with her suburbs; Gezer also with her suburbs; [1]68and Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs; 69and Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs: 70and out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath. 71Unto the sons of Gershom were given, out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs: 72and out of the tribe of Issachar;
xii. 1. Shechem is the modern Nabulus, situated almost in the middle of Palestine.
Gezer] Josh. xvi. 3; Judg. i. 29; 1 Kin. ix. 16. It is the modern Tell Jezer about 18 miles N.W. of Jerusalem. The site has recently been excavated with excellent results—see Macalister, The Excavation of Gezer, or Driver, Modern Research Illustrating the Bible (Schweich Lectures, 1908).
68. Jokmeam] In Josh. xxi. 22, Kibzaim. The two words resemble one another more closely in Hebrew, and are to be taken as various readings of the same name. Nothing is known of a Kibzaim in Ephraim. A Jokmeam is mentioned 1 Kin. iv. 12.
Beth-horon] Josh. x. 10, 11, xvi. 3, 5; 1 Macc. iii. 24. There were two cities, a lower and an upper Beth-horon, the modern Beitur, "near the head and the foot respectively of the ascent from the Maritime Plain to the plateau of Benjamin."
69. and Aijalon] Aijalon and Gath-rimmon were in Dan near the Jaffa road some 13 miles from Jerusalem; cp. Josh. xxi. 23, 24. See also the Critical Note on vv. 54—81.
70. the half tribe of Manasseh] the western half tribe; the eastern is mentioned ver. 71.
Aner] Read probably Taanach, as in vii. 29; Josh. xxi. 25; Judg. v. 19. Taanach was situated in the plain of Esdraelon, some four miles south of Megiddo.
Bileam] read Ibleam, cp. Judg. i. 27; 2 Kin. ix. 27. In Josh. xxi. 25, Gath-rimmon, an error of dittography.
for the rest . . . Kohath] a fragment of Josh. xxi. 26.
71—76 (= Josh. xxi. 27—32). The thirteen cities of the
sons of Gershom.
71. Golan] a city of refuge, Josh. xxi. 27. The name of this city is still preserved in Jolan (Jaulan), the name of a district E. of Jordan extending from Hermon to the Jarmuk.
Ashtaroth] mentioned with Edrei in Josh. ix. 10 as the capital of Og, king of Bashan. The name testifies to the worship of Ashtoreth.
- ↑ See Josh. xxi. 22—39, where some of the names are different.
