TRV
Translation
King James Version
And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.
Complete Jewish Bible
and out of the half-tribe of M'nasheh: 'Aner with the surrounding open land and Bil'am with the surrounding open land, for the rest of the clans of the descendants of K'hat.
Berean Standard Bible
And from the half-tribe of Manasseh the remaining clans of the Kohathites were given Aner and Bileam, together with their pasturelands.
American Standard Version
and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its suburbs, and Bileam with its suburbs, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.
World English Bible Messianic
and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its suburbs, and Bileam with its suburbs, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And out of the halfe tribe of Manasseh, Aner and her suburbes, and Bileam and her suburbes, for the families of the remnant of the sonnes of Kohath.
Young's Literal Translation
and from the half tribe of Manasseh, Aner and its suburbs, and Bileam and its suburbs, for the family of the sons of Kohath who are left.
Study This Verse
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 6 verses 54–81
54 ¶ Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.
55 And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it.
56 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
57 And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,
58 And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,
59 And Ashan with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs:
60 And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
61 And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.
62 And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.
63 Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
64 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs.
65 And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.
66 And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim.
67 And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,
68 And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs,
69 And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs:
70 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.
71 Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:
72 And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,
73 And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs:
74 And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs,
75 And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs:
76 And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.
77 Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:
78 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs,
79 Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs:
80 And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs,
81 And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.
We have here an account of the Levites' cities. They are here called their castles (Ch1 6:54), not only because walled and fortified, and well guarded by the country (for it is the interest of every nation to protect its ministers), but because they and their possessions were, in a particular manner, the care of the divine providence: as God was their portion, so God was their protection; and a cottage will be a castle to those that abide under the shadow of the Almighty. This account is much the same with that which we had, Jos. 21. We need not be critical in comparing them (what good will it do us?) nor will it do any hurt to the credit of the holy scripture if the names of some of the places be not spelt just the same here as they were there. We know it is common for cities to have several names. Sarum and Salisbury, Salop and Shrewsbury, are more unlike than Hilen (Ch1 6:58) and Holon (Jos 21:15), Ashan (Ch1 6:59) and Ain (Jos 21:16), Alemeth (Ch1 6:60) and Almon (Jos 21:18); and time changes names. We are only to observe that in this appointment of cities for the Levites God took care, 1. For the accomplishment of dying Jacob's prediction concerning this tribe, that it should be scattered in Israel, Gen 49:7. 2. For the diffusing of the knowledge of himself and his law to all parts of the land of Israel. Every tribe had Levites' cities in it; and so every room was furnished with a candle, so that none could be ignorant of his duty but it was either his own fault or the Levites'. 3. For a comfortable maintenance for those that ministered in holy things. Besides their tithes and offerings, they had glebe-lands and cities of their own to dwell in. Some of the most considerable cities of Israel fell to the Levites' lot. Every tribe had benefit by the Levites, and therefore every tribe must contribute to their support. Let him that is taught in the word communicate to him that teacheth, and do it cheerfully.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 54–81. Public domain.
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Theodoret of CyrusAD 458
QUESTIONS ON FIRST CHRONICLES, PROLOGUE
The Chronicles also speak about the tabernacle because a temple of the Lord had not yet been built by either Samuel or David. The text also adds that that the holy services were held in the tabernacle. Worship was observed at that time according to the number of the days of the week. For it also says, “and their kindred who were in their villages were obliged to come in every seven days, in turn, to be with them.” With regard to the holy utensils it says, “Some of them had charge of the utensils of service, for they were required to count them when they were brought in and taken out. Others of them were appointed over the furniture, and over all the holy utensils, also over the choice flour, the wine, the oil, the incense and the spices.” And about the priests it says, “Others, of the sons of the priests, prepared the mixing of the spices.” With regard to the tomb of Saul the Chronicles gives us much information, and in the Book of Kings itself we read that his bones were gathered and buried in the land of Jabesh.
Theodoret of CyrusAD 458
QUESTIONS ON 1 CHRONICLES, PROLOGUE
There is abundant information in the books of Chronicles which were written to continue the books of the Kings and to preserve the memory of such important events. The first book begins with a genealogy that sets out to demonstrate how the human race came from a single man. Since it focuses only on the single kingdom of Judah, it can tell us about its cities and the villages, and from where they took their names. Here we come to know Nathan, from whom the blessed Luke constructed the beginning of his genealogy of our Lord and Savior, Son of David and Solomon’s brother4 on his mother’s side: “The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimeah, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, that is, the four children he fathered with Bersabea, daughter of Ammiel.” And Rechab6 herself, who is mentioned in many books of Scripture, is said to have come from the tribe of Judah.It also clearly explains why Reuben lost his birthright and Joseph gained it and also, finally, the reason why the tribe of Judah obtained the highest honor: “The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. He was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright; though Judah became prominent among his brothers and a ruler came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph.” It also explains the reason why such a great honor was conceded to Joseph. By the will of God Judah had the dignity of receiving the Lord who was born from him according to the flesh. This is the sense tacitly expressed with the words “a leader from him.” Indeed the passage seems to assert that not only the kings of the earth derived from Judah, but also the eternal king himself who had no beginning and will never end.
