And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar,.... These were Levites who descended from Gershon, the eldest son of Levi, and had their cities by lot assigned them in tribes at a greater distance, not only out of Issachar, but out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan; which was the other half of the tribe beyond Jordan: thirteen cities; as many as were given out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.