13:25a

The territory of Jazer: The term Jazer indicates a town east of the Jordan River. Jazer was part of the kingdom of King Sihon. Its location is uncertain.

all the cities of Gilead: The phrase cities of Gilead indicates the towns in the region of Gilead that were near to Jazer. This was the southern part of Gilead. In verse 13:31 it says that the northern part of Gilead was assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The name Gilead appeared in Joshua 12:2 and you should translate it the same way in both places.

13:25b

and half the land of the Ammonites: The phrase half the land of the Ammonites indicates the western half of the land controlled by the Ammon people. This area was between the Arnon River and Jabbok River.

the Ammonites: The term Ammonites refers to the Ammon people. It was used in Joshua 12:2 and you should translate it the same way in both places.

13:25c

as far as Aroer, near Rabbah: The term Aroer indicates a town that was part of the kingdom of King Sihon. The town named Aroer in this verse is not the same as the Aroer mentioned in verse 16 which was assigned to Reuben. The location of the Aroer in this verse is not known.

near: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as near is more literally “on the face of.” There are three ways to interpret this word.

(1) It means near. For example:

near Rabbah (Berean Standard Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Century Version, NET Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) It means east. For example:

east of Rabbah (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible)

(3) It means west. For example:

west of Rabbah (Contemporary English Version)

(Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you choose interpretation (1). We do not know for certain which direction Aroer town was in relation to Rabbah town. It is best to translate it using a word that means “near” or “close to.”

Here are some other ways that English versions translate this word:

by (God’s Word)
-or-
facing (New Jerusalem Bible)

Rabbah: The term Rabbah indicates the capital city of the Ammon people. Today it is the city of Amman, Jordan and it is 22 miles east of the Jordan River.

General Comment on 13:25

It may be more natural in some languages to translate this list of cites using more than one sentence. For example:

Their territory included the town of Jazer and all the towns of the ⌊southern⌋ Gilead Region. It also included half the land of the Ammonites. It extended as far as Aroer, which was close to Rabbah.

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