📖 Biblical Definition
Large fertile region east of the Jordan and north of Gilead, encompassing what is now the Golan Heights and the Hauran plateau (Numbers 21:33-35; Deuteronomy 3:1-11; Joshua 12:4-5; 13:30; Psalm 22:12; 68:15; Amos 4:1). The kingdom of Bashan was ruled by Og, one of the last of the Rephaim (giants), who was defeated by Israel under Moses at the battle of Edrei before the entry into Canaan: And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many (Deuteronomy 3:4-5). Og's iron bedstead, nine cubits long and four cubits wide (Deuteronomy 3:11), is one of the OT's witnesses to the historical reality of the Rephaim. Bashan was allotted to the half-tribe of Manasseh. The region was famous for its strong oaks (Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 27:6) and its strong cattle (Psalm 22:12, strong bulls of Bashan; Amos 4:1, Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan). Mount Bashan (hill of Bashan) is celebrated in Psalm 68:15-16 as a mighty mountain that nonetheless envies Zion the LORD's chosen dwelling. The patriarchal-Reformed reader notes Bashan's typological significance as the kingdom of the giants conquered by the LORD's hand, and the broader theology of the LORD's defeat of the principalities and powers prefigured in the OT conquest narratives.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Large fertile region east of Jordan, north of Gilead (modern Golan Heights / Hauran); kingdom of Og the Amorite giant defeated by Moses (Numbers 21:33-35; Deuteronomy 3:1-11); allotted to half-tribe of Manasseh.
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BASHAN, proper n. (OT region) Large fertile region east of the Jordan and north of Gilead; modern Golan Heights and Hauran plateau. Kingdom of Og the Amorite, one of the last of the Rephaim (giants), defeated by Israel under Moses at the battle of Edrei before entry into Canaan (Numbers 21:33-35; Deuteronomy 3:1-11). Og's iron bedstead nine cubits long and four cubits wide (Deuteronomy 3:11). Sixty cities taken; all fenced with high walls. Allotted to half-tribe of Manasseh. Famous for strong oaks (Isaiah 2:13) and strong cattle (Psalm 22:12, strong bulls of Bashan; Amos 4:1). Mount Bashan envies Zion in Psalm 68:15-16.
📖 Key Scripture
Deuteronomy 3:1-2 — "Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand."
Deuteronomy 3:11 — "For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man."
Psalm 22:12 — "Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round."
Psalm 68:15-16 — "The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition. The principal recovery is Bashan as the kingdom of the giants conquered by the LORD's hand; the typological substance of OT conquest theology.
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Bashan as a place name does not undergo lexical corruption. The principal theological recovery is Bashan as the kingdom of the giants conquered by the LORD's hand through Moses and Israel: the kingdom of Og, last of the Rephaim, who came against Israel with high-walled cities and ironclad strength, was overthrown by the LORD's command and the obedient action of His people. The OT conquest theology is one of the great typological shadows of the gospel: the LORD's people, in obedient action under His command, conquer the giant-kingdoms that stand in the way of the inheritance. The NT continues this theology in Christ's victory over the principalities and powers (Colossians 2:15) and in the believer's spiritual warfare under His lordship (Ephesians 6:10-18).
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Numbers 21:33-35; Deuteronomy 3:1-11; kingdom of Og the giant; allotted to half-tribe of Manasseh.
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['Hebrew', 'H1316', 'Bashan', 'fruitful, fertile region']
['Hebrew', 'H5747', "'Og", 'Og, king of Bashan']
['Hebrew', 'H7497', "rapha'", 'Rephaim, giants']
Usage
"Bashan: large fertile region east of Jordan, north of Gilead."
"Kingdom of Og the giant defeated by Moses (Deuteronomy 3:1-11)."
"Famous for strong oaks and strong bulls; Mount Bashan envies Zion."