammonites ( Joshua 13:25 ). No name resembling this has yet been recovered in the district indicated.

(3) A city in the territory of Judah named only in  1 Samuel 30:28 . Probably however in  Joshua 15:22 we should read ‛ar‛ārāh instead of ‛adh‛ādhāh , which may be the same city, and may be identical with ‛Ar‛āra , a site with cisterns and some remains of ancient buildings about 14 miles Southeast of Beersheba.