Deuteronômio 3

BLIVRE · Chapter 3/34

1E voltamos, e subimos caminho de Basã, e saiu-nos ao encontro Ogue rei de Basã para lutar, ele e todo seu povo, em Edrei.

2E disse-me o SENHOR: Não tenhas medo dele, porque em tua mão entreguei a ele e a todo seu povo, e sua terra: e farás com ele como fizeste com Seom rei amorreu, que habitava em Hesbom.

3E o SENHOR nosso Deus entregou também em nossa mão a Ogue rei de Basã, e a todo seu povo, ao qual ferimos até não restar dele ninguém.

4E tomamos então todas suas cidades; não restou cidade que não lhes tomássemos: sessenta cidades, toda a terra de Argobe, do reino de Ogue em Basã.

5Todas estas eram cidades fortificadas com alto muro, com portas e barras; sem outras muito muitas cidades sem muro.

6E as destruímos, como fizemos a Seom rei de Hesbom, destruindo em toda cidade homens, mulheres, e crianças.

7E tomamos para nós todos os animais, e os despojos das cidades.

8Também tomamos naquele tempo da mão de dois reis amorreus que estavam desta parte do Jordão, a terra desde o ribeiro de Arnom até o monte de Hermom:

9(Os sidônios chamam a Hermom Siriom; e os amorreus, Senir:)

10Todas as cidades da planície, e todo Gileade, e todo Basã até Salcá e Edrei, cidades do reino de Ogue em Basã.

11Porque somente Ogue rei de Basã havia restado dos gigantes que restaram. Eis que sua cama, uma cama de ferro, não está em Rabá dos filhos de Amom?; o comprimento dela de nove côvados, e sua largura de quatro côvados, ao côvado de um homem.

12E esta terra que herdamos então desde Aroer, que está ao ribeiro de Arnom, e a metade do monte de Gileade com suas cidades, dei aos rubenitas e aos gaditas:

13E o resto de Gileade, e todo Basã, do reino de Ogue, dei o à meia tribo de Manassés; toda a terra de Argobe, todo Basã, que se chamava a terra dos gigantes.

14Jair filho de Manassés tomou toda a terra de Argobe até o termo dos gessuritas e dos maacatitas; e chamou-a de seu nome Basã-Havote-Jair, até hoje.

15E a Maquir dei a Gileade.

16E aos rubenitas e gaditas dei de Gileade até o ribeiro de Arnom, o meio do ribeiro por termo; até o ribeiro de Jaboque, termo dos filhos de Amom:

17Assim como a campina, e o Jordão, e o termo, desde Quinerete até o mar da planície, o mar Salgado, as encostas abaixo do Pisga ao oriente.

18E vos mandei então, dizendo: O SENHOR vosso Deus vos deu esta terra para que a possuais: passareis armados diante de vossos irmãos os filhos de Israel todos os valentes.

19Somente vossas mulheres, vossas crianças, e vossos gados, (eu sei que tendes muito gado,) ficarão em vossas cidades que vos dei,

20Até que o SENHOR dê repouso a vossos irmãos, assim como a vós, e herdem também eles a terra que o SENHOR vosso Deus lhes dá à outra parte do Jordão: então vos voltareis cada um a sua herança que eu vos dei.

21Mandei também a Josué então, dizendo: Teus olhos viram tudo o que o SENHOR vosso Deus fez àqueles dois reis: assim fará o SENHOR a todos os reinos aos quais passarás tu.

22Não os temais; que o SENHOR vosso Deus, ele é o que luta por vós.

23E orei ao SENHOR naquele tempo, dizendo:

24Senhor DEUS, tu começaste a mostrar a teu servo tua grandeza, e tua mão forte: porque que deus há no céu nem na terra que faça segundo tuas obras, e segundo tuas valentias?

25Passe eu, rogo-te, e veja aquela terra boa, que está à parte ali do Jordão, aquele bom monte, e o Líbano.

26Mas o SENHOR se havia irado contra mim por causa de vós, pelo qual não me ouviu: e disse-me o SENHOR: Basta-te, não me fales mais deste negócio.

27Sobe ao cume do Pisga, e ergue teus olhos ao ocidente, e ao norte, e ao sul, e ao oriente, e vê por teus olhos: porque não passarás este Jordão.

28E manda a Josué, e anima-o, e conforta-o; porque ele há de passar diante deste povo, e ele lhes fará herdar a terra que verás.

29E paramos no vale diante de Bete-Peor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Israel defeats Og, king of Bashan, conquering his entire hill country. Moses distributes these lands east of the Jordan to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, and then asks God to let him cross the Jordan — a request that is denied, though he is allowed to see the land from the top of a mountain.

Explanation

The conquest of Bashan completes the taking of the entire territory east of the Jordan, setting the stage for the main conquest Joshua will lead west of the river. Moses' personal, moving request to enter the promised land, and God's firm but not unkind response ('Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter'), reveals a real tension between legitimate human desire and a just consequence already established — God allows Moses to see the land, a compassionate concession, even while upholding the discipline. The transfer of leadership to Joshua, with the charge to 'encourage him, and strengthen him,' emotionally prepares both Joshua and the people for the approaching change in leadership.

Fun facts

  • The specific mention of Og's iron bedstead, kept 'in Rabbath of the children of Ammon' (v. 11), measuring about 4 by 1.8 meters (roughly 13 by 6 feet), is one of the rare concrete archaeological-style notes preserved in the biblical text about a specific physical object belonging to a defeated king.
  • God's answer to Moses ('get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes') would be literally fulfilled in the book's final chapter (Deuteronomy 34), creating a structural parallel that connects the middle and the end of the book.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronômio 3:1After Sihon, the second Amorite king, Og of Bashan, meets Israel in open battle at the city of Edrei.
  2. Deuteronômio 3:2God repeats the same assurance given earlier against Sihon: there is no need to fear, because Og, his people, and his land are already handed over into Israel’s hands.
  3. Deuteronômio 3:3The victory is confirmed: Og and his entire army are defeated, with no survivors.
  4. Deuteronômio 3:4The conquest is enormous: sixty cities taken at once, the whole region of Argob, which made up Og’s kingdom in Bashan.
  5. Deuteronômio 3:5These cities were not weak little villages: they had high walls, gates, and bars — serious fortifications that fell all the same.
  6. Deuteronômio 3:6The same total destruction applied to Og’s cities repeats the pattern already used against Sihon in the previous chapter: no city spared, inhabitants and goods destroyed entirely. It is the same kind of war of extermination that keeps appearing throughout the book whenever Israel faces kingdoms on the other side of the Jordan.
  7. Deuteronômio 3:7As it had already done with Sihon, Israel keeps the livestock and the goods plundered from the cities as spoils of war.
  8. Deuteronômio 3:8The geographical summary shows the extent of the conquest: the whole land of the two Amorite kings, from the river Arnon to Mount Hermon.
  9. Deuteronômio 3:9A curious aside: Mount Hermon had different names depending on the people — the Sidonians called it Sirion, and the Amorites called it Shenir.
  10. Deuteronômio 3:10It lists further details of the conquest: the whole plain, all of Gilead and Bashan, including the cities of Salchah and Edrei.
  11. Deuteronômio 3:11Og’s bed of iron becomes almost a museum piece in the text: nine cubits long, a measurement of about four meters, since a cubit was between roughly forty-four and fifty-two centimeters. The detail works as proof that Og really was of legendary giant size, and the bed was still on display in Rabbah long after his death.
  12. Deuteronômio 3:12Moses already begins dividing up the conquered land: the southern region, near Aroer, and half of Gilead go to the tribes of Reuben and Gad.
  13. Deuteronômio 3:13The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, Og’s former kingdom, go to the half-tribe of Manasseh — a region also called the land of the giants.
  14. Deuteronômio 3:14Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, takes the region of Argob and names its settlements after himself, a name still in use at the time the text was written.
  15. Deuteronômio 3:15A quick note on the distribution: the region of Gilead itself goes to Machir, another leader of the tribe of Manasseh.
  16. Deuteronômio 3:16It defines the exact borders of the territory of Reuben and Gad: from the middle of the brook Arnon to the brook Jabbok, the border with the Ammonites.
  17. Deuteronômio 3:17It completes the borders by including the plain of the Jordan, from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, at the foot of Mount Pisgah.
  18. Deuteronômio 3:18Even though they had already received land on the east side of the Jordan, these tribes are called to send their warriors to help the others conquer the west side first.
  19. Deuteronômio 3:19Only the women, the children, and the livestock would stay behind, tending the cities already conquered, while the fighting men moved on ahead.
  20. Deuteronômio 3:20The condition is clear: only once every tribe had land could the warriors of these two and a half tribes return home, to the other side of the Jordan.
  21. Deuteronômio 3:21Moses also gives Joshua direct instructions: the victories over Sihon and Og are concrete proof that God will do the same to the next kingdoms.
  22. Deuteronômio 3:22The central message for Joshua is simple: do not be afraid, because the one who truly fights for the armies of Israel is God Himself.
  23. Deuteronômio 3:23Moses reveals that, in that same period, he made a personal and urgent request to God — detailed in the following verses.
  24. Deuteronômio 3:24The request opens with praise: no other god in heaven or on earth is capable of the works God has already shown Moses.
  25. Deuteronômio 3:25The request itself is simple and moving: just let Moses cross the Jordan to see with his own eyes the good land and Lebanon.
  26. Deuteronômio 3:26Moses asks to enter the promised land, but God refuses with a dry “Let it suffice thee” — enough of that conversation. It confirms that the punishment for striking the rock at Meribah, told later in chapter 32, applies even to the leader himself, with no exception made for his position.
  27. Deuteronômio 3:27As a consolation, God allows Moses to climb Mount Pisgah and see the promised land from a distance, in every direction — but not to cross over.
  28. Deuteronômio 3:28Instead of letting Moses enter, God tells him to prepare Joshua, encouraging him, since it will be Joshua who actually leads the conquest.
  29. Deuteronômio 3:29The chapter closes with the people still camped in the valley, facing Beth-peor, waiting for the next stage of the journey.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.