Jephthah's recounting of Israel's successful victory over Sihon and possession of the Amorite kingdom's territory establishes the concrete historical precedent for Israel's occupation of these lands and demonstrates that Israel did not merely pass through but actually conquered and settled the region. The conquest of "the land of the Amorites who lived in that country" from the Arnon to the Jabbok establishes specific geographical boundaries and suggests that Jephthah knows the precise territorial contours of Israel's possession. This verse establishes the legitimacy of Israel's presence in these territories through actual military conquest and settlement, suggesting that possession through conquest is recognized as legitimate basis for territorial claim in the ancient Near Eastern context. The territorial specificity—from the Arnon to the Jabbok—suggests that these boundaries represent the established limits of Israelite settlement in the Transjordanian region.

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