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Joshua 21:27

in Joshua 21

This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be-eshterah with its suburbs; two cities.

KJV

And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beesh–terah with her suburbs; two cities.

This verse in Joshua 21

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
Compare Jos 19:18, etc. Of the cities of the Gershonites, for Beesh-terah read (Beeshterah.) The name is a contraction of Beth-Ashterah (“house of Ashterah”) and the city is undoubtedly the Ashtaroth or Astaroth of Og Jos 12:4; Deu 1:4; 1Ch 6:71.

This site's exposition

unto the children of Gershon

on Joshua 21:27-40

Gershon takes the north and Merari takes Zebulun with Reuben and Gad beyond Jordan, and four of the six refuge cities stand inside these verses at 27, 32, 36 and 38. Kedesh in Galilee is the town Deborah sends to for Barak at Judges 4:6, and Ramoth in Gilead is where Ahab dies in 1 Kings 22:29-37. Heshbon at verse 39 had been Sihon's royal city in Numbers 21:26, and Mahanaim at verse 38 is where Jacob met the angels in Genesis 32:2 and where David sheltered from Absalom in 2 Samuel 17:24. Levites are settled in towns that were Amorite capitals one generation earlier.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites,.... The descendants of the second son of Levi: out of the other half tribe of Manasseh; that which was settled beyond Jordan: they gave Golan in Bashan, with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; see Jos 20:8; this is the third city of refuge mentioned: and Beeshterah with her suburbs; called Ashtaroth, 1Ch 6:71; which had been the royal city of Og, king of Bashan, where he had his palace, Deu 1:

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

they gave . . . these cities which are here mentioned by name--It was overruled by the unerring providence of the Divine Lawgiver that the cities of the priests lay within the territories of Judah and Benjamin. This was a provision, the admirable wisdom and propriety of which were fully manifested on the schism that took place in the reign of Rehoboam.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Golan in Bashan - On this and the other cities of refuge mentioned here, see the note on Jos 20:7.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְלִבְנֵ֣יand to [the] descendants of

    velivneiH11214930 times

  • גֵרְשׁוֹן֮Gershon

    gereshonH1648

  • מִמִּשְׁפְּחֹ֣תfrom [the] clans of

    mimishpechotH4940303 times

  • הַלְוִיִּם֒the Levites

    halviyimH3881291 times

  • מֵחֲצִ֞יfrom [the] half of

    mechatziH2677125 times

  • מַטֵּ֣ה[the] tribe of

    matehH4294252 times

  • מְנַשֶּׁ֗הManasseh

    menashehH4519146 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • עִיר֙[the] city of

    ʾirH58921090 times

  • מִקְלַ֣ט<the> refuge of

    miklatH473320 times

  • הָרֹצֵ֔חַthe killer

    harotzeachH752347 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • גּוֹלָ֤ןGolan

    galonH1474

  • בַּבָּשָׁן֙in <the> Bashan

    babashanH131660 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH85310935 times

  • מִגְרָשֶׁ֔הָpasture lands its

    migrashehaH4054119 times

  • וְאֶֽת־and <obj.>

    veetH85310935 times

  • בְּעֶשְׁתְּרָ֖הBeeshtarah

    beeshterahH1203

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH85310935 times

  • מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָpasture lands its

    migrashehaH4054119 times

  • עָרִ֖יםcities

    ʾarimH58921090 times

  • שְׁתָּֽיִם׃ סtwo

    shetayimH8147768 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 4:43

    Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 20:8

      And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 1:4

    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.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 21:21–35

      Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

    • Joshua 13:10–12

      and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;

    • Nehemiah 9:22

      You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.

  • Through

    Joshua 20:8

    And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 22:3–4

      who said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, but we have failed to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Deuteronomy 4:43

      Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Chronicles 6:78

      From the tribe of Reuben east of the Jordan opposite Jericho they were given Bezer in the wilderness, Jahzah,

    • Joshua 21:36

      From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz,

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About Joshua

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.