Yehoshua 21:4

4 And the goral (lot) came out for the mishpekhot of the Kehati. And the Bnei Aharon HaKohen, which were of the Levi’im, had by lot 13 towns out of the tribe of Yehudah, and out of the tribe of Shim’on, and out of the tribe of Binyamin.

Yehoshua 21:4 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 21:4

And the lot came out for the family of the Kohathites
The first lot that was drawn out of the pot or urn was for the descendants of Kohath, a son of Levi:

and the children of Aaron the priest, [which were] of the Levites;
who descended from Amram, the eldest son of Kohath, and these were not only Levites, but priests: these

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;
which are after mentioned by name; and as these were priests, whose business was to serve in the temple, and at the altar, the cities assigned them by the lot, were, by the wise disposal of divine Providence, ordered them out of those tribes which lay nearest to Jerusalem; the place God had chosen to put his name in, where the temple would be built, and the altars erected for sacrifices and incense.

Yehoshua 21:4 In-Context

2 And they spoke unto them at Shiloh in Eretz Kena’an, saying, Hashem commanded by the yad Moshe to give us towns to dwell in, with the migrashim thereof for our livestock.

3 And the Bnei Yisroel gave unto the Levi’im out of their nachalah, at the commandment of Hashem, these towns and their migrashim.

4 And the goral (lot) came out for the mishpekhot of the Kehati. And the Bnei Aharon HaKohen, which were of the Levi’im, had by lot 13 towns out of the tribe of Yehudah, and out of the tribe of Shim’on, and out of the tribe of Binyamin.

5 And the rest of the Bnei Kehat had by goral out of the mishpekhot of the tribe of Ephrayim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Menasheh, 10 towns.

6 And the Bnei Gershon had by goral out of the mishpekhot of the tribe of Yissakhar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Menasheh in Bashan, 13 towns.