Golan in Bashan
The LORD God appointed Golan in Bashan as a City of Refuge for the slayers it was in Bashan and out of the tribe of Manasseh.
“The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime. And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled. And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. 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. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.” (Joshua 20:1-9 KJV).
The Golan, a city of Bashan, is on the other side of Jordan by Jericho, of the tribe of Manasseh as one of the six cities of refuge. (Joshua 20:8 KJV). The children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh was given Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer. (Joshua 21:27 KJV).
The children of Gershon was one of the sons of Levi. (Genesis 46:11 KJV).
The names of the sons of Gershon by their families were Libni, and Shimei. Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites. The responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation was to be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all service thereof. (Numbers 3:18,-26 KJV).
Golan is the most northerly of the three cities of refuge that was east of the Jordan River. The very site of the city is unknown and its exact location cannot be determined.
There were 48 towns allocated to the tribe of Levi, which were divided from all the tribal territories with more taken from the large ones than the small ones. The six cities of refuge designated from these 48 towns allowed for someone who had accidentally taken a life to flee from punishment of death and reparation by a family avenger. As long as the manslayer remained within the city limits under the control of God’s high priest. When the high priest died, the murder accomplished by the manslayer was probably remitted, since he was free to leave the city once the priest was no longer living. The Golan Heights should not be misunderstood for Golan, the City of Refuge. The Golan Heights is a region, not the city of refuge designated by the LORD God.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Golan in Bashan: .” Becker Bible Studies Library Mar 2016.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=3041,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2016, March) “Golan in Bashan: .” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=3041,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2016) “Golan in Bashan: .” Becker Bible Studies Library (March), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=3041, (accessed).
