Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 2:21

"a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Jehovah destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead;" — Deuteronomy 2:21 (ASV)

The Lord destroyed them before them. —It is noticeable that the conquest of Canaan is here brought into the domain of common history, by comparison with the conquests of gigantic races accomplished by Edom, Moab, and Ammon. The value of this analogy to Moses and Israel is plain. If the children of Lot, Ishmael, and Esau—who were but Gentiles, although they were Abraham’s seed—were able to dispossess these gigantic races, how much more would Israel be able to dispossess the Canaanites under the personal guidance of Jehovah?