A Big Og? UGH!

Parshat Chukat

by Rabbi Avi Billet

In the battles that round out the end of Parshat Chukat, Moshe and the Israelites defeat Sichon and Og, and their respective nations. Before the battle with Og, Moshe is told by God not to fear for "I have given him into your hands." (21:34)

The Torah describes both kings as "giants," though the nature of their actual size is never discussed in the Torah itself. (The size of Og's bed is mentioned in Devarim 3:11, and while oversized, it by no means indicates he was anywhere near the height of a tall tree.) The Talmud (Niddah 64a) further tells us the two kings were brothers, and the rabbis talked about their individual stories, including discussions about how they each merited to achieve the longevity they enjoyed in their lives.

Some accounts indicate they may have been living since the time of the flood (around 800 years – See Rabbenu Bachaye on Bamidbar 21:34) while others say they were living from the time of Avraham (500 years).

The one with greater merits was Og, who is attributed with being the "palit" or refugee from the Sdom war of Bereishit 14, who came to tell Avraham about his nephew Lot's capture. It was the merit of helping Avraham save Lot that caused Moshe to fear Og's infallibility (Niddah 64a).

Moshe did not fear Sichon, so whatever size "giant" he may have been was clearly not a deterrent to facing him in battle. Og's merits, not his size, was the source of Moshe's concern.

The Talmud (Brachot 54b) describes the battle encounter of Moshe against Og. "Og uprooted a mountain of three parasangs and placed it on his head [to cover the Israelite camp with it.] God set grasshoppers upon it, and they burrowed a hole in the mountain and it fell round his neck. He tried to pull it off his head with his teeth but could not… How tall was Moshe? Ten cubits. He grabbed hold of an axe ten cubits long, leaped ten cubits, struck Og in the ankle and killed him."

On a simple literal level, Moshe was no slouch himself. A height of ten cubits would be somewhere between fifteen and twenty feet tall. While such a height is not something we see as likely, it is almost in the realm of the explainable.

At the same time, if Og's ankle was 30 cubits high, we can only imagine how big he was – a few hundred feet tall! He would make King Kong (25 feet) look smaller than a teddy bear in his eyes.

In an article entitled "The biology of King Kong" (Forbes.com, December 2005) the author quotes John Hutchinson, a researcher of large animals, who estimated Kong would weigh anywhere from 20 to 60 tons. He would not be athletic and would barely be able to move, supporting such weight on two legs.

In his book "Sacred Monsters" Rabbi Natan Slifkin indicates a giant of such magnitude (skyscraper height) would weigh in the millions of pounds.

Given that the indicated height of Og as suggested in the Talmud is likely not meant to be taken literally due to the biological improbability, how then are we to understand the Talmud?

Professor Admiel Kosman of Bar Ilan University wrote an article which appeared in "Professors on the Parashah" (Urim Publications) entitled "Was Og Just a Tall Story?" It can also be found online here.

He quotes the Rashba, who explains each image as a metaphor to merits. "The "mountain" that was Og's weapon alludes to the merits of our patriarchs," in his case Avraham, whom he had helped to save his nephew. "The grasshoppers, an allusion to the prayers of the Israelites, caused the merits of this "mountain" to disintegrate… Moses joined in the fray, countering the merits of Og with three other merits: the merits of the patriarchs (ten cubit leap into the past)…; Moses' own personal merits (ten cubits tall); and the merits of the people of Israel as a whole (ten-cubit ax)…. All these formed the weapon that Moses wielded against the merits of Og, and through them Og was ultimately vanquished."

The Maharsha (Brachot 54b) wonders why Moshe would be concerned that the merit of the forefathers would work more strongly for Og than for Moshe himself. He suggests instead that Og carried with him "Kochot HaTumah" (strength of impurity) that could come head to head with Moshe's spiritual powers.

He suggests that the 10-cubit ax represents the merit of the 2 tablets which contained the 10 Commandments. The 10-cubit jump represents the Mishkan which was 10-cubits tall, and had been erected by Moshe all by himself. [Moshe's height could refer to the merit of the ten plagues he had brought about.]

Not everything we read in the Torah and Midrashim is meant to be taken absolutely literally. While some things can be rationalized and explained as a supernatural creation or act of God, not everything must be explained in such a manner.

We are challenged to find satisfactory explanations for the Aggadic tales which are difficult to explain on a simple level. Only when we have sought the depths of Torah and its lessons to the point we are happy with the explanations can we truly say we have fulfilled our obligation of Torah study.