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Joshua 21:38

in Joshua 21

And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs,

KJV

And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

This verse in Joshua 21

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

the Levite clans of the Gershonites

on Joshua 21:27-40

Gershon takes the north and Merari takes Zebulun with Reuben and Gad, and four refuge cities stand in verses 27, 32, 36 and 38. Ramoth in Gilead is where Ahab dies at 1 Kings 22:29-37, and Mahanaim is where David shelters from Absalom at 2 Samuel 17:24.

This site's exposition

Ramoth in Gilead

Ramoth in Gilead is Gad's refuge city, at Deuteronomy 4:43. Elisha's messenger anointed Jehu king there in 2 Kings 9:1-6. Mahanaim became Ish-bosheth's capital when Abner made him king over Gilead and all Israel in 2 Samuel 2:8-9.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), he lay, and had his headquarters when he fled from Absalom. The first Israelite that ever wore the title of king (namely, Abimelech, the son of Gideon) reigned in Shechem, another Levites' city,

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And out of the tribe of Gad,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

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

The words behind it

15 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.

  • וּמִמַּטֵּה־and from [the] tribe of

    umimateh-H4294 →252 times

  • גָ֗דGad

    gadH1410 →72 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

  • רָמֹ֥תRamoth

    ramotH7433 →

  • בַּגִּלְעָ֖דin <the> Gilead

    bagiladH1568 →134 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָpasture lands its

    migrashehaH4054 →119 times

  • וְאֶֽת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מַחֲנַ֖יִםMahanaim

    machanayimH4266 →13 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מִגְרָשֶֽׁהָ׃pasture lands its

    migrashehaH4054 →119 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

    1 Kings 22:3

    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?”

    it leads to

    • 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.

  • Through

    Genesis 32:2

    When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 2:8

      Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,

    • Joshua 5:14

      “Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”

  • Through

    2 Samuel 19:32

    Barzillai was quite old, eighty years of age, and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 25:2

      Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.

    • Deuteronomy 34:7

      Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished.

  • 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

    • Joshua 21:36

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

    • 1 Chronicles 6:78

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

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 6:80

    And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim,

    it leads to

    • Genesis 32:2

      When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.

This page draws on 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.