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 Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.
Study Helps
Interpretation
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities.
Read with
This thought runs through Joshua 21:27-31.
Glossary
- Bashan Place
- Biblical region. Modern identification: Saham al Jawlan.
- City People
- The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain ( Gen. 4:17 ). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12).
- Beeshterah Place
- Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tell Ashtara.
- Golan Place
- Exile, a city of Bashan ( Deut. 4:43 ), one of the three cities of refuge east of Jordan, about 12 miles north-east of the Sea of Galilee ( Josh. 20:8 ). There are no further notices of it in Scripture. Modern identification: Saham al Jawlan.