Numbers 13:22

13:22 When they went up through the Negev, they ¹  came ²  to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, ³  descendants of Anak, were living. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan ⁴  in Egypt.)

Deuteronomy 1:28

1:28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage ⁵  by describing people who are more numerous ⁶  and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven ⁷  itself! Moreover, they said they saw ⁸  Anakites ⁹  there.”

Deuteronomy 2:10

2:10 (The Emites ¹⁰  used to live there, a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites.

Deuteronomy 3:11

3:11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites. (It is noteworthy ¹¹  that his sarcophagus ¹²  was made of iron. ¹³  Does it not, indeed, still remain in Rabbath ¹⁴  of the Ammonites? It is thirteen and a half feet ¹⁵  long and six feet ¹⁶  wide according to standard measure.) ¹⁷ 

Deuteronomy 9:2

9:2 They include the Anakites, ¹⁸  a numerous ¹⁹  and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites?”

Deuteronomy 9:1

Theological Justification of the Conquest

9:1 Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications. ²⁰ 

Deuteronomy 17:4-7

17:4 When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing ²¹  is being done in Israel, 17:5 you must bring to your city gates ²²  that man or woman who has done this wicked thing – that very man or woman – and you must stone that person to death. ²³  17:6 At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 17:7 The witnesses ²⁴  must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people ²⁵  are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 17:2

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ²⁶  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ²⁷  and breaks his covenant

Deuteronomy 21:20-22

21:20 They must declare to the elders ²⁸  of his city, “Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say – he is a glutton and drunkard.” 21:21 Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge out ²⁹  wickedness from among you, and all Israel ³⁰  will hear about it and be afraid.

Disposition of a Criminal’s Remains

21:22 If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse ³¹  on a tree,

Deuteronomy 21:1

Laws Concerning Unsolved Murder

21:1 If a homicide victim ³²  should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you, ³³  and no one knows who killed ³⁴  him,

Deuteronomy 11:23

11:23 then he ³⁵  will drive out all these nations ahead of you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.

¹ tc The MT has the singular, but the ancient versions and Smr have the plural.

² tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the following clause. The first verse gave the account of their journey over the whole land; this section focuses on what happened in the area of Hebron, which would be the basis for the false report.

³ sn These names are thought to be three clans that were in the Hebron area (see Josh 15:14; Judg 1:20). To call them descendants of Anak is usually taken to mean that they were large or tall people (2 Sam 21:18-22). They were ultimately driven out by Caleb.

⁴ sn The text now provides a brief historical aside for the readers. Zoan was probably the city of Tanis, although that is disputed today by some scholars. It was known in Egypt in the New Kingdom as “the fields of Tanis,” which corresponded to the “fields of Zoar” in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 78:12, 43).

⁵ tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”

⁶ tn Heb “greater.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “stronger,” NAB, NIV, NRSV; “bigger,” NASB).

⁷ tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁸ tn Heb “we have seen.”

⁹ tn Heb “the sons of the Anakim.”

¹⁰ sn Emites. These giant people, like the Anakites (Deut 1:28), were also known as Rephaites (v. 11). They appear elsewhere in the narrative of the invasion of the kings of the east where they are said to have lived around Shaveh Kiriathaim, perhaps 9 to 11 mi (15 to 18 km) east of the north end of the Dead Sea (Gen 14:5).

¹¹ tn Heb “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

¹² tn The Hebrew term עֶרֶשׂ (’eres), traditionally translated “bed” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) is likely a basaltic (volcanic) stone sarcophagus of suitable size to contain the coffin of the giant Rephaite king. Its iron-like color and texture caused it to be described as an iron container. See A. Millard, “King Og’s Iron Bed: Fact or Fancy?” BR 6 (1990): 16-21, 44; cf. also NEB “his sarcophagus of basalt”; TEV, CEV “his coffin.”

¹³ tn Or “of iron-colored basalt.” See note on the word “sarcophagus” earlier in this verse.

¹⁴ sn Rabbath. This place name (usually occurring as Rabbah; 2 Sam 11:11; 12:27; Jer 49:3) refers to the ancient capital of the Ammonite kingdom, now the modern city of Amman, Jordan. The word means “great [one],” probably because of its political importance. The fact that the sarcophagus “still remain[ed]” there suggests this part of the verse is post-Mosaic, having been added as a matter of explanation for the existence of the artifact and also to verify the claim as to its size.

¹⁵ tn Heb “nine cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 in (45 cm) for the standard cubit, this would be 13.5 ft (4.1 m) long.

¹⁶ tn Heb “four cubits.” This would be 6 ft (1.8 m) wide.

¹⁷ tn Heb “by the cubit of man.” This probably refers to the “short” or “regular” cubit of approximately 18 in (45 cm).

¹⁸ sn Anakites. See note on this term in Deut 1:28.

¹⁹ tn Heb “great and tall.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “strong,” NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

²⁰ tn Heb “fortified to the heavens” (so NRSV); NLT “cities with walls that reach to the sky.” This is hyperbole.

²¹ tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.

²² tn Heb “gates.”

²³ tn Heb “stone them with stones so that they die” (KJV similar); NCV “throw stones at that person until he dies.”

²⁴ tn Heb “the hand of the witnesses.” This means the two or three witnesses are to throw the first stones (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

²⁵ tn Heb “the hand of all the people.”

²⁶ tn Heb “gates.”

²⁷ tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

²⁸ tc The LXX and Smr read “to the men,” probably to conform to this phrase in v. 21. However, since judicial cases were the responsibility of the elders in such instances (cf. Deut 19:12; 21:3, 6; 25:7-8) the reading of the MT is likely original and correct here.

²⁹ tn The Hebrew term בִּעַרְתָּה (bi’artah), here and elsewhere in such contexts (cf. Deut 13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:9), suggests God’s anger which consumes like fire (thus בָעַר, ba’ar, “to burn”). See H. Ringgren, TDOT 2:203-4.

³⁰ tc Some LXX traditions read הַנִּשְׁאָרִים (hannish’arim, “those who remain”) for the MT’s יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”), understandable in light of Deut 19:20. However, the more difficult reading found in the MT is more likely original.

³¹ tn Heb “him.”

³² tn Heb “slain [one].” The term חָלָל (khalal) suggests something other than a natural death (cf. Num 19:16; 23:24; Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15; 30:24; 31:17-18).

³³ tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³⁴ tn Heb “struck,” but in context a fatal blow is meant; cf. NLT “who committed the murder.”

³⁵ tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.