Difference between revisions of "Og"

<p> An [[Amorite]] king of Bashan, ruling 60 cities, including Ashteroth [[Karnaim]] and [[Edrei]] (&nbsp;Joshua 13:12; &nbsp;Joshua 12:4; &nbsp;Genesis 14:5). After conquering Sihon's land from the [[Arnon]] to the Jabbok, [[Israel]] marched by way of Bashan which is N. of the Jabbok. (See [[Bashan]] ; ARGOB.) [[Og]] met them and perished with all his people at Edrei, and Israel took his land (&nbsp;Numbers 21:33-35). Og was of a different race, namely, "of the remnant of the giants," the [[Rephaim]] before the [[Amorites]] came (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:13). The Amorites by intermarriage with the Rephaim were in "height like that of the cedars and strong as the oaks" (&nbsp;Amos 2:9). Og's bedstead was in [[Rabbath]] of [[Ammon]] when Moses wrote &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:1-11. </p> <p> [[Either]] the Ammonites, like the Bedouin, followed in the wake of Israel's armies as pillagers, and so got possession of it; or Israel sent it to Ammon as a pledge of their having no hostile intentions, the Lord having forbidden them to disturb Ammon, and as a visible token of Israel's power in having overcome such mighty kings as [[Sihon]] and Og. It was nine cubits long and four broad. "Of iron," perhaps the black basalt of the country, which is called by the Arabs "iron," having 20 percent of that metal. His body was of course shorter. Knobel thinks Og's "bier" is meant, a sarcophagus of black basalt. His corpse may have been carried, in this view, to the territory of the friendly Ammonites. So Dr. Geddes conjectures Og, after his defeat, fled to Rabbath where he died and was buried in this coffin. </p> <p> After traversing the smooth pasture land, Israel suddenly came on the marvelous rock barrier of Argob, an oval basalt island, 60 miles by 20 miles, "all the girdle (Hebrew) of Argob" ("the stony country"), rising abruptly 30 ft. from the surrounding Bashan plains. The rocky fastnesses, on which Og's 60 cities were, almost impregnable, compensated by security for their inconveniences. Had Og remained in them, Israel could not have dislodged him. God therefore saw it needful to encourage Israel in facing such a foe, "fear him not"; and God sent hornets which, as well as infatuation, drove Og into the open field where he was overthrown (&nbsp;Joshua 24:12). God's special interposition for Israel against Og is the theme of praise (&nbsp;Psalms 135:11; &nbsp;Psalms 136:20). </p>

<p> [[Og]] (''Ŏg'' ) ''Long-Necked?'' A king of Bashan, of gigantic stature, &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:11, who opposed the passage of the Israelites through his territories. &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:1. He was defeated in a pitched battle in Edrei, and, together with his sons, was slain. &nbsp;Deuteronomy 1:4; &nbsp;Numbers 21:33-34. His sixty fenced and walled cities were given with Bashan and all his kingdom to the half-tribe of Manasseh. &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:8; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:4; &nbsp;Numbers 32:33. He was a giant. &nbsp;Joshua 13:12, and his long iron bedstead (?) (possibly sarcophagus of black basalt), was preserved as a memorial of his huge stature &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:11. </p>

