EDREI

(Edʹre·i).

1. One of the cities of residence of Og, king of Bashan. (Josh. 12:4; 13:12) After defeating Sihon the Amorite, the Israelite forces under Moses’ direction “went up,” that is, went northward, until they encountered Og’s military force in “the battle of Edrei,” at what was apparently Bashan’s southern frontier. Though Og was the last of the giantlike Rephaim and may have presented a formidable army, the Israelites, advised by Jehovah to be fearless, wiped out Og, his sons and people, taking possession of his territory. (Num. 21:33-35; Deut. 3:1-10) The city was later granted to Manasseh as part of its inheritance. (Josh. 13:31) Edrei is generally identified with the modern city of Derʽa about thirty-two miles (51.5 kilometers) E of the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, near the Yarmuk River. Ruins there include a partially excavated subterranean city, cut in the rock beneath the ground-level city.

2. A fortified city of Naphtali. (Josh. 19:32, 35, 37) It is often associated with modern Tell Khureibeh, about four miles (6.4 kilometers) W of the Huleh Basin. This Edrei is possibly the same as the city named ʼtra in a list of Pharaoh Thutmose III.