Antiquities of the Jews — Book 4, Chapter 5

1. The people mourned for Aaron thirty days, and when this mourning was
over, Moses removed the army from that place, and came to the river
Arnon, which, issuing out of the mountains of Arabia, and running
through all that wilderness, falls into the lake Asphaltitis, and
becomes the limit between the land of the Moabites and the land of the
Amorites. This land is fruitful, and sufficient to maintain a great
number of men, with the good things it produces. Moses therefore sent
messengers to Sihon, the king of this country, desiring that he would
grant his army a passage, upon what security he should please to
require; he promised that he should be no way injured, neither as to
that country which Sihon governed, nor as to its inhabitants; and that
he would buy his provisions at such a price as should be to their
advantage, even though he should desire to sell them their very water.
But Sihon refused his offer, and put his army into battle array, and was
preparing every thing in order to hinder their passing over Arnon.

2. When Moses saw that the Amorite king was disposed to enter upon
hostilities with them, he thought he ought not to bear that insult; and,
determining to wean the Hebrews from their indolent temper, and prevent
the disorders which arose thence, which had been the occasion of their
former sedition, [nor indeed were they now thoroughly easy in their
minds,] he inquired of God, whether he would give him leave to fight?
which when he had done, and God also promised him the victory, he was
himself very courageous, and ready to proceed to fighting. Accordingly
he encouraged the soldiers; and he desired of them that they would take
the pleasure of fighting, now God gave them leave so to do. They then,
upon the receipt of this permission, which they so much longed for, put
on their whole armor, and set about the work without delay. But the
Amorite king was not now like to himself when the Hebrews were ready to
attack him; but both he himself was affrighted at the Hebrews, and his
army, which before had showed themselves to be of good courage, were
then found to be timorous: so they could not sustain the first onset,
nor bear up against the Hebrews, but fled away, as thinking this would
afford them a more likely way for their escape than fighting, for they
depended upon their cities, which were strong, from which yet they
reaped no advantage when they were forced to fly to them; for as soon as
the Hebrews saw them giving ground, they immediately pursued them close;
and when they had broken their ranks, they greatly terrified them, and
some of them broke off from the rest, and ran away to the cities. Now
the Hebrews pursued them briskly, and obstinately persevered in the
labors they had already undergone; and being very skillful in slinging,
and very dexterous in throwing of darts, or any thing else of that kind,
and also having nothing but light armor, which made them quick in the
pursuit, they overtook their enemies; and for those that were most
remote, and could not be overtaken, they reached them by their slings
and their bows, so that many were slain; and those that escaped the
slaughter were sorely wounded, and these were more distressed with
thirst than with any of those that fought against them, for it was the
summer season; and when the greatest number of them were brought down to
the river out of a desire to drink, as also when others fled away by
troops, the Hebrews came round them, and shot at them; so that, what
with darts and what with arrows, they made a slaughter of them all.
Sihon their king was also slain. So the Hebrews spoiled the dead bodies,
and took their prey. The land also which they took was full of abundance
of fruits, and the army went all over it without fear, and fed their
cattle upon it; and they took the enemies prisoners, for they could no
way put a stop to them, since all the fighting men were destroyed. Such
was the destruction which overtook the Amorites, who were neither
sagacious in counsel, nor courageous in action. Hereupon the Hebrews
took possession of their land, which is a country situate between three
rivers, and naturally resembled an island: the river Arnon being its
southern; the river Jabbok determining its northern side, which running
into Jordan loses its own name, and takes the other; while Jordan itself
runs along by it, on its western coast.

3. When matters were come to this state, Og, the king of Gilead and
Gaulanitis, fell upon the Israelites. He brought an army with him, and
in haste to the assistance of his friend Sihon: but though he found him
already slain, yet did he resolve still to come and fight the Hebrews,
supposing he should be too hard for them, and being desirous to try
their valor; but failing of his hope, he was both himself slain in the
battle, and all his army was destroyed. So Moses passed over the river
Jabbok, and overran the kingdom of Og. He overthrew their cities, and
slew all their inhabitants, who yet exceeded in riches all the men in
that part of the continent, on account of the goodness of the soil, and
the great quantity of their wealth. Now Og had very few equals, either
in the largeness of his body, or handsomeness of his appearance. He was
also a man of great activity in the use of his hands, so that his
actions were not unequal to the vast largeness and handsome appearance
of his body. And men could easily guess at his strength and magnitude
when they took his bed at Rabbath, the royal city of the Ammonites; its
structure was of iron, its breadth four cubits, and its length a cubit
more than double thereto. However, his fall did not only improve the
circumstances of the Hebrews for the present, but by his death he was
the occasion of further good success to them; for they presently took
those sixty cities, which were encompassed with excellent walls, and had
been subject to him, and all got both in general and in particular a
great prey.