Encyclopedia entry
Aroer
Disambiguation
The source enumerates 3 distinct subjects under Aroer. Jump to one below, or read in order.
Ruins.
Aroer (1)
#A town on the north bank of the Arnon (Deut. 4:48; Judg. 11:26; 2 Kings 10:33), the southern boundary of the kingdom of Sihon (Josh. 12:2). It is now called Arair, 13 miles west of the Dead Sea.
Aroer (2)
#One of the towns built by the tribe of Gad (Num. 32:34) “before Rabbah” (Josh. 13:25), the Ammonite capital. It was famous in the history of Jephthah (Judg. 11:33) and of David (2 Sam. 24:5). (Comp. Isa. 17:2; 2 Kings 15:29.)
Aroer (3)
#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 Sam. 30:26, 28). It was the native city of two of David’s warriors (1 Chr. 11:44). It is now called Ar’arah.
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(ruins).
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, (2:36; 3:12; 4:48; Joshua 12:2; 13:9,16; 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 . 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. Aroer, in (Isaiah 17:2) if a place at all, must be still farther north than either of the two already named. A town in Judah, named only in (1 Samuel 30:28) perhaps Wady Ar’arah, on the road from Petra to Gaza.
In the Bible
16
Verses where Aroer is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Chronicles 5:8
and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
- 1 Samuel 30:28
to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;
- 2 Kings 10:33
from the Jordan eastward through all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.
- 2 Samuel 24:5
They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
- Deuteronomy 2:36
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
- Deuteronomy 3:12
So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.
+10 more verses naming Aroer.
Scripture on Aroer
15
Entries that reference Aroer
5
Aroer references
27
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.