What does the Torah mean when it describes Og as "mi'Yeser ha'Refa'im"?
Rashi: It refers to the four kings (Amrafel and his colleages), who defeated the Refa'im in Asht'ros Karnayim, 1 from which Og was the sole survivor. 2
Ramban: The Pasuk is informing us that, although he was king of the Emori, he was originally from the Refa'im, who were giants.
Seforno: Refer to 3:11:1:1. Even though many of the Refa'im escaped from the battle with the four kings, they were all killed when Amon conquered their land - and it was from that battle that only Og survived. 3
Targum Yonasan: It means that Og was the sole survivor of the Refa'im, all of whom perished in the Flood.
See Lech-L'cha Bereishis 14:5.
Ibid. 14:13.
Seforno: And because he was strong like the other Refa'im he was crowned king,
What is the translation of "Arso"?
Rashi: ?His bed'.
Rashbam: ?His cot?.
Hadar Zekenim and Rosh: ?His fortress?. 1
It is not clear however what is then the significance of the measurements 'nine by four Amos'.
Why does the Torah need to tell us that it was made of iron?
Ramban and Rashbam: To teach us that even in his infancy he was very strong, and his cot needed to be made of iron 1 , since he would have broken a regular wooden bed.
Based on Hadar Zekenim and Rosh: To teach us that the wall of his fortress was impregnable.
Rashbam: In spite of the fact that it was only a baby's cot!
Why does the Torh need to inform us how strong Og was?
Riva #1: The Torah teaches us about his strength, to emphasize the strength of Moshe (who killed him). 1
Riva, citing Midrash Lekach Tov: Similarly, the Navi describes the strength of Golyas, to emphasize the strength of David ha'Melech. The Pasuk in Shmuel 1 17:7 writes "ve'Eitz Chaniso" with a 'Ches' ("ve'Chetz Chaniso") -like 'Chetzi' - half, to hint that one does even tell half the praise of a Rasha. Rosh ? Tehilim 136:17-20 says that Hashem killed great and awesome kings, and singles out Sichon and Og.
Why does the word "ha'Lo" conclude with a 'Hey' instead of with an 'Alef'?
Ba'al ha'Turim #1: 'Let the one (David ha'Melech) who ruled for forty 1 years and who is the fifth generation 2 come and capture these towns (from Amon).
Ba'al ha'Turim #2: Now the word has two 'Heys' with a combined Gematriya of ten. This hints at Moshe, who was ten Amos tall, his weapon was ten Amos, he jumped ten Amos and struck Og on his ankle which was ten Amos from the ground. 3
What is the significance of the fact that "Og's bed was in Rabat B'nei Amon"?
Ramban: When Amon defeated the Refa'im, 1 and only Og escaped, the B'nei Amon kept his bed intact in Rabat as testimony that they had defeated such a mighty nation.
Rashbam: They left Og's crib 2 - where he grew up - as testimony of his immense size even as a baby.
What are the connotations of "be'Amas Ish"?
Rashi, Targum Onkelos 1 and Targum Yonasan: It means that the Amah 2 used to measure Og's bed was Og's Amah, 3 not the regular Amos by which we gauge. 4
Ramban: It means in the Amos of the tallest regular man. 5
Seforno: It means nine Amos of all the Refa'im, 7 indicating their incredible size and might - in spite of which the B'nei Amon defeated them. 8
See Ramban.
The distance from the elbow to the end of the middle finger.
Ramban: It is as if it had written 'be'Amas ha'Ish' - like "ha'Keves Echad" in Pinchas Bamidbar, 28:4 and "ba'Laylah Hu" in Vayeira Bereishis, 19:33.
According to this explanation, we are left with no idea of the actual size of his bed - See Oznayim la'Torah. Moreover, since a person's height [until his shoulder; some say, until his head] is normally three times his Amah, he was a freak whose body was disproportionate to his arm (EC; I later found so in Chashukei Chemed (Eruvin 48a, citing Teshuvas Rama mi'Pi'ano (3)). However, if S'tam Cana'anim were even thirty Amos tall, it would not be noteworthy that Og's cradle was nine regular Amos. "Ka'Chagavim ? Hayinu be'Einehem" (Bamidbar 13:33) and many Midrashim imply that the Cana'anim or Og were far taller than this (refer to 3:11:4:2, refer to Bamidbar 13:28:151:1 & 13:33:153:1 & 2), The Gemara in Nidah 24b remarks that one of his bones was more than three Parsa'os long! They must hold that the Amos are of Og or of other giants (PF).
Ramban: As in Melachim 1, 2:2.
And not of a baby - even though the Torah is referring to Og when he was a baby, and one can only imagine how tall Og must have been as a baby if his cot measured nine regular Amos. Refer also to 3:11:3:1.
Seforno: As in Yeshayah, 56:11.
See earlier, 2:20.
