Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 3:9 
Context3:9 (the Sidonians 1 call Hermon Sirion 2 and the Amorites call it Senir), 3
Deuteronomy 3:11
Context3:11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites. (It is noteworthy 4 that his sarcophagus 5 was made of iron. 6 Does it not, indeed, still remain in Rabbath 7 of the Ammonites? It is thirteen and a half feet 8 long and six feet 9 wide according to standard measure.) 10
Deuteronomy 3:14
Context3:14 Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites 11 and Maacathites 12 (namely Bashan) and called it by his name, Havvoth-Jair, 13 which it retains to this very day.)
1 sn Sidonians were Phoenician inhabitants of the city of Sidon (now in Lebanon), about 47 mi (75 km) north of Mount Carmel.
2 sn Sirion. This name is attested in the Ugaritic texts as sryn. See UT 495.
3 sn Senir. Probably this was actually one of the peaks of Hermon and not the main mountain (Song of Songs 4:8; 1 Chr 5:23). It is mentioned in a royal inscription of Shalmaneser III of Assyria (saniru; see ANET 280).
4 tn Heb “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
5 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.”
6 tn Or “of iron-colored basalt.” See note on the word “sarcophagus” earlier in this verse.
7 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.
8 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.
9 tn Heb “four cubits.” This would be 6 ft (1.8 m) wide.
10 tn Heb “by the cubit of man.” This probably refers to the “short” or “regular” cubit of approximately 18 in (45 cm).
11 sn Geshurites. Geshur was a city and its surrounding area somewhere northeast of Bashan (cf. Josh 12:5 ; 13:11, 13). One of David’s wives was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur and mother of Absalom (cf. 2 Sam 13:37; 15:8; 1 Chr 3:2).
12 sn Maacathites. These were the people of a territory southwest of Mount Hermon on the Jordan River. The name probably has nothing to do with David’s wife from Geshur (see note on “Geshurites” earlier in this verse).
13 sn Havvoth-Jair. The Hebrew name means “villages of Jair,” the latter being named after a son (i.e., descendant) of Manasseh who took the area by conquest.
