Bashan

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("rich soil".) The tract beyond Jordan ( Deuteronomy 3:3;  Deuteronomy 3:10;  Deuteronomy 3:14;  Joshua 12:5;  1 Chronicles 5:23), between mount Hermon on the N., and Gilead on the S., the Arabah or Jordan valley on the W., and Salkah and the Geshurites and Maacathites on the E. Fitted for pasture; so assigned with half Gilead from Mahanaim to the half tribe of Manasseh, as the rest of Gilead was to Reuben and Gad, as those tribes abounded in flocks and herds ( Joshua 13:29-32;  Numbers 32:1-33). Famed for its forests of oaks ( Isaiah 2:13). It was taken by Israel after conquering Sihon's land from Arnon to Jabbok. They "turned and went up by the way of Bashan," the route to Edrei on the W. border of the Lejah. Og, the giant king of Bashan, "came out" from the rugged strongholds of Argob to encounter them, and perished with all his people ( Numbers 21:33-35;  Deuteronomy 3:1-5;  Deuteronomy 3:12-13).(See Argob .)

Argob and its 60 "fenced cities" formed the, principal part of Bashan, which had "beside unwalled towns a great many." Ashtaroth (Beeshterah,  Joshua 21:27, compare  1 Chronicles 6:71), Golan (a city of refuge, assigned with Ashtaroth to the Gershomite Levites), Edrei, Salkah, were the chief cities. Argob in Bashan (See Bashan -HAVOTH-JAIR), with its 60 walled and barred cities still standing, was one of Solomon's commissariat districts ( 1 Kings 4:13). Hazael devastated it subsequently ( 2 Kings 10:33). The wild cattle of its pastures, "strong bulls of Bashan," were proverbially famed ( Psalms 22:12;  Amos 4:1); also its oaks ( Ezekiel 27:6); and hills ( Psalms 68:15); and pastures (Jeremiah 1.19;  Micah 7:14).

The name "Gilead," connected with the history of the patriarch Jacob ( Genesis 31:47-48), supplanted "Bashan," including Bashan as well as the region originally called "Gilead," After the return from Babylon Bashan was divided into

(1) Gaulanitis or Jaulan, the most western, on the sea of Galilee, and lake Merom, and rising to a table land 3,000 ft. above the water, clothed still in the N.W. with oaks, and having the ruins of 127 villages.

(2) Auranitis, the Hauran ( Ezekiel 47:16), the most fertile region in Syria, S.E. of the last, and S. of the Lejah, abounding in ruins of towns, as Bozrah, and houses with stone roofs and doors and massive walls, and having also inhabited villages.

(3) Trachonitis ("rugged"): Argob, now the Lejah, rocky and intricate, in contrast to the rich level of the Hauran and Jaulan. (See Argob .)

(4) Batanaea (akin to Bashan), now Ard el-Bathanyeh, E. of the Lejah, N. of the Jebel Hauran range, of rich soil, abounding in evergreen oaks; with many towns deserted, but almost as perfect as the day they were built. E. of Jebel Hauran lies the desert El Harrah covered with black volcanic stones. The Safah E. of this is a natural fortress thickly strewed with shattered basalt, through which tortuous fissures are the only paths. On the eastern side of volcanic hills lie ruined villages of a very archaic structure. Traces appear of an ancient road with stones placed at intervals and inscribed with characters like the Sinaitic. N. of Hauran and Jaulan lies Jedur, the Ituraea of the New Testament; the country of Jetur, son of Ishmael; possibly once part of Og's kingdom of Bashan.  Psalms 68:22, "I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring My people again from the depths of the sea," means, "I will restore Israel from all quarters, and from dangers as great as their conflict with Og of Bashan, and, as the passage through the Red Sea. "Why leap ye, ye high hills?" namely, with envy. Or translate, "Why do ye look with suspicion and envy?" namely, at God's hill, Zion, which He hath raised to so high a spiritual elevation above you.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

or BASAN, one of the most fertile cantons of Canaan, which was bounded on the west by the river Jordan, on the east by the mountains of Gilead, on the south by the brook of Jabbok, and on the north by the land of Geshur. The whole kingdom took its name from the hill of Bashan, which is situated in the middle of it, and by the Greeks is called Batanaea.

