Og, King of Bashan
Og was one of the last remaining giants of the Rephaim, ruling the fertile kingdom of Bashan east of the Jordan with sixty fortified cities. When Israel approached on their way to Canaan, Og marched out to battle at Edrei rather than let them pass peacefully, as his neighbor Sihon had already tried. God told Moses not to fear him, and Israel struck him down along with his entire army, leaving no survivor. His massive iron bedstead, preserved as a curiosity in Rabbah of the Ammonites, became a lasting testimony to his size and the completeness of Israel's victory. His defeat, alongside Sihon's, became a recurring refrain in Israel's later worship as proof of God's power to overcome overwhelming odds.
Biography
- Occupation
- King of Bashan
- Era
- Wilderness Wandering
- Nationality
- Rephaite (Amorite kingdom)
Did You Know?
Og's iron bedstead measured nine cubits by four - roughly 13.5 feet long - and was kept on public display in Rabbah as a museum piece.
Deuteronomy calls Og the last 'of the remnant of giants' - with his defeat, an entire ancient line ended.
The victory over Og is celebrated in two psalms (135 and 136) as a standing proof of God's enduring mercy - 'for his mercy endureth for ever.'
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Israel Defeats Og at Edrei
Numbers 21:33-35
God's command not to fear Og echoes his earlier assurance about Sihon - Israel's victories east of the Jordan build their confidence before the greater conquest of Canaan.
33nd they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
Og's Iron Bedstead
Deuteronomy 3:11
The preserved bedstead serves almost as a museum exhibit, a tangible reminder decades later of the giant God had delivered into Israel's hands.
11or only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.