Joshua 12:4

Jos 12:4 And the coast of Og king of Bashan, [which was] of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,

Ver. 4. Which was of the remnant of giants.] Slain by the Ammonites. {Deu 2:20; Deu 3:11} Raphaims, they called themselves, that is, Physicians or Preservers; but indeed they were Zamzummims, that is, boisterous and abominable. Nomen inane, crimen immane.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12:4 King Og of Bashan: See Num 21:33-35. • The Rephaites were an indigenous people who lived on both sides of the Jordan. Many scholars have concluded that the Rephaites were unusually tall (see Deut 3:11). • Ashtaroth and Edrei: Many rulers of large kingdoms had palaces in more than one of their cities. The fact that Joshua credits only Og with more than one capital indicates that his kingdom was much larger than others Israel encountered, except for Sihon’s.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Coast of Og king of Bashan] Concerning this person see the notes on De 3:11, and on Nu 21:35, c.

The remnant or the giants] Or, Rephaim. See the notes on Ge 6:4; Ge 14:5, and De 2:7; De 2:11.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. the coast of Og] See Num_21:33; Num_21:35; Deu_3:4; Deu_3:10.

at Ashtaroth] The residence of Og. It is now called Tel Ashterah, or Asherah. The Tel (hill) rises to a height of between fifty and a hundred feet from the level of the plain, in which ruins lie scattered. At the foot of the hill are ancient foundations of walls and copious springs.

at Edrei] = Strength. Here, “in the Thermopylæ of his kingdom,” Og was slain. See Num_21:33-35; Deu_3:1-3. On a rocky promontory, 1½ miles wide, and 2½ miles long, south-west of the basaltic district of Argob, rose the city, “without water, without access save over rocks, and through defiles almost impracticable. Strength and security seem to have been the great objects kept in view, and to these all other advantages were sacrificed.” By the Greeks it was called Adraa; by the Crusaders Adratum, also Civitas Bernardi de Stampis, now Edr’a. In a.d. 1142 the Crusaders under Baldwin III. made a sudden attack upon it, but without success. The historian of the Crusades, in his account of this incident, refers to the immense subterranean cisterns that abound in the neighbourhood of the city, among the rocks, and the modern traveller is astonished at the extent and number of reservoirs, not only here but in all the other towns and villages in the Lejah, and in Jebel Haurân. Porter’s Handbook, 11. 533, 534.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the coast of Og king of Bashan,.... The country that he reigned over, who was another king of the Amorites, smitten by Israel in the times of Moses:

which was of the remnant of the giants; See Gill on Deu 3:11,

that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei; of which two places see Deu 1:4; it seems as if Og had a palace in each of those cities, and sometimes was at one and sometimes at another, as is usual with kings.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Og. See Numbers xxi. 33., and Deuteronomy iii. 11.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

To wit, successively; sometimes at the one, sometimes at the other city; both being his royal mansions.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. The coast of Og — The territory of this king, with its boundaries.

Remnant of the giants — Or, of the Rephaim. A race of giants who once peopled Eastern Palestine. Gen_14:5. On Og’s gigantic stature see at Deu_3:11. On Ashtaroth and Edrei see note at Jos_13:31.

[5. Salcah — A city in the eastern border of Bashan, now called Sulkhad. It stands on a conical hill at the southern extremity of Jebel Hauran. J.L. Porter, writing in 1868, says: “It has long been deserted, and yet, as nearly as I could estimate, five hundred of its houses are still standing, and from three to four hundred families might settle in it at any moment without laying a stone, or spending an hour’s labour on repairs. The circumference of the town and castle together is about three miles.” The Geshurites were the inhabitants of Geshur, a district on the borders of Bashan and Syria, probably embracing, as Porter concludes, the northern section of the wild and rocky region now known as el-Lejah. The Maachathites occupied a region on the north of Palestine, and apparently extending from near the fountains of the Jordan under Hermon eastward to the plain of Damascus and the defiles of the Argob. Both the Geshurites and the Maachathites were warlike peoples, and were not expelled from their coasts by the warriors of Israel. Jos_13:13. On the tribal divisions of this trans-Jordanic territory see notes on Jos_13:15-33.]

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The giants. Hebrew, Rephaim. (cf. Gen_14:5 Gen_15:20; also Jos_17:15) The word, according to Ewald, is equivalent to "stretched out." It was also applied to the dead. The Rephaim were one of the various tribes of giants, like the Anakims, Zuzims, and Emims, of whom we read in the land of Canaan. They occupied the land of Bashan and "half Gilead that is, its northern portion. (see Deu_3:13) The term "remnant" would imply that they had suffered some reverses at the hands of the other tribes, though they still remained in possession of their populous territory in the north. This view is confirmed by Gen_14:5. Ashtaroth. (see note on Jos_9:10) Edrei. Or "the strong city," "the city of the arm," according to Gesen., "Thes.," s.v. This name, together with the immense number of ruined cities which have been found of late years in a marvellous state of preservation in this region, shows that Og was a powerful monarch. The ease with which he was overcome bears witness to the enervating effects of luxury and licentiousness upon a people of strong physique, vast numbers, and high civilisation.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ashtaroth and Edrei - Sometimes at the one, sometimes at the other city; both being his royal mansions. But Israel made one grave serve him, who could not be contented with one palace.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.