And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
What does Joshua 20:8 mean?
These cities, as those also on the other side Jordan, stood so that a man might in half a day reach one of them from any part of the country. God is ever a Refuge at hand.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside Joshua 20:7-9 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Glossary
- Bashan Place
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Biblical region. Modern identification: Saham al Jawlan.
- Bezer Place
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Ore of gold or silver. (1. ) A city of the Reubenites; one of the three cities of refuge on the east of Jordan (Deut. 4: 43; Josh. 20:8 ). Modern identification: Umm el Amad.
- Gad Person
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Fortune; luck. (1. ) Jacob’s seventh son, by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and the brother of Asher ( Gen. 30:11-13 ; 46:16 , 18). In the Authorized Version of 30:11 the words, “A troop cometh: and she called,” etc.
- Gilead Place
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Biblical region. Modern identification: Tell edh Dhahab esh Sherqiyeh.
- Golan Place
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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.
- Jericho Place
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Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tell es Sultan.
- Jordan Place
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Biblical river. Modern identification: Jordan River.
- Ramoth Place
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Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tall er Rumeith.
- Reuben Person
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Behold a son!, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah ( Gen. 29:32 ). His sinful conduct, referred to in Gen. 35:22 , brought down upon him his dying father’s malediction (48:4).