The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:4

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

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 another name for the same country; extending from the Jabbok to Hermon, and embracing both the northern part of Gilead, and what was afterwards in a stricter sense Bashan, viz.

the land north of the Wady Zerka (hod. Jebel Ajlan) to Hermon. The name Argob is supposed by some to be given to the district from a town of that name, fifteen Roman miles eastward from Gerasa, a city of Arabia (Eusebius); but more probably it is derived from the character of the district, either as deep-soiled (from רֶגֶב, a clod), or as rugged and uneven ( רְגוֹב, from רָגַב akin to רָגָם, to heap up), just as the neighboring district to the east and northeast received the name Traohonitis (from τραχών, rough, rugged); in the Targum, indeed, Trachona ( טרכונא) is the name given here for Argob.

This district is now known as the province of El-Lejah (The Retreat). It is described as oval in form, about twenty-two miles long by fourteen wide; a plateau elevated about thirty feet above the surrounding plain.

Its features are most remarkable. It is composed of a thick stratum of black basalt, which seems to have been emitted in a liquid state from pores in the earth, and to have flowed out on all sides till the whole surface was covered.

It is rent and shattered as if by internal convulsion. The cup-like cavities from which the liquid mass was projected are still seen, and also the wavy surface such as a thick liquid generally assumes which cools as it is flowing.

There are deep fissures and yawning gulfs with rugged, broken edges; and there are jagged mounds that seem not to have been sufficiently heated to flow, but which were forced up by some mighty agency, and then rent and shattered to their centers.

The rock is filled with air-bubbles, and is almost as hard as iron. The entire trans-Jordanic region was thus captured by the Israelites.

More for Deuteronomy 3:4

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 3:1-11Deuteronomy 3:1-11 · Matthew Henry Concise CommentaryOg 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.)Deuteronomy 3:1-11 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleSIHON 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 3:1-11Deuteronomy 3:1-11 · The Pulpit CommentaryCONQUEST 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 3:1-20Deuteronomy 3:1-20 · The Pulpit CommentarySelf-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 3:1-12Deuteronomy 3:1-12 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe 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 3:1-17Deuteronomy 3:1-17 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe 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:…

commentaryMatthew Henry on Deuteronomy 3:1-11Og 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…Matthew Henry commentarySihon 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…Matthew Henry commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-20Self-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…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-17The 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:…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-29EXPOSITIONJoseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-11CONQUEST 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…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:1-12The 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…Joseph S. Exell and contributors