Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn't come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
Jephthah’s reference to 300 years (Judges 11:26) is an important benchmark in biblical chronology. It had been approximately 300 years since the Israelites had defeated Sihon and captured Heshbon (in 1406 B.C.). Shortly after Jephthah spoke these words he defeated the Ammonites (Judges 11:33; about 1106 B.C.) and ended the 18-year Ammonite oppression (Judges 10:8). The Philistine oppression of Israel began at the same time as the Ammonite oppression (Judges 10:7; in 1124 B.C.). The Philistines harassed Israel for 40 years (Judges 13:1; ca. 1124-1084 B.C.). The dates of the Philistine oppression are important because they provide a framework for the ministries of Eli and Samuel as well as Samson. This time reference, along with the one in 1 Kings 6:1, indicates that the Exodus took place about 1446 B.C. rather than about 1280 B.C. Advocates of the 1280 B.C. date of the Exodus usually take the 300 years as a round number indicating several generations, as they also interpret 1 Kings 6:1, or as a total of overlapping periods. [Note: For further discussion of the chronology of Judges, see Merrill, Kingdom of . . ., pp. 146-51.] 