Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Deuteronomy 3:1-29 (NET)

Context
Defeat of King Og of Bashan
3:1 Next we set out on the route to Bashan , but King Og of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet us in battle at Edrei . 3:2 The Lord , however, said to me, “Don’t be afraid of him because I have already given him, his whole army , and his land to you. You will do to him exactly what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon .” 3:3 So the Lord our God did indeed give over to us King Og of Bashan and his whole army and we struck them down until not a single survivor was left . 3:4 We captured all his cities at that time – there was not a town we did not take from them– sixty cities , all the region of Argob , the dominion of Og in Bashan . 3:5 All of these cities were fortified by high walls , gates , and locking bars ; in addition there were a great many open villages . 3:6 We put all of these under divine judgment just as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon – every occupied city , including women and children . 3:7 But all the livestock and plunder from the cities we kept for ourselves. 3:8 So at that time we took the land of the two Amorite kings in the Transjordan from Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon 3:9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion and the Amorites call it Senir ), 3:10 all the cities of the plateau , all of Gilead and Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei , cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan . 3:11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites . (It is noteworthy that his sarcophagus was made of iron . Does it not , indeed, still remain in Rabbath of the Ammonites ? It is thirteen and a half feet long and six feet wide according to standard measure .)
Distribution of the Transjordanian Allotments
3:12 This is the land we brought under our control at that time : The territory extending from Aroer by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites . 3:13 The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan , the kingdom of Og , I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh . (All the region of Argob , that is, all Bashan , is called the land of Rephaim . 3:14 Jair , son of Manasseh , took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites and Maacathites (namely Bashan ) and called it by his name , Havvoth-Jair , which it retains to this very day .) 3:15 I gave Gilead to Machir . 3:16 To the Reubenites and Gadites I allocated the territory extending from Gilead as far as Wadi Arnon (the exact middle of the wadi was a boundary ) all the way to the Wadi Jabbok , the Ammonite border . 3:17 The Arabah and the Jordan River were also a border , from the sea of Chinnereth to the sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea ), beneath the watershed of Pisgah to the east .
Instructions to the Transjordanian Tribes
3:18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession . You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites equipped for battle . 3:19 But your wives , children , and livestock (of which I know you have many ) may remain in the cities I have given you. 3:20 You must fight until the Lord gives your countrymen victory as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River . Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you.” 3:21 I also commanded Joshua at the same time , “You have seen everything the Lord your God did to these two kings ; he will do the same to all the kingdoms where you are going . 3:22 Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will personally fight for you.”
Denial to Moses of the Promised Land
3:23 Moreover, at that time I pleaded with the Lord , 3:24 “O, Lord God , you have begun to show me your greatness and strength . (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds ?) 3:25 Let me please cross over to see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River – this good hill country and the Lebanon !” 3:26 But the Lord was angry at me because of you and would not listen to me. Instead, he said to me, “Enough of that! Do not speak to me anymore about this matter . 3:27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and take a good look to the west , north , south , and east , for you will not be allowed to cross the Jordan . 3:28 Commission Joshua , and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see .” 3:29 So we settled down in the valley opposite Beth Peor .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Sihon

    [ebd] striking down. The whole country on the east of Jordan, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, was possessed by the Amorites, whose king, Sihon, refused to permit the Israelites to pass through his territory, and put his army in arra...
    [nave] SIHON, king of the Amorites. His seat of government at Heshbon, Num. 21:26. The proverbial chant celebrating the victory of Sihon over the Moabites, Num. 21:26-30. Conquest of his kingdom by the Israelites, Num. 21:21-25; D...

  • Reubenites

    [nave] REUBENITES, the descendants of Reuben. Military enrollment of, at Sinai, Num. 1:20, 21; in Moab, Num. 26:7. Place of in camp and march, Num. 2:10. Standard of, Num. 10:18. Have their inheritance east of the Jordan, Num. 32...

  • Prayer

    [nave] PRAYER. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Answer to, Promised; Answered, Instances of Answered; Confession in; Importunity in, Instances of Importunity in; Intercessor...

  • Palestine

    [ebd] originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan inhabited by the Philistines (Ex. 15:14; Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4), and in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered "Philistia" in Ps. 60:8; 83:7;...

