Joshua 21:14

KJV

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

KJV (with Strong's)

And Jattir {H3492} with her suburbs {H4054}, and Eshtemoa {H851} with her suburbs {H4054},

Complete Jewish Bible

Yatir with its surrounding open land; Esht'moa with its surrounding open land;

Berean Standard Bible

Jattir, Eshtemoa,

American Standard Version

and Jattir with its suburbs, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs,

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Joshua 21:14, detailing the allocation of Jattir and Eshtemoa with their pasturelands to the Levites, serves as a meticulous record within the broader account of Israel's land distribution. This specific verse underscores God's unwavering faithfulness in fulfilling His covenant promises, His precise provision for those consecrated to His service, and the strategic placement of the Levites throughout the land to ensure spiritual instruction and access to divine law for all tribes.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** Joshua 21 stands as the culmination of the land distribution narrative that began in [Joshua 13](/joshua/13 "Joshua 13 - Initial Land Distribution"). Following the conquest of Canaan and the division of territory among the twelve tribes by lot, this chapter meticulously lists the forty-eight cities, along with their surrounding pasturelands, that were designated for the tribe of Levi. Unlike the other tribes who received contiguous territorial inheritances, the Levites, consecrated for priestly and spiritual service, received scattered cities from the portions of the other tribes, as commanded by God in [Numbers 35:1-8](/numbers/35-1 "Numbers 35:1-8 - Cities for the Levites"). Joshua 21:14 specifically names two cities from the territory of Judah, continuing the detailed enumeration that demonstrates the thoroughness with which God's commands were executed and His promises fulfilled.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The Levites held a unique position within ancient Israelite society. They were set apart for the service of the Tabernacle and later the Temple, responsible for carrying out priestly duties, teaching the Law, and administering justice. Because "the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance" ([Joshua 13:33](/joshua/13-33 "Joshua 13:33 - The Lord as Levi's Inheritance")), they were not allotted a tribal land inheritance for agriculture like the other tribes. Instead, God commanded that they be given cities to dwell in, along with "suburbs" (pasturelands) for their livestock, ensuring their livelihood. This arrangement allowed them to live among all the tribes, facilitating their role as spiritual guides and instructors across the entire nation, preventing the centralization of religious authority and ensuring widespread access to God's law and worship.
* **Key Themes:** This verse, embedded within [Joshua 21](/joshua/21 "Joshua 21 - Cities for the Levites"), powerfully illustrates several key themes. First, it highlights **Divine Faithfulness**, demonstrating God's meticulous fulfillment of every detail of His promises, down to the specific cities allocated to the Levites. This echoes the broader declaration in [Joshua 21:45](/joshua/21-45 "Joshua 21:45 - God's Promises Fulfilled") that "not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." Second, it emphasizes **Divine Order and Provision**, showcasing God's precise and comprehensive care for His people, particularly those dedicated to His service. The provision of pasturelands ("suburbs") alongside the cities underscores His attention to their practical needs. Finally, it reinforces **The Strategic Role of the Levites**, whose scattered distribution throughout Israel was crucial for their function as spiritual educators, ensuring that the knowledge of God and His Law permeated all corners of the land, fostering national unity under God's covenant.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
#### Key Word Analysis
* **Jattir (Hebrew, _Yattir'_):** A city located in the hill country of Judah, mentioned here as one of the cities assigned to the Levites (specifically the sons of Aaron, the Kohathites). Its inclusion by name, alongside Eshtemoa, emphasizes the precise and detailed nature of God's provision and the fulfillment of His commands regarding the Levite inheritance. The naming of specific, identifiable places underscores the historical reality and meticulousness of the land distribution.
* **Eshtemoa (Hebrew, _Eshtemoa'_):** Another city in the hill country of Judah, also allocated to the Levites. Like Jattir, its specific mention highlights the divine precision and the comprehensive nature of the land allocation. These names are not generic placeholders but actual towns, reinforcing the tangible fulfillment of God's promises to His people and to those set apart for His service.
* **Suburbs (Hebrew, מִגְרָשִׁים, _migrashim'_):** This term is crucial. It does not merely refer to the outskirts of a city but specifically to the common pasturelands surrounding the Levitical cities, designated for their livestock. As the Levites did not receive agricultural land, these _migrashim_ were essential for their livelihood, providing grazing for their cattle and other animals. This detail highlights God's comprehensive provision, ensuring that even though the Levites had no land inheritance for farming, their practical needs were met, allowing them to focus on their spiritual duties.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"And Jattir with her suburbs":** This clause identifies the first of two specific cities mentioned in this verse that were given to the Levites. "Jattir" signifies a tangible, identifiable location within the territory of Judah. The phrase "with her suburbs" is critical, indicating that along with the city itself, the surrounding pasturelands (_migrashim_) were also allocated. This provision was vital for the Levites, whose sustenance came not from agricultural land but from their livestock, which required grazing areas. It underscores the precise and practical nature of God's provision for their unique calling.
* **"and Eshtemoa with her suburbs":** This second clause follows the exact pattern of the first, listing another specific city, "Eshtemoa," also located in Judah, and explicitly stating the inclusion of its "suburbs." The repetition reinforces the consistent pattern of allocation for all Levite cities. It emphasizes the thoroughness of the land distribution and God's detailed care, ensuring that each Levite city came with the necessary adjacent lands to support the Levites' livelihood and allow them to fulfill their divinely appointed roles without material hindrance.

