Joshua 21:38
in Joshua 21And 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,
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This verse in Joshua 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis 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
), 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,
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And out of the tribe of Gad,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
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The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִמַּטֵּה־ | umimateh- | and from [the] tribe of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| גָ֗ד | gad | Gad | H1410 → | 72 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 |
| רָמֹ֥ת | ramot | Ramoth | H7433 → | |
| בַּגִּלְעָ֖ד | bagilad | in <the> Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ | migrasheha | pasture lands its | H4054 → | 119 times |
| וְאֶֽת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַחֲנַ֖יִם | machanayim | Mahanaim | H4266 → | 13 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִגְרָשֶֽׁהָ׃ | migrasheha | pasture lands its | H4054 → | 119 times |
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 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
1 Kings 22:3who 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.
- Deuteronomy 4:43
Through
Genesis 32:2When 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?”
- 2 Samuel 2:8
Through
2 Samuel 19:32Barzillai 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.
- 1 Samuel 25:2
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
- 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,
- Joshua 21:36
Through
1 Chronicles 6:80And 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.
- Genesis 32:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About Joshua

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.
