Deuteronomy 2:19—Was the land of Ammon given to Israel or not?

Problem: Here God told Moses, “I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon.” But elsewhere it asserts that Joshua gave Israel “half the land of the Ammonites” as a possession from God (Josh. 13:25).

Solution: These passages speak of two different tracts of land. The land that the Ammonites possessed in Moses’ time (Deut. 2) was not given to nor occupied by the Israelites. However, the Amorites had previously overpowered the Ammonites and taken a tract of land which Israel later occupied (Joshua 13).

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.