  • Og

    [ebd] gigantic, the king of Bashan, who was defeated by Moses in a pitched battle at Edrei, and was slain along with his sons (Deut. 1:4), and whose kingdom was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh ...
    [isbe] OG - (`ogh; Og): King of Bashan, whose territory, embracing 60 cities, was conquered by Moses and the Israelites immediately after the conquest of Sihon, king of the Amorites (Nu 21:33-35; Dt 3:1-12). The defeat took place a...
    [smith] (giant , literally long-necked), an Amoritish king of Bashan, whose rule extended over sixty cities. (Joshua 13:12) He was one of the last representatives of the giant race of Rephaim, and was, with his children and his peopl...
    [nave] OG, king of Bashan. A man of gigantic stature, Num. 21:33; Deut. 3:11; Josh. 12:4; 13:12. Defeated and slain by Moses, Num. 21:33-35; Deut. 1:4; 3:1-7; 29:7; 31:4; Josh. 2:10; 9:10; Psa. 135:10, 11; 136:18-20. Land of, give...

  • Moses

    [nave] MOSES A Levite and son of Amram, Ex. 2:1-4; 6:20; Acts 7:20; Heb. 11:23. Hidden in an ark, Ex. 2:3. Discovered and adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, Ex. 2:5-10. Learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, Acts 7:22. His loyalt...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • GILEAD (1)

    [isbe] GILEAD (1) - gil'-e-ad (ha-gil`adh, "the Gilead"): The name is explained in Gen 31:46 ff,51, as derived from Hebrew gal, "a cairn," and `edh, "witness," agreeing in meaning with the Aramaic yegharsahadhutha'. The Arabic jile...

  • GIANTS

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. nephilim, meaning "violent" or "causing to fall" (Gen. 6:4). These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell upon others. The word may also be derived from a root signifying "wonder," and hence "monste...
    [isbe] GIANTS - ji'-ants The word appears in the King James Version as the translation of the Hebrew words nephilim (Gen 6:4; Nu 13:33); repha'im (Dt 2:11,20; 3:11,13; Josh 12:4, etc.); rapha' (1 Ch 20:4,6,8), or raphah (2 Sam 21:1...

  • DEUTERONOMY

    [isbe] DEUTERONOMY - du-ter-on'-o-mi: 1. Name 2. What Deuteronomy Is 3. Analysis 4. Ruling Ideas 5. Unity 6. Authorship 7. Deuteronomy Spoken Twice 8. Deuteronomy's Influence in Israel's History 9. The Critical Theory LITERATURE 1....

  • Cinnereth

    [ebd] a harp, one of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali (Josh. 19:35; comp. Deut. 3:17). It also denotes, apparently, a district which may have taken its name from the adjacent city or lake of Gennesaret, anciently called "the sea of...

  • Chinnereth

    [ebd] lyre, the singular form of the word (Deut. 3:17; Josh. 19:35), which is also used in the plural form, Chinneroth, the name of a fenced city which stood near the shore of the lake of Galilee, a little to the south of Tiberias...

  • Canaan

    [nave] CANAAN 1. Son of Ham, Gen. 9:18, 22, 25-27. Descendants of, Gen. 10:6, 15; 1 Chr. 1:8, 13. 2. Land of (The history of this region is involved in that of the Israelites. The student is therefore referred to Israel, History ...

  • Bedstead

    [ebd] used in Deut. 3:11, but elsewhere rendered "couch," "bed." In 2 Kings 1:4; 16:2; Ps. 132:3; Amos 3:12, the divan is meant by this word.

  • Bashan

    [ebd] light soil, first mentioned in Gen. 14:5, where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth," where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Pro...
    [isbe] BASHAN - ba'-shan (ha-bashan, "the Bashan"; Basan): This name is probably the same in meaning as the cognate Arabic bathneh, "soft, fertile land," or bathaniyeh (batanaea), "this land sown with wheat" ("wheatland"). 1. Bound...
    [smith] (fruitful), a district on the east of Jordan. It is sometimes spoken of as the "land of Bashan," (1 Chronicles 5:11) and comp. Numb 21:33; 32:33 And sometimes as "all Bashan." (3:10,13; Joshua 12:5; 13:12,30) It was taken ...
    [nave] BASHAN A region E. of the Jordan and N. of Arnon, Gen. 14:5. Og, king of, Josh. 13:12. Allotted to the two and one half tribes, which had their possession E. of the Jordan, Num. 32:33; Deut. 3:10-14; Josh. 12:4-6; 13:29-31...

