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The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:29
As the … did unto me. This refers expressly to the fact that the Edomites and Moabites did not hinder the Israelites from passing through their country, though they were far from friendly, and dealt in an unbrotherly wa…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:30
Heshbon, the chief city of the Amorite king, Sihon. Some ruins on a hill east of the upper end of the Dead Sea, and bearing the name Chesban, mark the site of this once large and important city. Sihon rejected Moses' ov…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:31-37
God had determined to give Sihon and his land to the Israelites, and so certainly should this be done, that Moses is exhorted already to begin to seize, in order to possess the land. Sihon initiated hostilities by comin…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:32
(cf. Numbers 21:23).—Jahaz ( יַהַץ, downtrodden), elsewhere Jahazah ( יַהְצָה), a city of Moab, afterwards assigned to the tribe of Reuben, and allotted to the priests (Joshua 13:18; Joshua 21:36; 1 Chronicles 6:63; Isa…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:36
Aroer, one of the Amorite cities, on the right bank of the river Arnon (cf. Joshua 12:2; Joshua 13:16). On the Moabite Stone, King Mesha says, "I built Aroer;" but this can only mean that, after some temporary condition…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:37
In obedience to the Divine injunction, the Israelites left untouched the country of the Ammonites, situated on the eastern side of the Upper Jabbok. Cities in the mountains; the towns in the Ammonitish highlands. In Jos…
Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 3:1-11
Og was very powerful, but he did not take warning by the ruin of Sihon, and desire conditions of peace. He trusted his own strength, and so was hardened to his destruction. Those not awakened by the judgments of God on…
Sihon and Og Subdued. (b. c. 1451.)
SIHON AND OG SUBDUED. (B. C. 1451.) We have here another brave country delivered into the hand of Israel, that of Bashan; the conquest of Sihon is often mentioned together with that of Og, to the praise of God, the rath…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-17
The destruction of Og, King of Bashan. We have here an account of another conquest, for which the victory over Sihon, King of the Amorites, prepared the people. Bashan was "called the land of the giants" (Deuteronomy 3:…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-29
EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-11
CONQUEST OF OG, KING OF BASHAN. The Amorites had wrested from Moab a portion of the territory taken by the Moabites and the Edomites from the giant aborigines; and Og, who was of the same giant race, ruled over the nort…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1
(Cf. Numbers 21:33 ) We turned—i.e. took a new route—and went up ( וַנַּעַל, and we ascended). As Bashan was an upland region, they are very properly said to have gone up. Edrei, hod. Draa, with Roman and Arabian ruins,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-20
Self-propagating conquest. There is solid truth in the French proverb: "It is the first step that costs." An untried course makes large demands on a man's thought, self-watchfullness, and energy; but when habit is acqui…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-12
The conquest of Og. Og, King of Bashan, was a yet more formidable adversary than Sihon. We read with wonder of that extraordinary territory over which he ruled, the region of Argob, with its sixty cities built of black…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:2
(Cf. Numbers 21:31, etc.)
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:4
Threescore cities; probably the same as the Bashan-havoth jair, afterwards mentioned (Deuteronomy 3:14). The region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. The region of Argob comprised the kingdom of Og, and Bashan was…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:5
All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; literally, double gates and a bar. These cities, with their marvelous erections, are believed to be still existing in the Hauran. Over that district tire st…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:6
(See Deuteronomy 2:34.)
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:6
The destruction of the populations. The difficulty is often urged of the numerous cases of the destruction of entire populations recorded in Scripture, and said to be commanded by God. It is a difficulty which all have…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:8
Hermon ( חֶרְמוֹן), probably from חָרַם, to be high, "the lofty peak," conspicuous on all sides. By some the name is supposed to be connected with חֶרֶם, a devoted thing, because this mountain marked the limit of the co…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:10
The different portions of the conquered territory are here mentioned. 1. The plain ( הַמִּישׁוֹר, the level country); the table-land south of Mount Gilead, as far as the Arnon. 2. The whole of Gilead; the hilly country…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:11
Bashan was of old possessed by a giant race, the Rephaim (Genesis 14:5); but of these Og, King of Bashan, was, at the time of the Israelitish invasion, the sole remnant. His vast size is indicated by the size of his bed…
Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 3:12-20
This country was settled on the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: see Nu 32. Moses repeats the condition of the grant to which they agreed. When at rest, we should desire to see our brethren at rest t…
Allotment of the Conquered Lands. (b. c. 1451.)
ALLOTMENT OF THE CONQUERED LANDS. (B. C. 1451.) Having shown how this country which they were now in was conquered, in these verses he shows how it was settled upon the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasse…