|
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.
|
