Joshua 21

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Joshua 21 details the fulfillment of God’s command to provide cities for the Levites throughout the land of Israel. The Levites received a total of forty-eight cities with their suburbs, allocated by lot to the families of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari, including six cities of refuge. The chapter concludes by affirming that the LORD had given Israel all the promised land, granting them rest and delivering their enemies, thus fulfilling every good word He had spoken.

The Levites Request Their Cities 1–3

¶ 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;

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.

And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.

Distribution Summary by Clan 4–8

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cities for the Priests (Sons of Aaron) 9–19

¶ 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,

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.

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.

But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

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,

And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,

And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,

And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,

Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

Cities for the Remaining Kohathites 20–26

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.

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,

And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.

And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,

Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.

And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.

All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

Cities for the Gershonites 27–33

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 Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.

And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,

Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.

And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,

Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.

And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

Cities for the Merarites 34–40

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,

Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.

And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,

Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.

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,

Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four 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.

Summary of the Levitical Cities 41–42

All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

Fulfillment of God’s Promises 43–45

¶ And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

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.

There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Joshua 21

Verse 1

the heads of the fathers of the Levites — They ‘came near’ (nagash) to Eleazar, Joshua and the tribal heads, as the daughters of Zelophehad had before Eleazar (Josh 17:4). The Levites held no portion in the first division: ‘the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance’ (Josh 13:33) and ‘the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance’ (Josh 18:7).

Verse 2

at Shiloh in the land of Canaan — The tribes had gathered at Shiloh to set up the tabernacle (Josh 18:1). The Levites ask for what the LORD ‘commanded by the hand of Moses’: cities to dwell in (Num 35:2), with ‘suburbs’ (migrash, pasture lands) that ‘shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts’ (Num 35:3).

Verse 3

at the commandment of the LORD — Literally ‘by the mouth of the LORD’ (peh). The tribes give ‘out of their inheritance’, as Num 35:8 had ordered: ‘from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few’. Levi’s scattering was foretold in Jacob’s words: ‘I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel’ (Gen 49:7).

Verse 4

the families of the Kohathites — The first lot went to the Kohathites, the family that included Aaron, son of Amram, who was a son of Kohath (Ex 6:18, 20). The priests received thirteen cities from Judah, Simeon and Benjamin: nine from the first two (v.16) and four from Benjamin (vv.17–18). Simeon’s land lay ‘within the inheritance of the children of Judah’ (Josh 19:1).

Verse 8

gave by lot unto the Levites — This summarises vv.4–7: the Kohathite priests received thirteen cities, the rest of the Kohathites ten (v.5), the Gershonites thirteen (v.6) and the Merarites twelve (v.7), forty-eight together. ‘The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD’ (Prov 16:33), and the land had been divided so in Num 33:54.

Verse 11

Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron — Hebron was first Kirjatharba, from Arba, ‘a great man among the Anakims’ (Josh 14:15). Abraham buried Sarah ‘in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron’ (Gen 23:19). Caleb had driven out the three sons of Anak (Josh 15:13–14), and now the city was set apart for the priests.

Verse 12

gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh — Hebron had been Caleb’s inheritance ‘because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel’ (Josh 14:13–14). The city passed to the priests with its pasture lands, while ‘the fields of the city, and the villages thereof’ stayed with Caleb, as 1 Chr 6:56 repeats.

Verse 13

a city of refuge for the slayer — Ratsach, a manslayer. Hebron is one of the six refuge cities set within the forty-eight (Num 35:6); the six are named in Josh 20:7–8: Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron west of Jordan, and Bezer, Ramoth and Golan to the east. Each is listed among the Levites’ cities in this chapter. Libnah follows in the list of the priests’ cities.

Verse 19

thirteen cities with their suburbs — This is the total of the priests’ cities in vv.9–18: nine from Judah and Simeon (v.16) and four from Benjamin. It agrees with the count of v.4, ‘thirteen cities’. Every one lay in the south, in the lots of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin, and the priests received their share first, before the other Levites (vv.5–7).

Verse 21

Shechem… in mount Ephraim — Shechem is another city of refuge (Josh 20:7), in the hills of Ephraim. Joshua gathered the tribes there at the close of his life: ‘Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem’ (Josh 24:1). The bones of Joseph were buried there, in the ground Jacob bought (Josh 24:32). Gezer follows in the list.

Verse 41

forty and eight cities — This is the number the LORD named: ‘all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities’ (Num 35:7). The sum is 13 + 10 + 13 + 12 (vv.4–7), of which six are refuge cities (Num 35:6). The forty-eight lay ‘within the possession of the children of Israel’, spread through every tribe.

Verse 43

the LORD gave unto Israel all the land — The oath to the fathers began in Gen 15:18, ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land’. ‘Possessed’ (yarash) and ‘dwelt’ (yashab) are the verbs of the commandment in Deut 11:31, ‘ye shall possess it, and dwell therein’. The land is given by the LORD, and the people take it.

Verse 44

the LORD gave them rest round about — Nuach, rest, the rest promised when ‘he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about’ (Deut 12:10). ‘There stood not a man of all their enemies before them’ keeps the promise of Josh 1:5, ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee’. Hebrews 4:8–9 looks past it: ‘there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God’.

Verse 45

There failed not ought of any good thing — Literally ‘not a word fell’ (naphal, to fall; davar, word or thing). Joshua says the same at the end of his life: ‘not one thing hath failed of all the good things’ (Josh 23:14), and Solomon after the temple, ‘there hath not failed one word of all his good promise’ (1 Kin 8:56).