It had no less than sixty walled towns in it, beside villages. It afforded an excellent breed of cattle, and stately oaks, and was, in short, a plentiful and populous country. Og, king of the Amorites, possessed this country when Moses made the conquest thereof. In the division of the Holy Land, it was assigned to the half tribe of Manasseh. Of the present state of this portion of the ancient possessions of the Israelites, Mr. Buckingham, in his Travels, gives the following account: "We ascended the steep on the north side of the Zerkah, or Jabbok; and, on reaching the summit, came again on a beautiful plain, of an elevated level, and still covered with a very rich soil. We had now quitted the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and entered into that of Og, the king of Bashan, both of them well known to all the readers of the early Scriptures. We had quitted too, the districts apportioned to the tribes of Reuben and of Gad, and entered that part which was allotted to the half tribe of Manasseh, beyond Jordan eastward, leaving the land of the children of Ammon on our right, or to the east of the Jabbok, which, according to the authority before quoted, divided Ammon, or Philadelphia, from Gerasa. The mountains here are called the land of Gilead in the Scriptures, and in Josephus; and, according to the Roman division, this was the country of the Decapolis, so often spoken of in the New Testament, or the province of Gaulonitis, from the city of Gaulon, its early capital. We continued our way over this elevated tract, continuing to behold, with surprise and admiration, a beautiful country on all sides of us: its plains covered with a fertile soil, its hills clothed with forests; at every new turn presenting the most magnificent landscapes that could be imagined. Among the trees, the oak was frequently seen; and we know that this territory produced them of old. In enumerating the sources from which the supplies of Tyre were drawn in the time of her great wealth and naval splendour, the Prophet says, ‘Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars,'  Ezekiel 27:6 . Some learned commentators indeed, believing that no oaks grew in these supposed desert regions, have translated the word by ‘alders,' to prevent the appearance of inaccuracy in the inspired writer. The expression of ‘the fat bulls of Bashan,' which occurs more than once in the Scriptures, seemed to us equally inconsistent, as applied to the beasts of a country generally thought to be a desert, in common with the whole tract which is laid down in our modern maps as such between the Jordan and the Euphrates; but we could now fully comprehend, not only that the bulls of this luxuriant country might be proverbially fat, but that its possessors, too, might be a race renowned for strength and comeliness of person. The general face of this region improved as we advanced farther in it; and every new direction of our path opened upon us views which surprised and charmed us by their grandeur and their beauty. Lofty mountains gave an outline of the most magnificent character; flowing beds of secondary hills softened the romantic wildness of the picture; gentle slopes, clothed with wood, gave a rich variety of tints, hardly to be imitated by the pencil; deep valleys, filled with murmuring streams and verdant meadows, offered all the luxuriance of cultivation; and herds and flocks gave life and animation to scenes as grand, as beautiful, and as highly picturesque as the genius or taste of a Claude could either invent or desire."

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Bashan was the region lying north of the Yarmuk River and east of the Sea of Galilee, though the name was occasionally used to cover a wider area. When Israel under Moses moved up from the south conquering all the territory between the Arnon and Jabbok Rivers, they continued on immediately to conquer the land of Bashan. This conquest must have included that part of the land of Gilead that lay between the Jabbok and Yarmuk Rivers ( Numbers 21:24;  Numbers 21:31-35; for map and other details see Gilead ). The battle in which the king of Bashan was defeated was fought at Edrei ( Deuteronomy 3:1-3).

When all the conquered lands east of Jordan were divided between Israel’s two and a half eastern tribes, Bashan fell within the tribal area of Manasseh ( Joshua 13:29-31). This Bashan region included within it sixty cities, the most important of which were Edrei, Ashtaroth and Golan ( Deuteronomy 3:4;  Joshua 12:4-5;  Joshua 21:27). The region was fertile and had good pastures. It was well known for its forests, sheep, and particularly the fine cattle it produced ( Deuteronomy 32:14;  Psalms 22:12;  Isaiah 2:13;  Jeremiah 50:19;  Ezekiel 27:6;  Ezekiel 39:18;  Amos 4:1;  Micah 7:14).

Israel maintained control of Bashan at least till the time of Solomon ( 1 Kings 4:13). Some time later it lost Bashan, but regained control in the reign of Jeroboam II ( 2 Kings 14:25). Israel lost Bashan again, this time without any hope of regaining it, when Assyria overran the northern and eastern sections of Israel and took the people into captivity ( 2 Kings 15:29). In New Testament times the regions of Iturea and Trachonitis fell within the territory of ancient Bashan ( Luke 3:1).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Now best known for the Golan Heights, it is a large district on the east of the Jordan, having Gilead on the south and extending northward to Mount Hermon; westward to the Jordan valley, and eastward nearly as far as 37 E. It is sometimes called the "land of Bashan," and it was the kingdom of Og the Amorite. It was conquered by Moses, and became, with part of Gilead, the portion of the half-tribe of Manasseh. Its principal cities were Ashtaroth (or Beeshterah) given to the Levites, Golan a 'city of refuge,' Edrei, and Salcah on its border. It was ravaged by Hazael in the time of Jehu, and is not often alluded to in the later history of the kings of Judah and Israel.  Joshua 13:30,31;  Joshua 21:27;  2 Kings 10:33;  1 Chronicles 5:11 .

The district was in later days divided into

1. GAULANITIS on the west, now called Jaulan , a rich district with noble forests.

2. AURANITIS, in the centre, now called Hauran , a magnificent plain.

3. TRACHONITIS, on the north-east, also called ARGOB, q.v.; now called El Lejah, a wild district of basaltic rocks.

4. BATANAEA, on the south-east, now called Ard el Bathanyeh. The four districts have relics of a numerous population, with massive houses built of stone in some parts.

THE Oaks Of Bashan are used symbolically for great strength and loftiness, which God in His judgement brings down.  Isaiah 2:13;  Ezekiel 27:6; Zechariah 11:2 .

Bulls Of Bashan are figurative of strong ruthless enemies,  Amos 4:1 , whom God in the coming judgement on Gog will crush, and will call for the fowls and the beasts to come and feed upon their flesh and their blood,  Ezekiel 39:18 : and lastly, when the blessed Lord was on the cross, His description of His vindictive enemies includes the strong bulls of Bashan which beset Him around, and gaped upon Him with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.  Psalm 22:12,13 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

BASHAN . The name of the territory east of the Sea of Tiberias. It was the kingdom of Og, the Rephaite opponent of Israel, and with his name the country is almost invariably associated (  Numbers 21:33 ,   Deuteronomy 29:7 ,   Nehemiah 9:22 etc.). The territory was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh, with a reservation of two cities, Golan and Be-eshterah (Ashtaroth in   1 Chronicles 6:71 ), for the Gershonite Levites (  Joshua 21:27 ). In the time of Jehu the country was smitten by Hazael (  2 Kings 10:33 ). It was noted for mountains (  Psalms 68:15 ), lions (  Deuteronomy 33:22 ), oak trees (  Isaiah 2:13 ,   Ezekiel 27:6 ,   Zechariah 11:2 ), and especially cattle, both rams (  Deuteronomy 32:14 ) and bullocks (  Ezekiel 39:18 ); the bulls and kine of Bashan are typical of cruelty and oppression (  Psalms 22:12 ,   Amos 4:1 ). The extent of the territory denoted by this name cannot be exactly defined till some important identifications can be established, such as the exact meaning of ‘the region of Argob’ (included in the kingdom of Og,   Deuteronomy 3:4 etc.), where were threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars, administered for Solomon by Ben-geber of Ramoth-gilead (  1 Kings 4:13 ). It included Salecah ( Salkhat , on the borders of the desert), Edrei ( ed-Der‘a  ?), Ashtaroth (perhaps Tell Ashareh ), and Golan, one of the cities of refuge, the name of which may be preserved in the Jaulan , the region immediately east of the Sea of Tiberias.

R. A. S. Macalister.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Bashan ( Bâ'Shan ), Light Sandy Soil. A district reaching from Hermon to Gilead at the river Arnon, and from the Jordan valley eastward to Salcah. It is referred to about 60 times in the Bible. Bashan has two ranges of mountains, one along the Jordan valley, about 3000 feet high, another irregular range on the east side of the district; between them are plains or undulating tableland watered by springs. The rock of basalt on the west is broken into deep chasms and jagged projections; the hills are covered with oak forests, as in former times.  Isaiah 2:13;  Ezekiel 27:6;  Zechariah 11:2. The plain of the Jaulan (Golan of Scripture) is a vast field of powdered lava and basalt, a fertile pasture to this day. The northeastern portion of Bashan, including the Argob of Scripture, is a wild mass of basaltic rock. The centre of Bashan was mostly a fertile plain, and was regarded as the richest in Syria. The early people of Bashan were the giants Rephaim.  Genesis 14:5. Og, its king, was defeated and slain by Israel,  Numbers 21:33;  Numbers 32:33, and the country divided. Its pastures, cattle, sheep, oaks, and forests were famous.  Deuteronomy 32:14;  Psalms 22:12;  Isaiah 2:13;  Jeremiah 50:19;  Ezekiel 39:18. After the captivity it was divided into four provinces. The country is now nominally under Turkish rule, but is really held by tribes of Arabs, dangerous, warlike, and unsubdued. Bashan is almost literally crowded with cities and villages, now in ruins, some supposed to date back to Joshua's conquest, corroborating the account in Scripture.  Joshua 13:30.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ba'shan. (Fruitful). A district on the east of Jordan. It is sometimes spoken of as the "land of Bashan,"  1 Chronicles 5:11, and compare  Numbers 21:33;  Numbers 32:33, and sometimes as "all Bashan."  Deuteronomy 3:10;  Deuteronomy 3:13;  Joshua 12:5;  Joshua 13:12;  Joshua 13:30.

It was taken by the children of Israel, after their conquest of the land of Sihon, from Arnon to Jabbok. The limits of Bashan are very strictly defined. It extended from the "border of Gilead" on the south , to Mount Hermon on the north,  Deuteronomy 3:3;  Deuteronomy 3:10;  Deuteronomy 3:14;  Joshua 12:5;  1 Chronicles 5:23, and from the Arabah or Jordan valley on the west, to Salchah ( Sulkhad ) and the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites on the east.  Joshua 12:3-5;  Deuteronomy 3:10.

This important district was bestowed on the half-tribe of Manasseh,  Joshua 13:29-31, together with "half Gilead." This country is now full of interesting ruins, which have lately been explored, and from which, much light has been thrown upon Bible times. See Porter's "Giant Cities of Bashan."

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Fat, fruitful,  Numbers 21:33 , a rich hilly district lying east of the Jordan, and between the mountains of Hermon on the north, and those of Gilead and Ammon on the south. The country takes its name from its soft and sandy soil. It is celebrated in Scripture for its rich pasturage: "Rams, of the breed of Bashan,"  Deuteronomy 32:14; "Rams, bulls, goats, all of them fatlings of Bashan,"  Ezekiel 39:18 . The oaks of Bashan are mentioned in connection with the cedars of Lebanon,  Isaiah 2:13 . Modern travelers describe the country as still abounding with verdant and fertile meadows, valleys traversed by refreshing streams, hills crowned with forests, and pastures offering an abundance to the flocks that wander through them. In the time of Joshua, Argob, one of its chief districts, contained sixty walled towns,  Deuteronomy 4:43   Joshua 20:8   21:27 . Bashan was assigned, after the conquest of Og and his people,  Joshua 12:4 , to the half tribe of Manasseh. David drew supplies from this region,  1 Kings 4:13 . It was conquered by Hazael, but Joash recovered it,  2 Kings 10:33   13:25 . From Bashan came the Greek name Batanaea, in modern Arabic El-Bottein. But this latter only included its southern part. The ancient Bashan covered the Roman provinces named Gaulonitis, trachonitis, Auranitis, Batanaea, and Ituraea.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Batanaea, now Ard-el-Bathanyeh, on the east of the Lejah, with many deserted towns almost as perfect as when they were inhabited. (See Hauran .)

