The Wilderness Years

all of them fortified cities with high walls, gates and bars - in addition to a great number of unwalled towns.

We completely destroyed them, as we did with Sichon king of Heshbon, annihilating every city -men, women and little ones.

But we took all the livestock, along with the spoil from the cities, as booty for ourselves.

"At that time we captured the territory of the two kings of the Emori east of the Yarden between the Arnon Valley and Mount Hermon,"

the Hermon which the Tzidonim call Siryon and the Emori call S'nir,

"all the cities of the plain, all Gil'ad and all Bashan, as far as Salkhah and Edre'i, cities of the kingdom of 'Og in Bashan."

'Og king of Bashan was the last survivor of the Refa'im. His bed was made of iron; it is still in Rabbah with the people of 'Amon. It was nine cubits long and four cubits wide, using the normal cubit [thirteen-and-a-half by six feet].

"Of this land that we took possession of then, I assigned to the Re'uveni and the Gadi the territory extending from 'Aro'er along the Arnon Valley together with half the hill-country of Gil'ad, including its cities.

The rest of Gil'ad and all Bashan, the kingdom of 'Og, I gave to the half-tribe of M'nasheh." The whole region of Argov together with all of Bashan form what is called the land of Refa'im.

Ya'ir the son of M'nasheh took all the region of Argov, as far as the border with the G'shuri and the Ma'akhati; he named this whole area, including Bashan, after himself -it remains Havot-Ya'ir to this day.

"I gave Gil'ad to Machir;

and to the Re'uveni and the Gadi I gave the territory from Gil'ad to the Arnon Valley, with the middle of the valley as the border, as far as the Yabok River, which is the border with the people of 'Amon;

the 'Aravah too, the Yarden being its border, from Kinneret to the Sea of the 'Aravah, the Dead Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah to the east.

"At that time I gave you this order: 'ADONAI your God has given you this land to possess. But all of you who are fit to fight must cross over, armed, ahead of your brothers the people of Isra'el.

Your wives, your little ones and your livestock - I know you have much livestock - will stay in your cities which I have given you,

until ADONAI allows your brothers to rest, as he has allowed you; and they too take possession of the land ADONAI your God is giving them on the west side of the Yarden. At that point you will return, each man to his own possession which I have given you.'

"Also at that time I gave this order to Y'hoshua: 'Your eyes have seen everything that ADONAI your God has done to these two kings. ADONAI will do the same to all the kingdoms you encounter when you cross over.

Don't be afraid of them, because ADONAI your God will fight on your behalf.'

"Then I pleaded with ADONAI,

'Adonai ELOHIM, you have begun to reveal your greatness to your servant, and your strong hand - for what other god is there in heaven or on earth that can do the works and mighty deeds that you do?

Please! Let me go across and see the good land on the other side of the Yarden, that wonderful hill-country and the L'vanon!'

But ADONAI was angry with me on account of you, and he didn't listen to me. ADONAI said to me, 'Enough from you! Don't say another word to me about this matter!

Climb up to the top of Pisgah and look out to the west, north, south and east. Look with your eyes - but you will not go across this Yarden.

However, commission Y'hoshua, encourage him and strengthen him; for he will lead this people across and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.'

So we stayed in the valley across from Beit-P'or.