Joshua 21 (UST)

1The family leaders of the Levite clans came to Shiloh to speak with Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes.Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel

2There in Shiloh, west of the Jordan River, they said to them,“Yahweh told Moses that you should give us cities where we can live and where our animals can graze.”at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.”

3So the Israelites obeyed this command from Yahweh. They gave some cities and the surrounding fields to the tribe of Levi out of their own lands that their leaders had assigned to them.So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

4First, the Israelite leaders cast lots to assign some cities to the Levites from the clan of Kohath who were priests because they were descendants of Aaron. The leaders assigned 13 cities to them within the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.The first lot came out for the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

5To the other Levites from the clan of Kohath, the Israelite leaders assigned ten cities within the territories of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lived on the west side of the Jordan River.The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6To the Levites from the clan of Gershon, the Israelite leaders assigned 13 cities within the territories of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in the region of Bashan.The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7To the Levites from the clan of Merari, the Israelite leaders assigned 12 cities within the territories of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8In this way, the Israelite leaders assigned these cities and the surrounding fields to the people of the tribe of Levi. That was just what Yahweh had told Moses they should do.So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

9These are the names of the cities that the Israelite leaders assigned to the tribe of Levi within the territory of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they designated these cities by name

10First, the Israelite leaders assigned cities by lot to the descendants of Aaron. They belonged to the Kohathite clan of the tribe of Levi.to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them:

11The Israelite leaders assigned Kiriath Arba to them in the hill country of Judah. They also gave the pasturelands around the city.(That city got its name from Arba, the ancestor of the Anak people group. But people now call that city Hebron.)They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)

12However, the Israelite leaders had already assigned the cultivated fields and villages surrounding Kiriath Arba to Caleb son of Jephunneh.But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13In this way, the Israelite leaders assigned Hebron and its surrounding fields to the descendants of Aaron the priest. Hebron was one of the cities to which people could flee if they accidentally killed a person. The leaders also gave Aaron’ s descendants the city of Libnah with its surrounding fields,So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,

14Jattir with its surrounding fields, and Eshtemoa with its surrounding fields,Jattir, Eshtemoa,

15They also gave Holon with its surrounding fields, and Debir with its surrounding fields,Holon, Debir,

16and Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh. In total, the leaders gave them nine cities with their surrounding fields. These cities were within the territory of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.

17The Israelite leaders also gave the descendants of Aaron some cities, with the surrounding fields, in the area that the tribe of Benjamin possessed: Gibeon, Geba,And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,

18Anathoth, and Almon, four cities with their surrounding fields.Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

19Altogether, the Israelite leaders assigned 13 cities with their surrounding fields to the Levites who were priests because they were descendants of Aaron.In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

20The other Levite clans who were descendants of Kohath received four cities within the territory of the tribe of Ephraim.The remaining Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted these cities: From the tribe of Ephraim

21The leaders gave them Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim along with its surrounding fields. It was a city to which someone could flee for safety who killed a person unintentionally. The leaders also gave them Gezer with its surrounding fields,they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,

22Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, four cities. All with their surrounding fields.Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

23These clans that were descendants of Kohath also received four cities with their surrounding fields within the territory of the tribe of Dan. These cities were Eltekeh, Gibbethon,From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon,

24Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

25These clans that were descendants of Kohath also received cities within the territory of the half of the tribe of Manasseh that had settled on the west side of the Jordan River. These cities were Taanach and Gath Rimmon, two cities with their surrounding fields.And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

26There were ten cities in all, together with their surrounding fields, that these other clans that were descendants of Kohath received.In all, ten cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

27The Israelite leaders also cast lots in order to assign cities and their surrounding fields to the Levite clans of the descendants of Gershon. These clans received two cities within the territory of the half of the tribe of Manasseh that had settled on the east side of the Jordan River. One of those cities was Golan in the region of Bashan. It was one of the cities to which someone could flee for safety who killed a person unintentionally. The other city was Beeshtarah. That made two cities, with their surrounding fields.This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

28These clans also received some cities and the surrounding fields within the territory of the tribe of Issachar. Those cities were Kishion, Daberath,From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion, Daberath,

29Jarmuth, and En Gannim, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

30These clans also received some cities and the surrounding fields within the territory of the tribe of Asher. These cities were Mishal, Abdon,From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal, Abdon,

31Helkath, and Rehob, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.Helkath, and Rehob—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

32These clans also received some cities within the territory of the tribe of Naphtali. One of these cities was Kedesh in the region of Galilee. It was one of the cities to which people could flee for safety if they killed a person unintentionally. The other cities were Hammoth Dor and Kartan. That made three cities, all with their surrounding fields.And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.

33Altogether, therefore, the Gershonite clans received 13 cities, together with their surrounding fields.In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the Gershonite clans.

34The Israelite leaders also assigned cities to the last group of Levites, those who belonged to the clans that were descendants of Merari. These clans received some cities, with the surrounding fields, within the territory of the tribe of Zebulun. These cities were Jokneam, Kartah,This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Jokneam, Kartah,

35Dimnah, and Nahalal, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

36These clans also received cities, with their surrounding fields, within the territory of the tribe of Reuben. These cities were Bezer, Jahaz,From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz,

37Kedemoth, and Mephaath, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

38These clans also received cities, with their surrounding fields, within the territory of the tribe of Gad. One of these cities was Ramoth, which was one of the cities in Gilead to which people could flee for safety if they killed a person unintentionally. Another city was Mahanaim.And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,

39There were also the cities of Heshbon, and Jazer. That made four cities in all, together with their surrounding fields.Heshbon, and Jazer—four cities in all, together with their pasturelands.

40In all, this last group of Levite clans, the ones that were descendants of Merari, received 12 cities when the Israelite leaders cast lots for them.In all, twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari, the remaining Levite clans.

41So altogether, the Levites received 48 cities within the territories of the other tribes of Israel. They also received the fields around those cities.For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasturelands, within the territory of the Israelites.

42Yes, for each one of these cities, the Levites also received the surrounding fields. That was true for all of them.Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

43Yahweh had promised the ancestors of the Israelites that he would give them all this land, and this was how he did that. The Israelite people took control of these areas and settled down in them.Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.

44Yahweh had also told the ancestors of the Israelites that they would be able to live peacefully in the land, and he made that happen too. None of their enemies were able to fight against them and defeat them. Instead, Yahweh helped Israel defeat all their enemies.And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

45Yahweh kept every promise he made to the Israelites. Every promise came true.Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.

Joshua 21

Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites

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Joshua 21

Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites

You’ve read Joshua 21

Go Deeper