Joshua 21

KJV · Chapter 21/24

1Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;

2And they spake unto 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 thereof for our cattle.

3And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs.

4And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were 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.

5And 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, ten cities.

6And 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.

7The 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.

8And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

9And 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,

10Which 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.

11And 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.

12But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

13Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,

14And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,

15And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,

16And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Beth–shemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

17And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,

18Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

19All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

20And 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.

21For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,

22And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth–horon with her suburbs; four cities.

23And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,

24Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath–rimmon with her suburbs; four cities.

25And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath–rimmon with her suburbs; two cities.

26All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

27And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beesh–terah with her suburbs; two cities.

28And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,

29Jarmuth with her suburbs, En–gannim with her suburbs; four cities.

30And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,

31Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.

32And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth–dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

33All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

34And unto 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,

35Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.

36And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,

37Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.

38And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

39Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.

40So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

41All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

42These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

43And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

44And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

45There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The Levites receive 48 cities scattered among the other tribes, including the cities of refuge. The chapter concludes that God fulfilled all his promises to Israel.

Explanation

Since the Levites did not receive one continuous territory, they were scattered in cities within the territory of the other tribes - this ensured that priestly teaching of the law was physically present and accessible throughout the nation, not concentrated in one place. The chapter's closing statement, 'not one of all the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass' (v. 45), is one of the strongest declarations in the whole Bible about God's faithfulness to his promises, serving as the concluding milestone of the entire conquest narrative that began all the way back with Abraham.

Fun facts

  • The 48 Levitical cities included surrounding pasturelands for livestock, a model of provision that combined religious function with practical need for subsistence.
  • This arrangement scattering the Levites fulfilled, in a positive and organized way, Jacob's prophecy in Genesis 49:7 that the tribe of Levi would be 'scattered' in Israel.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Joshua 21:1The heads of the Levite families come before Eleazar, Joshua, and the tribal chiefs to claim what is owed to them.
  2. Joshua 21:2They point out that God had already ordered, through Moses, that the Levites receive cities to live in, since they would have no territory of their own like the other tribes.
  3. Joshua 21:3Since the Levites don't receive a continuous territory, the solution is to scatter forty-eight cities for them across the land of the other tribes, each with pastureland around it for their livestock. This way they are present throughout the whole territory of Israel, without forming a province of their own.
  4. Joshua 21:4The drawing of lots begins with the Kohathites, one of the Levite families: the descendants of Aaron receive thirteen cities taken from Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
  5. Joshua 21:5The rest of the Kohathites receive ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half of Manasseh.
  6. Joshua 21:6The Gershonites, another Levite family, receive thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half of Manasseh in Bashan.
  7. Joshua 21:7The Merarites, the third Levite family, receive twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
  8. Joshua 21:8In total, the people hand over these cities to the Levites exactly as God had commanded through Moses.
  9. Joshua 21:9Here begins the named list of cities taken from Judah and Simeon for the Levites.
  10. Joshua 21:10These specific cities go to the descendants of Aaron, within the Kohathite family, who received the first share in the drawing.
  11. Joshua 21:11Among them is Hebron, the same city already given to Caleb — except now it also becomes a Levite city, with an internal division between the two uses.
  12. Joshua 21:12The fields and villages around Hebron remain Caleb's personal property; only the city itself is shared with the Levites.
  13. Joshua 21:13Hebron, already known as a city of refuge, is confirmed to the descendants of Aaron, along with Libnah.
  14. Joshua 21:14Two more cities, Jattir and Eshtemoa, complete this part of the list.
  15. Joshua 21:15Holon and Debir also join the list of cities handed over to the priests.
  16. Joshua 21:16Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh close out this group, totaling nine cities between the two tribes.
  17. Joshua 21:17Gibeon is the city that tricked Joshua into thinking it came from far away, back in chapter 9 — now its lands go to support the priestly descendants of Aaron.
  18. Joshua 21:18Anathoth and Almon complete four more cities coming from Benjamin.
  19. Joshua 21:19In total, the priestly descendants of Aaron receive thirteen cities.
  20. Joshua 21:20The rest of the Kohathites, who were not priests directly, receive their cities from the tribe of Ephraim.
  21. Joshua 21:21Among them is Shechem, another city of refuge, along with Gezer.
  22. Joshua 21:22Kibzaim and Beth-horon complete this group of four cities from Ephraim.
  23. Joshua 21:23Eltekeh and Gibbethon, which had belonged to the tribe of Dan, now pass to the Kohathite Levites who were not direct descendants of Aaron.
  24. Joshua 21:24Aijalon and Gath-rimmon close out four more cities coming from Dan.
  25. Joshua 21:25From the half tribe of Manasseh, they receive Tanach and Gath-rimmon, two more cities.
  26. Joshua 21:26This group of Kohathites — those not descended from Aaron — receives ten cities in total, taken from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
  27. Joshua 21:27The Gershonites receive from Manasseh the city of Golan, also a city of refuge, and Beeshterah.
  28. Joshua 21:28From the tribe of Issachar, the Gershonites receive Kishon and Dabareh.
  29. Joshua 21:29Jarmuth and En-gannim close out the four cities Issachar hands over to the Levites: since the Levites received no territory of their own, each tribe set aside cities for them.
  30. Joshua 21:30Mishal and Abdon, taken from Asher's territory, go to the Gershonites — the Levite clan descended from Gershon, Levi's oldest son.
  31. Joshua 21:31With these two, four cities that the tribe of Asher hands over to the Gershonite Levites are closed out, part of the thirteen this clan receives in total.
  32. Joshua 21:32From the tribe of Naphtali, they receive Kedesh, another city of refuge, along with Hammoth-dor and Kartan.
  33. Joshua 21:33In total, the Gershonites receive thirteen cities, taken from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
  34. Joshua 21:34The Merarites, the last Levite family, receive from Zebulun the cities of Jokneam and Kartah.
  35. Joshua 21:35Dimnah and Nahalal, taken from Zebulun's territory, complete the cities the Merarite Levites also receive from Reuben and Gad.
  36. Joshua 21:36Bezer, taken from Reuben's territory, is one of Israel's six cities of refuge — a shelter for anyone who killed someone without intent.
  37. Joshua 21:37With these two, four cities that the tribe of Reuben hands over to the Merarite Levites are closed out, part of the twelve this clan receives in total.
  38. Joshua 21:38From the tribe of Gad, they receive Ramoth, another city of refuge, and Mahanaim.
  39. Joshua 21:39Heshbon and Jazer complete the four cities Gad hands over to the Merarites — the same Heshbon that had been the capital of the Amorite king Sihon, defeated back in the time of Moses.
  40. Joshua 21:40In total, the Merarite Levites receive twelve cities, taken from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, east and west of the Jordan.
  41. Joshua 21:41The final number of forty-eight Levite cities, taken from various tribes, shows that supporting the priests and worship assistants was a responsibility shared by the whole people, not just one region.
  42. Joshua 21:42Each of these forty-eight cities always comes with pastureland around it, following the same pattern throughout.
  43. Joshua 21:43The chapter closes by declaring that not one promise made to the ancestors failed to come true. After twenty-one chapters of wars, lists, and lot-drawing, this sentence sums up the whole book's central argument: the promised land had become occupied land.
  44. Joshua 21:44After the whole division of the land, God gives Israel rest from the enemies around them, fulfilling the ancient promise.
  45. Joshua 21:45The chapter ends with a strong statement: not one of God's good promises to Israel failed to come true.

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