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Texts -- Deuteronomy 3:4-29 (NET)

Context
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
  • Deu 3:12-17 -- Distribution of the Transjordanian Allotments
  • Deu 3:18-22 -- Instructions to the Transjordanian Tribes
  • Deu 3:23-29 -- Denial to Moses of the Promised Land

Bible Dictionary

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Gilead

    [ebd] hill of testimony, (Gen. 31:21), a mountainous region east of Jordan. From its mountainous character it is called "the mount of Gilead" (Gen. 31:25). It is called also "the land of Gilead" (Num. 32:1), and sometimes simply "...
    [smith] (rocky region). A mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon. (Genesis 31:21; 3:12-17) It is sometimes called "Mount G...
    [nave] GILEAD 1. A region E. of the Jordan allotted to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half tribe of Manasseh, Num. 32:1-30; Deut. 3:13; 34:1; 2 Kin. 10:33. Reubenites expel the Hagarites from, 1 Chr. 5:9, 10, 18-22. Ammonites m...

  • 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...

  • 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;...

  • Amorites

    [ebd] highlanders, or hillmen, the name given to the descendants of one of the sons of Canaan (Gen. 14:7), called Amurra or Amurri in the Assyrian and Egyptian inscriptions. On the early Babylonian monuments all Syria, including P...
    [isbe] AMORITES - am'-o-rits; Amorites ('emori, always in the singular like the Babylonian Amurru from which it is taken; Amorraioi): 1. Varying Use of the Name Explained 2. The Amorite Kingdom 3. Sihon's Conquest 4. Disappearance ...
    [nave] AMORITES Descendants of Canaan, Gen. 10:15, 16; 1 Chr. 1:13, 14. Were giants, Amos 2:9. Struck by Chedorlaomer and rescued by Abraham, Gen. 14. Territory of, Gen. 14:7; Num. 13:29; 21:13; Deut. 1:4, 7, 19; 3:8, 9; Josh. 5...

  • Arnon

    [ebd] swift, the southern boundary of the territory of Israel beyond Jordan, separating it from the land of Moab (Deut. 3:8, 16). This river (referred to twenty-four times in the Bible) rises in the mountains of Gilead, and after ...
    [isbe] ARNON - ar'-non ('arnon; Arnon): Is first mentioned in Nu 21:24 as the border between Moab and the Amorites. "The valleys of Arnon" in the next verse undoubtedly indicate the numerous wadies contributary to the main stream. ...
    [smith] (roaring), the river or torrent which formed the boundary between Moab and the Amorites, on the north of Moab, (Numbers 21:13,14,24,26; Judges 11:22) and afterwards between Moab and Israel (Reuben). (2:24,36; 3:8,12,16; 4:48;...
    [nave] ARNON A river emptying into the Dead Sea from the east. Boundary between Moabites and Amorites, Num. 21:13, 14, 26; 22:36; Deut. 2:24, 36; 3:8, 16; Josh. 12:1. Fords of, Isa. 16:2. Miracles at, Num. 21:14.

  • 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.

  • 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...

  • Hermon

    [ebd] a peak, the eastern prolongation of the Anti-Lebanon range, reaching to the height of about 9,200 feet above the Mediterranean. It marks the north boundary of Palestine (Deut. 3:8, 4:48; Josh. 11:3, 17; 13:11; 12:1), and is ...
    [isbe] HERMON - hur'-mon (chermon; Codex Vaticanus, Haermon): 1. Description: The name of the majestic mountain in which the Anti-Lebanon range terminates to the South (Dt 3:8, etc.). It reaches a height of 9,200 ft. above the sea,...
    [smith] (a peak, summit), a mountain on the northeastern border of Palestine, (3:8; Joshua 12:1) over against Lebanon, (Joshua 11:17) adjoining the plateau of Bashan. (1 Chronicles 5:23) It stands at the southern end, and is the c...
    [nave] HERMON A mountain in the N. of Palestine. Called Sirion, Deut. 3:8, 9; Psa. 29:6; Sion, Deut. 4:48; Psa. 133:3; Shenir, Deut. 3:9; 1 Chr. 5:23; Song 4:8.