  • BEYOND

    [ebd] when used with reference to Jordan, signifies in the writings of Moses the west side of the river, as he wrote on the east bank (Gen. 50:10, 11; Deut. 1:1, 5; 3:8, 20; 4:46); but in the writings of Joshua, after he had cross...
    [isbe] BEYOND - be-yond': Found in the Hebrew only in its application to space and time, and for these ideas three words are employed: hale'ah (Gen 35:21) = "to the distance"; `abhar = "to go beyond" "to cross" derivative `ebher (C...

  • Argob

    [ebd] stony heap, an "island," as it has been called, of rock about 30 miles by 20, rising 20 or 30 feet above the table-land of Bashan; a region of crags and chasms wild and rugged in the extreme. On this "island" stood sixty wal...
    [smith] (stony), a tract of country on the east of the Jordan, in Bashan, the kingdom of Og, containing 60 great and fortified cities. In later times it was called Trachonitis, and it is now apparently identified with the Leiah, a ve...
    [nave] ARGOB 1. A region E. of the Jordan, Deut. 3:4, 13, 14; 1 Kin. 4:13. 2. A courtier of Pekah, 2 Kin. 15:25.

  • Abarim

    [ebd] regions beyond; i.e., on the east of Jordan, a mountain, or rather a mountain-chain, over against Jericho, to the east and south-east of the Dead Sea, in the land of Moab. From "the top of Pisgah", i.e., Mount Nebo (q.v.), o...

  • ARGOB (2)

    [isbe] ARGOB (2) - ar'-gob (ha-'argobh; ha-argobh or Argob): A region East of the Jordan which in Dt 3:4,5 is equivalent to the kingdom of Og in Bashan, and in 3:13 is referred to as "all the region of Argob, even all Bashan." Dt 3...

  • ABIEZER

    [isbe] ABIEZER - ab-i-e'-zer, a-bi-e'-zer ('abhi`ezer, "father of help," or "my father is help." Iezer, Iezerite (in the King James Version Jeezer, Jeezerite), is Abiezer with the letter beth omitted): (1) A descendant of Joseph th...

Arts

Questions

  • According to the directions in Genesis 6:15, the Ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad and 30 cubits high. Bible students have been greatly puzzled over the length of the cubit, which seems to have varied greatly in ancien...

Sermon Illustrations

The Covenants of Scripture:

