Joshua 21:1-15
Jos 21:1
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;
Then the Levites approached Eleazar and Joshua because
under Moses the Levites were also to be given cities within the land.
Command the children of Israel,
that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to
dwell in; and ye shall give also
unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. (Numbers 35:2) The
Levites did not wait until they were summoned but they knew the law and the
promise made on their behalf of cities to be given them.
Jos 21:2
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.
The Tabernacle was fixed at Shiloh where they met Joshua
and Eleazar and made their petition based upon the promise made to them in them
in the book of Numbers.
3 And the cities shall they
have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for
their goods, and for all their beasts. 3 And the cities shall they
have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for
their goods, and for all their beasts. 4 And the suburbs of the
cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites,
shall reach from the wall of
the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. 5 And ye shall
measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the
south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on
the north side two thousand cubits; and the city
shall be in the midst: this
shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. (Numbers 35:3-5)
The cities were to have suburbs where
they would be able to raise and store their cattle.
The distance from the city was 2,000 cubits which comes out to about
3,000 feet or 914 meters from the city walls.
Jos 21:3
And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of
their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their
suburbs.
Then the children of Israel in obedience to the law of
Moses and the commandment of the LORD gave to the Levites the following cities
out of their inheritance along with the suburbs surrounding them.
Jos 21:4
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.
The first lot fell to the families of the Kohathites.
Kohath was a son of Levi.
And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath,
and Merari. (Genesis 46:11)
Then the children of Aaron the priest who descended from Amram who was the
eldest son of Kohath.
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's
sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of
Amram were an hundred and
thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:20)
The tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon gave them a total of thirteen
cities.
Jos 21:5
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.
The rest of the descendants of Kohath who were not
priests but Levites received from Ephraim, Dan, and Manasseh ten cities.
And the sons of Kohath by their
families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. (Numbers 3:19)
The other children were Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
They received a total of ten cities.
Jos 21:6
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.
These were the Levites who had descended from Gershon who
was the oldest son of Levi.
And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath,
and Merari. (Genesis 46:11)
Then four tribes had given them cities they were Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and
the half tribe of Manasseh on the east side of Jordan.
They had received a total of thirteen cities.
Jos 21:7
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.
Merari was the third son of Kohath.
And the sons of Levi; Gershon,
Kohath, and Merari. (Genesis 46:11)
The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun gave them a total of twelve
cities.
Jos 21:8
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.
The Levitical cities were given by the tribes to the
Levites which was commanded of the LORD and given by the hand of Moses.
This way each of the tribes would have
the Levites and priests living among them for both spiritual and ethical
guidance. The Levites received a
total of 48 cities.
Jos 21:9
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,
The tribe of Simeon was within the inheritance of Judah.
And the second lot came forth to
Simeon, even for the tribe of
the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was
within the inheritance of the children of Judah. (Joshua 19:1)
The following cities are named which were given to the Levites.
Jos 21:10
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.
The first lot fell to the children of Aaron being of
Kohath who was a descendant of Levi.
Jos 21:11
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.
The city of Hebron was given to them which previously was
known as Kirjath-arba. Arba was the
father of Anak and the Anakim were the giants.
The suburbs were 2000 cubits distance from the walls or the entrance to
the city and the 2000 cubits extended to all four directions from the city.
Jos 21:12
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof,
gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
Caleb was given the fields and also the villages which
surrounded the city. These were the
fields which were beyond the 2000 cubits given it the Levites for their cattle.
This was the promised possession for Caleb for having been faithful and
believing God when he was sent to spy out the land with Joshua.
Jos 21:13
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,
Hebron was also a city of refuge.
And they appointed Kedesh in
Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which
is Hebron, in the mountain of
Judah. (Joshua 20:7) Hebron was
given to the children or descendants of Aaron.
Libnah was about 16 miles (26 KM) northwest of Hebron.
Jos 21:14
And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her
suburbs,
Jattir was about 19 miles (31 KM) south of Hebron.
Eshtemoa was located 10 miles (16 KM) south of Hebron.
Jos 21:15
And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,