<p> (Heb. id. עוֹג '','' probabsly a shortened form of עֹנֶג . i.e. עֹנֶק, ''Giant, Lit. Long- Necked'' [but from a statement of [[Manetho]] that ''Hyk'' (''Lsc'' ) in the word [[Hyksos]] is the Rephaite name for ''King,'' it has been inferred that Og (עֹג ) is but an attempt to represent the same in [[Hebrew]] letters (see ''Jour. Sac. Lit.'' Jan. 1852, p. 363); some, but without any probability, would connect the name with the Greek [[Ogyges]] (Ewald, Gesch. 1:306; 2:269)1; Sept. ῎Ωγ; Joseph. ῎Ωγυς ''. Ant.'' 4:5, 3), an Amoritish king of Bashan (&nbsp;Numbers 21:33; &nbsp;Numbers 32:33; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 4:47; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 31:4), reigning over sixty cities, of which the chief were Ashtaroth and Edrei (&nbsp;Joshua 13:12), in the time of the entrance into Canaan, B.C. 1618. (See Amorite). </p> <p> We find from [[Scripture]] that he was, with his children and his people, defeated and exterminated by the Israelites under Moses at Edrei (&nbsp;Numbers 21:33; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 1:4; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:3; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 29:7; &nbsp;Joshua 2:10), immediately after the conquest of Sihon, who is represented by [[Josephus]] as his friend and ally (Joseph. ''Ant.'' 4:5,3). His many walled cities were taken (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:4-10), and his kingdom assigned, with its capital Ashtaroth, to the transjordanic tribes, especially the half-tribe of [[Manasseh]] (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:1-13; &nbsp;Joshua 9:10; &nbsp;Joshua 13:12; &nbsp;Joshua 13:30). (See Bashan). "In form he was a giant, so that his bedstead was preserved as a memorial of his huge stature — (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:11; &nbsp;Joshua 13:12.) (See [[Giant]]). </p> <p> How it got in ‘ Rabbath of the children of Ammon' we are not told; perhaps the [[Ammonites]] had taken it in some victory over Og. The verse itself has the air of a later edition (Dathe), although it is of course possible that the Hebrews may have heard of so curious a relic as this long before they conquered the city where it was treasured. Rabbath was first subdued in the reign of David (&nbsp;2 Samuel 12:26); but it does not therefore follow that &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:11 was not written till that time (Havernick. [[Ad]] loc.). Some have supposed that this was one of the common flat beds, (See [[Bed]]), sometimes used on the housetops of Eastern cities, but made of iron instead of palm-branches, which would not have supported the giant's weight. It has been conjectured by some (Michaelis, Vater, and others) that the words עֶרֶשׂ בִּרְזֶל, ''Eires Barzel,'' mean a ‘ sarcophagus of black basalt'- a rendering of which they, however, hardly admit. The Arabs still regard black basalt as iron, because it is a stone ‘ ferrei coloris atque duritia'. (Pliny, 36:11), and ‘ contains a large percentage of iron.' (See [[Iron]]). </p> <p> It is most abundant in the Hauran; and indeed is probably the cause of the name [[Argob]] (the stony) given to a part of Og's kingdom. This receptacle was 9 cubits long and 4 cubits broad. It does not of course follow that Og was 15½ feet high. [[Maimonides]] (More Nebochim, 2:48) sensibly remarks that a bed (supposing ‘ a bed' to be intended) is usually one third longer than the sleeper; and Sir J. Chardin, as well as other travelers, have observed the ancient tendency to make mummies and tombs far larger than the natural size of men, in order to leave an impression of wonder." The giant stature of Og. and the power and bravery of his people, excited a dread which God himself alleviated by his encouragement to Moses before the battle; and the impression of this victory lingered long in the national memory (&nbsp;Psalms 135:11; &nbsp;Psalms 136:20). He was one of the last representatives of the giant-race of Rephaim. According to Eastern traditions, he escaped the [[Deluge]] by wading beside the ark (Sale, Koran, ch. v, p. 86). He was supposed to be the largest of the sons of Anak, and a descendant of Ad. He is said to have lived no less than 3000 years, and to have refused the warnings of [[Jethro]] (Shoaib), who was sent as a prophet to him and his people (D'Herbelot, s.v. Falasthin, Anak). Soiuthi wrote a long book about him and his race, chiefly taken from Rabbinic traditions, and called Aug fi khaber Aug (ib. s.v. Aug). See, too, the Journal Asiatique for 1841, and Chronique de Tabari, trad. du Persan par Dubeux, 1:48, f. Other legends about'Og may be found in Ben-Uzziel on &nbsp;Numbers 21:33; [[Midrash]] ''Jalkft,'' fol. 13 (quoted by Ewald), and in Mohammedan writers: as that one of his bones long served for a bridge over a river; that he roasted at the sun a fish freshly caught, etc. An apocryphal book of king Og, which probably contained these and other traditions, was condemned by pope Gelasius (''Decref.'' 6:13; Sixt. Senensis, ''Bibl. Sanct.'' p. 86). (See Rephaim). </p>

<p> ( עוג , <i> ''''' ‛ōgh ''''' </i> ; Ὤψ , <i> ''''' Ṓg ''''' </i> ): King of Bashan, whose territory, embracing 60 cities, was conquered by Moses and the Israelites immediately after the conquest of Sihon, king of the Amorites (&nbsp; Numbers 21:33-35; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:1-12 ). The defeat took place at Edrei, one of the chief of these cities (&nbsp;Numbers 21:33; &nbsp;Joshua 12:4 ), and Og and his people were "utterly destroyed" (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:6 ). Og is described as the last of the Rephaim (which see), or giant-race of that district, and his giant stature is borne out by what is told in &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:11 of the dimensions of his "bedstead of iron" ( <i> ''''''eres''''' </i> <i> '''''barzel''''' </i> ), 9 cubits long and 4 broad (13 1/2 ft. by 6 ft.), said to be still preserved at Rabbath of Ammon when the verse describing it was written. It is not, of course, necessary to conclude that Og's own height, though immense, was as great as this. Some, however, prefer to suppose that what is intended is "a sarcophagus of black basalt," which iron-like substance abounds in the Hauran. The conquered territory was subsequently bestowed on the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (&nbsp;Numbers 32:33; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:12 , &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:13 ). Other references to Og are &nbsp;Deuteronomy 1:4; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 4:47; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 31:4; &nbsp;Joshua 2:10; &nbsp;Joshua 9:10; &nbsp;Joshua 13:12 , &nbsp;Joshua 13:30 ). The memory of this great conquest lingered all through the national history (&nbsp;Psalm 135:11; &nbsp;Psalm 136:20 ). On the conquest, compare Stanley, <i> Lectures on the History of the [[Jewish]] Church </i> , I, 185-87. See [[Argob]]; Bashan . </p>