³⁶ Some of the Levites who lived in Judah were sent to live with the tribe of Benjamin.

Territory for the Levites

⁵⁴ This is a record of the towns and territory assigned by means of sacred lots to the descendants of Aaron, who were from the clan of Kohath. ⁵⁵ This territory included Hebron and its surrounding pasturelands in Judah, ⁵⁶ but the fields and outlying areas belonging to the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. ⁵⁷ So the descendants of Aaron were given the following towns, each with its pasturelands: Hebron (a city of refuge),^[a] Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, ⁵⁸ Holon,^[b] Debir, ⁵⁹ Ain,^[c] Juttah,^[d] and Beth-shemesh. ⁶⁰ And from the territory of Benjamin they were given Gibeon,^[e] Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, each with its pasturelands. So thirteen towns were given to the descendants of Aaron. ⁶¹ The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten towns from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh by means of sacred lots.

⁶² The descendants of Gershon received by sacred lots thirteen towns from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and from the Bashan area of Manasseh, east of the Jordan.

⁶³ The descendants of Merari received by sacred lots twelve towns from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

⁶⁴ So the people of Israel assigned all these towns and pasturelands to the Levites. ⁶⁵ The towns in the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, mentioned above, were assigned to them by means of sacred lots.

⁶⁶ The descendants of Kohath were given the following towns from the territory of Ephraim, each with its pasturelands: ⁶⁷ Shechem (a city of refuge in the hill country of Ephraim),^[f] Gezer, ⁶⁸ Jokmeam, Beth-horon, ⁶⁹ Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon. ⁷⁰ The remaining descendants of Kohath were assigned the towns of Aner and Bileam from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands.

⁷¹ The descendants of Gershon received the towns of Golan (in Bashan) and Ashtaroth from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands. ⁷² From the territory of Issachar, they were given Kedesh, Daberath, ⁷³ Ramoth, and Anem, each with its pasturelands. ⁷⁴ From the territory of Asher, they received Mashal, Abdon, ⁷⁵ Hukok, and Rehob, each with its pasturelands. ⁷⁶ From the territory of Naphtali, they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, each with its pasturelands.

⁷⁷ The remaining descendants of Merari received the towns of Jokneam, Kartah,^[g] Rimmon,^[h] and Tabor from the territory of Zebulun, each with its pasturelands. ⁷⁸ From the territory of Reuben, east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho, they received Bezer (a desert town), Jahaz,^{[i] 79} Kedemoth, and Mephaath, each with its pasturelands. ⁸⁰ And from the territory of Gad, they received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, ⁸¹ Heshbon, and Jazer, each with its pasturelands.

The Towns Given to the Levites

21 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 Simeon ¹⁰ 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,^{[a] 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.