GOLAN gō’ lən (גּﯴלָ֤ן, perhaps meaning round). A city assigned to Manasseh in Bashan. It was a Levitical city given to the Gershonites (Josh 21:27; 1 Chron 6:71) and had been chosen by Moses as one of three places of refuge E of the Jordan (Deut 4:43; Josh 20:8). It was located in the N, although the exact site is still undetermined. Josephus describes the district of Gaulanitis in Bashan as a fertile area containing a large population. Golan was the scene of both defeat and later, victory for Alexander (Jos. Antiq. XIII, xiii. 5). It belonged to the tetrarchy of Philip.

Eusebius notes that Gaulan or Golan was a large village whose name became attached to the adjoining country. Most prob. it corresponds to modern Jaulan, an area bounded by Mt. Hermon on the NE, the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee on the W, and the Jarmuk on the S. The excellent site of Sahem el-Jolan, four miles E of the river el-’Allan may well mark the ancient city of Golan.