Joshua 21
Names of God Bible
Cities for the Tribe of Levi
21 Then the leaders of the families of Levi came to the priest Eleazar, to Joshua (son of Nun), and to the leaders of the families of the other Israelite tribes 2 at Shiloh in Canaan. They said to them, “Yahweh commanded through Moses that we should receive cities to live in and pasturelands for our livestock.” 3 So, as Yahweh had instructed, Levi’s descendants were given the following cities with pasturelands from the Israelites’ inheritance.
4 These are the cities for the families of Kohath that were chosen by drawing lots. These descendants of the priest Aaron the Levite received 13 cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants received 10 cities from the families of the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and half of the tribe of Manasseh.
6 Gershon’s descendants received 13 cities from the families of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 Merari’s descendants received 12 cities for their families from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8 The Israelites gave these cities with pasturelands to Levi’s descendants by drawing lots, as Yahweh had commanded through Moses.
Cities for Kohath’s Descendants
9 These are the names of the cities from the tribes of Judah and Simeon 10 that they gave Aaron’s descendants who were from the families of Kohath in the tribe of Levi. Their lot was the first one drawn. 11 They gave them Kiriath Arba (Arba was Anak’s father) and the pastureland around it. This is the city of Hebron located in the mountains of Judah. 12 But they gave its fields and villages to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, as his possession. 13 So they gave the following cities with pasturelands to the descendants of Aaron, the priest. The nine cities from those two tribes were Hebron (a city of refuge for murderers), Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh. 17 The tribe of Benjamin also gave them four cities: Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon. 19 In all, 13 cities with pasturelands were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
20 Cities were chosen by lot from the tribe of Ephraim to give to the rest of Levi’s descendants who were from the families of Kohath. 21 These four cities with pasturelands were Shechem (a city of refuge for murderers) in the mountains of Ephraim, Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon. 23 The tribe of Dan gave them four cities: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon. 25 Half of the tribe of Manasseh gave them two cities with pasturelands: Taanach and Gath Rimmon. 26 In all, ten cities with pasturelands were given to the rest of the families of Kohath.
Cities for Gershon’s Descendants
27 They gave the families of Gershon’s descendants, who were in the tribe of Levi, two cities with pasturelands from half of the tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for murderers) and Ashtaroth. 28 Four cities with pasturelands were also given to them from the tribe of Issachar: Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim. 30 Another four cities with pasturelands were given to them from the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob. 32 Also three cities with pasturelands were given to them from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for murderers), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan. 33 In all, 13 cities with pasturelands were given to Gershon’s families.
Cities for Merari’s Descendants
34 To the families of Merari, who were from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of Zebulun gave four cities with pasturelands: Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal. 36 The tribe of Reuben also gave them four cities with pasturelands: Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath. 38 The tribe of Gad also gave them four cities with pasturelands: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for murderers), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer. 40 All these cities belonged to the families of Merari. They were the last of the families of Levi. These 12 cities were chosen by lot.
41 Within the territory owned by the Israelites there were 48 cities in all for Levi’s descendants. 42 Each of these cities had its own pastureland around it.
43 So Yahweh gave Israel the whole land he had sworn to give their ancestors. They took possession of it and settled there. 44 Yahweh allowed them to have peace on every side, as he had sworn with an oath to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies stood up to them. Yahweh handed all their enemies over to them. 45 Every single good promise that Yahweh had given the nation of Israel came true.
Joshua 21
King James Version
21 Then 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;
2 And 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.
3 And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs.
4 And 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.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 The 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.
8 And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
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.
13 Thus 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,
14 And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,
15 And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,
16 And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.
17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,
18 Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.
19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
20 And 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.
21 For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,
22 And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.
23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,
24 Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.
25 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.
26 All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.
27 And 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 Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.
28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,
29 Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.
30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,
31 Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.
32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.
33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
34 And 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,
35 Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.
36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,
37 Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.
38 And 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,
39 Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.
40 So 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.
41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.
42 These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.
43 And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.
44 And 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.
45 There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
Joshua 21
Contemporary English Version
Levi's Towns
21 1-2 (A) 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.”[a]
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 them[b] 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,[c] 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 Merari[d] 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,[e] Juttah, and Beth-Shemesh were from Judah and Simeon. Hebron, located in the hill country of Judah, was earlier called Arba's Town.[f] It had been named after Arba, the ancestor of the Anakim.[g] Hebron's pasturelands went along with the town, but its farmlands and the villages around it had been given to Caleb.[h] 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 Jibleam[i] 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,[j] 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.[k]
Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer were from Gad.
Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Towns[l] 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.
Israel Settles in the Land
43 The Lord gave the Israelites the land he had promised their ancestors, and they captured it and settled in it. 44 There still were enemies around Israel, but the Lord kept his promise to let his people live in peace. And whenever the Israelites did have to go to war, no enemy could defeat them. The Lord always helped Israel win. 45 The Lord promised to do many good things for Israel, and he kept his promise every time.
Footnotes
- 21.1,2 The Lord told Moses … animals: See Numbers 35.1-8.
- 21.4 asked the Lord to show them: Hebrew “cast lots to find out.” See the note at 14.1-5.
- 21.4 The descendants … priest: Hebrew text; three ancient translations “The priests, the descendants of Aaron.” The male descendants of Aaron would also be priests.
- 21.4-7 Kohath … Gershon … Merari: Sons of Levi, the ancestor of the tribe of Levi.
- 21.9-19 Ashan: One ancient translation and the parallel in 1 Chronicles 6.59; Hebrew “Ain.”
- 21.9-19 Arba's Town: See the note at 14.15.
- 21.9-19 Anakim: See the note at 11.21.
- 21.9-19 Caleb: See 14.6-14.
- 21.20-26 Jibleam: One ancient translation and the parallel in 1 Chronicles 6.70; Hebrew “Gath-Rimmon.”
- 21.34-40 Rimmonah: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 21.34-40 Bezer … Jericho: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 21.34-40 Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Towns: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Ramoth in Gilead was a Safe Town.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
