Tag Archives: Bashan

Deuteronomy 2-3:

Leave a reply

Israelites’ Initial Conquests:
The Lord has Moses pass by the land of Seir, given to the sons of Esau, and He has them pass by Moab, given to the sons of Lot as their possession.  They too had destroyed the previous resident “giants” called: “The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; like the Anakim they are also known as Reph′aim, but the Moabites call them Emim.” (Deut. 2:10-11)  Other conquered ‘giants’ were: “known as a land of Reph′aim; Reph′aim formerly lived there, but the Ammonites call them Zamzum′mim, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they dispossessed them, and settled in their stead.”  (Deut. 2:20-21)  “Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. And the Lord our God gave him over to us; and we defeated him and his sons and all his people. And we captured all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed every city, men, women, and children; we left none remaining.” (Deut. 2:32-34)  After defeating Sihon, Moses and the Israelites headed north to Bashan and king Og.  And, the Israelites attacked King Og and the 60 cities of Bashan: “we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, destroying every city, men, women, and children.” (Deut. 3:6)  Thus, did Moses and the Israelites defeat the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan.

Giant King Og of the Rephaim:
“For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Reph′aim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.) (Deut. 3:11)  Og of Bashan was one of the race of “giants.” For this, Moses gives a measure of his bed, which was nine cubits long and four cubits wide.  Or, in other words, which would put his bed at about 13.5 feet long x 6 feet wide.  There is some dispute over the actual size of a cubit, but it is roughly 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 feet long. There is also a textual link with these dimensions to Ugaritic texts. The implication being to the Hebrew mind, that through destruction of Og of Bashan, and his kingdom, this proves the superiority of Yahweh over the Canaanite kings and pagan gods and religion.

Joshua to Lead the Israelites in Taking the Promised Land:
“And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are going over.  You shall not fear them; for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’ (Deut. 3:21-22)  And, Moses entreated God to let him behold the Promised Land, even though he was forbidden from entering.  He said: “Let me go over, I pray, and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill country, and Lebanon.’  But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not hearken to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Let it suffice you; speak no more to me of this matter.  Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and behold it with your eyes; for you shall not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him; for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land which you shall see.’” (Deut. 3:25-28) The Lord tells Moses to climb the mountainous area of Pisgah on from the plains of Moab, specifically Moses climbs up Mount Nebo (in Jordan) to behold the Promised Land.

Numbers 20-21:

Leave a reply

The Sin of Moses and Aaron:
This chapter begins with the death of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.  After that, there is another famine at Kadesh.  The Israelites issue the same grumblings as before: “And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink.” (Num. 20:5)  The Lord then appears to Moses and Aaron and tells them to go and “order the rock to yield its waters.” (Num. 20:8) Yet, Moses goes before the Israelite community and shouts at them “Listen to me, you rebels!  Are we to bring water for you out of this rock? Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out in abundance for the community and their livestock to drink.”  (Num. 20:10-11)  The Lord did as He promised and provided water for the Israelites, yet He was angry with Moses and Aaron for disobeying Him.  He said, “Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them.” (Num. 20:12)  Moses was angry with the Israelites and treated them contemptuously.  But, more egregiously, he did not just speak to the rock as the Lord had commanded him, but struck the rock twice in defiance of God’s orders.  Moreover, Moses contends that he is the one bringing water from the rock, and not God. Because of these sins of disobedience, God forbids Moses and Aaron from entering the Promised Land.  This they did at the waters of Meribah.

Edom’s Refusal of Passage:
Moses sent word to the Edomites that their “brother Israel” wished to pass through their country along the King’s Highway, which runs north-south in Edom (Jordan), parallel to the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. .  Edomites were the descendants of Esau, who had been the twin brother of Jacob.  Yet, just as Esau was bitter at Jacob, so too still, was Edom bitter at Israel, saying, “you shall not pass through.”

The Death of Aaron:
The Israelites reach Mount Hor on the border of Edom.  The Lord instructs Aaron to come up to the top of Mt. Hor and divest his garments and give them to his son, Eleazar, “for there Aaron shall be taken in death.” (Num. 20:26)  Once up on top of Mt. Hor, “Aaron died there on top of the mountain.”

The Bronze Serpent:
After mourning Aaron for 30 days, the Israelites departed from Mt. Hor and headed back on the Red Sea road to bypass Edom.  But, again, the Israelites grumbled against Moses and against God saying, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water?  We are disgusted with this wretched food!” [ie, the manna] (Num. 21:5)  It is interesting that the Israelites complained against the manna from heaven, as many today grumble against the Eucharist and Jesus.  For punishment, the Lord sent “fiery serpents” among them, which “bit the people so that many of them died.” (Num. 21:6)  The people then repented of their sin and asked Moses to pray to the Lord, to forgive them and save them from the serpents.  Then, Moses prayed and the Lord instructed him: “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover.”  (Num. 21:8) So, Moses made a “bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.” (Num. 21:9)  Jesus, of course, referenced this passage directly, by applying it to Himself.  He said: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)  Jesus was referring to Himself being lifted up on the Cross, and whoever believes in Him would have eternal life.

Israelite Victories:
The Israelites journey around Moab, and conquer Sihon, the king of the Amorites. From there, the Israelites went up along the road to Bashan, and advanced against Og, the king of Bashan. With the assurance of the Lord, they advanced against Bashan and struck down Og and all his people “until not a survivor was left to him, and they took possession of his land.” (Num. 21:35)