It also describes the situation of the tribes beyond the Jordan, those of Reuben and Gad, and even the tribes of Manasseh which later were received into those of the Hagarites and the Itureans, and talks about the tribes of the Naphiseans, and all those peoples who entered into conflict with them. In addition the text relates how they fought and won, and made the Hagarites flee. And it also reports the reason for the victory: “When they received help against them, the Hagarites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried to God in the battle, and he granted their entreaty because they trusted in him.” It also describes the amount of the spoils of war: “They captured their livestock: 50, of their camels, 250, sheep, 2, donkeys and 100, captives. Many were slain because the war was from God. And they lived in their territory until the exile.”
Theodoret of CyrusAD 458
QUESTIONS ON 1 CHRONICLES, PROLOGUE
The genealogy of the priests and the Levites comes after this. It relates that Zadok, who was high priest at the time of David, had been the eleventh from Aaron; that Azariah, nephew of Zadok, had been the first to receive the priestly anointing in the temple built by Solomon. Among them there was also Jehozadak, who was brought to Babylon as a war prisoner. Jesus9 was his son, a high priest as well, who delivered the people from bondage together with Zerubbabel, and built a temple for the Lord. Here we also learn that Korah, who revolted against the great Moses, was a nephew of Isaar, son of Caath and brother of Amram, Aaron’s and Moses’ father. According to this lineage he was related to the first legislator. But he himself paid in the desert for his errors, although his children did not share the punishment of their father. From here Samuel13 came and then Aeman, who intoned Psalms and was a nephew of the prophet Samuel. In fact he was the son of Joel, son of Samuel. On the other hand, Asaph, one of the singers, came from the lineage of Gerson, son of Levi and brother of Caath. Aetham, who also belonged to the group of the singers, had Merari, the third son of Levi, as great-grandfather.The text also explains the difference between the priests and the Levites. It relates that the Levites were initiated into all the ministries of the holy altar of God: “But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, doing all the work of the most holy place, to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.” It seems to me, in fact, that this book was written after the return from Babylon. For this reason it also talks about the bondage and explains its cause: “So all Israel was enrolled by genealogies; and these are written in the book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. Now the first to live again in their possessions in their towns were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.” These accounts show that the book was begun after the captivity. Indeed no historian ever relates facts that happened afterwards, but what happened before or during his times. And actually only the prophets have the power to foretell the future. In addition it says that also those who had inhabited that land before them had been enslaved. And actually many of them still live with them: the Canaanites, Chettites, Jebusites, who had been their companions in such a misfortune. Also the priests and the Levites were brought into captivity with the Israelites. I believe that those who were called “the saints’ servants” were then called Nathinim. Many of them, in fact, consecrated themselves to the ministries of the priests and the Levites. There were among them also those who were entrusted with the carrying of the water, the gathering of wood and other necessary duties. Indeed, if it was imposed to the Gabaonites, who were foreigners, to follow Joshua in the praises and to perform some works as porters or carpenters, this task was even more the duty of the Israelites. As a proof of this I have found in the interpretation of Hebrew names that this name means “house of Iaō,” that is, “of the God who is.” The text, in fact, mentions the children of Israel and among them Judah and Benjamin, and Ephraim18 and Manasseh. It also mentions the priests and the Levites, who inhabited those cities. About the Korēnites it says that they derived from Korah. It also says that among them there had been the guardians of the temple of God as well, and it seems that this custom had been introduced by Samuel and David. “All these, who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds, were two hundred twelve. They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. David and the prophet Samuel established them in their office of trust. So they and their descendants were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, that is, the house of the tent, as guards. The gatekeepers were on the four sides, east, west, north, and south.”
