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H5548 · Hebrew · Old Testament
סַלְכָה
Salkah
Proper Noun
a city at the boundary of Bashan

Definition

Salkah (סַלְכָה) is a city marking the northeastern boundary of Bashan — the territory of Og, king of Bashan, which was conquered by Moses and given to the tribe of Gad. It appears in Deuteronomy 3:10, Joshua 12:5, and 1 Chronicles 5:11 as a boundary marker. Its name may relate to the root meaning 'to go' or 'to proceed,' suggesting it was a city marking the limit of territory.

Usage & Theological Significance

Boundary cities like Salkah are theologically significant as they mark the fulfillment of God's promises. When Moses lists the extent of Israel's conquest — 'from Arnon to Hermon, including all of Bashan as far as Salkah' — he is narrating the precision of God's fulfilled word. Every boundary marker in Deuteronomy and Joshua is a post driven into the ground of promise kept.

Key Bible Verses

Deuteronomy 3:10 We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah [Salkah] and Edrei.
Joshua 12:5 He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salekah [Salkah], all of Bashan to the border of the people of Geshur and Maakah.
1 Chronicles 5:11 The Gadites lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salekah [Salkah].
Deuteronomy 3:4 At that time we took all his towns. There was not one of the sixty towns that we did not take from them — the whole region of Argob, Og's kingdom in Bashan.
Psalm 60:7 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter.

Word Study

The defeat of Og, king of Bashan, was so remarkable that it became a refrain of Israel's covenant memory (Psalm 135:11; 136:20). Bashan, stretching to Salkah, was the territory of giants — the last remnant of the Rephaim. Its conquest proclaimed that no enemy, however fearsome, stands against the advance of God's promised inheritance.

Related Words

External Resources

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