They were given the cities of refuge …: For the cities of refuge, see the comments on verse 57. As there, some interpreters correct the Hebrew text here to read “the city of refuge” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond) or “a city of asylum” (New American Bible) in agreement with the parallel text in Josh 21.21.

Shechem was a city about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Jerusalem. It was located in the territory settled by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and was the first religious center of the twelve tribes in Canaan. It became the first capital of the northern kingdom (1 Kgs 12.25), whose first king, Jeroboam, was from the tribe of Ephraim (1 Kgs 11.26).

The hill country of Ephraim refers to the central mountainous area of Palestine where the tribe of Ephraim had settled (Josh 17.15). Since expressions where two nouns are joined by the word of can often be understood in several different ways, it will be necessary in certain languages to say “the mountainous area belonging to the tribe of Ephraim” or “the region of hills where the Ephraimites lived.”

The town of Gezer was located about 27 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of Jerusalem in the foothills of Judah. Gezer was strategically located at an important crossroads. 1 Chr 20.4 says that David fought against the Philistine army at Gezer.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .