Joshua 21:4

4 And the heritage came out for the families of the Kohathites: the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, 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 said to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, The Lord gave orders by Moses that we were to have towns for living in, with their grass-lands for our cattle.

3 And the children of Israel out of their heritage gave to the Levites these towns with their grass-lands, by the order of the Lord.

4 And the heritage came out for the families of the Kohathites: the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

5 The rest of the children of Kohath by their families were given ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6 The children of Gershon by their families were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar and Asher and Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh which was in Bashan.