The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1904-01-28
HOlyLand ,Canaan or Palestine
In 81 LETTERS. LETTER NO. 10.
Written fer The Brandon News by Virgil
BASHAN, IT'S GIANTS AND OAKS.


east side of the River Jordan. 1t is not
like many ancient districts of Palestine,
distinguished by one constant designation,
but sometimes called Land of Bashan. .
And the children of Cad dWelt over
against them, in the land of BaShan unto
Salcah: Joel, the chief, and Shapharn the
next and Jaanai, and Shaphat in B A.
shan" q Chron. 5:II-I2) 'And they
turned and went up by the way of Bashan
and Og, King of BaShan went out against
them, he and all his people to the battle
at Edrei. (Num. 2T:33) 1t is sometimes
called "All Bashan," as in Deut. 5:Io-I3.
Josh. 1875 1t was taken by the children
Of lSrael after their conquest of the land
Of Sjhon from Arnon to Jabbok. Thev
turned" from their road over Jordan
and went up by the way of Bashan" to
Edrie on the western edge of the Lejah.
Here they encountered Og, king of Ba-
han who "came OUT probably from the
natural fatnesseS of Argob, only to meet
entire destruction of himself, his sons,
and all his people "And the Lord said
unto Moses, Fear him not, forI have deiv-
cred him into thy hand, and all his people
and his land, and thou shalt do TO him as
thou didSt unto Sihon King ofthe Amorites
which dweIt at Heshborn." (Num. 2l:34)
SO they Smote him, and his sons, and all
his people, until there was none left him
alive and they possessed the land" The
limits of Bashan are very strictly defined
1t extended from the BORDER of Glead"
on the south to Mount Hermon on the
north; Deut. 3:3-Eo) and from the
Arabah or Jordan Valley on the west to
Saldah and the border of the Geshurites,
and the Maachathites on the east
This important district was bestowed on
the half tribe of Manasseh, together with
half Of Gilead Gosh. 10000
It Just named in S0lomon's commits
sariat district q Kings 4:I3) And mere
with the exception of one more passing
glimpse closes the history of Bashan as
Tar as the Bible is concerned.
ltVanisheS from our view until we
meet with it IS being devastated by Ha-
zael in the reign of Jehu eli Kings Io:33)
After the captivity, Bashan is mentioned
as divided into four provinces
ties tGolan,) Auranitis (Hauran,) Fra
choniteS, (Argob.) and balance, Ardel-
Bathanyeth, which lies on the east of the
Leiah and the north of the range of Jebel
Haraun or ed. Druze.
Giants DR.. VIM. Smith says, 1. They
are first spoken of in Gen. Ga, under the
name Nephilim. The word is derived
from' Palah or Pala ("marveEous, or
as generally believed, from Napha,
either in the sense to throw down or to
fall fallen angels; notice Isa I4:I2;
Luke 1918. That the word means
'giant" is clear from Numbers I3:32-33
And there we saw the giants, the sons
of Anak, which come of the giants: and
and we were in our own sight as grass
hopperS and SO we were in their sight. T"
But we now come to the remarkable con.
lectures about the origin of these Nephilm
or giants in Gen. OLA we are told that
"there were giants in the earth" and that
afterwards the ''sons of God" mingling
with the beautiful daughters of men. !"
produced a race of violent and nsolent
Gbborim a. V. "mighty men.")
The genealogy of the giants or at any
rate of the earliest Nephilim is not record
ed in scriptures and the name itself is so
mysterious that we are at a loss oonjectur-
ing concerning them.
2. The sons of marriages mentioned in
Gen. OLA are called Gibborim, a general
name meaning powerful. They were not
necessarily giants in our sense of the
word, yet as was natural, these powerful
chiefs were almost universally represented
as men of extraordinary statue, but who
were the parents of these giants. who are
'the sons of God" Opinions are various,
Carroll says, a cross between imam
and the negro, bipid (animal.) Some say
% men of power. % Men with great
gift. Cd Canites arrogantIy assuming
the title or ca the pious Sethites. (See
Gen. 4:26)(5) Worshippers OF false Gods
(6)Devls, such as the Jucibi and Succubi
Gl Closely allied to this is the oldest
opinion, that they were angels.
The rare expression "Sons of Cod
certainly means angel in Job. I:o-II and
1898 7, and that such is the meaning in
Gen. OLA, also was the most prevalent
opinion both in the Je wish and early
Christian Church. 1t was probably this
very ancient view which gave rise to the
spurious book of Enueh, and the notion
quoted from it by St. Jude and alluded too
by St. Peter e. Peter 2:4)) See / Cor
LILO. Every one will remember the,
illusions to the same Interpretation in
Milton Paradise Reg. 2:I7o.
The next race of giants which we find
mentioned in scriptures is 90 The Re-