Argob, a region located east of the Jordan River, on an island of rock which was approximately 20 miles by 30 miles, and rose 20 or 30 feet above the table-land of Bashan. An extremely rugged region, sixty walled cities were on the island, which was ruled over by Og. In the New Testament, it is called Trachonitis ("the rugged region") (Luke 3:1). These cities were conquered by the Israelites (Deuteronomy 3:4; I Kings 4:13). This article is about the Jordan River and its valley in western Asia. ... Bashan (meaning light soil) is a biblical place first mentioned in Genesis 14:5, where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth, where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. ... Og (pronounced , , or ; meaning gigantic) was an ancient Amorite king of Bashan who, along with his sons and army, was slain by Moses and his men at the battle of Edrei (probably modern day Dara, Syria) according to several books of the Old Testament. ... See New Covenant for the concept translated as New Testament in the KJV. The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, and, in recent times, also New Covenant, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written in the first centuries of...

It is now called the Lejah. Here "sixty walled cities are still traceable in a space of 308 square miles. The architecture is ponderous and massive. Solid walls 4 feet thick, and stones on one another without cement; the roofs enormous slabs of basaltic rock, like iron; the doors and gates are of stone 18 inches thick, secured by ponderous bars. The land bears still the appearance of having been called the 'land of giants' under the giant Og." "I have more than once entered a deserted city in the evening, taken possession of a comfortable house, and spent the night in peace. Many of the houses in the ancient cities of Bashan are perfect, as if only finished yesterday. The walls are sound, the roofs unbroken, and even the window-shutters in their places. These ancient cities of Bashan probably contain the very oldest specimens of domestic architecture in the world" (Porter, 1867).

References

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

• Porter, J. L. The Giant Cities of Bashan and Syria's Holy Places, New York: T. Nelson, 1867.

• Ewing, W. "Definition for ARGOB (2)", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1915.