1 And the heads of the fathers of the Levites draw nigh unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel,
2 and they speak unto them in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, saying, `Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses to give to us cities to dwell in, and their suburbs for our cattle.'
3 And the sons of Israel give to the Levites, out of their inheritance, at the command of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs:
4 And the lot goeth out for the families of the Kohathite, and there are for the sons of Aaron the priest (of the Levites), out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, by lot thirteen cities,
5 and for the sons of Kohath who are left, out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, by lot ten cities:
6 And for the sons of Gershon `are', 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, by lot, thirteen cities.
7 For the sons of Merari, for their families, `are', out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
8 And the sons of Israel give to the Levites these cities and their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, by lot.
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.
13 And to the sons of Aaron the priest they have given the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Hebron and its suburbs, and Libnah and its suburbs,
14 and Jattir and its suburbs, and Eshtemoa and its suburbs,
15 and Holon and its suburbs, and Debir and its suburbs,
16 and Ain and its suburbs, and Juttah and its suburbs, Beth-Shemesh and its suburbs; nine cities out of these two tribes.
17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its suburbs, Geba and its suburbs,
18 Anathoth and its suburbs, and Almon and its suburbs -- four cities;
19 all the cities of the sons of Aaron the priests, `are' thirteen cities and their suburbs.
20 And for the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, who are left of the sons of Kohath, even the cities of their lot are of the tribe of Ephraim;
21 and they give to them the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Shechem and its suburbs, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Gezer and its suburbs,
22 and Kibzaim and its suburbs, and Beth-Horon and its suburbs -- four cities.
23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and its suburbs, Gibbethon and its suburbs,
24 Aijalon and its suburbs, Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs -- four cities.
25 And out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and its suburbs, and Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs -- two cities;
26 all the cities `are' ten and their suburbs, for the families of the sons of Kohath who are left.
27 And for the sons of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Golan in Bashan and its suburbs, and Beeshterah and its suburbs -- two cities.
28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon and its suburbs, Dabarath and its suburbs,
29 Jarmuth and its suburbs, En-Gannim and its suburbs -- four cities.
30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal and its suburbs, Abdon and its suburbs,
31 Helkath and its suburbs, and Rehob and its suburbs -- four cities.
32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Kedesh in Galilee and its suburbs, and Hammoth-Dor and its suburbs, and Kartan and its suburbs -- three cities;
33 all the cities of the Gershonite, for their families, `are' thirteen cities and their suburbs.
34 And for the families of the sons of Merari, the Levites, who are left, `are,' out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and its suburbs, Kartah and its suburbs,
35 Dimnah and its suburbs, Nahalal and its suburbs -- four cities.
36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and its suburbs, and Jahazah and its suburbs,
37 Kedemoth and its suburbs, and Mephaath and its suburbs -- four cities.
38 And out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs, and Mahanaim and its suburbs,
39 Heshbon and its suburbs, Jazer and its suburbs -- `in' all four cities.
40 All the cities for the sons of Merari, for their families, who are left of the families of the Levites -- their lot is twelve cities.
41 All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel `are' forty and eight cities, and their suburbs.
42 These cities are each city and its suburbs round about it; so to all these cities.
43 And Jehovah giveth to Israel the whole of the land which He hath sworn to give to their fathers, and they possess it, and dwell in it;
44 and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about, according to all that which He hath sworn to their fathers, and there hath not stood a man in their presence of all their enemies, the whole of their enemies hath Jehovah given into their hand;
45 there hath not fallen a thing of all the good thing which Jehovah spake unto the house of Israel -- the whole hath come.
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.