Golan
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(exile) (Deut. 4:43) — a city in Bashan, one of the cities of refuge, belonging to the tribe of Manasseh and situated on the eastern side of the Jordan (Josh. 20:8). Afterward it passed to the sons of Gershon (21:27). After this it is not mentioned again; nevertheless it was an important and significant city, remaining so even down to the time of Eusebius. From it the plateau region took its name, known in New Testament times as Gaulanitis, after Golan, its chief city, and lying along the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
During the earthly life of Jesus Christ this region belonged to the Tetrarch Philip. Densely populated in antiquity, Gaulanitis is now almost entirely a wasteland. At present only small patches of ground are cultivated in it, and the inhabitants of the East, once as numerous as locusts, or as camels without number (Judg. 7:12), appear in this country only at the beginning of May.