The Tanakh Podcast #157 | Devarim ch.3 - Og The Giant?
Apr 4, 2026
A lively dive into Devarim chapter 3 and the strange figure Og, King of Bashan. They compare the plain biblical text with colorful Midrashic legends about giants and epic feats. Conversation links Og to Psalms, Pesach themes, and earlier biblical giants. The show contrasts brute material power with spiritual purpose and teases symbolic meanings.
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Og As Warlord Of Bashan
- Og is presented peshat as a powerful warlord ruling Bashan with 60 fortified cities and many unwalled towns.
- Alex Israel emphasizes the archaeological-style detail: fortress towns, gates, bars, and total destruction of his territory.
Og's Bed Suggests Giant Yet Human Scale
- The Torah describes Og as the last of the Rephaim with an iron bed nine cubits long and four cubits wide preserved in Rabah.
- Alex Israel uses cubit conversions to show the bed implies a very large but not fantastical human size.
Midrash Mountain Toss Story
- Midrash (Masechet Brachot) tells Og uprooted a three-mile-wide mountain to throw at Israel but grasshoppers ate a hole and it fell on his neck.
- The tale includes comic detail: Og's teeth stuck out, preventing him from lifting the rock back up.