Conquests Recounted

1“Then we turned and went up the road toward Bashan, and at Edrei, Og king of Bashan, with all his people came out to meet us in battle. 2And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you, him and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ 3So the LORD our God also handed over Og king of Bashan, and all his people, into our hand and we struck him until no survivor was left. 4We captured 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. 5All these cities were fortified and unassailable with their high walls, gates, and bars; in addition, [there were] a very great number of unwalled villages. 6We utterly destroyed them, just as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city--the men, women, and children. 7But we took all the cattle and the spoil of the cities as plunder for ourselves.

8“So we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings [Sihon and Og] 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): 10all 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(For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the [giants known as the] Rephaim. Behold, his bed frame was a bed frame of iron; is it not in [a]Rabbah of the Ammonites? It was nine cubits (12 ft.) long and four cubits (6 ft.) wide, using the cubit of a man [the forearm to the end of the middle finger].)

12“So we took possession of this land at that time. I gave the territory from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, along with half of the hill country of Gilead and its cities to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. 13The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim. 14Jair the son (descendant) of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, that is Bashan, and called it after his own name, Havvoth (the villages of) Jair, as it is called to this day.) 15I gave Gilead to Machir [of Manasseh]. 16To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of Arnon, with the middle of the Valley as a boundary, and as far as the Jabbok River, the boundary of the sons of Ammon; 17the Arabah also, with the Jordan as its boundary, from Chinnereth (the Sea of Galilee) as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea (Dead Sea), at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18“Then I commanded you [Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh] at that time, saying, ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess; all you who are brave men shall cross over [the Jordan] armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel. 19But your wives and your children and your cattle--I know that you have much livestock--shall remain in your cities which I have given you, 20until the LORD gives rest to your fellow countrymen as [He has] to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God has given them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to the land (possession) which I have given to you.’ 21I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to these two kings [Sihon and Og]; so the LORD shall do the same to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22Do not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who is fighting for you.’

23“Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time [for His favor], saying, 24‘O Lord GOD, You have only begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth that can do such works and mighty acts (miracles) as Yours? 25I pray, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country [with Hermon] and Lebanon.’ 26But the LORD was angry with me because of you [and your rebellion at Meribah], and would not listen to me; and the LORD said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no longer about this matter. 27Go up to the top of [Mount] Pisgah and raise your eyes toward the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross this Jordan. 28But command Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go across and lead this people, and he will give them the land which you see as an inheritance.’ 29So we stayed in the Valley opposite Beth-peor.

[a] 11 If this refers to Og’s actual bed frame (the same Hebrew word can mean “coffin”), it may have been displayed in Rabbah as an Ammonite trophy of war. Its size is impressive, though not an accurate way to determine Og’s height since any important man might have an unusually large bed as a symbol of his power or wealth. Concerning the name of the city, Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt (309-246 B.C.) changed the name of Rabbah to Philadelphia during his reign (283-246 B.C.). Today Amman, capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is located in the area of this ancient site.