Deuteronomy 3:10-11

3:10 all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead and Bashan as far as Salecah ¹  and Edrei, ²  cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 3:11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites. (It is noteworthy ³  that his sarcophagus ⁴  was made of iron. ⁵  Does it not, indeed, still remain in Rabbath ⁶  of the Ammonites? It is thirteen and a half feet ⁷  long and six feet ⁸  wide according to standard measure.) ⁹ 

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¹ sn Salecah. Today this is known as Salkhad, in Jordan, about 31 mi (50 km) east of the Jordan River in the Hauran Desert.

² sn Edrei. See note on this term in 3:1.

³ tn Heb “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

⁴ 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.”

⁵ tn Or “of iron-colored basalt.” See note on the word “sarcophagus” earlier in this verse.

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Heb “four cubits.” This would be 6 ft (1.8 m) wide.

⁹ tn Heb “by the cubit of man.” This probably refers to the “short” or “regular” cubit of approximately 18 in (45 cm).