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 here mentioned by name.
10 Which 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.
11 And 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.
12 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
9 And they gave H5414 out of the tribe H4294 of the children H1121 of Judah, H3063 and out of the tribe H4294 of the children H1121 of Simeon, H8095 these cities H5892 which are here mentioned H7121 by name, H8034
10 Which the children H1121 of Aaron, H175 being of the families H4940 of the Kohathites, H6956 who were of the children H1121 of Levi, H3878 had: for theirs was the first H7223 H7223 lot. H1486
11 And they gave H5414 them the city H7151 of Arba H704 H7153 the father H1 of Anak, H6061 which city is Hebron, H2275 in the hill H2022 country of Judah, H3063 with the suburbs H4054 thereof round about H5439 it.
12 But the fields H7704 of the city, H5892 and the villages H2691 thereof, gave H5414 they to Caleb H3612 the son H1121 of Jephunneh H3312 for his possession. H272
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 `here' mentioned by name:
10 and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot.
11 And they gave them Kiriath-arba, `which Arba was' the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.
12 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
9 And they give out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, these cities which are called by name;
10 and they are for the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathite, of the sons of Levi, for theirs hath been the first lot;
11 and they give to them the city of Arba father of Anak (it `is' Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, and its suburbs round about it;
12 and the field of the city and its villages they have given to Caleb son of Jephunneh for his possession.
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 were mentioned by name,
10 and 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 Kirjath-Arba, [which Arba was] the father of Anak, that is, Hebron, in the mountain of Judah, with its suburbs round about it.
12 But the fields of the city and the hamlets thereof gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
9 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:
10 and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot.
11 They gave them Kiriath Arba, [which Arba was] the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, with the suburbs of it round about it.
12 But the fields of the city, and the villages of it, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
9 From the tribes of the children of Judah and the children of Simeon they gave these towns, listed here by name:
10 These were for the children of Aaron among the families of the Kohathites, of the children of Levi: for they came first in the distribution.
11 They gave them Kiriath-arba, the town of Arba, the father of Anak, (which is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah, with its grass-lands.
12 But the open country round the town, and its unwalled places, they gave to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as his property.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Joshua 21
Commentary on Joshua 21 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 21
Jos 21:1-8. Eight and Forty Cities Given by Lot Out of the Other Tribes unto the Levites.
1-3. Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites—The most venerable and distinguished members of the three Levitical families, on behalf of their tribe, applied for the special provision that had been promised them to be now awarded (see on Nu 35:2). Their inheritance lay within the territory of every tribe. It was assigned in the same place and manner, and by the same commissioners as the other allotments. While the people, knowing the important duties they were to perform, are described (Jos 21:3) as readily conceding this "peculiar" to them, it had most probably been specified and reserved for their use while the distribution of the land was in progress.
4-8. the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites—The Levites were divided into Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites. Among the former the family of Aaron were exclusively appointed to the priesthood, and all the rest were ranked in the common order of Levites. The first lot was drawn by the Kohathites; and the first of theirs again by the priests, to whom thirteen cities were granted, and ten to the rest of the Kohathites (Jos 21:5); thirteen to the Gershonites (Jos 21:6), and twelve to the Merarites (Jos 21:7).
Jos 21:9-42. The Cities of the Priests.
9-40. they gave … these cities which are here mentioned by name—It was overruled by the unerring providence of the Divine Lawgiver that the cities of the priests lay within the territories of Judah and Benjamin. This was a provision, the admirable wisdom and propriety of which were fully manifested on the schism that took place in the reign of Rehoboam.
41. All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs—This may appear too great a proportion compared with those of the other tribes. But it must be borne in mind that the list given here contains the names of every Levitical city (see on 1Ch 6:39-66); whereas only those cities of the other tribes are mentioned which lay on the frontier or along the boundary line. Besides, the Levites were not the exclusive inhabitants of those forty-eight cities; for there must have been also a considerable number of people kept there to cultivate the glebe lands and tend the cattle. Still further, the Levitical cities had nothing but "their suburbs round about them" [Jos 21:42]; whereas the other cities in Israel possessed a group of independent villages (see Jos 17:1-19:51).
Jos 21:43-45. God Gave Them Rest.
43-45. the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers—This is a general winding up of the history from the thirteenth chapter, which narrates the occupation of the land by the Israelites. All the promises made, whether to the people or to Joshua (Jos 1:5), had been, or were in the course of being fulfilled; and the recorded experience of the Israelites (Jos 21:45), is a ground of hope and confidence to the people of God in every age, that all other promises made to the Church will, in due time, be accomplished.