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Bashan'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/b/bashan.html. 1897.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Numbers 21:33-35 Deuteronomy 3:13 Joshua 13:29-31 Deuteronomy 32:14 Ezekiel 39:18

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

A most rich and fruitful country. It lay beyond Jordan; and before Israel's conquest, it was possessed by Og. The sacred writers continually speak of the fertility of this land. The name seems expressive of it, Beth, in; Shen, the very mouth or tooth.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Bashan', בָּשָׁן , usually with the art., הִבָּשָׁן , Light sandy Soil; Samaritan Ver. בתנין ; Targ. בּוּתְנָן ,  Psalms 68:13, also מִתְנָן ; the latter, Buxtorf [ Lex. Talm. col. 370] suggests, may have originated in the mistake of a transcriber, yet both are found in Targ. Jon.,  Deuteronomy 33:22; Sept. Βασάν and Βασανῖτις , Josephus,[Ant. 9:8] and Eusebius [Onomast. s.v.] Βαταναία ) , a district on the east of Jordan, the modern el-Bottein or el-Betheneyeh (Abulfeda, Tab. Syr. p. 97). It is not, like Argob and other districts of Palestine, distinguished by one designation, but is sometimes spoken of as the "land of Bashan" ( 1 Chronicles 5:11;. and comp.  Numbers 21:33;  Numbers 32:33); and sometimes as "all Bashan" ( Deuteronomy 3:10;  Deuteronomy 3:13;  Joshua 12:5;  Joshua 13:12;  Joshua 13:30), but most commonly without any addition. The word probably denotes the peculiar fertility of the soil; by the ancient versions, instead of using it as a proper name, a word meaning Fruitful Or Fat is adopted. Thus, in  Psalms 22:13, for Bashan, we find in Sept. Πίονες ; Aquila, Λιπαροί ; Symmachus, Σιτιστοί ; and Vulg. Pingues (Psalm 67:16), for Hill Of Bashan; Sept. Ὄρος Πῖον ; Jerome (see Bochart, Hierozoicon, pt. 1, col. 531), Mons Pinguis. The richness of the pasture-land of Bashan, and the consequent superiority of its breed of cattle, are frequently alluded to in the Scriptures. We read in  Deuteronomy 22:14, of "rams of the breed (Heb. Sons ) of Bashan." ( Ezekiel 39:18), "Rams, lambs, bulls, goats, all of them fatlings of Bashan." The oaks of Bashan are mentioned in connection with the cedars of Lebanon ( Isaiah 2:13;  Zechariah 11:2). In Ezekiel's description of the wealth and magnificence of Tyre it is said, "Of the oaks of Bashan have they made their oars" ( Ezekiel 27:6). The ancient commentators on  Amos 4:1, "the kine of Bashan," Jerome, Theodoret, and Cyril, speak in the strongest terms of the exuberant fertility of Bashan (Bochart, Hierozoicon, pt. 1, col. 306), and modern travelers corroborate their assertions. See Burckhardt's Travels In Syria, p. 286-288; Buckingham's Travels In Palest. 2:112-117.

The first notice of this country is in  Genesis 14:5. Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaims in Ashtaroth Karnaim." Now Og, king of Bashan, dwelt in Ashtaroth, and "was of the remnant of the Rephaim" (Auth. Vers. "giants"),  Joshua 12:4. When the Israelites invaded the Promised Land, Argob, a province of Bashan, contained "sixty fenced cities, with walls, and gates, and brazen bars, besides unwalled towns a great many" ( Deuteronomy 3:4-5;  1 Kings 4:13). All these were taken by the children of Israel after their conquest of the land of Sihon from Arnon to Jabbok. They "turned" from their road over Jordan and "went up by the way of Bashan" — probably very much the same as that now followed by the pilgrims of the Haj route and by the Romans before them — to Edrei, on the western edge of the Lejah. See EDREI Here they encountered Og, king of Bashan, who "came out" probably from the natural fastnesses of Argob only to meet the entire destruction of himself, his sons, and all his people ( Numbers 21:33-35;  Deuteronomy 3:1-3). Argob, with its 60 strongly fortified cities, evidently formed a principal portion of Bashan ( Deuteronomy 3:4-5), though still only a portion ( Deuteronomy 3:13), there being besides a large number of unwalled towns ( Deuteronomy 3:5). Its chief cities were Ashtaroth (i.e. Beeshterah, comp.  Joshua 21:27 with  1 Chronicles 6:71), Edrei, Golan, Salcah, and possibly Mahanaim ( Joshua 13:30). Two of these cities, viz. Golan and Beeshterah, were allotted to the Levites of the family of Gershom, the former as a "city of refuge" ( Joshua 21:27;  1 Chronicles 6:71). The important district was bestowed on the half tribe of Manasseh ( Joshua 13:29-31), together with "half Gilead." After the Manassites had assisted their brethren in the conquest of the country west of the Jordan, they went to their tents and to their cattle in the possession which Moses had given them in Bashan ( Joshua 22:7-8). It is doubtful, however, whether the limits of this tribe ever extended over the whole of this region. (See Manasseh).

