Joshua 21:1

1 And the princes of the families of Levi nighed to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the dukes of the kindreds, by all the lineages of the sons of Israel; (And the leaders of the families of Levi came to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the leaders of the families, of all the tribes of the Israelites;)

Joshua 21:1 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 21:1

Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites
When the land was divided to the several tribes, and everyone knew the cities that belonged to them, and what they could and should part with to the Levites, and when the six cities of refuge were fixed; the Levites came to put in their claim for cities of habitation, they having no share in the division of the land; and yet it was necessary they should have habitations; the persons that undertook to put in a claim for them were the principal men among them; the fathers of them were Kohath, Gershon, and Merari; the heads of those were the chief men that were then living: these came

unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun;
the high priest and chief magistrate:

and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of
Israel;
the princes appointed to divide the land with the two great personages before mentioned, ( Numbers 34:17-29 ) .

Joshua 21:1 In-Context

1 And the princes of the families of Levi nighed to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the dukes of the kindreds, by all the lineages of the sons of Israel; (And the leaders of the families of Levi came to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the leaders of the families, of all the tribes of the Israelites;)

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.)