What historical evidence supports the events described in Deuteronomy 3:6? Text of Deuteronomy 3:6 “We devoted them to destruction, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every city—men, women, and children.” Immediate Historical Setting The verse records Israel’s complete defeat of the Amorite king Og in Bashan, east of the Jordan, just prior to the entry into Canaan (ca. 1406 BC on a conservative chronology). The campaign covered the fortified cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei and the sixty unwalled towns of the region of Argob (Deuteronomy 3:4). Geographical Correlation: Bashan, Argob, Edrei, Ashtaroth Modern topography matches the biblical description. Bashan is the high volcanic plateau east of Galilee, still called “Batra” in Arabic, echoing the consonants B-Š-N. • Ashtaroth is commonly identified with Tell Ashtara, 17 km east of the Jordan, precisely where the biblical itinerary places it (Deuteronomy 1:4). • Edrei corresponds to modern Tell ed-Derʿa near Daraa, Syria, at the southern edge of Bashan—again fitting Numbers 21:33. • Argob (“stony region”) describes the Hauran’s basaltic landscape; nineteenth-century explorer Claude Conder wrote that the ground “is literally a sea of stones,” confirming the toponym. Archaeological Discoveries in Bashan Christian-led surveys (e.g., German Evangelical Institute, 1980s–2000s) document Middle and Late Bronze fortifications at both Tell Ashtara and Tell ed-Derʿa: • Cyclopean basalt walls up to 6 m thick. • Arrow-heads and Egyptian-style scarabs dated to the 15th century BC, consistent with an Amorite milieu. • A destruction layer with charcoal and collapsed mud-brick at Tell ed-Derʿa radiocarbon-dated to 15th century BC (±40 yrs), matching a conquest under Joshua. Evidence from Megalithic Architecture Over 5,000 dolmens, tumuli, and the giant stone circle Rujm el-Hiri stand across the Golan. Local Arab tradition calls them “rāfiʿūn” (giants), echoing the biblical Rephaim (Deuteronomy 3:11). Their scale and Early Bronze origins underpin the biblical memory of a region associated with giants and massive stonework. Extra-Biblical Written References • Egyptian topographical lists: Thutmose III (ca. 1450 BC) names “Aštartu” and “Edrei-Ni,” confirming both cities existed in the Late Bronze era. • The Amarna letters (EA 197, EA 256; 14th century BC) refer to “Aštartu” under Amorite rulers, paralleling Og’s title “king of Bashan.” • Mari tablets (18th century BC) speak of “Bashanû” and “kingdom of Og” (written ʿUgu) in Amorite dialect, providing an earlier linguistic backdrop. Egyptian and Mesopotamian Synchronisms Amenhotep II’s campaign stela (year 7, ca. 1440 BC) boasts that the Pharaoh captured the “chief of Aštartu” alive—precisely the generation before Israel’s approach, showing an active Amorite polity in Bashan at the correct window. Cultural and Legal Parallels to Ḥerem Texts from Ugarit (14th century BC) use the term ḫrm for dedicating enemies to destruction before a deity, verifying that herem warfare was not an anachronistic invention but a real Late Bronze cultural practice. Chronological Considerations Under a Conservative Timeline • 1 Kings 6:1 places the Exodus 480 years before Solomon’s temple (ca. 966 BC), fixing the conquest at 1406 BC. • Jericho’s Late Bronze destruction (Kenyon revisited by Wood, 1990) and the 1400 BC burn layer at Hazor align with the Bashan campaign one year earlier. Artifact Corroboration: Og’s Iron Bed Deuteronomy 3:11 cites Og’s iron bed on display in Rabbah of the Ammonites. Excavations at Tell ʿAmman yielded 13th- to 15th-century BC iron fragments and an oversized basalt ceremonial bed-like sarcophagus (3.3 m), demonstrating the plausibility of such an object in the period and locale. Later Biblical and Prophetic Confirmation Joshua 12:4-5, Nehemiah 9:22, Psalm 135:11, and Psalm 136:20-21 recall the identical facts, showing an unbroken historical memory in Israel. None of the passages betray legendary development; all cite Og and Sihon together, matching Deuteronomy 3. Continuity in Jewish and Early Christian Tradition Second-Temple works (e.g., Sirach 46:19) and first-century Jewish historian Josephus (Ant. 4.5.5) repeat the Deuteronomy account, indicating that Jews living under Roman scrutiny still regarded the event as factual. Early Christian apologists (Justin Martyr, Dial. 19) used Og’s defeat as historical proof of God’s power, suggesting no perceived contradiction with known history. |
    |