Solomon appointed twelve officers to furnish the monthly supplies for the royal household, and allotted the region of Argob to the son of Geber ( 1 Kings 4:13). Toward the close of Jehu's reign, Hazael invaded the land of Israel, and smote the whole eastern territory, "even Gilead and Bashan" ( 2 Kings 10:33; Joseph. Ant. 9:8, 1); but after his death the cities he had taken were recovered by Jehoash (Joash) ( 2 Kings 13:25), who defeated the Syrians in three battles, as Elisha had predicted ( 2 Kings 13:19; Joseph. Ant. 9:8, 7). After this date, although the "oaks" of its forests and the wild cattle of its pastures — the "strong bulls of Bashan" — long retained their proverbial fame ( Ezekiel 27:6;  Psalms 22:12), and the beauty of its high downs and wide-sweeping plains could not but strike now and then the heart of a poet ( Amos 4:1;  Psalms 68:15;  Jeremiah 50:19;  Micah 7:14), yet the country almost disappears from history; its very name seems to have given place as quickly as possible to one which had a connection with the story of the founder of the nation ( Genesis 31:47-48), and therefore more claim to use. Even so early as the time of the conquest, "Gilead" seems to have begun to take the first place as the designation of the country beyond the Jordan, a place which it retained afterward to the exclusion of Bashan (comp.  Joshua 22:9;  Joshua 22:15;  Joshua 22:32;  Judges 20:1;  Psalms 60:7;  Psalms 108:8;  1 Chronicles 27:21;  2 Kings 15:29). Indeed "Bashan" is most frequently used as a mere accompaniment to the name of Og, when his overthrow is alluded to in the national poetry. After the captivity the name Batanaea was applied to only a part of the ancient Bashan; the three remaining sections being called Trachonitis, Auranitis, and Gaulanitis (Lightfoot's Works, 10:282). All these provinces were granted by Augustus to Herod the Great, and on his death Batanaea formed a part of Philip's tetrarchy (Joseph. War, 2:6, 3; Ant. 18:4, 6). At his decease, A.D. 34, it was annexed by Tiberius to the province of Syria; but in A.D. 37 it was given by Caligula to Herod Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus, with the title of king ( Acts 12:1; Joseph. Ant. 18:6, 10). From the time of Agrippa's death, in A.D. 44, to A.D. 53, the government again reverted to the Romans, but it was then restored by Claudius to Agrippa II ( Acts 25:13; Joseph. Ant. 20, 7, 1). The ancient limits of Bashan are very strictly defined. It extended from the "border of Gilead" on the south to Mount Hermon on the north ( Deuteronomy 3:3;  Deuteronomy 3:10;  Deuteronomy 3:14;  Joshua 12:5;  1 Chronicles 5:23), and from the Arabah or Jordan valley on the west to Salcah and the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites on the east ( Joshua 12:3-5;  Deuteronomy 3:10). The sacred writers include in Bashan that part of the country eastward of the Jordan which was given to half the tribe of Manasseh, situated to the north of Gilead. Bochart incorrectly places it between the rivers Jabbok and Arnon, and speaks of it as the allotment of the tribes of Reuben and Gad ( Numbers 32:33). Of the four post-exilian provinces, Gaulanitis, Auranitis, Trachonitis, and Batanaea, all but the third have retained almost perfectly their ancient names, the modern Lejah alone having superseded the Argob and Trachonitis of the Old and New Testaments. The province of Jaulan is the most western of the four; it abuts on the Sea of Galilee and the Lake of Merom, from the former of which it rises to a plateau nearly 3000 feet above the surface of the water. This plateau, though now almost wholly uncultivated, is of a rich soil, and its north-west portion rises into a range of hills almost everywhere clothed with oak forests (Porter, 2:259). No less than 127 ruined villages are scattered over its surface. (See Golan).

