Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Joshua 21:1) Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel.
In the past chapters and posts, Eleazar the high priest and Joshua, along with heads of the tribes, had divided the land and given inheritance to each of the tribes. Then the people appointed cities of refuge among their tribes. Now the heads of the Levites came to Eleazar, and Joshua, and those heads of the other tribes.
(2) And they spoke to 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 of them for our cattle."
The Levites reminded them that the Lord had commanded through Moses that they should have cities and suburbs within the other tribes, to live in and keep livestock. The Levites had not been given a lot of their own as had been given the other tribes, because as the priests, God was to be their inheritance. However, God did provide for them cities in which to dwell within the other tribes (Numbers 35:2).
(3) And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs.
The Israelites indeed gave to the Levites cities out of their inheritance in which to dwell, descriptions of which follow.
(4) And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites, and the children of Aaron the priest 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.
The first lot came out for the Kohathites, descendants of Kohath, a son of Levi. The children of Aaron the priest, son of Amram who was a son of Kohath, were the only priests of the Levites. The other Levites assisted the priests and acted as ministers for the people. The children of Aaron, the priests, were given cities out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities in all.
(5) And 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 west of the Jordan River, ten cities.
The rest of the Kohathites, Levites, but not priests, had their cities assigned by lot within the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities in all.
(6) And 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.
The children of Gershon, another son of Levi, had cities assigned by lot within the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan River.
(7) The 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.
The children of Merari, the third son of Levi, were given cities within the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, twelve cities in all. All the tribes were to give cities to the Levites as a sort of tithe. They were to provide for the priests and the ministers who attended the priests and ministered to the people within each tribe. Although it was a benefit to the other tribes to have Levite ministers living among them, it was the fulfillment of a curse made by Jacob, that because of their anger and cruel wrath, they would be scattered throughout Israel (Genesis 49:7). A total of forty-eight cities were given to the Levites according to the commandment of the Lord (Numbers 35:7).
(8) And the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
The Israelites gave by lot cities along with their suburbs within each of their tribes, just as the Lord had commanded.
(9) And 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 mentioned by name, (10) Which the children of Aaron of the families of the Kohathites of the children of Levi had, for theirs was the first lot. (11) And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which is Hebron, in the hills of Judah with the suburbs of it round about it.
The Israelites gave the children of Aaron who were of the Kohathites, cities, names which follow in the text, out of the tribes of Judah and Simeon. First, they gave them the city and suburbs of Kirjath Arba, "city of Arba," Arba being a son of the Anakims, a race of giants among whom Arba was chief. It was renamed Hebron (Joshua 14:15) and it lay in the hill country of Judah.
(12) But the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
However, the fields and villages surrounding Hebron belonged to Caleb (Joshua 14:13). He had been given Hebron, but as with all the tribes, he gave a city in which the Levites could dwell. According to Biblical scholars, the suburbs of the Levitical cities were generally 2000 cubits, about 1000 yards. Anything beyond that belonged to the tribe that was giving the city for Levitical use.
(13) Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Libnah and her suburbs.
The Israelites gave the children of Aaron, the priests, the city of Hebron which was also a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7) and the city of Libnah and their suburbs.
(14) And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, (15) And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs, (16) And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, Beth Shemesh with her suburbs, nine cities out of those two tribes.
The priests also had the cities of Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, in which to live and dwell. They had a total of nine cities within the tribes of Judah and Simeon, Simeon being within Judah.
(17) And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, (18) Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.
Out of the tribe of Benjamin, the Levitical priests had the cities of Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, four cities and their suburbs. Anathoth and Almon were not listed among the cities within Benjamin's tribe in chapter 18 and must have been a couple of the smaller villages that were said to be part of the larger cities. The cities within Benjamin were described as cities with their villages rather than cities with their suburbs.
(19) All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, totaled thirteen cities with their suburbs.
(20) And 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.
The rest of the Kohathites, those who were not of Aaron and the priests, also had cities, theirs from the tribe of Ephraim.
(21) For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Gezer with her suburbs.
The rest of the Kohathites were given the cities of Shechem, also a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and Gezer.
(22) And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth Horon with her suburbs, four cities.
The Kohathites were also given the cities of Kibzaim and Beth Horon in the tribe of Ephraim.
(23) And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, (24) Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath Rimmon with her suburbs, four cities.
Out of the tribe of Dan, the Kohathites were given the cities of Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, a total of four cities.
(25) And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs and Gath Rimmon with her suburbs, two cities.
Two cities were given out of the half tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River, Tanach and Gath Rimmon, which appears to be a different city than the one in the tribe of Dan.
(26) All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath who remained.
The Kohathites who were not descendants of Aaron, and therefore not priests, had a total of ten cities within the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.
(27) And to the children of Gershon of the families of the Levites, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Be Eshterah with her suburbs, two cities.
The Levites who were children of Gershon received the city of Golan, which was also a city of refuge, and Be Eshterah, with their suburbs, out of the half tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
(28) And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs, (29) Jarmuth with her suburbs, En Gannim with her suburbs, four cities.
The Gershonites were also given four cities out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En Gannim, with their suburbs.
(30) And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, (31) Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs, four cities.
They were also given four cities out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob, with their suburbs.
(32) And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Hammoth Dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs, three cities.
They were given three cities out of the tribe of Naphtali, Galilee, also a city of refuge, Hammoth Dor, and Kartan.
(33) All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
The total number of cities given to the Levitical tribe of the Gershonites was thirteen.
(34) And to 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, (35) Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs, four cities.
The rest of the Levites, children of Merari, were given four cities out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, with their suburbs.
(36) And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahaz with her suburbs, (37) Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs, four cities.
They were also given four cities out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath.
(38) And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Mahanaim with her suburbs, (39) Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs, four cities in all.
The children of Merari also received four cities out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth, also a city of refuge, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer, with their suburbs.
(40) So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were their lot, twelve cities.
The children of Merari were given twelve cities in all.
(41) All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs. (42) These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them, thus all these cities.
All the cities given to the Levites within all the other tribes of Israel numbered forty-eight, just as God had commanded (Numbers 35:7). They were also given the suburbs, said to be about 2000 cubits, or about 1000 yards, round about the cities so that they would have space for livestock and provisions.
(43) And the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt in it.
Thus the Lord had given to Israel all the land of Canaan as He had sworn to their fathers. All the tribes having received their lots of inheritance, they possessed their land and dwelt in it.
(44) And the Lord gave them rest round about according to all that He swore to their fathers, and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.
At that time, the Lord gave Israel peace and rest in their land flowing with milk and honey as He had sworn to their forefathers. Finally, they had settled into their promised land, that land promised so many years before, and there were no enemies before them, as the Lord had delivered all their enemies into their hand.
(45) There failed not one of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass.
Every good thing the Lord had promised Israel came to pass. God's promises were exactly fulfilled down to the prophetic blessings and curses that told where some of the tribes might live. "Your word is true from the beginning, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever" (Psalm 119:160). Every word of promise God made from the beginning of the world is true and has never failed. If anything has not yet been fulfilled, you can be sure it will be in the future. The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, but is ever-patient, giving us all time to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
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