Joshua 21:4

4 And the lot went out into the family of Kohath, of the sons of Aaron, the priest, of the lineages of Judah, and of Simeon, and of Benjamin, thirteen cities; (And the lot went out to the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the sons of Aaron, the priest, thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, and Simeon, and Benjamin;)

Joshua 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.

Joshua 21:4 In-Context

2 and they spake to them in Shiloh, a city of the land of Canaan, and they said, The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that cities should be given to us to dwell in, and the suburbs of those for our work beasts to be fed in. (and they spoke to them in Shiloh, a city in the land of Canaan, and they said, The Lord commanded by Moses, that we should be given cities to live in, and also their suburbs for our work beasts to be fed in.)

3 And the sons of Israel gave of their possessions, by commandment of the Lord, cities and the suburbs of those. (And so the Israelites gave to the Levites out of their possessions, by the command of the Lord, the following cities and their suburbs.)

4 And the lot went out into the family of Kohath, of the sons of Aaron, the priest, of the lineages of Judah, and of Simeon, and of Benjamin, thirteen cities; (And the lot went out to the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the sons of Aaron, the priest, thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, and Simeon, and Benjamin;)

5 and to the others of the sons of Kohath, that is, to the deacons that were left (over), of the lineages of Ephraim, and of Dan, and of the half lineage of Manasseh, ten cities. (and to the rest of the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the lower degree, ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, and Dan, and the western half of the tribe of Manasseh.)

6 And lot went out to the sons of Gershon, that they should take of the lineages of Issachar, and of Asher, and of Naphtali, and of the half lineage of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities in number; (And the lot went out to the Gershonites, that they should receive from the tribes of Issachar, and Asher, and Naphtali, and from the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities in number;)