The Hauran is to the southeast of the last named province and south of the Lejah; like Jaulan, its surface is perfectly flat, and its soil esteemed among the most fertile in Syria. It too contains an immense number of ruined towns, and also many inhabited villages. (See Hauran).

The contrast which the rocky intricacies of the Lejah present to the rich and flat plains of the Hauran and the Jaulan has already been noticed. (See Argob).

The remaining district, though no doubt much smaller in extent than the ancient Bashan, still retains its name, modified by a change frequent in the Oriental languages. Ard El-Bataniyeh lies on the east of the Lejah and the north of the range of Jebel Hauran or ed-Druze (Porter, 2:57). It is a mountainous district of the most picturesque character, abounding with forests of evergreen oak, and with soil extremely rich; the surface studded with towns of very remote antiquity, deserted, it is true, but yet standing almost as perfect as the day they were built. For the boundaries and characteristics of these provinces, and the most complete researches yet published into this interesting portion of Palestine, see Porter's Damascus, vol. 2; comp. Schwarz, Palest. p. 219; Jour. Sac. Lit. Jan. 1852, p. 363, 364; July, 1854, p. 282 sq.; Porter, Giant Cities (Lond. 1865).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bā´shan ( הבּשׁן , ha - bāshān , "the Bashan"; Βασάν , Basán ): This name is probably the same in meaning as the cognate Arabic bathneh , "soft, fertile land," or bathaniyeh ( batanaea ), "this land sown with wheat" ("wheatland").

1. Boundaries

It often occurs with the article, "the Bashan," to describe the kingdom of Og, the most northerly part of the land East of the Jordan. It stretched from the border of Gilead in the South to the slopes of Hermen in the North. Hermon itself is never definitely included in Bashan, although Og is said to have ruled in that mountain ( Joshua 12:5;  Joshua 13:11 ). In  Deuteronomy 3:10 Salecah and Edrei seem to indicate the East and West limits respectively. This would agree with   Joshua 12:5;  Joshua 13:11 , which seem to make Geshur and Maacath the western boundary of Bashan. If this were so, then these unconquered peoples literally "dwelt in the midst of Israel." On the other hand  Deuteronomy 4:47 may mean that the Jordan formed the western boundary; while   Deuteronomy 33:22 makes Bashan extend to the springs of the Jordan. If Golan lay in the district in which its name is still preserved ( el Jaulan ), this also brings it to the lip of the Jordan valley ( Deuteronomy 4:43 ). "A mountain of summits," or "protuberances" ( Psalm 68:15 ,  Psalm 68:16 : Hebrew), might describe the highlands of the Jaulan, with its many volcanic hills as seen from the West. "A mountain of God" however does not so well apply to this region. Perhaps we should, with Wetzstein ( Das batanaische Giebelgebirge ) take these phrases as descriptive of Jebel Ḥaurān , now usually called Jebel ed - Druze , with its many striking summits. This range protected the province from encroachment by the sands of the wilderness from the East. On the South Bashan marched with the desert steppe, el - Ḥamād , and Gilead. Of the western boundary as we have seen there can be no certainty. It is equally impossible to draw any definite line in the North.

2. Characteristics

Bashan Thus included the fertile, wooded slopes of Jebel ed - Druze , the extraordinarily rich plain of el - Ḥaurān ( en - Nuḳrah - see Hauran ), the rocky tract of el - Lejā' , the region now known as el - Jēdūr , resembling the Ḥaurān in character, but less cultivated; and, perhaps, the breezy uplands of el - Jaulān , with its splendid reaches of pasture land. It was a land rich in great cities, as existing ruins sufficiently testify. It can hardly be doubted that many of these occupy sites of great antiquity. We may specially note Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of Og; Golan, the city of refuge, the site of which is still in doubt; and Salecah ( Ṣalkhad ), the fortress on the ridge of the mountain, marking the extreme eastern limit of Israel's possessions.