  • Pisgah

    [ebd] a part, a mountain summit in the land of Moab, in the territory of Reuben, where Balak offered up sacrifices (Num. 21:20; 23:14), and from which Moses viewed the promised land (Deut. 3:27). It is probably the modern Jebel Si...
    [isbe] PISGAH - piz'-ga (ha-picgah; Phasga, to lelaxeumenon, he laxeute): This name, which has always the definite article, appears only in combination either with ro'sh, "head," "top," or 'ashdoth, not translated in the King James...
    [smith] (section , i.e. peak), (Numbers 21:20; 23:14; 3:27; 34:1) a mountain range or district, the same as or a part of, that called the mountains of Abarim. Comp. (32:49) with Deuteronomy 34:1 It lay on the east of Jordan contiguou...
    [nave] PISGAH, a ridge or mountain E. of the Jordan, opposite to Jericho. The Israelites come to, Num. 21:20. A boundary of the country assigned to the Reubenites and Gadites, Deut. 3:17; 4:49; Josh. 12:3. Balaam prophesies on, Nu...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Jair

    [ebd] enlightener. (1.) The son of Segub. He was brought up with his mother in Gilead, where he had possessions (1 Chr. 2:22). He distinguished himself in an expedition against Bashan, and settled in the part of Argob on the borde...
    [isbe] JAIR - ja'-er: (1) Jair (ya'ir, "he enlightens" or "one giving light"): (a) Son, i.e. descendant of Manasseh (Nu 32:41; Dt 3:14; Josh 13:30; 1 Ki 4:13:1 Ch 2:22 f). According to 1 Ch 2:21 f he was the son of ScRub, son of He...
    [smith] (enlightener). A man who on his father?s side was descended from Judah, and on his mother?s from Manasseh. (B.C. 1451.) During, the conquest he took the whole of the tract of Argob (3:14) and in addition possessed himself of...
    [nave] JAIR 1. Son of Manasseh. Founder of twenty-three cities in Gilead, Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14; Josh. 13:30; 1 Kin. 4:13; 1 Chr. 2:22, 23. 2. A judge of Israel, Judg. 10:3-5. 3. A Benjamite, Esth. 2:5. 4. Father of Elhanan, 1 ...

  • Jabbok

    [ebd] a pouring out, or a wrestling, one of the streams on the east of Jordan, into which it falls about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, or about 45 miles below the Sea of Galilee. It rises on the eastern side ...
    [isbe] JABBOK - jab'-ok (yabboq, "luxuriant river"): A stream in Eastern Palestine first named in the history of Jacob, as crossed by the patriarch on his return from Paddan-aram, after leaving Mahanaim (Gen 32:22 ff). On the bank ...
    [smith] (emptying), a stream which intersects the mountain range of Gilead, comp. (Joshua 12:2,5) and falls into the Jordan on the east about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. It was anciently the border of the chil...
    [nave] JABBOK A stream on the E. of the Jordan, the northern boundary of the possessions of the Ammonites, Num. 21:24; Judg. 11:13; of the Reubenites and the Gadites, Josh. 12:2; Deut. 3:16. The northern boundary of the Amorites, ...

  • 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...

  • Rabbah

    [ebd] or Rab'bath, great. (1.) "Rabbath of the children of Ammon," the chief city of the Ammonites, among the eastern hills, some 20 miles east of the Jordan, on the southern of the two streams which united with the Jabbok. Here t...
    [isbe] RABBAH - rab'-a: (1) (rabbah; Rhabba, Rhabbath, Rhabban. The full name is rabbath bene `ammon; he akra ton huion Ammon, Rhabbath huion Ammon, "Rabbah of the children of Ammon"): This alone of the cities of the Ammonites is m...
    [smith] (great). A very strong place on the east of the Jordan, and the chief city of the Ammonites. In five passages -- (3:11; 2 Samuel 12:26; 17:27; Jeremiah 49:2; Ezekiel 21:20) --it is styled at length Rabbath of the Ammonite...
    [nave] RABBAH 1. Called also Rabbath. A city E. of the Jordan, originally belonging to the Ammonites, Josh. 13:25. Bedstead of the giant Og kept at, Deut. 3:11. Taken by David, 2 Sam. 11:1; 12:26-31; 1 Chr. 20:1-3. Possessed aga...

  • Sirion

    [ebd] a breastplate, the Sidonian name of Hermon (q.v.), Deut. 3:9; Ps. 29:6.
    [isbe] SIRION - sir'-i-on (siryon; Sanior): The name of Mt. Hermon among the Phoenicians (Dt 3:9). It is given as "Shirion" in Ps 29:6 (Hebrew "breastplate" or "body armor"). Here it is named with Lebanon. Sirion therefore probably...
    [smith] (breastplate), one of the various names of Mount Hermon, that by which it was known to the Zidonians. (3:9) The use of the name in (Psalms 29:6) (slightly altered in the original--Shirion instead of Sirion) is remarkable.
    [nave] SIRION, Sidonian name of Mount Hermon, Deut. 3:9; Psa. 29:6.
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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...
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  • 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...
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  • 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...
  • 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...
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  • 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...
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