דברים, פרק ג׳, פסוק י״א

The historical account of the Transjordan conquest pauses to emphasize the sheer magnitude of the Israelite victory and to explain why God had to explicitly command Moses not to fear Og. Detailing the immense size of this king illustrates the greatness of God's salvation in the battle against the very last of the giants. Although Og ruled over the Amorite nation, his lineage traced back to the Rephaim, a race renowned for their colossal stature [רמב״ן, רש״ר הירש]. His status as the sole remaining giant is understood in a few ways. He may have been the lone survivor of the ancient regional wars involving Amraphel [רש״י, רבנו בחיי], or the only giant to escape when the Ammonites decimated the rest of his people [רמב״ן, הכתב והקבלה]. As the final surviving giant, he naturally inherited the royal cities of the Rephaim [העמק דבר], and the Amorites ultimately crowned him as their king due to his unmatched strength [הכתב והקבלה].

The focal point of Og's legacy is a massive iron structure associated with him. The primary approach among commentators is that this was his personal bed, forged from iron because a standard wooden frame simply could not support his immense weight [רמב״ן, רלב״ג]. However, some suggest this structure was specifically an infant's crib. According to this view, even as a baby, Og possessed such extraordinary strength that he would break ordinary wooden cribs, forcing his caretakers to construct one out of solid iron [רשב״ם, הכתב והקבלה, מלבי״ם]. A third, distinct perspective proposes that this structure was not a piece of furniture at all, but rather a mighty, iron-fortified fortress city belonging to the giant king [רא״ש, בכור שור, חזקוני, פענח רזא].

This famous structure was notably located in the capital city of the Ammonites. Its presence there is explained through several historical lenses. The Ammonites may have taken it as a memorial trophy following their victorious campaign against the Rephaim [רמב״ן, שד״ל]. Alternatively, Og might have been born and raised in that capital after his ancestors sought refuge there [מלבי״ם]. Another intriguing possibility is that Og intentionally placed his bed in Ammonite territory as a strategic maneuver. Knowing that God had strictly forbidden the Israelites from engaging in warfare against the Ammonites, Og hid his bed there to prevent it from being targeted or destroyed during a potential Israelite attack [רשב״ם, ריב״א]. Despite these details of his grandeur, the biblical narrative intentionally limits the extent of his praise, reflecting the principle that one should not elaborate excessively on the honor of the wicked [מנחת שי, ריב״א].

The dimensions of this structure, nine cubits in length and four in width, further illustrate the scale of the giant. For those who view the structure as a fortress, these measurements describe the imposing height and thickness of its walls [רא״ש, חזקוני]. For those identifying it as a bed or crib, the standard of measurement becomes a point of discussion. The primary approach is that these dimensions rely on a standard, average human cubit [אבן עזרא, ספורנו, רלב״ג, שד״ל], which would make Og's height roughly double that of an ordinary person [אברבנאל]. Some add that this was a standard royal measurement of the era [נתינה לגר, ברכת אשר]. If the structure was an infant's crib, these specific proportions align with a baby's physical ratio, revealing that even in infancy, Og measured an astonishing nine standard cubits long [הכתב והקבלה, מלבי״ם]. An intermediate view suggests the measurement was based on the forearm of the largest normal man available [רמב״ן, גור אריה]. Conversely, another perspective argues the measurement was based on Og's own massive arm [רש״י, שפתי חכמים]. While some question this approach because measuring a man by his own limb fails to provide an objective sense of scale [אבן עזרא, ברכת אשר], proponents explain that this specific detail is meant to teach that Og's body was entirely disproportionate. He was not just a scaled-up human, but possessed a highly irregular and abnormal physique, even relative to his own massive size [מזרחי].