The famous oaks of Bashan ( Isaiah 2:13;  Ezekiel 27:6 ) have their modern representatives on the mountain slopes. It seems strange that in Scripture there is no notice of the wheat crops for which the country is in such repute today. Along with Carmel it stood for the fruitfulness of the land ( Isaiah 33:9 etc.); and their languishing was an evident mark of God's displeasure (  Nahum 1:4 ). The "bulls of Bashan" represent blatant and brutal strength ( Psalm 22:12 , etc.). It is long since the lion deserted the plateau ( Deuteronomy 33:22 ); but the leopard is still not unknown among the mountains ( Song of Solomon 4:8 ).

3. History

In pre-Israelite days Bashan was ruled by Og the Amorite. His defeat at Edrei marked the end of his kingdom ( Numbers 21:33;  Joshua 13:11 ), and the land was given to the half tribe of Manasseh ( Joshua 13:30 , etc.). In the Syrian wars Bashan was lost to Israel ( 1 Kings 22:3;  2 Kings 8:28;  2 Kings 10:32 f), but it was regained by Jeroboam Ii ( 2 Kings 14:25 ). It was incorporated in the Assyrian empire by Tiglath-pileser Iii ( 2 Kings 15:29 ). In the 2nd century bc it was in the hands of the Nabateans. It formed part of the kingdom of Herod the Great, and then belonged to that of Philip and Agrippa II.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Ba´shan, a name which probably denotes the peculiar fertility of the soil. The sacred writers include in Bashan that part of the country eastward of the Jordan which was given to half the tribe of Manasseh, situated to the north of Gilead. The first notice of this country is in  Genesis 14:5; compare with  Joshua 12:4. When the Israelites invaded the Promised Land, Argob, a province of Bashan, contained 'sixty fenced cities, with walls and gates and brazen bars, besides unwalled towns a great many' ( Deuteronomy 3:4-5;  1 Kings 4:13). These were all taken by the Israelites, and Og and his people utterly destroyed. Golan, one of the cities of refuge, was situated in this country ( Deuteronomy 4:43;  Joshua 20:8;  Joshua 21:27). Solomon appointed twelve officers to furnish the monthly supplies for the royal household, and allotted the region of Argob to the son of Geber ( 1 Kings 4:13). Towards the close of Jehu's reign Hazael invaded the land of Israel, and smote the whole eastern territory, 'even Gilead and Bashan' ( 2 Kings 10:33); but after his death the cities he had taken were recovered by Jehoash (Joash) ( 2 Kings 13:25), who defeated the Syrians in three battles, as Elisha had predicted ( 2 Kings 13:19). After the captivity the name Batanaea was applied to only a part of the ancient Bashan; the rest being called Trachonitis, Auranitis, and Gaulanitis. All these provinces were granted by Augustus to Herod the Great, and on his death Batanaea formed a part of Philip's tetrarchy. At his decease, A.D. 34, it was annexed, by Tiberius, to the province of Syria; but in A.D. 37 it was given by Caligula to Herod Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus, with the title of king ( Acts 12:1). From the time of Agrippa's death, in A.D. 44, to A.D. 53, the government again reverted to the Romans, but it was then restored by Claudius to Agrippa II ( Acts 25:13). The richness of the pasture-land of Bashan, and the consequent superiority of its breed of cattle, are frequently alluded to in the Scriptures. We read in  Deuteronomy 32:14, of 'rams of the breed of Bashan.' 'Rams, lambs, bulls, goats, all of them fatlings of Bashan' ( Ezekiel 39:18). The oaks of Bashan are mentioned in connection with the cedars of Lebanon ( Isaiah 2:13;  Zechariah 11:2). In Ezekiel's description of the wealth and magnificence of Tyre it is said, 'Of the oaks of Bashan have they made their oars' ( Ezekiel 27:6). The ancient commentators on  Amos 4:1, 'the kine of Bashan,' Jerome, Theodoret, and Cyril, speak in the strongest terms of the exuberant fertility of Bashan, and modern travelers corroborate their assertions.