The Height of OG in the Bible: Revealing the Truth

The Bible mentions the giant king Og in the book of Deuteronomy. Many people wonder how tall he was, as there is no direct mention of his height. However, by examining the available information, we can come to a reasonable estimation of his size.

The Biblical Account of Og

Og was the king of Bashan, and his territory was east of the Jordan River. When the Israelites were on their way to the Promised Land, they had to pass through Bashan. Og and his army came out to fight them, but they were defeated by the Israelites. The Bible describes Og as having an impressive bed and throne:

"Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It was still in Rabbah of the Ammonites." - Deuteronomy 3:11

The fact that Og's bed was over 13 feet long gives us an indication of his size. However, we must keep in mind that this measurement includes the bedframe and any other embellishments. Therefore, we cannot assume that Og himself was exactly 13 feet tall.

The Rephaites

The Rephaites were a tribe of giants who lived in Canaan before the Israelites arrived. They were known for their great size, and the Bible mentions them several times. One such instance is in Deuteronomy 2:10-11:

"The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites."

Here, we see that the Emites were a tribe of Rephaites who were "as tall as the Anakites." The Anakites were another tribe of giants who lived in Canaan. In Numbers 13:33, the Israelite spies describe the Anakites as follows:

"We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

The fact that the Israelite spies felt like grasshoppers in comparison to the Anakites gives us an indication of their size. Therefore, we can assume that the Rephaites, including Og, were also of great stature.

Estimating Og's Height

Based on the information we have, we can make an estimation of Og's height. If we assume that his bed was roughly twice his length, we can estimate that Og was around 6.5 to 7 feet tall.

This estimation is consistent with other examples of giants in the Bible. For instance, Goliath, the Philistine champion who was defeated by David, was said to be "six cubits and a span" tall. This is approximately 9 feet 9 inches. However, we must keep in mind that Goliath was an outlier even among giants.

Conclusion

While we cannot know for certain how tall Og was, we can make an estimation based on the information available to us. It is likely that he was around 6.5 to 7 feet tall, which would make him a formidable opponent on the battlefield.