Conquest of Canaan

Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.

He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the manslayer may return to his own home in the city from which he fled.”

So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel

at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.”

So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

The first lot came out for the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they designated these cities by name

to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them:

They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)

But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,

Jattir, Eshtemoa,

Holon, Debir,

Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.

And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,

Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

The remaining Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted these cities: