Joshua 13:16

16. Aroer A city on the northern bank of the river Arnon, and on the southern border of the territory conquered from Sihon, king of the Amorites. Compare Numbers 21:26. Its ruins, called Araayr, were discovered by Burckhardt on the summit of a lofty wall of rock overlooking the ancient Arnon. It is to be distinguished from the Aroer before Rabbah (Joshua 13:25) and the Aroer in the south of Judah. 1 Samuel 30:28. The city that is in the midst of the river is a subject of dispute. Some think it is the city Aroer itself. Others conjecture that Aroer consisted of two parts, or an upper and lower city, one on the high bank of the river, and the other in the valley below, where it may have been surrounded by the waters of the stream. Others think it was a city at the junction of the Arnon and one of its tributaries, where Burckhardt saw a hill with ruins on it. Keil thinks that it was Ar of Moab, and at that junction Ar Moab is located on Menke’s map.

Plain by Medeba “The whole plain of Medeba was occupied by the Reubenites; but the city itself was, perhaps, strongly fortified, and suffered to remain, like many in western Palestine, in the hands of its old inhabitants. Its ruins still exist, and bear their old name under the Arabic form Madeba. They lie about four miles southeast of Heshbon, with which they are connected by an ancient paved road. The city occupied a low hill, a mile and a half in circumference. The whole site is covered with ruins; not a solitary building remains standing. The plain around it, though now desolate, is fertile, and thickly dotted with ancient cities.” J.L. Porter.