Joshua 21:27
in Joshua 21This 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.
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This verse in Joshua 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 & Brown1802–1910
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
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 wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלִבְנֵ֣י | velivnei | and to [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| גֵרְשׁוֹן֮ | gereshon | Gershon | H1648 → | |
| מִמִּשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת | mimishpechot | from [the] clans of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| הַלְוִיִּם֒ | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| מֵחֲצִ֞י | mechatzi | from [the] half of | H2677 → | 125 times |
| מַטֵּ֣ה | mateh | [the] tribe of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| מְנַשֶּׁ֗ה | menasheh | Manasseh | H4519 → | 146 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עִיר֙ | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִקְלַ֣ט | miklat | <the> refuge of | H4733 → | 20 times |
| הָרֹצֵ֔חַ | harotzeach | the killer | H7523 → | 47 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גּוֹלָ֤ן | galon | Golan | H1474 → | |
| בַּבָּשָׁן֙ | babashan | in <the> Bashan | H1316 → | 60 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִגְרָשֶׁ֔הָ | migrasheha | pasture lands its | H4054 → | 119 times |
| וְאֶֽת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּעֶשְׁתְּרָ֖ה | beeshterah | Beeshtarah | H1203 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ | migrasheha | pasture lands its | H4054 → | 119 times |
| עָרִ֖ים | ʾarim | cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| שְׁתָּֽיִם׃ ס | shetayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
וְלִבְנֵ֣יand to [the] descendants of
velivneiH1121 →4930 times
גֵרְשׁוֹן֮Gershon
gereshonH1648 →
מִמִּשְׁפְּחֹ֣תfrom [the] clans of
mimishpechotH4940 →303 times
הַלְוִיִּם֒the Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
מֵחֲצִ֞יfrom [the] half of
mechatziH2677 →125 times
מַטֵּ֣ה[the] tribe of
matehH4294 →252 times
מְנַשֶּׁ֗הManasseh
menashehH4519 →146 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עִיר֙[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
מִקְלַ֣ט<the> refuge of
miklatH4733 →20 times
הָרֹצֵ֔חַthe killer
harotzeachH7523 →47 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
גּוֹלָ֤ןGolan
galonH1474 →
בַּבָּשָׁן֙in <the> Bashan
babashanH1316 →60 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִגְרָשֶׁ֔הָpasture lands its
migrashehaH4054 →119 times
וְאֶֽת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּעֶשְׁתְּרָ֖הBeeshtarah
beeshterahH1203 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָpasture lands its
migrashehaH4054 →119 times
עָרִ֖יםcities
ʾarimH5892 →1090 times
שְׁתָּֽיִם׃ סtwo
shetayimH8147 →768 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 4:43Bezer 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.
- Joshua 20:8
Through
Deuteronomy 1:4This 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.
- Numbers 21:21–35
Through
Joshua 20:8And 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,
- 1 Kings 22:3–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Joshua

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonLate monarchyManassehJudah's longest-reigning and worst king, who filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; the book names his apostasy as the cause of 586…
- PlaceEast of the Sea of Galilee, north of GileadBashanThe fertile tableland east of the Sea of Galilee, the kingdom of Og and the giant clans, taken by Israel before the Jordan crossin…
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.
