במדבר, פרק כ״א, פסוק ל״א

Following the victory over Sihon, the Israelites took up residence in the newly conquered territory. This moment serves as a broad conclusion to the step-by-step process of their military campaign [ביאור יש״ר]. The region they occupied was not a crowded, densely populated area. Rather, it was primarily made up of open spaces dedicated to farming and grazing livestock [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

It is highly significant that the Israelites settled specifically in the territory of the Amorites, carefully avoiding the neighboring lands of Moab. Generations later, this exact historical detail became a crucial piece of evidence for Jephthah when he needed to prove that the Israelites never took any territory belonging to Moab or Ammon [ספורנו].

The record of the Israelites settling in this region appears before any mention of the upcoming conflict with Og, the king of Bashan. This sequence reveals Moses's true intentions at the time. He had no desire to wage war against Og or to capture his land. Even the battle against Sihon was originally intended only to secure a safe route for the Israelites to travel into the Land of Israel. However, God guided the course of events differently. While the Israelites were living peacefully in the Amorite territory, Og unexpectedly marched out to attack them. This sudden aggression forced the Israelites into a defensive war, which ultimately led them to conquer Og's land as well [העמק דבר].