Joshua 21-22

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 21

Levitical Cities. ¹ The heads of the Levite families^[a] approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families of the other tribes of the Israelites^{(A) 2} at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, and said to them, “The Lord commanded, through Moses, that cities be given us to dwell in, with pasture lands for our livestock.”^{(B) 3} Out of their own heritage, according to the command of the Lord, the Israelites gave the Levites the following cities with their pasture lands.

⁴ When the first lot among the Levites fell to the clans of the Kohathites, the descendants of Aaron the priest obtained by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities. ⁵ From the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, the rest of the Kohathites obtained by lot ten cities.^{(C) 6} From the clans of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, the Gershonites obtained by lot thirteen cities. ⁷ From the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, the clans of the Merarites obtained twelve cities. ⁸ These cities with their pasture lands the Israelites gave by lot to the Levites, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Cities of the Priests. ^9 (D)From the tribes of the Judahites and Simeonites they gave the following cities ¹⁰ and assigned them to the descendants of Aaron in the Kohathite clan of the Levites, since the first lot fell to them: ¹¹ first, Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the mountain region of Judah, with the adjacent pasture lands, ¹² although the open country and villages belonging to the city had been given to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, as his holding.^{(E) 13} Thus to the descendants of Aaron the priest were given the city of refuge for homicides at Hebron, with its pasture lands; also, Libnah with its pasture lands, ¹⁴ Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ¹⁵ Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, ¹⁶ Ain with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands: nine cities from these two tribes. ¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin they obtained Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸ Anathoth^(F) with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands: four cities. ¹⁹ These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the priestly descendants of Aaron, were thirteen in all.

Cities of the Other Kohathites. ^20 (G)The rest of the Kohathite clans among the Levites obtained by lot, from the tribe of Ephraim, four cities. ²¹ They were assigned, with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for homicides at Shechem in the mountain region of Ephraim; also Gezer with its pasture lands, ²² Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon with its pasture lands. ²³ From the tribe of Dan they obtained Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands: four cities. ²⁵ From the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands: two cities. ²⁶ These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the rest of the Kohathite clans were ten in all.

Cities of the Gershonites. ^27 (H)The Gershonite clan of the Levites received from the half-tribe of Manasseh the city of refuge for homicides at Golan in Bashan, with its pasture lands; and also Beth-Astharoth with its pasture lands: two cities. ²⁸ From the tribe of Issachar they obtained Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasture lands, and En-gannim with its pasture lands: four cities. ³⁰ From the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands: four cities. ³² From the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge for homicides at Kedesh in Galilee, with its pasture lands; also Hammath with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands: three cities. ³³ The cities which belonged to the Gershonite clans, with their pasture lands, were thirteen in all.

Cities of the Merarites. ^34 (I)The Merarite clans, the last of the Levites, received, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasture lands, and Nahalal with its pasture lands: four cities. ³⁶ Also, across the Jordan, from the tribe of Reuben, the city of refuge for homicides at Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands: four cities. ³⁸ From the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge for homicides at Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands, ³⁹ Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands: four cities in all. ⁴⁰ The cities allotted to the Merarite clans, the last of the Levites, were therefore twelve in all.

⁴¹ Thus the total number of cities^(J) within the territory of the Israelites which, with their pasture lands, belonged to the Levites, was forty-eight. ⁴² With each and every one of these cities went the pasture lands round about it.

⁴³ And so the Lord gave Israel the entire land he had sworn to their ancestors he would give them.^(K) Once they had taken possession of it, and dwelt in it, ⁴⁴ the Lord gave them peace on every side, just as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of their enemies could withstand them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their power. ⁴⁵ Not a single word of the blessing^(L) that the Lord had promised to the house of Israel failed; it all came true.

