Israel Conquers King Og
(Numbers 21.31-35)1 “Next, we moved north toward the region of Bashan, and King Og came out with all his men to fight us near the town of Edrei. 2 But the Lord said to me, ‘Don't be afraid of him. I am going to give him, his men, and all his territory to you. Do the same thing to him that you did to Sihon the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon.’
3 “So the Lord also placed King Og and his people in our power, and we slaughtered them all. 4 At the same time we captured all his towns—there was not one that we did not take. In all we captured sixty towns—the whole region of Argob, where King Og of Bashan ruled. 5 All these towns were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars to lock the gates, and there were also many villages without walls. 6 We destroyed all the towns and put to death all the men, women, and children, just as we did in the towns that belonged to King Sihon of Heshbon. 7 We took the livestock and plundered the towns.
8 “At that time we took from those two Amorite kings the land east of the Jordan River, from the Arnon River to Mount Hermon. ( 9 Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and Senir by the Amorites.) 10 We took all the territory of King Og of Bashan: the cities on the plateau, the regions of Gilead and of Bashan, as far east as the towns of Salecah and Edrei.”
( 11 King Og was the last of the Rephaim. His coffin, made of stone, was six feet wide and almost fourteen feet long, according to standard measurements. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)
The Tribes That Settled East of the Jordan
(Numbers 32.1-42)12 “When we took possession of the land, I assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory north of the town of Aroer near the Arnon River and part of the hill country of Gilead, along with its towns. 13 To half the tribe of Manasseh I assigned the rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, where Og had ruled, that is, the entire Argob region.”
(Bashan was known as the land of the Rephaim. 14 Jair, from the tribe of Manasseh, took the entire region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of Geshur and Maacah. He named the villages after himself, and they are still known as the villages of Jair.)
15 “I assigned Gilead to the clan of Machir of the tribe of Manasseh. 16 And to the tribes of Reuben and Gad I assigned the territory from Gilead to the Arnon River. The middle of the river was their southern boundary, and their northern boundary was the Jabbok River, part of which formed the Ammonite border. 17 On the west their territory extended to the Jordan River, from Lake Galilee in the north down to the Dead Sea in the south and to the foot of Mount Pisgah on the east.
18 “At the same time, I gave them the following instructions: ‘The Lord our God has given you this land east of the Jordan to occupy. Now arm your fighting men and send them across the Jordan ahead of the other tribes of Israel, to help them occupy their land. 19 Only your wives, children, and livestock—I know you have a lot of livestock—will remain behind in the towns that I have assigned to you. 20 Help the other Israelites until they occupy the land that the Lord is giving them west of the Jordan and until the Lord lets them live there in peace, as he has already done here for you. After that, you may return to this land that I have assigned to you.’
21 “Then I instructed Joshua: ‘You have seen all that the Lord your God did to those two kings, Sihon and Og; and he will do the same thing to everyone else whose land you invade. 22 Don't be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’
Moses Is Not Permitted to Enter Canaan
23 “At that time I earnestly prayed, 24 ‘Sovereign Lord, I know that you have shown me only the beginning of the great and wonderful things you are going to do. There is no god in heaven or on earth who can do the mighty things that you have done! 25 Let me cross the Jordan River, Lord, and see the fertile land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon Mountains.’
26 “But because of you people the Lord was angry with me and would not listen. Instead, he said, ‘That's enough! Don't mention this again! 27 Go to the peak of Mount Pisgah and look to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west. Look carefully at what you see, because you will never go across the Jordan. 28 Give Joshua his instructions. Strengthen his determination, because he will lead the people across to occupy the land that you see.’
29 “So we remained in the valley opposite the town of Bethpeor.”
The Defeat of King Og of Bashan
(Numbers 21.31-35)Moses said to Israel:
1 When we turned onto the road that leads to Bashan, King Og of Bashan led out his whole army to fight us at Edrei. 2 But the Lord told me, “Moses, don't be afraid of King Og. I am going to help you defeat him and his army and take over his land. Destroy him and his people, just as you did with the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon.”
3-6 The Lord our God helped us destroy Og and his army and conquer his entire kingdom of Bashan, including the Argob region. His kingdom had lots of villages and 60 towns with high walls and gates that locked with bars. We completely destroyed them all, killing everyone, 7 but keeping the livestock and everything else of value.
8 Sihon and Og had ruled Amorite kingdoms east of the Jordan River. Their land stretched from the Arnon River gorge in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, and we captured it all. 9 Mount Hermon is called Mount Sirion by the people of Sidon, and it is called Mount Senir by the Amorites. 10 We captured all the towns in the highlands, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, two of the towns that Og had ruled.
Og's Coffin
11 King Og was the last of the Rephaim, and his coffin is in the town of Rabbah in Ammon. It is made of hard black rock and is four meters long and almost two meters wide.
The Land East of the Jordan River Is Divided
(Numbers 32.1-42)Moses said to Israel:
12-17 I gave some of the land and towns we captured to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Their share started at the Arnon River gorge in the south, took in the town of Aroer on the edge of the gorge, and went far enough north to include the southern half of the Gilead region. The northern part of their land went as far east as the upper Jabbok River gorge, which formed their border with the Ammonites. I also gave them the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, from Lake Galilee south to the Dead Sea below the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
I gave the northern half of Gilead and all of the Bashan region to half the tribe of Manasseh. Bashan had belonged to King Og, and the Argob region in Bashan used to be called the Land of the Rephaim. Jair from the Manasseh tribe conquered the Argob region as far west as the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. The Israelites even started calling Bashan by the name “Villages of Jair,” and that is still its name. I gave the northern half of Gilead to the Machir clan.
18-19 At that time I told the men of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh:
The Lord our God told me to give you this land with its towns, and that's what I have done. Now your wives and children can stay here with your large flocks of sheep and goats and your large herds of cattle. But all of you men that can serve in our army must cross the Jordan River and help the other tribes, because they are your relatives. 20 The Lord will let them defeat the enemy nations on the west side of the Jordan and take their land. Afterwards, you can come back here to the land I gave you.
21-22 Then I told Joshua, “You saw how the Lord our God helped us destroy King Sihon and King Og. So don't be afraid! Wherever you go, the Lord will fight on your side and help you destroy your enemies.”
God Refused To Let Moses Enter Canaan
Moses said to Israel:
23 At that time I prayed and begged, 24 “Our Lord, it seems that you have just begun to show me your great power. No other god in the sky or on earth is able to do the mighty things that you do. 25 The land west of the Jordan is such good land. Please let me cross the Jordan and see the hills and the Lebanon Mountains.”
26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you people, and he refused to listen. “That's enough!” he said. “I don't want to hear any more. 27 Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah and look north, south, east, and west. Take a good look, but you are not going to cross the Jordan River. 28 Joshua will lead Israel across the Jordan to take the land, so help him be strong and brave and tell him what he must do.”
29 After this we stayed in the valley at Beth-Peor.