King of Bashan. This king was famous partly because he was a giant. “For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites” (Deuteronomy 3:11). This means the bed was more than 4.1 meters (13 feet) long and 1.8 meters (6 feet) wide!
Moses defeated Og immediately after the defeat of King Sihon the Amorite (Numbers 21:33–35). Bashan lay along the northern part of the Transjordan (the region east of the Jordan River). The land of Og extended toward the northeast from the lower course of the Jarmuk (Yarmuk) River. High mountain ranges protected him on the east from scorching desert winds.
Og and his people had several settlements. The most important settlements were Ashtaroth and Edrei (Joshua 13:12). Og had fortified his land with 60 walled cities. He was likely overconfident when fighting the army of Moses. Moses destroyed everyone living in those cities. He only spared the livestock and the spoils of war (Deuteronomy 3:5–6).
Three tribes of Israel found the Transjordan most suitable for grazing their herds. So, at the defeat of Sihon and Og, Moses assigned these captured lands to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half of Manasseh (Numbers 32:33; Joshua 12:4–6).