Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
Og met his death in the following fashion. When he discovered that
Israel's camp was three parasangs in circumference, he said: "I shall
now tear up a mountain of three parasangs, and cast it upon Israel's
camp, and crush them." He did as he had planned, pulled up a mountain
of three parasangs, laid it upon his head, and came marching in the
direction of the Israelite camp, to hurl it upon them. But what did God
do? He caused ants to perforate the mountain, so that is slipped from
Og's head down upon his neck, and when he attempted to shake it off, he
teeth pushed out and extended to left and right, and did not let the
mountain pass, so that he now stood there with the mountain, unable to
throw it from him. When Moses saw this, he took an axe twelve cubits
long, leaped ten cubits into the air, and dealt a blow to Og's ankle,
which caused the giant's death. [696]
This was the end of the last of the giants, who was not only last in
time, but also in significance, for despite his height and strength, he
was the most insignificant of the giants who perished in the flood.
[697]
With Og's death all his lands fell to the lot of the Israelites without
another sword's stroke, for God has so ordained it that al of Og's
warriors were with him at his encounter with Israel, and after Israel
had conquered these, only women and children remained in all the land.
Had Israel been obliged to advance upon every city individually, they
would never have finished, on account of the number of the cities and
the strength of the hosts of the Amorites. [698]
Not alone Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, were such giants and
heroes, but all the Amorites. When Hadrian conquered Jerusalem, he
boasted of his victory, whereupon Rabba Johanan, the son of Zakkai,
said to hi: "Boast not of thy victory over Jerusalem, for, had not God
conquered it for thee, thou shouldst never have gained it." He
thereupon led Hadrian to a cave where he showed him the corpses of the
Amorites, each of which was eighteen cubits, and said: "When we were
worthy of victory, these fell into our hands, but now, on account of
our sins, dost thou rule over us." [699]
The victory over Sihon and his hosts was as great as that over Pharaoh
and his hosts, and so was the victory over Og and his hosts. Each of
these victories was as important as that over the thirty-one kings that
Joshua later captured, and it would well have behooved Israel to sing
songs of praise to their Lord as after Pharaoh's destruction. David
later made good this omission, for he intoned a song of praise in
gratitude for the victory God had lent to Israel over Sihon and Og.
[700]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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