Filled with hope and courage, the army of Israel eagerly pressed forward, and, still journeying northward, they soon reached a country that might well test their courage and their faith in God. Before them lay the powerful and populous kingdom of Bashan, crowded with great stone cities that to this day excite the wonder of the world--"threescore cities . . . with high walls, gates, and bars; besides unwalled towns a great many." Deuteronomy 3:1-11. The houses were constructed of huge black stones, of such stupendous size as to make the buildings absolutely impregnable to any force that in those times could have been brought against them. It was a country filled with wild caverns, lofty precipices, yawning gulfs, and rocky strongholds. The inhabitants of this land, descendants from a giant race, were themselves of marvelous size and strength, and so distinguished for violence and cruelty as to be the terror of all surrounding nations; while Og, the king of the country, was remarkable for size and prowess, even in a nation of giants.

Fyldt med håb og mod drog Israels hær nu fremad. De marcherede stadig mod nord og kom snart til et land, der meget vel kunne sætte deres mod og deres tillid til Gud på prøve. Foran dem lå det stærke og store kongerige Basan, hvor der var talrige store, befæstede byer, som selv i vor tid vækker verdens beundring. Der var "tresindstyve byer ..... befæstet med høje mure, porte og portslåer, foruden de mange åbne byer". 5. Mos. 3, 1. 11. Husene var bygget af store, sorte sten, der var af sådanne dimensioner, at bygningerne kunne modstå ethvert angreb med de midler, man havde til rådighed på den tid. Landet var fuldt af skumle huler, svimlende afgrunde, gabende kløfter og klippefæstninger. Landets indbyggere, der var efterkommere af en kæmpeslægt, var store og stærke og var kendt for deres voldsomhed og grusomhed, at de var en skræk for alle omkringboende folk. Landets konge, Og, var kendt viden om for sin størrelse og sit mod og vakte beundring, selv blandt et folk af kæmper.