“They turned and ascended via the Bashan, and Og king of Bashan emerged against them, he and his entire people, to the battle at Edre’i” (Numbers 21:33). “They turned [vayifnu] and ascended” – some say that they waged the war with Siḥon in Elul. They performed the festival [of Sukkot] in Tishrei, and the war with Og was after the festival, just as it says: “You shall turn [ufanita] in the morning and go to your tents” (Deuteronomy 16:7).
“Og king of Bashan emerged” – as the Holy One blessed be He assembled them [the army of Og] before them to deliver them into their hand. “The Lord said to Moses: Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, him and his entire people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Siḥon king of the Emorites, who resides in Ḥeshbon” (Numbers 21:34). “The Lord said to Moses: Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand” – this is what the verse said: “Happy is a person who is always afraid” (Proverbs 28:14).
That is the attribute of the righteous; even though the Holy One blessed be He promises them, they do not divest themselves of fear. Likewise with Jacob: “Jacob was afraid” (Genesis 32:8) – why was he afraid? He said: ‘Perhaps I was sullied with something while at Laban’s, and it is written: “He shall not see a shameful matter in you, and turn from behind you” (Deuteronomy 23:15) – and the Holy One blessed be He would have forsaken me.’
Moses, too, like his patriarch, grasped fear. Why was he afraid? He said: ‘Perhaps Israel committed a trespass in the war with Siḥon, or were sullied with transgression.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Do not fear” – they all completed their acquisitions justly.
“Do not fear him” – as no mighty warrior had stood in the world who was tougher than he, as it is stated: “As only Og king of the Bashan remained from the rest of the Refaim” (Deuteronomy 3:11). He remained from the mighty warriors killed by Amrafel and his allies, as it is stated: “They smote the Refaim at Ashterot Karnayim” (Genesis 14:5), and this is their remnant, like olives that remain among the pomace, as it is stated: “The survivor came and told Abram the Hebrew; and he was dwelling on the plains of Mamre the Emorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, and they were allies of Abram” (Genesis 14:13) – this is Og, and it depicts him as a remnant, as it is stated: “From the rest of the Refaim.”
His intention was that Abram go out and be killed. The Holy One blessed be He granted him the reward of his legs,82The reward for his effort to come and report to Abram what had befallen Lot. and he lived all those years. But He collected from him, as he fell by the hand of his descendants. When Moses came to wage war with him, he feared him.
He said: ‘I am one hundred and twenty years old, and this one is more than five hundred. If he did not have merit, he would not have lived all these years.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand” – kill him by your hand. “You shall do to him as you did to Siḥon…” – “We destroyed [vanaḥarem]83The term ḥerem can mean destroyed or proscribed. them, [as we did to Siḥon]” (Deuteronomy 3:6).
But is it not written: “But all the animals, and the spoils of the cities, we looted for ourselves” (Deuteronomy 3:7)? It is, rather, that they proscribed [heḥerimu] the corpses, to derive no benefit from them. “They smote him, his sons [banav], [and his entire people]” (Numbers 21:35) – “his son [beno]” is written,84In our version of the Bible banav is written (see Minḥat Shai, Bemidbar 21:35). as he had a son tougher than he was.
The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘In this world, you eradicate the nations a little at a time, but in the future, I will eliminate them all at once,’ as it is stated: “Nations will be burnings of lime, cut thorns ignited with fire” (Isaiah 33:12).