Og

Biblical Record

Og was the king who ruled the region of Bashan, east of the Jordan River and north of Gilead. Bashan is generally associated with the area of the present-day Golan Heights. According to Deuteronomy, he dwelt at Ashtaroth and Edrei (Deuteronomy 1:4).

According to Numbers 21:33-35, after Israel defeated Sihon king of the Amorites and went up toward Bashan, Og led his army out against them at Edrei. God told Moses not to fear him, and Israel struck down Og and his sons and took possession of his land.

Deuteronomy 3:1-11 describes this war in greater detail.

• Israel captured sixty cities throughout the whole region of Argob. These cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars.
• Og was of the "remnant" of the Rephaim, an ancient people described as being of great stature.
• His iron bedstead was in Rabbah of the Ammonites. It is recorded as nine cubits long and four cubits wide, "after the cubit of a man."

The cubit was an ancient unit based on the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. Taking the cubit as roughly 45 centimeters (about 18 inches), the bedstead would have measured about 4 meters (13 feet) long and about 1.8 meters (6 feet) wide. The conquered land of Bashan was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Deuteronomy 3:13; Joshua 13:29-31).

Significance Within the Bible

In Scripture, Og is almost always mentioned together with Sihon. The two kings symbolize Israel's first great victories east of the Jordan.

• Rahab tells the spies at Jericho that she has heard what Israel did to Sihon and Og (Joshua 2:10).
• Moses encourages the people by assuring them that the nations of Canaan will meet the same fate as Sihon and Og (Deuteronomy 31:4).
• In their prayer of repentance, the Levites recall these events as evidence of God's grace (Nehemiah 9:22).
• Psalms 135:10-11 and 136:17-20 celebrate God's defeat of Og as a reason for praise.

Og is not mentioned by name in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Points of Debate

The nature of the iron bedstead. Opinions differ as to whether this was an actual bed.

• The traditional reading takes it as a real bed that attests to Og's great size.
• Some scholars suggest that "iron" may refer to black basalt and interpret the object as a coffin (sarcophagus).
• In either case, the text does not state that the size of the bedstead corresponds to Og's height.

Traditions outside the text. Many stories about Og are not found in the Bible.

• Jewish rabbinic literature (the Talmud and Midrash) preserves a story that Og survived Noah's Flood.
• The same literature also relates that he tried to lift a mountain and hurl it onto the Israelite camp.
• These stories are later legends not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, Og is usually discussed in connection with the words of Deuteronomy 3:2, "Fear him not." He serves as an illustration of faith that trusts God in the face of a formidable enemy and is sometimes mentioned alongside the story of David and Goliath. His bedstead is also frequently cited as an example when explaining the units of length found in the Bible.