The Arnon is referred to on line 26 of the famed Moabite Stone, King Mesha of Moab there boasting that he had constructed a highway through the valley. Archaeological discoveries of evidence of a number of forts and bridges in the area testify to the strategic importance of the Arnon. Its name figures in prophecies directed against Moab.—Isa. 16:2; Jer. 48:20.

AROD, ARODI, ARODITES

(Arʹod, Ar·oʹdi, Arʹodites) [hunchbacked].

Sixth-named son of Gad and one of the souls who came into Egypt with Jacob’s family in 1728 B.C.E. He became family head of the Arodites included in the wilderness census of 1473 B.C.E.—Gen. 46:8, 16; Num. 26:17.

AROER

(A·roʹer) [nakedness; or, perhaps, juniper].

1. A city located on the N rim of the deep gorge forming the torrent valley of the Arnon. At the time of the conquest by Israel (c. 1474 B.C.E.) it was the southernmost city of the Amorite kingdom. (Deut. 2:36; 4:47, 48; Josh. 12:2) Thereafter it passed to the tribe of Reuben, although the tribe of Gad is mentioned as building (probably, repairing) the city. (Num. 32:33, 34; Deut. 3:12; Josh. 13:8, 9, 15, 16; 1 Chron. 5:8) It marked the southern boundary of Israel E of the Jordan and so corresponded to Beer-sheba, a major southern city W of the Jordan.

After some three hundred years of Israelite occupation, the Ammonites pressed a claim for the region lying between the Arnon and the Jabbok, but Judge Jephthah refuted their claim by showing that Israel had taken the land, including Aroer, from the Amorites.—Judg. 11:13, 22, 26.

This city of Aroer appears to have been the starting point for the census ordered by King David, which thereafter swung N to Dan-jaan and looped over to Tyre and Sidon and then S to Beer-sheba in the Negeb. (2 Sam. 24:4-8) The mention of “the city that is in the middle of the torrent valley” coincides with similar references at Deuteronomy 2:36 and Joshua 13:9, 16. This unnamed city is considered by some to correspond to Khirbet el-Medeiyineh, about seven miles (11.3 kilometers) SE of Aroer.

During the reign of King Jehu of Israel (905-876 B.C.E.), King Hazael of Syria overran the territories of Gad and Reuben, as far S as Aroer on the Arnon. (2 Ki. 10:33) Perhaps during this time, Moabite King Mesha fortified the city and built his road by the Arnon, as related on line 26 of the Moabite Stone. At the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy against Moab the city was under Moabite control.—Jer. 48:19; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book X, chap. IX, par. 7.

The site of the ancient city is located near the modern village of ʽAraʽir, about fourteen miles (22.5 kilometers) E of the Dead Sea, a few miles S of Dibon, and close by the King’s Highway, the main N-S route on that side of the Jordan. The ruins contain evidences of an ancient fortress, which, from its vantage point on the edge of the impressive gorge, could likely control the passages over the Arnon.

2. A town of the territory of Gad, described as “in front of Rabbah” (modern ‘Amman), the chief city of the Ammonites. (Josh. 13:24, 25) It is possibly the Aroer mentioned in the description of Jephthah’s conquest over the Ammonites at Judges 11:33. The location of the place is uncertain since the expression “in front of” is not particularly restrictive, though often considered as meaning “to the east of.”

3. A town in the southern part of the territory of Judah. After David’s victory over the Amalekite raiders he distributed portions of the spoil to the older men of the city. (1 Sam. 30:26, 28) It is identified with modern ʽArʽarah, about twelve miles (19.3 kilometers) SE of Beer-sheba, where the ruins of a fort remain. It may be the same place as the “Adadah” of Joshua 15:22, the Hebrew letter daʹleth (ד) being substituted for rehsh (ר) in both instances.

The reference to the “cities of Aroer” at Isaiah 17:2 could apply to either of the first two cities here considered. The prophecy primarily deals with Damascus and, in view of the Syrian conquest of Israel reaching as far as Aroer on the Arnon, the expression may refer to this southernmost point of their extension of power E of the Jordan.—2 Ki. 10:33.

AROERITE

(A·roʹer·ite)

An inhabitant of one of the cities named Aroer. At 1 Chronicles 11:44 Hotham, the father of two of David’s mighty men named Shama and Jeiel, is referred to as an Aroerite. His sons’ association with David may place their father’s home city in the territory of Judah.—See AROER No. 3.

ARPACHSHAD

(Ar·pachʹshad).

A son of Shem, born two years after the global Flood (about 2368 B.C.E.) and died 438 years later. He was an ancestor of the Hebrews through his grandson Eber. (Gen. 10:22, 24; 11:10-13; 1 Chron. 1:17-27) He is shown to be the father of Shelah, although Luke’s account (3:35, 36), by the inclusion of Cainan, apparently would make him Shelah’s grandfather; but see CAINAN No. 2.—Gen. 10:24; 11:12; 1 Chron. 1:24.

The meaning of the name Arpachshad has been the subject of much discussion, but it is generally conceded to have some relation to the early Chaldeans. The Soncino Books of the Bible (Chronicles) in commenting on 1 Chronicles 1:18 states: “It may be noted that the Hebrew for chshad (the second half of the noun) represents the first part of Casdim, ‘the Chaldeans,’ and Arpachshad may be intended as the originator of that people who are not otherwise mentioned in the list.” Lexicographers Koehler and Baumgartner (Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, p. 89) relate the name to the country referred to as “Arrapachitis” in the writings of Ptolemy, a land situated between Urmia and Lake Van, hence in the region of Armenia.

ARPAD

(Arʹpad).

A royal city of N Syria always associated in the Bible with the city of Hamath. Arpad has been identified with Tell Erfad about twenty-five miles (40 kilometers) NW of Aleppo. Situated on the road leading S to Hamath and Damascus, it came under frequent attack from the Assyrians and was eventually conquered by Tiglath-pileser III and later by Sargon. Thus Sargon’s son, Sennacherib, when threatening Jerusalem in 732 B.C.E., had his spokesman Rabshakeh refer to the fate of Arpad as an evidence of the inability of the gods of the nations to resist Assyria’s mighty power. (2 Ki. 18:34; 19:12, 13) The prophet Isaiah had earlier foretold such boasting. (Isa. 10:9; 36:19; 37:13) Later Jeremiah prophesied that Hamath and Arpad would become ashamed and disintegrate before the “bad report,” evidently concerning the conquests of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.—Jer. 49:23.

ARROW

See ARMS, ARMOR.

ARROW SNAKE

[Heb., qip·pohzʹ].

A snake so called from its darting and springing on its prey, in the manner of the rattlesnake. The Hebrew root from which the name is derived means “to jump” or “leap.” The arrow snake is mentioned in the prophecy of Isaiah (34:15) as one of the creatures to inhabit Edom. This would emphasize the fact that Edom was to become such a desolate ruin that it would become a safe place for the arrow snake to ‘make its nest and lay eggs and hatch them and gather them together under its shadow.’ Most snakes lay eggs, and this text may refer to the practice of some snakes of coiling around their eggs. Says H. W. Parker in his book Snakes (pp. 105, 106): “Coiling around the eggs which is also practiced by several cobras and kraits and some pit-vipers assists incubation by interposing a thermal insulation layer and so maintaining a more uniform temperature, but its major advantage undoubtedly lies in the protection it gives against marauders.”