Joshua 21

Chapter 21

The Towns Given to the Levites

1 Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to consult with Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the other tribes of Israel.2 They came to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us towns to live in and pasturelands for our livestock.”

3 So by the command of the LORD the people of Israel gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own grants of land.
4 The descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, were allotted thirteen towns that were originally assigned to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

5 The other families of the Kohathite clan were allotted ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6 The clan of Gershon was allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7 The clan of Merari was allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8 So the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s command to Moses and assigned these towns and pasturelands to the Levites by casting sacred lots.
9 The Israelites gave the following towns from the tribes of Judah and Simeon10 to the descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, since the sacred lot fell to them first:11 Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pasturelands. (Arba was an ancestor of Anak.)

12 But the open fields beyond the town and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 The following towns with their pasturelands were given to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Hebron (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Libnah,14 Jattir, Eshtemoa,15 Holon, Debir,

16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine towns from these two tribes.
17 From the tribe of Benjamin the priests were given the following towns with their pasturelands: Gibeon, Geba,18 Anathoth, and Almon—four towns.

19 So in all, thirteen towns with their pasturelands were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
20 The rest of the Kohathite clan from the tribe of Levi was allotted the following towns and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim:21 Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Gezer,

22 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four towns.
23 The following towns and pasturelands were allotted to the priests from the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh, Gibbethon,

24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four towns.
25 The half-tribe of Manasseh allotted the following towns with their pasturelands to the priests: Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two towns.

26 So in all, ten towns with their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clan.

27 The descendants of Gershon, another clan within the tribe of Levi, received the following towns with their pasturelands from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone) and Be-eshterah—two towns.
28 From the tribe of Issachar they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Kishion, Daberath,

29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four towns.
30 From the tribe of Asher they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Mishal, Abdon,

31 Helkath, and Rehob—four towns.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three towns.

33 So in all, thirteen towns with their pasturelands were allotted to the clan of Gershon.
34 The rest of the Levites—the Merari clan—were given the following towns with their pasturelands from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah,

35 Dimnah, and Nahalal—four towns.
36 From the tribe of Reuben they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Bezer, Jahaz,t

37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four towns.
38 From the tribe of Gad they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Mahanaim,39 Heshbon, and Jazer—four towns.

40 So in all, twelve towns were allotted to the clan of Merari.
41 The total number of towns and pasturelands within Israelite territory given to the Levites came to forty-eight.

42 Every one of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it.
43 So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD helped them conquer all their enemies.

45 Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

JOSHUA 21

Levi's Towns

1-2  t While the Israelites were still camped at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the family leaders of the Levi tribe went to speak to the priest Eleazar, Joshua, and the family leaders of the other Israelite tribes. The leaders of Levi said, “The [Lord] told Moses that you have to give us towns and provide pastures for our animals.”t
3 Since the [Lord] had said this, the leaders of the other Israelite tribes agreed to give some of the towns and pastures from their tribal lands to Levi.

4 The leaders asked the [Lord] to show themt in what order the clans of Levi would be given towns, and which towns each clan would receive.
The Kohath clans were first. The descendants of Aaron, Israel's first priest, t were given 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The other members of the Kohath clans received 10 towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh. 6 The clans that were descendants of Gershon were given 13 towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and East Manasseh.

7 The clans that were descendants of Merarit received 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8 The [Lord] had told Moses that he would show the Israelites which towns and pastures to give to the clans of Levi, and he did.

Towns from Judah, Simeon, Benjamin

9-19 The descendants of Aaron from the Kohath clans of Levi were priests, and they were chosen to receive towns first. They were given 13 towns and the pastureland around them. Nine of these towns were from the tribes of Judah and Simeon and four from Benjamin.
Hebron, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ashan, t Juttah, and Beth-Shemesh were from Judah and Simeon. Hebron, located in the hill country of Judah, was earlier called Arba's Town.t It had been named after Arba, the ancestor of the Anakim.t Hebron's pasturelands went along with the town, but its farmlands and the villages around it had been given to Caleb.t Hebron was also one of the Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.
Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon were from Benjamin.

Towns from Ephraim, Dan, West Manasseh

20-26 The rest of the Kohath clans of the Levi tribe received ten towns and the pastureland around them. Four of these towns were from the tribe of Ephraim, four from Dan, and two from West Manasseh.
Shechem, Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-Horon were from Ephraim. Shechem was located in the hill country, and it was also one of the Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.
Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon were from Dan.
Taanach and Jibleamt were from West Manasseh.

Towns from East Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali

27-33 The clans of Levi that were descendants of Gershon received 13 towns and the pastureland around them. Two of these towns were from the tribe of East Manasseh, four from Issachar, four from Asher, and three from Naphtali.
Golan in Bashan and Beeshterah were from East Manasseh.
Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-Gannim were from Issachar.
Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob were from Asher.
Kedesh in Galilee, Hammothdor, and Kartan were from Naphtali. Golan in Bashan and Kedesh in Galilee were also Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.

Towns from Zebulun, Reuben, Gad

34-40 The rest of the Levi clans were descendants of Merari, and they received twelve towns with the pastureland around them. Four towns were from the tribe of Zebulun, four from Reuben, and four from Gad.
Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmonah, t and Nahalal were from Zebulun.
Bezer, Jazah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath were from Reuben. Bezer was located in the desert flatlands east of the Jordan River across from Jericho.t
Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer were from Gad.
Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Townst for people who had accidentally killed someone.

41-42 The people of the Levi tribe had a total of 48 towns within Israel, and they had pastures around each one of their towns.

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