Deuteronomy 3:1-11

b. CONQUEST OF OG, KING OF BASHAN (Deuteronomy 3:1-11)

Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, unto battle at Edrei. 2 and Jehovah said unto me, Fear him not; for I have delivered him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. 3 So Jehovah our God delivered into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people; and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. 4 And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we took not from them; threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides the unwalled towns a great many. 6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones. 7 But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey unto ourselves. 8 And we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon unto mount Hermon; 9 (which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir;) 10 all the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the children of Arnmon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.)

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 3:1-11

52.

It is very important that each of the places mentioned be located by the student on the map. Locate: Edrei; Heshbon; Bashan.

53.

Was Og a giant? How large?

54.

Be specific about the conquest of Og, his people, his cities, villages, women, children, and cattle.

55.

Mark out on the map the details of the area conquered.

56.

Give at least two possible measurements of Og's bedstead.

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 3:1-11

Then we turned, and went up the road to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
2 And the Lord said to me, Do not fear him; for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.
3 So the Lord our God gave into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people; and we smote him until not one was left to him.
4 And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them, sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
5 All these cities were fortified with high and haughty walls, gates, and bars; besides a great many unwalled villages.
6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city, men, women, and children.
7 But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for booty for ourselves.
8 So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon.
9 (The Sidonians call Hermon, Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir),
10 All the cities of the plain and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
11 or only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the [gigantic] Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, using the cubit of a man [the forearm to the end of the middle finger].

COMMENT 3:1-11

THEN WE TURNED, AND WENT UP THE WAY TO BASHAN (Deuteronomy 3:1)See also Numbers 21:33-35. Israel proceeds northward. Bashan is basically located in the area of the Yarmuk (Warmuk or Hieromax) river drainage, particularly its northern part. These were highlands, used especially for pasture, and soon to be occupied by the half tribe of Manasseh. This was as far north as Israel went on the east side.

OG THE KING OF BASHAN (Deuteronomy 3:1)One of the two kings of the Amorites (Deuteronomy 3:8). His kingdom extended beyond Bashan proper, northward to the slopes of mount Hermon (Deuteronomy 3:8 b, Joshua 12:4-5). (On his stature, see below). Israel battled these people at Edrei, located in the area of Hauran near Bashan's southern border on the upper reaches of the Yarmuk.

THREESCORE CITIES, ALL THE REGION OF THE ARGOB, THE KINGDOM OF OG IN BASHAN (Deuteronomy 3:4)cf. Deuteronomy 3:13. The precise limits of Argob have not been determined. We may take it that Argob lay in the land of Bashan; beyond this, on available data, we cannot certainly go. The soil [of Bashan] is very fertile, composed of lava detritus. In almost every district might have been found the threescore cities.I.S.B.E.

UNWALLED TOWNSProbably better unwalled villages (R.S.V. Amplified O.T., Berkeley, etc.)in contrast to the well fortified cities just described. Besides many an open hamlet (Moffatt); besides country towns exceeding many (Rotherham).

HERMON. SIRON, SENIR (Deuteronomy 3:9)All names for the mountain whose melting snows form a chief source of the Jordan river. SION (Deuteronomy 4:48) is another name. This mountain reaches a height of nine thousand two hundred feet, and extends sixteen to twenty miles north and south. Herman is supposed to signify sacred mountain, Sirion breastplate (probably from its gleaming appearance), Senir[23] coat of mail (apparently for the same reason as the former), and Sion lifted up, probably from its height.

[23] 1 Chronicles 5:23 and Song of Solomon 4:8 seem to lend weight to the idea that Senir was also the name of a specific peak on mount Hermon. The latter is sometimes used with reference to the entire anti-Lebanon range.

FOR ONLY OG KING OF BASHAN REMAINED OF THE REMNANT OF THE REPHAIM (Deuteronomy 3:11)The giant tribe that formerly occupied this territory (See Deuteronomy 2:10-11 and notes). This king was so large that his custom made bedstead[24] was nine by four cubits after the cubit of a manthat is, from the elbow to the end of the middle finger. If the cubit is here figured on a basis of eighteen inches, his bed was 13½ x 6 ft. But this is an arbitrary figure, and Og's bed size is still uncertain to modern readers. The so-called Royal Cubit was approximately 20.6 inches, and seems to be the more ancient measurement. But most think, with Lange, thirteen and a half feet long and six feet broad, if not smaller since it is the common Hebrew cubit from the elbow downwards which is here meant.

[24] Some translators have sarcophagus. But this seems so unlikely in view of the context: Israel did not have great funeral services (let alone elaborate coffins) for the heathen kings it defeated: eres, bedstead, literally curving, is a bed upon which one reclines for rest, Amos 3:12; Amos 6:4: Psalms 6:6Lange.

Concerning this victory Mackintosh well writes, The remembrance of the Lord's dealing with us in the past should strengthen our confidence in going on. The One who had given His people such a victory over the Amorites, who had destroyed such a formidable foe as Og, king of Bashan, and given into their hands all the land of the giants, what could He not do for them? They could hardly expect to encounter in all the land of Canaan any enemy more powerful than Og, whose bedstead was of such enormous dimensions as to call for the special notice of Moses; but what was he in the presence of his almighty creator? Dwarfs and giants are all alike to Him. The grand point is to keep God Himself ever before our eyes; then difficulties vanish. If He covers the eyes, we can see nothing else; and this is the true secret of peace, and the real power of progress. -Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done.-' And as He has done, so He will do. He hath delivered, and he doth deliver, and He will deliver. Past, present, and future are all marked by divine deliverance.[25]

[25] Notes on Deuteronomy. pp. 151, 152