III. Return of the Transjordan Tribes and Joshua’s Farewell

Chapter 22

The Eastern Tribes Dismissed. ¹ At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh ² and said to them:^(M) “You have observed all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and have listened to my voice in everything I commanded you. ³ For many years now, even until today, you have not abandoned your allies, but have taken care to observe the commands of the Lord, your God. ⁴ Now that the Lord, your God, has settled your allies as he promised them, you may return to your tents, to your own land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you, across the Jordan.^{(N) 5} But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you: love the Lord, your God,^(O) follow him in all his ways, keep his commandments, hold fast to him, and serve him with your whole heart and your whole self.” ⁶ Joshua then blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ (For, to half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had assigned land in Bashan;^(P) and to the other half Joshua had given a portion along with their allies west of the Jordan.) When Joshua sent them away to their tents and blessed them, ⁸ he said, “Now that you are returning to your own tents with great wealth, with abundant livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and with a very large supply of clothing, divide these spoils of your enemies with your allies there.”^{(Q) 9} So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and returned to the land of Gilead, their own land, which they had received according to the Lord’s command through Moses.^(R)

The Altar Beside the Jordan. ¹⁰ When the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, they built an altar there at the Jordan, an impressively large altar. ¹¹ The other Israelites heard the report:^(S) “The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar” in the region of the Jordan facing the land of Canaan,^[b] across from the Israelites. ¹² When the Israelites heard this, they assembled at Shiloh, as the entire Israelite community to take military action against them.^[c]

Accusation of the Western Tribes. ¹³ The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead,^{(T) 14} and with him ten leaders, one from each tribe of Israel, each one the head of an ancestral house among the clans of Israel. ¹⁵ When these came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, they said to them: ¹⁶ “Thus says the whole community of the Lord: What act of treachery is this you have committed against the God of Israel? This day you have turned from following the Lord; by building an altar of your own you have rebelled against the Lord this day. ¹⁷ Is the iniquity of Peor not enough, by which we made ourselves impure, even to this day, and a plague came upon the community of the Lord?^{(U) 18} If today you turn away from following the Lord, and rebel against the Lord, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel! ¹⁹ If you consider the land you now possess unclean,^[d] cross over to the land the Lord possesses, where the tabernacle of the Lord stands, and share that with us. But do not rebel against the Lord, nor involve us in rebellion, by building an altar of your own in addition to the altar of the Lord, our God. ²⁰ When Achan, son of Zerah,^(V) acted treacherously by violating the ban, was it not upon the entire community of Israel that wrath fell? Though he was but a single man, he did not perish alone^[e] for his guilt!”

Reply of the Eastern Tribes. ²¹ The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the Israelite clans: ²² “The Lord is the God of gods. The Lord, the God of gods,^[f] knows and Israel shall know. If now we have acted out of rebellion or treachery against the Lord, our God, do not try to save us this day, ²³ and if we have built an altar of our own to turn from following the Lord, or to sacrifice burnt offerings, grain offerings, or communion sacrifices upon it, the Lord himself will exact the penalty. ²⁴ We did it rather out of our anxious concern lest in the future your children should say to our children: ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has placed the Jordan as a boundary between you and us, you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no share in the Lord.’ Thus your children would prevent ours from revering the Lord. ²⁶ So we thought, ‘Let us act for ourselves by building this altar of our own’—not for burnt offerings or sacrifice, ^27 (W)but as witness between us and you and our descendants, that we have the right to provide for the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and communion sacrifices. Now in the future your children cannot say to our children, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’ ²⁸ Our thought was that, if in the future they should speak thus to us or to our descendants, we could answer: ‘Look at the copy of the altar of the Lord which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices, but to witness^[g] between you and us.’ ²⁹ Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord or to turn now from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice in addition to the altar of the Lord, our God, which stands before his tabernacle.”

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community, the heads of the Israelite clans, heard what the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites had to say, they were satisfied. ³¹ Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites, “Today we know that the Lord is in our midst. Since you have not rebelled against the Lord by this act of treachery, you have delivered the Israelites from the hand of the Lord.”

³² Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan, and reported the matter to them. ³³ The report satisfied the Israelites, who blessed God and decided not to take military action against the Reubenites and Gadites nor to ravage the land where they lived.

³⁴ The Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar its name^[h] as a witness among them that the Lord is God.