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
1 Chronicles 6:70 meticulously details the allocation of two cities, Aner and Bileam, along along with their vital surrounding pasturelands, from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh. This specific provision was designated for a particular segment of the Kohathite Levites, underscoring God's precise care in fulfilling His covenant promises and establishing a divinely ordered system for the spiritual administration and sustenance of Israel's priestly class. The verse is an integral part of a larger historical and genealogical record that emphasizes the divine arrangement for the Levites, ensuring their livelihood and strategic proximity to the people they served.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The primary literary device at play in 1 Chronicles 6:70, and indeed throughout much of 1 Chronicles 6, is Catalog or List. This meticulous enumeration of cities and their recipients serves a crucial theological purpose beyond mere record-keeping. It functions as a powerful theological statement, emphasizing God's Order and Precision in fulfilling His promises and organizing His people. The repeated phrase "with her suburbs" demonstrates a form of Repetition that underscores the critical importance of these pasturelands for the Levites' livelihood, thereby highlighting God's comprehensive and thoughtful provision. The verse also implicitly uses Symbolism, as the strategic dispersion of the Levites throughout the tribes, facilitated by these allocated cities, symbolizes their role as spiritual leaven, influencing and ministering to the entire nation with the Law and divine instruction.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
1 Chronicles 6:70, though appearing as a dry list of names and places, is profoundly significant theologically. It speaks volumes about God's character as a God of impeccable order, divine precision, and unwavering faithfulness. His meticulous provision for the Levites, who had no land inheritance of their own, powerfully demonstrates His commitment to sustaining those dedicated to His service. This divine arrangement ensured that spiritual leadership, instruction in the Law, and proper worship were accessible throughout the entire nation, reflecting a deep theological principle that God not only calls individuals to ministry but also provides for their needs and strategically places them for maximum spiritual impact. The detailed fulfillment of promises made centuries earlier underscores the absolute reliability of God's Word and His sovereign oversight of history, affirming His covenant faithfulness.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The meticulous detail of 1 Chronicles 6:70, while rooted in ancient history, offers profound contemporary lessons for believers today. It serves as a powerful reminder that God is intimately concerned with the practical needs of those called to serve Him. Just as He precisely provided cities and pasturelands for the Levites, He continues to orchestrate circumstances and provide resources for His servants today, whether they are in full-time ministry or serving in other capacities within His kingdom. This verse challenges us to consider our own role in supporting those in full-time ministry, understanding that their effective service is often dependent on the faithful provision of the wider community of believers. It also highlights the principle of interdependence within the body of Christ: every part has a unique function, and the well-being of the whole depends on each part being supported and thriving. We are called to be strategically placed, much like the Levites, to bring spiritual light and truth to our communities, relying on God's faithful provision and the mutual support of our fellow believers.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why are these specific cities listed in such detail in 1 Chronicles?
Answer: The detailed listing of cities like Aner and Bileam in 1 Chronicles serves several crucial purposes. Historically, it confirms the precise fulfillment of God's earlier commands given through Moses and Joshua regarding the allocation of cities to the Levites, who had no tribal land inheritance, as outlined in Numbers 35:1-8. Theologically, it powerfully underscores God's meticulous order, unwavering faithfulness, and providential care for His chosen servants. For the post-exilic community, for whom 1 Chronicles was primarily written, these comprehensive lists helped to re-establish and validate their claims to ancestral lands and priestly roles, thereby reinforcing their identity and continuity with God's covenant people after the return from Babylonian exile. It demonstrates that God's plan for Israel's spiritual administration was both precise and enduring across generations.
What was the significance of the "half tribe of Manasseh" in this context?
Answer: The tribe of Manasseh was unique in that it was divided into two distinct halves, with one half settling east of the Jordan River and the other half settling west of it. This geographical division meant that Levitical cities had to be drawn from both halves of their extensive territory to ensure the Levites were truly dispersed throughout the entire land of Israel. The specific mention of the "half tribe of Manasseh" in 1 Chronicles 6:70 precisely locates Aner and Bileam within the western half of Manasseh's territory, west of the Jordan River. This detail reinforces the comprehensive and strategic nature of the Levitical city distribution, ensuring that spiritual instruction, judicial oversight, and sacred service were readily available across the breadth of the Israelite nation, fulfilling the divine mandate found throughout Joshua 21.
What was the primary role of "the sons of Kohath" among the Levites?
Answer: The "sons of Kohath" were one of the three main branches of the Levites, and their primary role was exceptionally sacred and profoundly significant. They were specifically entrusted with the responsibility of caring for and transporting the most holy articles of the tabernacle (and later the temple). This included the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, the Lampstand, the Altars, and the sacred vessels. Their duties were so holy that they were forbidden from touching these items directly; instead, they were to carry them on poles after the priests had covered them, as detailed in Numbers 3:31 and Numbers 4:15. The provision of cities like Aner and Bileam for the Kohathites ensured they had stable dwelling places from which to fulfill these crucial, divinely appointed duties, which were central to Israel's worship and covenant relationship with God.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The meticulous provision for the Kohathite Levites in 1 Chronicles 6:70, ensuring their sustenance and strategic placement throughout Israel, finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ and the New Covenant. The Levites, particularly the Kohathites, served as mediators of God's presence, caring for the holy things that pointed to Him. Jesus, however, is the true and ultimate High Priest, who entered the true tabernacle, heaven itself, not with the perishable blood of animals, but with His own precious blood, securing an eternal redemption for all who believe. He is the Lamb of God who perfectly takes away the sin of the world, rendering the Old Covenant sacrificial system and the specific duties of the Levites obsolete in their former capacity. Furthermore, Christ Himself is the ultimate Temple, the perfect dwelling place of God among humanity, as He declared in John 2:19-21. Through Him, believers are now incorporated into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, called to offer spiritual sacrifices. Just as God meticulously provided for the Levites in the Old Covenant, Christ now provides for His ministers in the New Covenant through the indwelling Holy Spirit and the faithful support of the church, empowering them to carry the life-giving message of the Gospel—a ministry far greater than carrying physical sacred objects. The focus shifts from geographical cities to spiritual presence, from the physical provision of land to the abundant spiritual provision found in being in Christ, who is our true inheritance, sustenance, and the very fullness of God (Colossians 2:9-10).