From there they set out, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon: From the Wadi Zedek the Israelites went to the northern side of the Arnon River. The Arnon River flowed from east to west into the east side of the Dead Sea, and marked the border between Moab and the Amorites. The territory of the Amorites was north of Moab on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. Since the Israelites were traveling from the south to the north, Good News Translation correctly renders on the other side of the Arnon as “on the north side of the River Arnon.” The Israelites circumvented Moab and now reached its northern border.

Which is in the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites describes the northern side of the Arnon River. It was in the desert that extended into the territory of the Amorites. New International Readers Version says “It’s in the desert that spreads out into the territory of the Amorites.” For the Amorites, see 13.29.

For the Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites: Good News Translation places parentheses around this sentence since it clearly provides background information. The Hebrew particle ki rendered for is not a logical connector here, but it introduces supplementary material. However, in many languages the past tense verb “was” in Good News Translation will not be necessary since the Hebrew does not locate this sentence in earlier times, before the text was written. New Living Translation provides a more helpful model here, saying “The Arnon is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .