Joshua 21:27

And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites ,.... The descendants of the second son of Levi:

out of the other half tribe of Manasseh ; that which was settled beyond Jordan:

they gave Golan in Bashan, with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer ; see Joshua 20:8 ; this is the third city of refuge mentioned:

and Beeshterah with her suburbs ; called Ashtaroth, 1 Chronicles 6:71 ; which had been the royal city of Og, king of Bashan, where he had his palace, Deuteronomy 1:4 . Here seems to have been formerly a temple dedicated to the goddess Astarte; for Beeshterah is a compound of "Beth" and "Ashterah", or Astarte; that is, the house or temple of Astarte, but now become a city of the Levites:

two cities ; two more having been before given out of the other half tribe.