The Levites Request Their Cities
Study note
The heads of the Levite families came to Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the other tribal leaders at Shiloh. They reminded them that God had commanded through Moses that the Levites be given cities to live in and pasturelands for their animals. Since the Levites were set apart for God's service and did not receive a tribal territory of their own, they needed to be spread throughout all the other tribes so they could serve the spiritual needs of the entire nation.
1 The leaders of the Levite families came to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the Israelite tribes. 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 They met the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan. They said, "The Lord told Moses to give us cities. We need land for our animals too." 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 So, following the Lord's command, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and pastures from their own land. And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.
Cities for the Kohathites
Study note
The Levites were divided into three main family groups descended from Levi's three sons: Kohath, Gershon, and Merari. The Kohathites were further divided based on whether they were descended from Aaron (the priestly line) or from other Kohathite families. Aaron's descendants received thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, including Hebron, the city of refuge. The other Kohathites received ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and western Manasseh. Giving the priestly families cities near the Tabernacle at Shiloh and the future temple site at Jerusalem was practical for their service.
4 The first lot went to the Kohathite families. Those Levites who were descended from Aaron the priest received thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 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 The remaining Kohathites received ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 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 The Gershonites got thirteen cities. These came from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali. They also got cities from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 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 Merarites received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 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 The Israelites gave all these cities and their pasturelands to the Levites by casting lots, just as the Lord had told Moses. 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 From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they gave the cities listed here by name. 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 These went to Aaron's descendants, part of the Kohathite branch of Levi, because their lot came up first. 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 They received Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in Judah's hill country, along with the pasturelands around it. Arba was the ancestor of Anak. 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 farmland and villages around the city had already been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. They were his personal property. But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
13 So Aaron's family got Hebron (a city of safety), along with Libnah, 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 Jattir, Eshtemoa, And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,
15 Holon, Debir, And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,
16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh -- each with its pasturelands. That made nine cities from these two tribes. And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.
17 From the tribe of Benjamin they received Gibeon, Geba, And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,
18 Anathoth, and Almon, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.
19 In all, the priests who came from Aaron received thirteen cities with their pasturelands. All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
20 The rest of the Kohathite Levite families received cities from the tribe of Ephraim. 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 They were given Shechem (a city of refuge) in the hill country of Ephraim, along with Gezer, 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 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs; four cities.
23 From the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,
24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; four cities.
25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath-rimmon, each with its pasturelands -- two cities. And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; two cities.
26 The rest of the Kohathite clans got ten cities. Each city had its own pastures. All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.
Cities for the Gershonites and Merarites
Study note
The Gershonite families received thirteen cities from the tribes of eastern Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali in the northern part of the land. The Merarite families received twelve cities from the tribes of Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad. In total, the Levites received forty-eight cities with their surrounding pasturelands. This distribution ensured that every part of Israel had Levites nearby who could teach God's law and lead worship.
27 The Gershonite Levites got two cities from the half-tribe of Manasseh. One was Golan in Bashan, a safe city. The other was Be-eshterah. Both had pastures. 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 Beesh-terah with her suburbs; two cities.
28 From the tribe of Issachar they received Kishion, Daberath, And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,
29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. Jarmuth with her suburbs, En-gannim with her suburbs; four cities.
30 From the tribe of Asher they received Mishal, Abdon, And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,
31 Helkath, and Rehob, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali they received Kedesh in Galilee (a city of safety), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan. Each one came with its pastures — three cities. And 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.
33 The Gershonite clans got thirteen cities in all. Each city had its own pastures. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
34 The Merarite Levite families -- the rest of the Levites -- got from the tribe of Zebulun the cities of Jokneam, Kartah, 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, and Nahalal, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.
36 From the tribe of Reuben they received Bezer, Jahaz, And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,
37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.
38 From the tribe of Gad they received Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge), Mahanaim, 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, and Jazer, each with its pasturelands -- four cities. Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.
40 The Merarite clans got twelve cities in all. 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 The Levites got forty-eight cities in Israel's land. Each city had pastures around it. All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.
42 Every one of these cities had pasture lands around it. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.
God Keeps All His Promises
Study note
The chapter ends with one of the most important summary statements in the entire book. It declares that God gave Israel all the land he had promised to their ancestors. They settled in it and took possession of it. God gave them rest from their enemies on every side. Not one of all God's good promises to Israel failed. Every single one came true. This is the climax of the book's theme: God is faithful to keep his word.
43 So the Lord gave Israel the entire land he had sworn to give their ancestors. They moved in and settled down. 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 The Lord gave them peace on every side, exactly as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of their enemies could stand up to them. The Lord put every enemy in their hands. 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 Not a single one of the Lord's good promises to Israel went unfulfilled. Every promise came true. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.