#### Literary Devices
The verse employs **Enumeration** as part of a larger list within [Joshua 21](/joshua/21 "Joshua 21 - Cities for the Levites"), systematically cataloging the cities given to the Levites. This precise listing underscores the meticulous fulfillment of God's promises and the orderly nature of the divine plan. The **Repetition** of the phrase "with her suburbs" after each city's name is a significant literary feature. This reiteration serves to emphasize the comprehensive nature of the provision, highlighting that not only were cities given, but also the essential pasturelands for the Levites' livelihood. This reinforces God's attention to detail and His complete care for those dedicated to His service, ensuring their practical needs were met. The naming of specific cities like **Jattir** and **Eshtemoa** also functions as a form of **Specificity**, grounding the divine promise in concrete, geographical realities, thereby enhancing the narrative's credibility and demonstrating the tangible outcome of God's faithfulness.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Joshua 21:14, though a seemingly minor detail in a list, powerfully illustrates God's unwavering faithfulness and meticulous provision for His people, particularly those consecrated for His service. The precise allocation of cities and their essential pasturelands to the Levites demonstrates that God's promises are not vague generalities but specific, detailed commitments that He fulfills with absolute precision. This divine care for the Levites, who had no land inheritance but were sustained by the Lord Himself, serves as a profound theological statement about God's commitment to those who dedicate their lives to Him. It underscores that true spiritual service is always met with divine sustenance, ensuring that those called to ministry can focus on their sacred duties without being consumed by worldly anxieties. This verse, therefore, is a testament to God's orderly nature and His comprehensive care for His covenant people and His divine plan for their spiritual well-being.

* [Numbers 35:1-8](/numbers/35-1 "Numbers 35:1-8 - Command for Levite Cities")
* [Joshua 21:43-45](/joshua/21-43 "Joshua 21:43-45 - God's Promises Fulfilled")
* [Deuteronomy 12:12](/deuteronomy/12-12 "Deuteronomy 12:12 - Rejoicing with the Levites")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The meticulous detail of Joshua 21:14, listing specific cities and their suburbs for the Levites, offers profound lessons for contemporary believers. It reminds us that God is a God of order, precision, and unwavering faithfulness, fulfilling His promises down to the smallest detail. Just as He meticulously provided for the Levites, ensuring their livelihood so they could focus on their spiritual duties, He continues to care for and provide for those who dedicate their lives to His service today, whether in full-time ministry or in their daily vocations. This verse also highlights the importance of strategic placement and distributed spiritual influence. The Levites were scattered among all the tribes, not concentrated in one area, to ensure that God's law and worship were accessible throughout the nation. Similarly, believers today are called to be "salt and light" ([Matthew 5:13-16](/matthew/5-13 "Matthew 5:13-16 - Salt and Light")) in their diverse communities, bringing the knowledge of God and the transforming power of the Gospel to every sphere of society. It challenges us to consider how we can support and encourage those in spiritual leadership, recognizing that their ability to serve effectively is often tied to the practical provision and spiritual support they receive from the wider body of Christ. Ultimately, this verse calls us to trust in God's comprehensive provision and to faithfully steward the callings and resources He entrusts to us, knowing that His detailed care extends to every aspect of our lives and His kingdom work.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **How does God's meticulous provision for the Levites in Joshua 21:14 encourage your trust in His provision for your own life and calling today?**
* **In what ways can you, as a believer, embody the "scattered" influence of the Levites in your own community, bringing spiritual light and knowledge to diverse places?**
* **What does this verse teach us about the importance of supporting those who are dedicated to full-time spiritual service, and how can we practically apply this principle?**
* **How does the fulfillment of such specific details in Joshua 21:14 strengthen your faith in the reliability and truthfulness of God's Word?**

