Deuteronomy 3:11

3:11 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 

Deuteronomy 11:17

11:17 Then the anger of the Lord will erupt ⁸  against you and he will close up the sky ⁹  so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed ¹⁰  from the good land that the Lord ¹¹  is about to give you.

Deuteronomy 22:2

22:2 If the owner ¹²  does not live ¹³  near you or you do not know who the owner is, ¹⁴  then you must corral the animal ¹⁵  at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him.

Deuteronomy 23:14

23:14 For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeat ¹⁶  your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecent ¹⁷  among you and turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 25:7

25:7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she ¹⁸  must go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!”

Deuteronomy 25:9

25:9 then his sister-in-law must approach him in view of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. ¹⁹  She will then respond, “Thus may it be done to any man who does not maintain his brother’s family line!” ²⁰ 

---

¹ tn Heb “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

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

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.

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.

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

⁷ tn Heb “by the cubit of man.” This probably refers to the “short” or “regular” cubit of approximately 18 in (45 cm).

⁸ tn Heb “will become hot”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “will be kindled”; NAB “will flare up”; NIV, NLT “will burn.”

⁹ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

¹⁰ tn Or “be destroyed”; NAB, NIV “will soon perish.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 11:4.

¹² tn Heb “your brother” (also later in this verse).

¹³ tn Heb “is not.” The idea of “residing” is implied.

¹⁴ tn Heb “and you do not know him.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the ox or sheep mentioned in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “give [over] your enemies.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “nakedness of a thing”; NLT “any shameful thing.” The expression עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers specifically to sexual organs and, by extension, to any function associated with them. There are some aspects of human life that are so personal and private that they ought not be publicly paraded. Cultically speaking, even God is offended by such impropriety (cf. Gen 9:22-23; Lev 18:6-12, 16-19; 20:11, 17-21). See B. Seevers, NIDOTTE 3:528-30.

¹⁸ tn Heb “want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister in law.” In the second instance the pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation to avoid redundancy.

¹⁹ sn The removal of the sandal was likely symbolic of the relinquishment by the man of any claim to his dead brother’s estate since the sandal was associated with the soil or land (cf. Ruth 4:7-8). Spitting in the face was a sign of utmost disgust or disdain, an emotion the rejected widow would feel toward her uncooperative brother-in-law (cf. Num 12:14; Lev 15:8). See W. Bailey, NIDOTTE 2:544.

²⁰ tn Heb “build the house of his brother”; TEV “refuses to give his brother a descendant”; NLT “refuses to raise up a son for his brother.”