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 2:4 Having related the creation of the universe as we know it, God next inspired Moses to explain for his readers what became of it.129Sin entered it and devastated it."The destiny of the human creation is to live in God's wo...
  • 14:1-4 Scholars have not been able to locate definitely the sites referred to in verse 2."An Egyptian papyrus associates Baal Zephon with Tahpahnes . . . a known site near Lake Menzaleh in the northeastern delta region."235Ho...
  • Another preparation for entering Canaan involved appointing a new leader to take Moses' place.God foretold that Moses would die without entering the land (cf. 20:1-13). Graciously He allowed His servant to see the Promised La...
  • Another instance of incomplete obedience followed the great victory God gave His people and the military commanders' sacrificial, voluntary worship of Yahweh.32:1-19 Maybe the leaders of Reuben and Gad concluded that their br...
  • Let me share with you a couple of quotations that point out the importance of this book."Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its significance on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has no...
  • I. Introduction: the covenant setting 1:1-5II. Moses' first major address: a review of God's faithfulness 1:6-4:40A. God's past dealings with Israel 1:6-3:291. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-462. The march from Kades...
  • ". . . an explicit literarystructure to the book is expressed in the sermons or speeches of Moses; a substructureis discernible in the covenantal character of the book; and a theologicalstructure is revealed in its theme of t...
  • This record is also very similar to the previous account of this conquest in Numbers 21:33-35, though Moses provided more information here. Again Moses interpreted Israel's history to emphasize God's faithfulness. The land of...
  • The division of the land of these two Amorite kings among two and one-half Israelite tribes (cf. Num. 32) further fulfilled God's promise to give the land to His people. This extensive portion of real estate was part of the l...
  • Moses encouraged Joshua, his successor, to take courage on the basis of all that God had done for Israel thus far, especially in defeating Sihon and Og (vv. 21-22). A better translation of verse 22 is ". . . for Yahweh [the c...
  • "The passage at hand is without comparison as a discourse on the doctrine of God."56Moses' three rhetorical questions (vv. 32-34) clearly point out the uniqueness of Yahweh."In addition to His self-disclosure in event, in his...
  • These verses are similar to 1:4-5. They summarize and introduce with historical references what follows. In a larger sense these verses summarize all of chapters 1-3. This is narration about Moses, not a discourse by Moses."T...
  • "From a literary standpoint Deut 9:1-10:11 is a travel narrative much like Deut 1:6-3:29, with which, in fact, it shares much in common. For example, both are introduced (1:1-5; 9:1-6) and concluded (3:29; 10:11) by a setting...
  • The context of this section is significant as usual. Verses 1-8 deal with people who ministered to Yahweh in various ways for the people, and verses 15-22 concern the delivery of God's revelations to His people. Verses 9-14 c...
  • The emphasis in this section is on God's faithfulness in bringing Israel to its present position (cf. 1:6-4:40). To do this God had provided for the people in the wilderness and had given them victory over some of their enemi...
  • 5:13-15 "Despite Joshua's long military experience he had never led an attack on a fortified city that was prepared for a long siege. In fact, of all the walled cities in Palestine, Jericho was probably the most invincible. T...
  • When the people had dealt with the sin of Achan as God had commanded, Israel was ready to engage the enemy again.8:1-2 In view of Israel's defeat God's encouraging words were necessary to strengthen Joshua's resolve (cf. 1:9)...
  • The five Danites continued northward about 100 miles and finally came upon an area they felt would be ideal for their needs. They discovered the isolated town of Laish (Leshem, Josh. 19:47) that they believed they could captu...
  • The Book of Ruth is one of the most fascinating and important short stories that anyone has ever written. As a piece of literature it is almost perfect. The German poet Goethe called it "the loveliest complete work on a small...
  • God eventually withdrew the famine from Judah (v. 6) probably in response to His people's calling out to Him for deliverance (cf. Judg. 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6; 10:10; 16:28). This verse sounds one of the major themes of the story:...
  • David used his opportunity to defeat and to annihilate the common enemies of Israel and the Philistines that lived to Israel's southwest. David did not leave any survivors, as the Lord had commanded (Deut. 3:18-20; Josh. 1:13...
  • This record emphasizes the supernatural character of the victories David was able to enjoy because God fought for him by using various men in his army."The lists of heroes and heroic exploits that frame the poetic centre-piec...
  • Pekah's seventeenth year (v. 1) was 735 B.C. Ahaz did not follow David's example of godliness (v. 2). Rather he followed the kings of Israel and those of his pagan neighbors and went so far as offering at least one of his son...
  • 1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
  • 31:2 When the Israelites would seek rest from the attacks of their enemies (cf. 6:16; Exod. 33:14; Deut. 3:20; Josh. 1:13, 15; 22:4; Isa. 63:14), they would find it in the wilderness (cf. 2:2; Rev. 12:14-16).401They will find...
  • 33:1 Jeremiah received another message from the Lord while he was still confined in the court of the guard (cf. 32:2).33:2 The Lord introduced Himself as the Creator and Establisher of the earth (cf. 32:17; Gen. 1). This was ...
  • The man first measured the thickness and the height of the wall around the temple complex. Measuring not only provides data but implies ownership (cf. Zech. 2:1; Rev. 11:1; 21:15); the man measured as God's representative. He...
  • This last part of Jesus' conversation with His disciples in the upper room is unique to Luke. It continues the theme of Jesus' rejection leading to death and what the disciples could expect in view of that rejection.22:35 Jes...
  • The disciples of John were not the only men who began following Jesus. Andrew continued to bring other friends to Jesus. This incident preceded Jesus' formal appointment of the Twelve, but it shows Him preparing those who wou...
  • The writer returned again from exhortation to exposition. He now posed the alternatives of rest and peril that confronted the new people of God, Christians.127The writer warned his readers so they would not fail to enter into...
Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #20: 'To dig deeper, please read related articles at BIBLE.org (via Articles Tab).' [ALL]
created in 0.08 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA