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Chapter 3

Defeat of Og. Then we turned and proceeded up the road to Bashan. But Og, king of Bashan,(A) came out against us with all his people to give battle at Edrei. The Lord said to me, Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your power with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. And thus the Lord, our God, delivered into our power also Og, king of Bashan, with all his people. We defeated him so completely that we left him no survivor. At that time we captured all his cities; there was no town we did not take: sixty cities in all, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan— all these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars—besides a great number of unwalled towns. (B)As we had done to Sihon, king of Heshbon, so also here we put all the towns under the ban, men, women and children; but all the livestock and the spoils of each city we took as plunder for ourselves.

And so at that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan the territory from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion and the Amorites call it Senir), 10 all the towns of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, towns of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (Og, king of Bashan, was the last remaining survivor of the Rephaim. He had a bed of iron,[a] nine regular cubits long and four wide, which is still preserved in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)(C)

Allotment of the Conquered Lands. 12 (D)As for the land we took possession of at that time, I gave Reuben and Gad the territory from Aroer, on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, halfway up into the highlands of Gilead, with its cities. 13 The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (The whole Argob region, all that part of Bashan, was once called a land of the Rephaim.(E) 14 Jair, a Manassite,(F) took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and named them—Bashan, that is—after himself, Havvoth-jair, the name it bears today.) 15 To Machir[b] I gave Gilead, 16 and to Reuben and Gad the territory from Gilead to the Wadi Arnon—the middle of the wadi being its boundary—and to the Wadi Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites, 17 as well as the Arabah with the Jordan and its banks from Chinnereth[c] to the Salt Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18 (G)At that time I charged you: The Lord, your God, has given you this land as your possession. But all your troops equipped for battle must cross over in the vanguard of your fellow Israelites. 19 But your wives and children, as well as your livestock, of which I know you have a large number, shall remain behind in the towns I have given you, 20 until the Lord has settled your relatives as well, and they too possess the land which the Lord, your God, will give them on the other side of the Jordan. Then you may all return to the possessions I have given you.

21 And I charged Joshua as well, “Your own eyes have seen all that the Lord, your God, has done to both these kings; so, too, will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you will cross over. 22 Do not fear them, for it is the Lord, your God, who will fight for you.”(H)

Moses Excluded from the Promised Land. 23 (I)It was then that I entreated the Lord, 24 “Lord God, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. What god in heaven or on earth can perform deeds and powerful acts like yours? 25 Ah, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that fine hill country, and the Lebanon!” 26 But the Lord was angry with me on your account[d] and would not hear me.(J) The Lord said to me, Enough! Speak to me no more of this. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look out to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross this Jordan.(K) 28 Commission Joshua,(L) and encourage and strengthen him, for it is he who will cross at the head of this people and he who will give them possession of the land you are to see.

29 So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Footnotes

  1. 3:11 Bed of iron: some translate, “a sarcophagus of basalt”; its dimensions would be approximately thirteen and a half feet by six feet.
  2. 3:15 Machir: a clan of the tribe of Manasseh (cf. Gn 50:23).
  3. 3:17 Chinnereth: later known as the Lake of Gennesaret and the Sea of Galilee. The Salt Sea: the Dead Sea. Pisgah: a mountain range to the northeast of the Salt Sea; Mount Nebo, from which Moses viewed the promised land, is in this range (cf. v. 27; 34:1).
  4. 3:26 On your account: that Moses saw but never entered the promised land is attested by every Pentateuchal tradition, but different reasons are given in different places. Nm 20:12 and Dt 32:51 present Moses as being at fault. Here, as in 1:37 and 4:21, the fault lies in the people but affects Moses.

Defeat of Og King of Bashan

Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan(A) with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.(B) The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid(C) of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down,(D) leaving no survivors.(E) At that time we took all his cities.(F) There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom(G) in Bashan.(H) All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. We completely destroyed[a] them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying[b](I) every city—men, women and children. But all the livestock(J) and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites(K) the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.(L) (Hermon is called Sirion(M) by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)(N) 10 We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah(O) and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites.(P) His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide.[c] It is still in Rabbah(Q) of the Ammonites.)

Division of the Land

12 Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer(R) by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. 13 The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh.(S) (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.(T) 14 Jair,(U) a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites;(V) it was named(W) after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.[d]) 15 And I gave Gilead to Makir.(X) 16 But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River,(Y) which is the border of the Ammonites. 17 Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah,(Z) from Kinnereth(AA) to the Sea of the Arabah(AB) (that is, the Dead Sea(AC)), below the slopes of Pisgah.

18 I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given(AD) you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites.(AE) 19 However, your wives,(AF) your children and your livestock(AG) (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid(AH) of them;(AI) the Lord your God himself will fight(AJ) for you.”

23 At that time I pleaded(AK) with the Lord: 24 “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness(AL) and your strong hand. For what god(AM) is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works(AN) you do?(AO) 25 Let me go over and see the good land(AP) beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.(AQ)

26 But because of you the Lord was angry(AR) with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah(AS) and look west and north and south and east.(AT) Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross(AU) this Jordan.(AV) 28 But commission(AW) Joshua, and encourage(AX) and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across(AY) and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  2. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  3. Deuteronomy 3:11 That is, about 14 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 4 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  4. Deuteronomy 3:14 Or called the settlements of Jair