### FAQ
**Why did the Levites receive cities instead of a continuous tribal territory like the other tribes?**

Answer: The Levites did not receive a continuous territorial inheritance because they were set apart by God for sacred service. Their "inheritance" was the Lord Himself, as stated in [Numbers 18:20](/numbers/18-20 "Numbers 18:20 - The Lord is Levi's Inheritance") and [Deuteronomy 10:9](/deuteronomy/10-9 "Deuteronomy 10:9 - Levi's Inheritance is the Lord"). Their role was to minister to God and to teach His law to all the tribes of Israel. To facilitate this, God commanded that they be given forty-eight cities, along with their surrounding pasturelands, scattered throughout the territories of the other tribes. This strategic distribution ensured that spiritual instruction, priestly service, and access to God's law were available to all Israelites, preventing a centralized religious authority and promoting widespread spiritual access across the nation.

**What was the specific purpose of the "suburbs" mentioned alongside the cities like Jattir and Eshtemoa?**

Answer: The "suburbs" (Hebrew: _migrashim_) were not merely the outskirts of the cities but specifically designated common pasturelands surrounding the Levitical cities. Their purpose was to provide grazing areas for the Levites' livestock. Since the Levites did not receive agricultural land for farming, their livelihood often depended on their animals. This provision of _migrashim_ was a crucial aspect of God's comprehensive care, ensuring that the Levites had the necessary means of sustenance. This allowed them to dedicate themselves fully to their sacred duties without being burdened by the need to cultivate land, demonstrating God's meticulous attention to the practical needs of those serving Him.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The meticulous provision for the Levites in Joshua 21:14, ensuring their sustenance and strategic placement, finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The Levites, as mediators, teachers of the Law, and priests, foreshadowed the perfect and ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is our true spiritual inheritance. Just as the Levites had no earthly land inheritance but the Lord was their portion, believers in Christ find their true inheritance not in earthly possessions but in Christ Himself, who is "all in all" ([Colossians 3:11](/colossians/3-11 "Colossians 3:11 - Christ is All")). Jesus, the Lamb of God, made the ultimate sacrifice, establishing a new covenant where all believers are made "a royal priesthood" ([1 Peter 2:9](/1_peter/2-9 "1 Peter 2:9 - A Royal Priesthood")), no longer dependent on a specific tribe for mediation. Furthermore, the scattering of the Levites throughout Israel to bring the knowledge of God's law finds its parallel in Christ's commission to His disciples: to "go and make disciples of all nations" ([Matthew 28:19](/matthew/28-19 "Matthew 28:19 - The Great Commission")). The church, as the body of Christ, is strategically placed throughout the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to be His witnesses and to spread the good news of the Gospel, fulfilling the spiritual purpose that the Levites' distribution prefigured. Thus, the detailed provision for the Levites points to God's perfect provision for His people through Christ, and the Levites' dispersed ministry foreshadows the global mission of the church, empowered by the Spirit, to bring the knowledge of God to every corner of the earth.

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Joshua 15:48

And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,

Joshua 15:50

And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim,

1 Samuel 30:27

To [them] which [were] in Bethel, and to [them] which [were] in south Ramoth, and to [them] which [were] in Jattir,

1 Samuel 30:28

And to [them] which [were] in Aroer, and to [them] which [were] in Siphmoth, and to [them] which [were] in Eshtemoa,