Deuteronomy 1:4

4 after he had ^[a]1defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ²Og the king of Bashan, who lived in ³Ashtaroth ^[b]and Edrei.

Deuteronomy 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 1:4

After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt
in Heshbon
Either Moses, speaking of himself in the third person, or rather the Lord, to whom Moses ascribes the victory; of this king, and his palace, and the slaughter of him, see ( Numbers 21:24-26 ) ,

and Og the king of Bashan,
which dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei; or near Edrei; for Edrei was not the name of a country, in which Ashtaroth was, but of a city at some distance from it, about six miles, as Jerom says {g}; hither Og came from Ashtaroth his palace to fight with Israel, and where he was slain, see ( Numbers 21:33 ) . Ashtaroth was an ancient city formerly called Ashtaroth Karnaim, and was the seat of the Rephaim, or giants, from whom Og sprung, (See Gill on Genesis 14:5), see also ( Deuteronomy 3:11 ) . Jerom says ^F8 in his time there were two castles in Batanea (or Bashan) called by this name, nine miles distant from one another, between Adara (the same with Edrei) and Abila; and in another place he says ^F9 Carnaim Ashtaroth is now a large village in a corner of Batanea, and is called Carnea, beyond the plains of Jordan; and it is a tradition that there was the house of Job.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 De loc. Heb. fol. 87. I.
F8 lbid. E.
F9 De loc. Heb. fol. 89. M.

Deuteronomy 1:4 In-Context

2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the LORD had commanded him to give to them,

4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

5 Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

6 "The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 21:21-26; Deuteronomy 2:26-35; Joshua 13:10; Nehemiah 9:22
• 2. Numbers 21:33-35; Joshua 13:12
• 3. Joshua 12:4

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "smitten"
• [b]. So with ancient versions; M.T. omits "and"