Deuteronomy 3:11. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron.
Bedsteads are less common in the East than with us, the bed being usually made on the divan, or platform around the room. Frames, however, are sometimes used. In Palestine, Syria, and Persia, those are made of boards. In Egypt they are made of palm-sticks, and probably were so made in Palestine in the time of King Og, when the palm was more plentiful than now.
The palm-sticks, however, would make rather a rickety bedstead for a heavy man, and hence the giant-king needed something more substantial. Bedsteads of metal seem to have been in more common use in the East formerly than at present, though their use in ancient times appears to have been limited mainly to princes and persons of distinction. Bedsteads of gold, and also of silver, are spoken of by heathen writers. Some of these were used in temples, and some in palaces. Mention is likewise made of such in Esther 1:6, where see the note (#388). Bedsteads of brass and of iron are also mentioned by ancient writers.