Golan

passage; revolution

Golan

(circle), a city of Bashan, (4:43) allotted out of the half tribe of Manasseh to the Levites, (Joshua 21:27) and one of the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan. ch (Joshua 20:8) Its very site is now unknown. It gave its name to the province of Gaulanitis. It lay east of Galilee and north of Gadaritis [GADARA], and corresponds to the modern province of Jaulan .

Golan

A Levitical city of refuge, in the northwest portion of Bashan. It lay east or northeast of the Sea of Galilee, but its site is now lost. See GAULAN.

GOLAN; GAULONITIS

go'-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; but the site cannot now be determined with any certainty. It was known to Josephus (Ant., XIII, xv, 3). Near Golan Alexander was ambushed by Obodas, king of the Arabians; and his army, crowded together in a narrow and deep valley, was broken in pieces by the multitude of camels (BJ, I, iv, 4). This incident is located at Gadara in Ant, XIII, xiii, 5. Later, Golan was destroyed by Alexander. It had already given its name to a large district, Gaulonitis (BJ, III, iii, 1, 5; IV, i, 1). It formed the eastern boundary of Galilee. It was part of the tetrarchy of Philip (Ant., XVII, viii, 1; XVIII, iv, 6). The city was known to Eusebius as "a large village," giving its name to the surrounding country (Onomasticon, under the word Gaulon). This country must have corresponded roughly with the modern Jaulan, in which the ancient name is preserved. The boundaries of the province today are Mt. Hermon on the North, Jordan and the Sea of Galilee on the West, Wady Yarmuk on the South, and Nahr `Allan on the East. This plateau, which in the North is about 3,000 ft. high, slopes gradually southward to a height of about 1,000 ft. It is entirely volcanic, and there are many cone-like peaks of extinct volcanoes, especially toward the North It affords good pasturage, and has long been a favorite summer grazing-ground of the nomads. Traces of ancient forests remain, but for the most part today it is treeless. To the East of the Sea of Galilee the soil is deep and rich. Splendid crops of wheat are grown here, and olives flourish in the hollows. The country is furrowed by deep valleys that carry the water southwestward into the Sea of Galilee. This region has not yet been subjected to thorough examination, but many important ruins have been found, which tell of a plentiful and prosperous population in times long past. The best description of these, and of the region generally, will be found in Schumacher's The Jaulan, and Across the Jordan. To him also we owe the excellent maps which carry us eastward to the province of el-Chauran.

Schumacher inclines to the belief that the ancient Golan may be represented by Sahm el-Jaulan, a large village fully 4 miles East of Nahr `Allan, and 4 miles Southeast of Tsil. The extensive ruins probably date from early in the Christian era. The buildings are of stone, many of them of Spacious dimensions, while the streets are wide and straight. The inhabitants number not more than 280. The surrounding soil is rich and well watered, bearing excellent crops. The present writer, after personal examination, corroborates Dr. Schumacher's description. Standing in the open country, it would be seen from afar; and it was easily accessible from all directions.

W. Ewing

Exile, a city of Bashan (Deuteronomy 4:43), one of the three cities of refuge east of Jordan, about 12 miles north-east of the Sea of Galilee (Joshua 20:8). There are no further notices of it in Scripture. It became the head of the province of Gaulanitis, one of the four provinces into which Bashan was divided after the Babylonish captivity, and almost identical with the modern Jaulan, in Western Hauran, about 39 miles in length and 18 in breath.

1474. Golan -- a city and a region East of the Jordan in Manasseh
... << 1473, 1474. Golan. 1475 >>. a city and a region East of the Jordan in Manasseh.
Transliteration: Golan Phonetic Spelling: (go-lawn') Short Definition: Golan. ...
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