King James Bible

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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 Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
And unto the children afflicted Noun H1121 וְלִבְנֵ֣י ve·liv·nei
of Gershon Gershon Noun H1648 גֵרְשֹׁון֮ ge·re·sho·vn
of the families family Noun H4940 מִמִּשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת mim·mish·pe·chot
of the Levites Leviite Adjective H3881 הַלְוִיִּם֒ hal·vi·yim
out of the [other] half half Noun H2677 מֵחֲצִ֞י me·cha·tzi
of Manasseh Manasseh Noun H4519 מְנַשֶּׁ֗ה me·na·sheh
Analysis:
Read more about: Manasseh, Manasseh
in Bashan Bashan Noun H1316 בַּבָּשָׁן֙ bab·ba·shan
Analysis:
Read more about: Bashan
[to be] a city Ai Noun H5892 עִיר֙ ir
of refuge refuge Noun H4733 מִקְלַ֣ט mik·lat
for the slayer put to death Verb H7523 הָרֹצֵ֔חַ ha·ro·tze·ach,
with her suburbs cast out Noun H4054 מִגְרָשֶׁ֔הָ mig·ra·she·ha,
with her suburbs cast out Noun H4054 מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ mig·ra·she·ha;
and Beeshterah Beeshterah Noun H1203 בְּעֶשְׁתְּרָ֖ה be·'esh·te·rah
two both Noun H8147 שְׁתָּֽיִם׃ she·ta·yim.
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

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cities Ai Noun H5892 עָרִ֖ים a·rim

Locations

Bashan

BASHANba'-shan (ha-bashan, "the Bashan"; Basan): This name is probably the same in meaning as the cognate Arabic bathneh, "soft, fertile land," or bathaniyeh (batanaea), "this land sown with wheat" ("wheatland").1. Boundaries:It often occurs with the article, "the Bashan," to describe the kingdom of Og, the most northerly part of the land East of the Jordan.... View Details

Golan

GOLAN; GAULONITISgo'-lan (golan), (Gaulanitis): Golan was a city in the territory allotted to Manasseh in Bashan, the most northerly of the three cities of refuge East of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 4:43 Joshua 20:8); assigned with its "suburbs" to the Gershonite Levites (Joshua 21:27 1 Chronicles 6:71). It must have been a great and important city in its day; b... View Details

People

Manasseh

Manasseh [N] [H] [S] who makes to forget. "God hath made me forget" (Heb. nashshani),  Genesis 41:51 .  The elder of the two sons of Joseph. He and his brother Ephraim were afterwards adopted by Jacob as his own sons ( 48:1 ). There is an account of his marriage to a Syrian ( 1 Chronicles 7:14 ); and the only thing afterwards recorded of him is, that his grandchildren were "... View Details

Manasseh

Manasseh [N] [H] [S] who makes to forget. "God hath made me forget" (Heb. nashshani),  Genesis 41:51 .  The elder of the two sons of Joseph. He and his brother Ephraim were afterwards adopted by Jacob as his own sons ( 48:1 ). There is an account of his marriage to a Syrian ( 1 Chronicles 7:14 ); and the only thing afterwards recorded of him is, that his grandchildren were "... View Details

Parallel Verses

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King James Bible 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.
Hebrew Greek English And unto To the children sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, out of from the other half tribe half-tribe of Manasseh Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a Bashan, the city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah manslayer, with her suburbs; its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities.
New American Standard Bible 1995 And unto To the children sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, out of from the other half tribe half-tribe of Manasseh Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a Bashan, the city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah manslayer, with her suburbs; its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities.