Joshua 20:8

Jos 20:8 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.

Ver. 8. They assigned Bezer.] That is, They confirmed and ratified them according as Moses had assigned, and set them apart for such a use.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jos 20:8-9. On the other side Jordan they assigned — Or had assigned, or given; for these cities were assigned by Moses before he died, Deu 4:41. They were not, however, properly speaking, invested with the privilege till now, when they were applied to the use for which Moses had designed them. The stranger — Not only proselytes, but others also; because this was a matter of common right, that a distinction should be made between casual man-slayers and wilful murderers.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Out of the half tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

8. Bezer] was the most southerly of the cities chosen on the east of the Jordan. It was in the same latitude as Jericho.

in the wilderness upon the plain] On or near the upland “downs” of Reuben, probably not far from Heshbon. With the other two cities on the east of Jordan Bezer had been selected by Moses for this purpose at the time of the conquest of Gilead and Bashan (Deu_4:43).

Ramoth in Gilead] is called Ramath-mizpeh in ch. Jos_13:26. This town (= the heights of Gilead) was one of the great fortresses on the east of Jordan, and commanded the region of Argob and the towns of Jair (see above, ch. Jos_13:26). It is probable also it was the spot where Jacob made his covenant with Laban (Gen_31:43-53). For subsequent notices of it see (a) 1Ki_4:13; (b) 1Ki_15:17-22; (c) 2Ki_9:14.

Golan in Bashan] was the most northerly city chosen on the east of the Jordan (Deu_4:43). Its very site is now unknown, though once a place of great power and influence, which gave its name to a province, Gaulanitis, east of Galilee, = the modern Jaulân. The district was once densely populated, but is now almost completely deserted.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward,.... In the country possessed by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh:

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; of these places, and the signification of their names, and of the application of them to Christ, the antitype of the cities of refuge; see Gill on Deu 4:43. These last cities were not appointed now, they were appointed in the times of Moses, and severed by him, Deu 4:41; nor are they here said to be appointed, but to be assigned or "given" (c); they were now delivered up into the hands of the Levites for cities of refuge, for they were before severed for that use; they were not, according to the Jews (d), made use of as such, until the other three were appointed.

(c) "dederunt", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (d) Misn. Maccot, c. 2. sect. 4. Maimon. Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 8. sect. 2, 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They assigned, or gave, or had assigned, or

given; for they were given by Moses, Deu 4:41, &c.; or they confirmed Moses’s grant, and applied them to that use to which Moses designed and separated them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. By Jericho — Literally, Beyond Jordan, Jericho eastward. The sense is, the side of Jordan opposite from Jericho. These eastern cities were appointed by Moses. See at Deu_4:41-43. On Ramoth, see Jos_13:26, note. The sites of the other two cities are now unknown.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By Jericho eastward. Or, eastward of Jericho. This, of course, only refers to Bezer. The plain. The Mishor, or table land. (see Jos_3:16 Jos_9:1, and notes) Our version, by its renderings, obscures the beautiful precision with which our historian never fails to hit off the physical geography of the country. Thus, the plain of Bashan, Gilead, and Reuben is always the Mishor; the strip of land between the mountains and the Mediterranean is always the Shephelah; the depression of the Jordan Valley and the country south of the Dead Sea is invariably the Arabah; wide plains shut in between ranges of hills or situated on their slopes are distinguished by the title of Emek; while narrow waterless ravines are known by the name of Ge. We may quote here the emphatic words with which Canon Tristram concludes his "Land of Israel," "While on matters of science the inspired writers speak in the ordinary language of their times (the only language which could have been understood), I can bear testimony to the minute truth of innumerable incidental allusions in Holy Writ to the facts of nature, of climate, of geographical position corroborations of Scripture which, though trifling in themselves, reach to minute details that prove the writers to have lived when and where they are asserted to have lived; which attest their scrupulous accuracy in recording what they saw and observed around them; and which, therefore, must increase our confidence in their veracity, where we cannot have the like means of testing it. I can find no discrepancies between their geographical or physical statements and the evidence of present facts. I can find no standpoint here for the keenest advocate against the full inspiration of the scriptural record. The Holy Land not only elucidates but bears witness to the truth of the Holy Book." Ramoth in Gilead. See Jos_13:26, where it is called Ramoth Mizpeh; also with Jos_21:38. All these cities of refuge were Levitical cities. It is famous as the headquarters of Jehu"s rebellion, in which he clearly had the support of the priestly party. (2Ki 9) The key to his subsequent conduct is found in this fact. His "zeal for the Lord," displayed so ostentatiously to Jonadab, who we may suppose, as being of the "family of the scribes," to have become identified with the Levites, (cf. 1Ch_2:55 with Jud_1:16, and 1Ch_27:32 Ezr_7:12,jer Ezr_8:8) was simply a stroke of policy, to bind to his interest the sacerdotal party, to whom, with the army, he owed his throne. Just such a policy commended itself to the worldly wisdom of our own Lancastrian princes, and led to the enactment of the infamous statute de heretico comburendo in the fifteenth century. Jehu, we find, was contented with the one vast sacrifice of idolaters, for whom he cared nothing, and gave himself no further trouble to secure purity of worship for his people. The one great value of the geographical and political details in the book of Joshua is that when carefully studied they supply us with the key to many a mystery in the after history of Israel, which, but for their aid, we should scarcely have unravelled.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They assigned - Or, had assigned or given; for they were given by Moses, Deut. iv, 41, &c. or, they applied them to that use to which Moses designed them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And on the other side of the Jordan, from Yericho eastward. [These cities were set aside] during the days of Moshe, as it is said, “Betzer in the wilderness.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.