(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Numbers 21:1–3, “And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.”
While the Lord had promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the Promised Land, the people living there actually wanted to keep the Land for themselves. They were not just going to lie down and let Israel take the Land away from them (Gen 15:13–16, “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”). In spite of this, the people in the Land were afraid (Josh 2:9–11, “And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”). Arad, the Canaanite king, decided that the best thing for him to do was to fight against Israel for they would be better to die fighting for their land than to give it up without any struggle. It seems as though they set and ambush and took Israel by surprises and were able to capture some prisoners. These people were not related as the Edomites and, obviously, the iniquity of the Amorites was now full so Moses prayed to the Lord, on Israel’s behalf, and asked for success in battle. The Amorites had started the battle but Israel finished it. They soundly defeated their enemies and called the place “cursed for destruction”, that is, Hormah.
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