Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 21:27
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.
27 33. The Cities of the Gershonites
27. And unto the children of Gershon ] were assigned thirteen cities,
( a) Two in Eastern Manasseh,
( b) Four in Issachar,
( c) Four in Asher,
( d) Three in Naphtali.
Golan in Bashan ] See ch. Jos 20:8; Beesh-terah or Beeshterah, without any division of the syllables. The name is a contraction of Beth-Ashterah = the house of Ashterah, or Ashtaroth, a city of Og; see ch. Jos 12:4, and 1Ch 6:71.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. Golan in Bashan] On this and the other cities of refuge mentioned here, See Clarke on Jos 20:7.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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, De 1:4. Here seems to have been formerly a temple dedicated to the goddess Astarte; for Beeshterah is a compound of “Beth” and “Ashterah”, or Astarte; that is, the house or temple of Astarte, but now become a city of the Levites:
two cities; two more having been before given out of the other half tribe.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Gershonite Cities, vs. 27-33
Two cities of refuge were among the cities assigned to the Gershonites. Golan was the northernmost city of refuge on the east side of Jordan. The other was Kedesh-naphtali, one of the larger cities of the area, having been wrested from the Canaanites in Joshua’s northern conquest. It remained prominent throughout Israel’s history. There is nothing notable in the Bible about any other of this group of Levite cities.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Cities Given to the Family of Gershon Jos. 21:27-33
27 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.
28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,
29 Jarmuth with her suburbs, En-gannim with her suburbs; four cities.
30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,
31 Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.
32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth-dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.
33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
10.
What important cities were given to the families of Gershon? Jos. 21:27-33
The families of Gershonites were given Kedesh, which was also a city of refuge. In addition, they had jurisdiction over En-gannim, which is the modern Jenin, a town of four thousand inhabitants. They also possessed Golan, east of the Sea of Galilee. This was an important city in Bashan and was one of the cities of refuge.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
27. Beeshterah seems to be a contraction of Beth-Ashterah house of Astoreth the residence of Og. See Jos 9:10.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan, with her suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be-eshterah with her suburbs. Two cities.’
For Golan see Jos 20:8. Be-eshterah may well be short for Beth-ashterah – ‘the house of Ashterah’. 1Ch 6:71 gives it as Ashteroth, which had been the royal city of Og, king of Bashan (Deu 1:4). Thus Manasseh gave four cities in all.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 21:27-33
27To the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities. 28From the tribe of Issachar, they gave Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, 29Jarmuth with its pasture lands, En-gannim with its pasture lands; four cities. 30From the tribe of Asher, they gave Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, 31Helkath with its pasture lands and Rehob with its pasture lands; four cities. 32From the tribe of Naphtali, they gave Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands and Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities. 33All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
Jos 21:27 Gershon They numbered 7,500 at Sinai (cf. Num 3:34). When the tabernacle was moved, they were in charge of the covering, the curtains, and the boards (cf. Num 3:25-26).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
And unto: Jos 21:6
Golan: Jos 20:8, Deu 1:4, Deu 4:43, 1Ch 6:71
Beeshterah: It is very probable that Beesh-terah is a contraction of baith ashtaroth, “the house of Ashtaroth,” and the same as Ashtaroth, which is the reading in 1Ch 6:71.
Reciprocal: Num 35:6 – six cities for refuge 1Ch 6:62 – Gershom
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
21:27 And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the [other] half tribe of Manasseh [they gave] {k} Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.
(k) Golan and Kedesh were the cities of refuge under the Gershonites.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Gershonites’ towns 21:27-33
The Gershonites occupied 13 towns: two in eastern Manasseh (Jos 21:27), four in Issachar (Jos 21:28-29), four in Asher (Jos 21:30-31), and three in Naphtali (Jos 21:32).