King James Bible Dictionary

Stony heap, an "island," as it has been called, of rock about 30 miles by 20, rising 20 or 30 feet above the table-land of Bashan; a region of crags and chasms wild and rugged in the extreme. On this "island" stood sixty walled cities, ruled over by Og. It is called Trachonitis ("the rugged region") in the New Testament (Luke 3:1). These cities were conquered by the Israelites (Deuteronomy 3:4; 1 Kings 4:13). 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's Giant Cities). (See BASHAN.)

a turf, or fat land

1. A region east of the Jordan
Deuteronomy 3:4; Deuteronomy 3:13-14; 1 Kings 4:13

2. A courtier of Pekah
2 Kings 15:25

1. (stony), a tract of country on the east of the Jordan, in Bashan, the kingdom of Og, containing 60 great and fortified cities. In later times it was called Trachonitis, and it is now apparently identified with the Leiah, a very remarkable district south of Damascus and east of the Sea of Galilee. (3:4,13,14)
2. perhaps a Gileadite officer who was governor of Argob. He was either an accomplice of Pekah in the murder of Pekahiah or was slain by Pekah. (2 Kings 15:25)
3. a city on the Jordan, "beside Zaretan," in the time of Joshua. (Joshua 3:16)