Og
|
|
Og, pronounced Aug -meaning "gigantic", was an ancient Amorite king of Bashan who, along with his sons and army, was slain by Moses and his men at the battle of Edrei (probably modern day Dara, Syria) according to several books of the Old Testament. Scholars are divided as to the approximate date of Og's overthrow and indeed the conquest of Canaan by Israel, but most postulate c. 1500 or 1200 B.C. as the most likely candidates.
Og, the giant of the Amorites, is equally considered a folk legend, around whom gathered many Jewish legends: according to some traditions he lived to be 3,000 years and strolled behind Noah's ark during the Deluge.
| Contents |
An Amorite king
Og is first mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy, specificaly the 1st and 3rd chapters. He was an Amorite, not unlike his neighbor Sihon of Heshbon, of whom Moses had previously conquered at the battle of Jahaz. He ruled a very considerable and fertile land which extended from the the fork of the Yarmuk river to the undefined basaltic lands of Hauran to the east. Bashan, which contained some "sixty walled cities" with great bars and gates and many unwalled towns, had capitols at Ashtaroth and Edrei in the region of Argob. Being an Amorite, he undoubtedly embrased the customs and clothing of his people. Perhaps he stylized the full beard, shaved upper lip, and colorfuly woven tunics so accustomed to many Amorite Kings who resided at the ancient center of Mari. His Capitol at Ashtaroth was also a worship center to the fertility goddess, and this city is probably modern "Tell Ashareh" an existing 70-foot mound.
Battle with Israel
According to the account in Exodus, Moses asked permission to pass through his territory but Og refused to allow this, and instead marched toward the people of Israel and pitched the battle at Edrei nearly 18 miles southeast of Ashtaroth where he met their resistance and his ultimate fate. Deut. 3:1-13 mentions the capture of his land by Moses and proclaimed that they slew every man, woman, and child of his cities and took the spoil for their bounty. Evidently the land of Bashan was famous for its prize cattle, oak groves and Lions also once roamed the area in ancient times. Og's kingdom was given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh (Num. 21:32-35; Deut. 3:1-13). Og's destruction is chanted in balads of praise and song in (Ps. 135:11; 136:20) as one of many great victories for the nation of Israel. In the book of Amos. 2:9 there seems to be a symbolic reference to Og as "The Amorite" whose height was like the height of the cedars and whose strength was like the Oaks.
A remnant of the Rephaim
In Deut. 3:11 and later in the book of Numbers and Joshua, Og is pronounced as the last of the Rephaim. Rephaim is a Hebrew word for Giants and that is exactly how king Og is described. Deut. 3:11 declares that his bedstead of iron is "nine cubits in length and four cubits in width", according to the standard cubit of a man. It goes on to say that in the royal city of Rabbah of the Ammonites, his bedstead could still be seen as a novelty in those days. All of this was written to affirm any doubts that he was indeed a gigantic man and feared by many. A better translation of his "bedstead" could be a "coffin" or "sarcophagus" and "iron" might refer to the fact that it was carved out of "ironstone" or a black Basalt which is common to that region. The "standard cubit of a man" likely refers to the ancient Hebrew common cubit of 17.5 inches in length - this would mean that his "bedstead" was over 13 feet in length and 6 broad. Some have hypothesized that Og was perhaps as tall as 12 feet, allowing an extra foot for clearence, but that conclusion is based soley on the length of the man's bedstead.
Og in extrabiblical literature
Og is also the name of a cake or bread baked in ashes.
External link
- Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=35&letter=O): Og (section on Og in Rabbinical literature)
See also Sihon.