Hebrew word · H154

אֶדְרֶ֫עִי

'edre'i

Edrei

A place name: a town in southern Bashan, usually identified with Dera‘a in southern Syria, near a tributary of the Yarmuk.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Edrei = "goodly pasture"

a chief city of Bashan, north of Jabbok river

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 3:1

Range of meaning

A place name: a town in southern Bashan, usually identified with Dera‘a in southern Syria, near a tributary of the Yarmuk.

Against the English

Rendered 'Edrei' everywhere. Most English versions add 'at'. YLT shows that the Hebrew has no preposition: '[to] Edrei'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joshua 12:4 and 13:12 pair Edrei with Ashtaroth as Og's royal seats, and Joshua 13:31 gives both to Manasseh. A Ugaritic text (KTU 1.108) describes the god Rapiu, 'eternal king', as sitting 'in ‘Athtartu' and judging 'in Hadra‘y'. Many scholars take these names to be Ashtaroth and Edrei, which would mean the same two towns were linked with Rapiu and the deified royal dead (the rpum) centuries before Israel. The name Rephaim may come from the same root.

Where it appears

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 21:33 אֶדְרֶֽעִי׃ Edrei

    Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet them in battle at Edrei.

Deuteronomy · 3

  1. Deuteronomy 1:4 בְּאֶדְרֶֽעִי׃ in Edrei

    This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and then at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.

  2. Deuteronomy 3:1 אֶדְרֶֽעִי׃ Edrei

    Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.

    Here: A town in southern Bashan, generally identified with modern Dera‘a in southern Syria. Hebrew gives the place name with no preposition, so it means 'at Edrei'. Joshua 12:4 names it as one of Og's two royal cities.

  3. Deuteronomy 3:10 וְאֶדְרֶ֑עִי and Edrei

    all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as the cities of Salecah and Edrei in the kingdom of Og.

Joshua · 4

  1. Joshua 12:4 וּבְאֶדְרֶֽעִי׃ and in Edrei

    And Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

    Here: The second royal city, usually identified with modern Daraa in southern Syria. It was the site of the battle where Israel defeated Og (Num 21:33; Deut 3:1).

  2. Joshua 13:12 וּבְאֶדְרֶ֑עִי and in Edrei

    the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim. Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them,

    Here: Og's second royal city (generally identified with modern Daraa) and the place where Israel defeated him (Num 21:33).

  3. Joshua 13:31 וְאֶדְרֶ֔עִי and Edrei

    half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan. All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir.

    Here: Og's other royal town, where Israel defeated him (Num 21:33; Deut 3:1). It is usually identified with modern Daraa.

  4. Joshua 19:37 וְאֶדְרֶ֖עִי and Edrei

    Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor,

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.