Bashan

Bashan is a region east of the Jordan whose place in the narrative is defined by Israel’s campaign against Og and the subsequent distribution of the conquered land. Its fortified cities and broad territorial extent make it a prominent part of the account of Israel’s Transjordan settlements.

Setting and Territorial Extent

The narrative places Bashan on Israel’s route after the defeat of Sihon, king of the Amorites. Og came out against the Israelites at Edrei, and they took the region described as his kingdom. The account names Argob, Salcah, and Edrei among its territory, and describes the cities as fortified, with high walls, gates, and bars, alongside many unwalled towns.

In Moses’ later review of the campaign, the territory taken from Og is described together with Gilead and the land extending toward Mount Hermon. The account identifies Hermon by additional names used by the Sidonians and Amorites, situating Bashan within a wider geography of Transjordan lands.

Conquest and Settlement

After Israel had taken Sihon’s territory, Og and his people went out to battle at Edrei. The LORD told Moses not to fear Og and declared that he had been delivered into Israel’s hand. Israel defeated him and his people, took his cities, and possessed his land. Moses’ retrospective account gives the number of captured fortified cities as sixty and states that the population of the cities was destroyed while the livestock and other spoil were taken.

The conquered territory was then divided among Israelite groups. The half-tribe of Manasseh received Bashan and the region of Argob; Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took Argob and named its settlements Havvoth-jair. Gilead was assigned to Machir, while Reubenites and Gadites received territory farther south and east. These allocations made the conquest a settlement arrangement as well as a military victory.

Bashan in Israel’s Later Recollection

Moses invokes the defeat of Og alongside the defeat of Sihon when recalling Israel’s forty years in the wilderness and the land given to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh. The victories serve as precedents for Joshua: Moses tells him that the LORD, who delivered the two kings, will fight for Israel in the campaigns ahead.

Bashan also appears in the Song of Moses among the region’s remembered abundance: the song refers to rams of Bashan while describing the nourishment and prosperity bestowed on Israel. In this way the region is associated both with conquest and inheritance and with the land’s material plenty.