1 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the aLevites came near to bEleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.
2 And they spoke to them at aShiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, b“The Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock.”
3 So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their common-lands:
4 Now the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And athe children of Aaron the priest, whowere of the Levites, bhad thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of Simeon, and from the tribe of Benjamin.
5aThe rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 And athe children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7aThe children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun.
8aAnd the children of Israel gave these cities with their common-lands by lot to the Levites, bas the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.
9 So they gave from the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon these cities which are designated by name,
10 which were for the children of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, whowere of the children of Levi; for the lot was theirs first.
11aAnd they gave them1 Kirjath Arba (Arbawas the father of bAnak), cwhich is Hebron, in the mountains of Judah, with the common-land surrounding it.
12 But athe fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 Thus ato the children of Aaron the priest they gave bHebron with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), cLibnah with its common-land,
14aJattir with its common-land, bEshtemoa with its common-land,
15aHolon with its common-land, bDebir with its common-land,
16aAin with its common-land, bJuttah with its common-land, and cBeth Shemesh with its common-land: nine cities from those two tribes;
17 and from the tribe of Benjamin, aGibeon with its common-land, bGeba with its common-land,
18 Anathoth with its common-land, and aAlmon with its common-land: four cities.
19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their common-lands.
20aAnd the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, the rest of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their1 lot from the tribe of Ephraim.
21 For they gave them aShechem with its common-land in the mountains of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the slayer), bGezer with its common-land,
22 Kibzaim with its common-land, and Beth Horon with its common-land: four cities;
23 and from the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with its common-land, Gibbethon with its common-land,
24aAijalon with its common-land, and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: four cities;
25 and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with its common-land and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: two cities.
26 All the ten cities with their common-lands were for the rest of the families of the children of Kohath.
27aAlso to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, from the other half-tribe of Manasseh, theygavebGolan in Bashan with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), and Be Eshterah with its common-land: two cities;
28 and from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its common-land, Daberath with its common-land,
29 Jarmuth with its common-land, and En Gannim with its common-land: four cities;
30 and from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its common-land, Abdon with its common-land,
31 Helkath with its common-land, and Rehob with its common-land: four cities;
32 and from the tribe of Naphtali, aKedesh in Galilee with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Hammoth Dor with its common-land, and Kartan with its common-land: three cities.
33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their common-lands.
34aAnd to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its common-land, Kartah with its common-land,
35 Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land: four cities;
361and from the tribe of Reuben, aBezer with its common-land, Jahaz with its common-land,
37 Kedemoth with its common-land, and Mephaath with its common-land: four cities;
38 and from the tribe of Gad, aRamoth in Gilead with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Mahanaim with its common-land,
39 Heshbon with its common-land, and Jazer with its common-land: four cities in all.
40 So all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.
41aAll the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands.
42 Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it; thus were all these cities.
The Promise Fulfilled
43 So the Lord gave to Israel aall the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they btook possession of it and dwelt in it.
44aThe Lord gave them brest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And cnot a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.
Cities for the Levites. (1-8) The cities allotted to the Levites. (9-42) God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise. (43-45)
Verses 1-8 The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own merits or services, but the Divine precept. The maintenance of ministers is not a thing left merely to the will of the people, that they may let them starve if they please; they which preach the gospel should live by the gospel, and should live comfortably.
Verses 9-42 By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, blessed be God, we have the gospel more diffused amongst us.
Verses 43-45 God promised to give to the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan for a possession, and now they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the promise of the heavenly Canaan is as sure to all God's spiritual Israel; for it is the promise of Him that cannot lie. There stood not a man before them. The after-prevalence of the Canaanites was the effect of Israel's slothfulness, and the punishment of their sinful inclination to the idolatries and abominations of the heathen whom they harboured and indulged. There failed not aught of any good thing, which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. In due season all his promises will be accomplished; then will his people acknowledge that the Lord has exceeded their largest expectations, and made them more than conquerors, and brought them to their desired rest.
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
Join 137,350+ readers
A Verse and a Thought, Every Morning
Consistent Bible study is hard to start.
The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.
Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.
