Joshua 21:1-42
New English Translation
Levitical Cities
21 The tribal leaders of the Levites went before Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the Israelite tribal leaders 2 in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said, “The Lord told Moses to assign us cities in which to live along with the grazing areas for our cattle.” 3 So the Israelites assigned these cities and their grazing areas to the Levites from their own holdings, as the Lord had instructed.
4 The first lot belonged to[a] the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten cities from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, and from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6 Gershon’s descendants were allotted thirteen cities from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, and from the tribes of Asher and Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7 Merari’s descendants by their clans were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8 So the Israelites assigned to the Levites by lot these cities and their grazing areas, as the Lord had instructed Moses.
9 They assigned from the tribes of Judah and Simeon the cities listed below. 10 (They were assigned to the Kohathite clans of the Levites who were descendants of Aaron,[b] for the first lot fell to them.) 11 They assigned them Kiriath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding grazing areas. 12 (Now the city’s fields and surrounding towns they had assigned to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.) 13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of nine cities taken from these two tribes. 17 From the tribe of Benjamin they assigned[c] Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 19 The priests descended from Aaron received thirteen cities and their grazing areas.
20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted cities from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 They assigned them Shechem (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 23 From the tribe of Dan they assigned Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned Taanach and Gath Rimmon,[d] along with the grazing areas of each—a total of two cities. 26 The rest of the Kohathite clans received ten cities and their grazing areas.
27 They assigned to the Gershonite clans of the Levites the following cities:[e] from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) and Beeshtarah, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of two cities; 28 from the tribe of Issachar: Kishon, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 30 from the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 32 from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of three cities. 33 The Gershonite clans received thirteen cities and their grazing areas.
34 They assigned to the Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) the following cities: from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 36 [f] from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 38 from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 40 The Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) were allotted twelve cities.
41 The Levites received within the land owned by the Israelites[g] forty-eight cities in all and their grazing areas. 42 Each of these cities had grazing areas around it; they were alike in this regard.[h]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 21:4 tn Heb “came out for.”
- Joshua 21:10 tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Aaron, from the Kohathite clans, from the sons of Levi.”
- Joshua 21:17 tn The words “they assigned” are supplied for clarification (also in vv. 23, 25).
- Joshua 21:25 tn The name “Gath Rimmon” is problematic here, for it appears in the preceding list of Danite cities. The LXX reads Iebatha (Ιεβαθα); 1 Chr 6:55 HT (6:70 ET) reads Bilʿam (בִּלְעָם). Most modern translations retain the name “Gath Rimmon,” however.
- Joshua 21:27 tn The words “they assigned” and “the following cities” are supplied for clarification (also in v. 34).
- Joshua 21:36 tc 21:36-37 are accidentally omitted from a number of significant Hebrew mss. They are, however, found in some Hebrew mss, the LXX and Vulgate.
- Joshua 21:41 tn Heb “in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel.”
- Joshua 21:42 tn Heb “these cities were city [by] city, and its grazing areas [were] around it; so [it was] for all these cities.”
Joshua 21:1-42
Common English Bible
Cities for the Levites
21 The heads of the levitical families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua, Nun’s son, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. 2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan: “The Lord gave a command through Moses to give us cities to live in and their pasturelands for our cattle.” 3 So the Israelites gave the Levites the following cities and their pasturelands out of their own legacy. This was in agreement with the Lord’s command.
4 The lot went out for the clans of the Kohathites. The descendants of Aaron the priest from among the Levites acquired thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The rest of the descendants of Kohath acquired ten cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half of Manasseh. 6 The descendants of Gershon acquired thirteen cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half of Manasseh located in Bashan. 7 The descendants of Merari acquired twelve cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8 So the Israelites gave these cities and their pasturelands to the Levites by lot, exactly as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
9 They gave the following cities, identified here by name, from the tribe of the Judahites and the tribe of the Simeonites. 10 The cities belonged to the descendants of Aaron, one of the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the lot had fallen to them first. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the highlands of Judah and the pastures around it. (Arba was the father of Anak.) 12 But they had already given the fields of the city and its surrounding areas to Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, as his property. 13 To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave: Hebron, the refuge city for a killer, and its pastures; Libnah and its pastures; 14 Jattir and its pastures; Eshtemoa and its pastures; 15 Holon and its pastures; Debir and its pastures; 16 Ain and its pastures; Juttah and its pastures; and Beth-shemesh and its pastures. Total from these two tribes: nine cities. 17 From the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon and its pastures, Geba and its pastures, 18 Anathoth and its pastures, and Almon and its pastures. In total: four cities. 19 This is the total of all the cities of the priests descended from Aaron: thirteen cities with their pastures.
20 Other clans from the levitical descendants of Kohath still remained from among the descendants of Kohath. Some of their allotted cities were from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 They gave them: Shechem, the refuge city for a killer, and its pastures in the highlands of Ephraim; Gezer and its pastures; 22 Kibzaim and its pastures; and Beth-horon and its pastures; in total: four cities. 23 From the tribe of Dan: Elteke and its pastures, Gibbethon and its pastures, 24 Aijalon and its pastures, Gath-rimmon and its pastures; in total: four cities. 25 From half the tribe of Manasseh: Taanach and its pastures, and Gath-rimmon and its pastures; in total: two cities. 26 This is the total of all cities for the clans of the remaining descendants of Kohath: ten cities with their pastures.
27 To the descendants of Gershon, one of the clans of the Levites, from half the tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan, the refuge city for a killer, and its pastures; and Beeshterah and its pastures; in total: two cities. 28 From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion and its pastures, Daberath and its pastures, 29 Jarmuth and its pastures, En-gannim and its pastures; in total: four cities. 30 From the tribe of Asher: Mishal and its pastures, Abdon and its pastures, 31 Helkath and its pastures, and Rehob and its pastures; in total: four cities. 32 From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee, the refuge city for the killer, and its pastures; Hammoth-dor and its pastures; and Kartan and its pastures; in total: three cities. 33 This is the total of all cities of the Gershonites for their clans: thirteen cities with their pastures.
34 To the clans of the descendants of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam and its pastures, Kartah and its pastures, 35 Dimnah and its pastures, Nahalal and its pastures; in total: four cities. 36 From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer and its pastures, Jahaz and its pastures, 37 Kedemoth and its pastures, and Mephaath and its pastures; in total: four cities.[a] 38 From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead, the refuge city for a killer, and its pastures; Mahanaim and its pastures; 39 Heshbon and its pastures; Jazer and its pastures; in total: four cities. 40 As for the cities of the descendants of Merari for their clans, the remaining clans of the Levites, their total allotment was twelve cities.
41 This is the total of all the cities of the Levites within the property of the Israelites: forty-eight cities with their pastures. 42 Each of these cities had its pastures around it. This was the case for all these cities.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 21:37 LXX and 1 Chron 6:78-79 (Heb 6:63-64); some Heb manuscripts lack 21:36-37.
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