The Meaning of Joshua 21:38 Explained

Joshua 21:38

KJV: And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

YLT: And out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge for the man-slayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs, and Mahanaim and its suburbs,

Darby: and out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge for the slayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs; and Mahanaim and its suburbs,

ASV: And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And out of the tribe  of Gad,  Ramoth  in Gilead  with her suburbs,  [to be] a city  of refuge  for the slayer;  and Mahanaim  with her suburbs, 

What does Joshua 21:38 Mean?

Chapter Summary: Joshua 21

1  Forty-eight cities given by lot, out of the other tribes unto the Levites
43  God gives the land, and rest unto the Israelites, according to his promise

What do the individual words in Joshua 21:38 mean?

And from the tribe of Gad - a city of refuge for the slayer Ramoth in Gilead and with its common-land and Mahanaim its common-land
וּמִמַּטֵּה־ גָ֗ד אֶת־ עִיר֙ מִקְלַ֣ט הָרֹצֵ֔חַ רָמֹ֥ת בַּגִּלְעָ֖ד וְאֶת־ מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ וְאֶֽת־ מַחֲנַ֖יִם מִגְרָשֶֽׁהָ

וּמִמַּטֵּה־  And  from  the  tribe 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מַטֶּה  
Sense: staff, branch, tribe.
גָ֗ד  of  Gad 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גָּד  
Sense: seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and full brother of Asher.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
עִיר֙  a  city 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
מִקְלַ֣ט  of  refuge  for 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִקְלָט  
Sense: refuge, asylum.
הָרֹצֵ֔חַ  the  slayer 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָצַח  
Sense: to murder, slay, kill.
רָמֹ֥ת  Ramoth 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: רָמֹות גִּלְעָד  
Sense: an Israelite who had a foreign wife in the time of Ezra.
בַּגִּלְעָ֖ד  in  Gilead 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּלְעָד  
Sense: a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called ‘Mount Gilead’ or the ‘land of Gilead’ or just ‘Gilead’.
וְאֶת־  and  with 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ  its  common-land 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מִגְרָשׁ 
Sense: common, common land, open land, suburb.
מַחֲנַ֖יִם  Mahanaim 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַחֲנַיִם  
Sense: a place east of the Jordan, named from Jacob’s encounter with angels.
מִגְרָשֶֽׁהָ  its  common-land 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מִגְרָשׁ 
Sense: common, common land, open land, suburb.