Ulangan 3:11
Konteks3:11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites. (It is noteworthy 1 that his sarcophagus 2 was made of iron. 3 Does it not, indeed, still remain in Rabbath 4 of the Ammonites? It is thirteen and a half feet 5 long and six feet 6 wide according to standard measure.) 7
Ulangan 3:1
Konteks3:1 Next we set out on 8 the route to Bashan, 9 but King Og of Bashan and his whole army 10 came out to meet us in battle at Edrei. 11
1 Samuel 17:4
Konteks17:4 Then a champion 12 came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. 13
[3:11] 1 tn Heb “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
[3:11] 2 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.”
[3:11] 3 tn Or “of iron-colored basalt.” See note on the word “sarcophagus” earlier in this verse.
[3:11] 4 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.
[3:11] 5 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.
[3:11] 6 tn Heb “four cubits.” This would be 6 ft (1.8 m) wide.
[3:11] 7 tn Heb “by the cubit of man.” This probably refers to the “short” or “regular” cubit of approximately 18 in (45 cm).
[3:1] 8 tn Heb “turned and went up.”
[3:1] 9 sn Bashan. This plateau country, famous for its oaks (Isa 2:13) and cattle (Deut 32:14; Amos 4:1), was north of Gilead along the Yarmuk River.
[3:1] 11 sn Edrei is probably modern Deràa, 60 mi (95 km) south of Damascus (see Num 21:33; Josh 12:4; 13:12, 31; also mentioned in Deut 1:4).
[17:4] 12 tn Heb “the man of the space between the two [armies].” See v. 23.
[17:4] 13 tc Heb “his height was six cubits and a span” (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV). A cubit was approximately eighteen inches, a span nine inches. So, according to the Hebrew tradition, Goliath was about nine feet, nine inches tall (cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “over nine feet”; NCV “nine feet, four inches”; TEV “nearly 3 metres”). However, some Greek witnesses, Josephus, and a manuscript of 1 Samuel from Qumran read “four cubits and a span” here, that is, about six feet, nine inches (cf. NAB “six and a half feet”). This seems more reasonable; it is likely that Goliath’s height was exaggerated as the story was retold. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 286, 291.