Deuteronómio 3:2 Midrash: Devarim Rabbah, Bamidbar Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma & Shemot Rabbah

“The Lord said to me: Do not fear him, as I have delivered him and his entire people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Siḥon, king of the Emorites, who lives in Ḥeshbon” (Deuteronomy 3:2).
Another matter, “the Lord said to me: Do not fear him” – “because I will deliver him into your hand” is not written here, but, “as I have delivered him…into your hand.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I have already issued his sentence, from the days of Abraham.’ How so? When Lot, his son’s brother, was taken captive, Og came and informed Abraham, as it is stated: “The fugitive [hapalit] came [and told Abram the Hebrew]” (Genesis 14:13). Reish Lakish said in the name of bar Kappara: Palit was his name. Why was he called by the name Og? It is because he came and found Abraham engaged in the mitzvot of cakes [ugot]⁵⁷Matza (see, e.g., Exodus 12:39). on Passover. But he did not come for the sake of Heaven, but because of Sarah’s beauty. He said in his heart: ‘I will bring him the news, the regiment will kill him, and I will take his wife Sarah.’ The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Oh wicked one, is that what you say? As you live, I will give you the reward for your legs, and extend your years.⁵⁸Og lived an exceptionally long life as reward for having gone with his legs to inform Abraham. But for what you thought in your heart: I will have Abraham killed, and I will take Sarah; in the hand of her descendants, this man⁵⁹A reference to Og himself. is destined to fall.
Another matter, “as I have delivered him…into your hand” – “because I will deliver him into your hand” is not written here, but, “as I have delivered him…into your hand.” I have already issued his sentence, from the days of Isaac. How so? When Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, he made a feast and invited all the kings of Canaan, as it is stated: “Abraham made a great feast…” (Genesis 21:8). What is “great”? It is that all the prominent men were there. Og, too, was there. At that time they said to Og: ‘Did you not used to say: Abraham is a barren mule and cannot beget children?’ When he saw Isaac, he said: ‘This is nothing, I can kill him with my finger.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Is this what you say? [I will extend your years] so that you will see thousands and myriads emerging from him, and in their hand, this man is destined to fall.’
Another matter, “because I will deliver him into your hand” is not written here, but, “I have delivered.” I already issued his sentence from the days of Jacob. How so? When Jacob came in to Pharaoh to bless him, as it is stated: “Jacob blessed Pharaoh” (Genesis 47:7), Og was sitting there. At that moment, Pharaoh said to Og: ‘Did you not used to say: Abraham is a barren mule and cannot beget children? Here is his grandson and seventy of his offspring.’ At that moment, Og began introducing the evil eye upon them. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Oh, wicked one, why are you introducing the evil eye upon my children? May the eye of this man dissolve. This man is destined to fall into their hand.’ That is, “as I have delivered him…into your hand.” The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘Just as, in this world, the nations of the world would hear your renown and were afraid and terrified of you, so it will be in the future, as it is stated: “All the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is invoked upon you and they will fear you” (Deuteronomy 28:10).

“Siḥon did not allow Israel to pass within his border, and Siḥon gathered his entire people and came out toward Israel to the wilderness, and he came to Yahatz; and he fought against Israel” (Numbers 21:23).
“Please, let us pass through your land” (Numbers 20:17) – just as he sent to the king of Edom that he would not harm him, so he sent to this one: “You will sell me food for silver […and water for silver]” (Deuteronomy 2:28) – typically, water is given for free, but we will pay its price. “We will go on the king’s way […until we pass your border]” (Numbers 20:17). Elsewhere it is written: “Until I will cross [the Jordan]” (Deuteronomy 2:29). I will tell you a parable, to what is the matter comparable? It is to a watchman who took his wages to guard a vine or a fig tree. One came and said to him: ‘Move from here, as I am harvesting the vineyard.’ He said to him: ‘I am sitting here and guarding only against you, and you are coming to harvest it?’ So, Siḥon took his payment from all the kings of the land of Canaan, and they would pay him taxes, as he would crown them as kings. He and Og were equal to them all, as it is stated: “Siḥon king of the Emorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan” (Psalms 135:11). Israel said: ‘Let us pass through your land to conquer the kingdom.’ He said to them: ‘I am sitting here only to guard them from you’ – “Siḥon did not allow Israel to pass within his border.”
“Siḥon gathered” – the Holy One blessed be He acted with forethought to deliver him into their hands with no trouble. It is written: “Siḥon king of the Emorites, who resides in Ḥeshbon” (Deuteronomy 1:4). Were Ḥeshbon filled with gnats, no person would be able to conquer it; were Siḥon in a valley, no person could gain control over him; and it goes without saying when he is a mighty warrior and located in a fortified city. “Who resides in Ḥeshbon” – had he been residing in his cities, he and his multitudes, Israel would have exhausted themselves in the attempt to conquer each and every city. Instead, the Holy One blessed be He assembled them [the Emorites] before them to deliver them into their hands with no trouble. Likewise it says: “See, I have begun delivering before you” (Deuteronomy 2:31) – they killed all his mighty warriors who had emerged to meet them, and returned against the women and children without exertion. That is why it is written: “Siḥon gathered.” “Israel took all these cities” (Numbers 21:25).

“They turned and ascended via the Bashan, and Og king of Bashan emerged against them, he and his entire people, to the battle at Edre’i” (Numbers 21:33).
“They turned [vayifnu] and ascended” – some say that they waged the war with Siḥon in Elul. They performed the festival [of Sukkot] in Tishrei, and the war with Og was after the festival, just as it says: “You shall turn [ufanita] in the morning and go to your tents” (Deuteronomy 16:7).
“Og king of Bashan emerged” – as the Holy One blessed be He assembled them [the army of Og] before them to deliver them into their hand.
“The Lord said to Moses: Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, him and his entire people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Siḥon king of the Emorites, who resides in Ḥeshbon” (Numbers 21:34).
“The Lord said to Moses: Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand” – this is what the verse said: “Happy is a person who is always afraid” (Proverbs 28:14). That is the attribute of the righteous; even though the Holy One blessed be He promises them, they do not divest themselves of fear. Likewise with Jacob: “Jacob was afraid” (Genesis 32:8) – why was he afraid? He said: ‘Perhaps I was sullied with something while at Laban’s, and it is written: “He shall not see a shameful matter in you, and turn from behind you” (Deuteronomy 23:15) – and the Holy One blessed be He would have forsaken me.’ Moses, too, like his patriarch, grasped fear. Why was he afraid? He said: ‘Perhaps Israel committed a trespass in the war with Siḥon, or were sullied with transgression.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Do not fear” – they all completed their acquisitions justly.
“Do not fear him” – as no mighty warrior had stood in the world who was tougher than he, as it is stated: “As only Og king of the Bashan remained from the rest of the Refaim” (Deuteronomy 3:11). He remained from the mighty warriors killed by Amrafel and his allies, as it is stated: “They smote the Refaim at Ashterot Karnayim” (Genesis 14:5), and this is their remnant, like olives that remain among the pomace, as it is stated: “The survivor came and told Abram the Hebrew; and he was dwelling on the plains of Mamre the Emorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, and they were allies of Abram” (Genesis 14:13) – this is Og, and it depicts him as a remnant, as it is stated: “From the rest of the Refaim.” His intention was that Abram go out and be killed. The Holy One blessed be He granted him the reward of his legs,⁸²The reward for his effort to come and report to Abram what had befallen Lot. and he lived all those years. But He collected from him, as he fell by the hand of his descendants. When Moses came to wage war with him, he feared him. He said: ‘I am one hundred and twenty years old, and this one is more than five hundred. If he did not have merit, he would not have lived all these years.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand” – kill him by your hand.
“You shall do to him as you did to Siḥon…” – “We destroyed [vanaḥarem]⁸³The term ḥerem can mean destroyed or proscribed. them, [as we did to Siḥon]” (Deuteronomy 3:6). But is it not written: “But all the animals, and the spoils of the cities, we looted for ourselves” (Deuteronomy 3:7)? It is, rather, that they proscribed [heḥerimu] the corpses, to derive no benefit from them.
“They smote him, his sons [banav], [and his entire people]” (Numbers 21:35) – “his son [beno]” is written,⁸⁴In our version of the Bible banav is written (see Minḥat Shai, Bemidbar 21:35). as he had a son tougher than he was. The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘In this world, you eradicate the nations a little at a time, but in the future, I will eliminate them all at once,’ as it is stated: “Nations will be burnings of lime, cut thorns ignited with fire” (Isaiah 33:12).