Joshua 21

Then the family leaders of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the family leaders of the other tribes of Israel.

1Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;

NoteThe Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Jacob's twelve sons. Unlike the other tribes they were given no block of territory of their own; they served at the sanctuary and were supported by the other tribes. This chapter settles where they would actually live, scattered in towns throughout everyone else's land.

2At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they said to them, "The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, along with the open land around them for our livestock."

2And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.

NoteShiloh was the town in central Canaan where the tent-sanctuary had been set up (Joshua 18:1), so it functioned as the national gathering place. The command referred to is in Numbers 35, which specifies a belt of open ground measured out around each Levite town (a thousand cubits, about 500 yards, in the Hebrew text) for grazing animals and keeping property. The King James word "suburbs" means this pastureland, not a residential district.

3So, at the LORD's command, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own share of the land.

3And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.

Note"Inheritance" is the standard term in these chapters for the territory each tribe received by allotment. It does not mean property left by someone who died; it means the permanent family holding a tribe was assigned. The Levite towns were carved out of those existing tribal holdings.

4The first lot came out for the family groups of the Kohathites. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

4And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

NoteCasting lots meant drawing marked objects, probably stones, to make a decision by chance rather than by argument; Israelites understood the result as a decision handed down rather than negotiated. Levi had three sons, Kohath, Gershon and Merari, and their descendants formed the three branches of the tribe. Aaron was a descendant of Kohath, and only Aaron's own line served as priests; the remaining Levites did the supporting work of the sanctuary.

5The rest of Kohath's descendants received ten cities by lot from the family groups of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

5And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

NoteManasseh is repeatedly called a "half tribe" because it settled in two separate blocks: half east of the Jordan River, half west of it. Both halves appear in this chapter.

6Gershon's descendants received thirteen cities by lot from the family groups of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali, and from the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

6And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

NoteBashan was the fertile upland region east of the Sea of Galilee, part of the territory taken before Israel crossed the Jordan.

7Merari's descendants, family group by family group, received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

7The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

8So the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands by lot, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

8And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

9From the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon they gave the cities that are named here.

9And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name,

10These went to the descendants of Aaron, who belonged to the Kohathite family groups of the tribe of Levi, because the first lot fell to them.

10Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.

11They gave them the city of Arba, the father of Anak (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah, with the pastureland all around it.

11And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.

Note"City of Arba" translates the older name Kiriath-arba. Anak was remembered as the ancestor of the Anakim, a people described in Numbers 13 as unusually tall and formidable, the report that frightened the Israelite scouts a generation earlier.

12But the farmland belonging to the city, and its villages, they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his own property.

12But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

NoteCaleb had been promised Hebron and had taken it (Joshua 14–15). The arrangement here splits the property: the walled town and its surrounding pasture belt go to the priests, while the farmland and outlying villages stay with Caleb's family.

13So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its pasturelands, which was a city of refuge for anyone who killed another person; also Libnah with its pasturelands,

13Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,

NoteA city of refuge was a designated town where someone who had killed another person could flee for safety. Under the custom of the time, the dead person's nearest male relative had the right and duty to hunt down the killer. The refuge towns interrupted that: the fugitive was protected until a hearing decided whether the death was accidental or deliberate. Deliberate killers were handed back; accidental ones stayed safe in the town. The full procedure is set out in Numbers 35 and Joshua 20.

14Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands,

14And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,

15Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands,

15And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,

16Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands, nine cities from those two tribes.

16And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

17From the tribe of Benjamin they gave Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands,

17And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,

18Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands, four cities.

18Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

19In all, the cities given to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

19All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

20The rest of the Kohathite family groups, the Levites left over from Kohath's descendants, received the cities of their lot from the tribe of Ephraim.

20And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

21They were given Shechem with its pasturelands, in the hill country of Ephraim, which was a city of refuge for anyone who killed another person; also Gezer with its pasturelands,

21For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,

22Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands, four cities.

22And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.

23From the tribe of Dan they were given Eltekeh with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands,

23And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,

24Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, four cities.

24Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.

25From the half tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, two cities.

25And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.

NoteGath-rimmon has already been listed in verse 24 as a town of Dan, and its appearance again here is probably a copying slip. The Greek version and the parallel list in 1 Chronicles 6 give a different name for this second town.

26In all, the rest of the Kohathite family groups received ten cities with their pasturelands.

26All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

27To the Gershonites, one of the Levite family groups, they gave from the other half tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands, which was a city of refuge for anyone who killed another person; also Beeshterah with its pasturelands, two cities.

27And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.

28From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishon with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands,

28And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,

29Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands, four cities.

29Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.

30From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands,

30And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,

31Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands, four cities.

31Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.

32From the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, which was a city of refuge for anyone who killed another person; also Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands and Kartan with its pasturelands, three cities.

32And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

33In all, the cities of the Gershonites, counted by their family groups, were thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

33All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

34To the family groups of Merari's descendants, the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands,

34And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,

35Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands, four cities.

35Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.

36From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands,

36And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,

NoteBezer was also one of the six cities of refuge (Joshua 20:8), though the Hebrew text does not label it as such here. Some manuscripts and ancient versions add the phrase.

37Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands, four cities.

37Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.

38From the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, which was a city of refuge for anyone who killed another person; also Mahanaim with its pasturelands,

38And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

NoteThis completes the six cities of refuge named in Joshua 20: Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron west of the Jordan, and Bezer, Ramoth in Gilead and Golan to the east, spaced so that no one was impossibly far from one.

39Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands, four cities in all.

39Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.

40So the cities given by lot to the family groups of Merari's descendants, the last of the Levite family groups, came to twelve cities.

40So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

41All the cities of the Levites inside the land held by the Israelites came to forty-eight cities with their pasturelands.

41All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

NoteForty-eight towns matches the number commanded in Numbers 35:7: six refuge towns plus forty-two others.

42Every one of these cities had its own pastureland surrounding it. That was true of them all.

42These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

43So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had promised under oath to give their ancestors, and they took it and settled in it.

43And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

44The LORD gave them rest on every side, exactly as he had promised under oath to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies could stand against them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them.

44And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

Note"Rest" here is a concrete term, not an emotional one: it means the fighting has stopped and no enemy is pressing them, so people can settle, farm and build.

45Not one word of all the good things the LORD had promised the people of Israel failed. Every one of them came true.

45There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

NoteThis summary of complete success stands in the same book as earlier statements that much land remained unconquered (13:1) and that various peoples were never driven out (15:63; 16:10; 17:12–13). The book sets the two kinds of statement side by side without reconciling them.