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Deuteronomy 3

KJV · Chapter 3/34

1Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

2And the Lord said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

3So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining.

4And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

5All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.

6And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

7But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.

8And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon;

9(Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)

10All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

12And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

13And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.

14Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan–havoth–jair, unto this day.

15And I gave Gilead unto Machir.

16And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;

17The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, under Ashdoth–pisgah eastward.

18And I commanded you at that time, saying, The Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war.

19But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you;

20Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.

21And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the Lord do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest.

22Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God he shall fight for you.

23And I besought the Lord at that time, saying,

24O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

25I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

26But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.

27Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

28But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

29So we abode in the valley over against Beth–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. Deuteronomy 3:1After Sihon, the second Amorite king, Og of Bashan, meets Israel in open battle at the city of Edrei.
  2. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 3:3The victory is confirmed: Og and his entire army are defeated, with no survivors.
  4. Deuteronomy 3:4The conquest is enormous: sixty cities taken at once, the whole region of Argob, which made up Og’s kingdom in Bashan.
  5. Deuteronomy 3:5These cities were not weak little villages: they had high walls, gates, and bars — serious fortifications that fell all the same.
  6. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 3:7As it had already done with Sihon, Israel keeps the livestock and the goods plundered from the cities as spoils of war.
  8. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 3:10It lists further details of the conquest: the whole plain, all of Gilead and Bashan, including the cities of Salchah and Edrei.
  11. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 3:15A quick note on the distribution: the region of Gilead itself goes to Machir, another leader of the tribe of Manasseh.
  16. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 3:23Moses reveals that, in that same period, he made a personal and urgent request to God — detailed in the following verses.
  24. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 3:29The chapter closes with the people still camped in the valley, facing Beth-peor, waiting for the next stage of the journey.

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