Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Deuteronomy 3:11/רמב"ן על דברים ג׳:י״א

אכִּי רַק עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים הִנֵּה עַרְשׂוֹ עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל וְגוֹ', עִנְיַן הַכָּתוּב שֶׁבָּא לְהַגִּיד כִּי עוֹג זֶה נִקְרָא מֶלֶךְ הָאֱמֹרִי בַּעֲבוּר כִּי מָלַךְ עֲלֵיהֶם, אֲבָל הוּא עַצְמוֹ מִן הָרְפָאִים הוּא, וּלְהַגִּיד עַל גָּבְהוֹ וְגָדְלוֹ, כִּי הָיוּ הָרְפָאִים עַם גָּדוֹל וָרָם כַּעֲנָקִים, אָמַר כִּי עַרְשׂוֹ עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל, לֹא יִסְבֹּל אוֹתוֹ עֶרֶשׂ עֵצִים כִּשְׁאָר בְּנֵי אָדָם, וְהוּא בְּעִיר רַבָּה שֶׁהָיְתָה עִיר מוֹשָׁבוֹ, וְכַאֲשֶׁר הִשְׁמִידוּ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן אֶת הָרְפָאִים כַּאֲשֶׁר נִזְכַּר לְמַעְלָה (ב כא) וְנִלְכְּדָה עִירוֹ נִצַּל הוּא לְבַדּוֹ מִיָּדָם, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כִּי רַק עוֹג נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים, וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁאֲרָה מִטָּתוֹ שָׁמָּה בְּרַבָּה אֲשֶׁר הִיא עַתָּה לִבְנֵי עַמּוֹן, וְהָעַמּוֹנִים קִיְּמוּ אוֹתָהּ לְעֵדוּת כִּי הִשְׁמִידוּ עַם גָּדוֹל וָרָם, וְהָאִישׁ הַגִּבּוֹר אֲשֶׁר כְּגֹבַהּ אֲרָזִים גָּבְהוֹ וְחָסֹן הוּא כָּאַלּוֹנִים לָכְדוּ מִמֶּנּוּ מַלְכוּתוֹ. וְזֶה טַעַם הִנֵּה, כְּלוֹמַר הִנֵּה הָעֵדוּת קַיֶּמֶת שֶׁהִיא עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל וַאֲרֻכָּה וּרְחָבָה מְאֹד, וְקַיֶּמֶת הִיא בְּרַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן, כִּי עַרְשׂוֹ אֲשֶׁר בְּעַשְׁתָּרוֹת הָיְתָה לְשָׁלָל וְאָבְדָה:

1FOR ONLY OG KING OF BASHAN REMAINED OF THE REMNANT OF THE REPHAIM; BEHOLD, HIS BEDSTEAD WAS A BEDSTEAD OF IRON etc. The purport of the verse is to tell that this Og was called the king of the Amorites because he ruled over them, but he himself was of the Rephaim. And in order to tell of his height and strength, since the Rephaim were a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakim,²⁶⁷ it states that his bedstead was a bedstead of iron, no bedstead of wood being able to support him as it does other people. It is in the city of Rabbah which was his dwelling place, and when the children of Ammon destroyed the Rephaim as is mentioned above,²⁶⁸, Verse 21. and his city [Og’s capital, Ashtaroth] was captured, he alone was saved from the hands of the Ammonites. It is this which is stated, For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed was left there in Rabbah which now belongs to the children of Ammon, and the Ammonites preserved it as testimony that they destroyed a great and tall people; and the mighty man whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks²⁶⁹ — from him they captured his kingdom. This is the sense of the word behold [behold, his bedstead …], meaning: “behold, the proof of [Og’s strength] still exists; it is the iron bedstead, very long and wide, and is to be found in Rabbah of the children of Ammon,” since his bedstead, which was in Ashtaroth, was plundered and lost.²⁷⁰

בוְטַעַם בְּאַמַּת אִישׁ, הַגָּדוֹל בִּבְנֵי אָדָם, כְּמוֹ וְחָזַקְתָּ וְהָיִיתָ לְאִישׁ (מלכים א ב ב). וְעַל דַּעַת אוּנְקְלוֹס (תרגום אונקלוס על דברים ג':י"א) בְּאַמַּת אִישׁ, בְּאַמַּת הָאִישׁ, וְתַרְגּוּם מְלַךְ, וְכֵן אֶת הַכֶּבֶשׂ אֶחָד (במדבר כח ד), בַּלַּיְלָה הוּא (בראשית יט לג), וְכֵן רַבִּים, כְּלוֹמַר בְּאַמַּת עוֹג עַצְמוֹ:

2NINE CUBITS WAS THE LENGTH THEREOF [of Og’s bedstead], AND FOUR CUBITS THE BREADTH OF IT, AFTER THE CUBIT OF A MAN. The meaning of after the cubit of a ‘man’ is that of the biggest man [i.e., Og], just as the expression, be thou strong and show yourself a man²⁷¹ [which means “a strong man”]. And in the opinion of Onkelos, after the cubit of ‘a’ man means “after the cubit of ‘the’ man,” and the translation thereof [in Aramaic] is “the king” [indicating that no ordinary man is meant here — “the” man means the king]. Similarly, eth hakeves echad²⁷² [which literally means: “the one lamb” — should be eth hakeves ha’echad: “the one ‘specific’ lamb”]; balailah hu²⁷³ [should be: balailah hahu — “in ‘that’ night”]. There are many similar cases. That is to say, [after the cubit of a man means] after the cubit of [“the” man] — Og himself.