Joshua 21

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.)

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;)

7 and to the sons of Merari, by their families, of the lineages of Reuben, and of Gad, and of Zebulun, twelve cities. (and for the Merarites, by their families, from the tribes of Reuben, and Gad, and Zebulun, twelve cities.)

8 And the sons of Israel gave to the deacons cities, and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses; and all gave by lot. (And so the Israelites gave to the Levites these cities, and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by Moses; and all gave by lot.)

9 (Out) Of [the] possessions of the lineages of the sons of Judah, and of Simeon, Joshua gave (these) cities;

10 to the sons of Aaron, by the families of Kohath, of the kin of Levi (to the sons of Aaron, who were of the Kohathite families of the Levites), of the which cities these be the names; for the first lot went out to them;

11 Kiriatharba, of the father of Anak, which is called Hebron, in the hill of Judah, and the suburbs thereof by compass; (Kiriatharba, that is, the City of Arba, who was the father of the Anak, that is, the Anakim, in the hill country of Judah, which is now called Hebron, and the suburbs around it;)

12 soothly he gave the fields and towns thereof to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, to have in possession. (and he gave its fields and towns to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, to have for a possession.)

13 Therefore Joshua gave to the sons of Aaron, the priest, Hebron, to be a city of refuge, and the suburbs thereof, and Libnah with his suburbs (and Libnah with its suburbs),

14 and Jattir, and Eshtemoa,

15 and Holon, and Debir,

16 and Ain, and Juttah, and Bethshemesh, with their suburbs; nine cities, of [the] two lineages, as it is said (nine cities, from these two tribes).

17 And (out) of the lineage of the sons of Benjamin, he gave Gibeon, and Geba,

18 and Anathoth, and Almon, with their suburbs; four cities.

19 All the cities together of the sons of Aaron, the priest, were thirteen, with their suburbs. (All the cities given to the sons of Aaron, the priest, were thirteen cities, with their suburbs.)

20 But to the others, by the families of the sons of Kohath, of the kin of Levi, this possession was given; (out) of the lineage of Ephraim, (And to the rest of the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the lower degree, these possessions were given; from the tribe of Ephraim,)

21 the city of refuge, Shechem, with his suburbs, in the hill of Ephraim, and Gezer, (Shechem, the city of refuge, with its suburbs, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer,)

22 and Kibzaim, and Bethhoron, with their suburbs; four cities;

23 also (out) of the lineage of Dan, Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, (and from the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh, and Gibbethon,)

24 and Aijalon, and Gathrimmon, with their suburbs; four cities;

25 soothly of the half lineage of Manasseh (and from the western half of the tribe of Manasseh), Taanach and Gathrimmon, with their suburbs; two cities.

26 All the cities were ten, and their suburbs, that were given to the sons of Kohath, of the lower degree. (So all the cities that were given to the rest of the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the lower degree, were ten cities, with their suburbs.)

27 Also to the sons of Gershon, of the kin of Levi, Joshua gave (out) of the half lineage of Manasseh, cities of refuge, Golan in Bashan, and Beeshterah, with their suburbs; two cities. (And to the Gershonites, of the Levites, from the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua gave a city of refuge, Golan in Bashan, and Beeshterah, with their suburbs; two cities.)

28 And (out) of the lineage of Issachar, he gave Kishon, and Dabereh,

29 and Jarmuth, and Engannim, with their suburbs; four cities.

30 (And out) Of the lineage of Asher, he gave Mishal, and Abdon,

31 and Helkath, and Rehob, with their suburbs; four cities.

32 Also (out) of the lineage of Naphtali (And from the tribe of Naphtali), he gave the city of refuge, Kedesh in Galilee, and Hammothdor, and Kartan, with their suburbs; three cities.

33 All the cities of the families of Gershon were thirteen, with their suburbs. (So all the cities given to the Gershonite families were thirteen cities, with their suburbs.)

34 Soothly to the sons of Merari, deacons of the lower degree, by their families, was given Jokneam, (out) of the lineage of Zebulun, and Kartah, (And to the Merarites, Levites of the lower degree, by their families, from the tribe of Zebulun, he gave Jokneam, and Kartah,)

35 and Dimnah, and Nahalal; four cities, with their suburbs.

36 And (out) of the lineage of Gad, he gave the city of refuge, Ramoth in Gilead, and Mahanaim,

37 and Heshbon, and Jazer; four cities, with their suburbs.

38 And (out) of the lineage of Reuben, beyond (the) Jordan, against Jericho (And from the tribe of Reuben, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, near Jericho), he gave the city of refuge, Bezer in the wilderness of Mizar, and Jahazah,

39 and Kedemoth, and Mephaath; four cities, with their suburbs.

40 (So) All the cities given to the sons of Merari, by their families and kindreds, were twelve (cities).

41 And so all the cities of (the) Levites, in the midst of [the] possession(s) of the sons of Israel, were eight and forty (cities), with their suburbs;

42 and all (these) cities were parted by families. (and all these cities were divided up among the families.)

43 And the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore himself to give to their fathers, and they had it in possession, and dwelled therein (and lived there).

44 And peace was given of the Lord into all nations about; and none of [the] enemies were hardy to withstand the sons of Israel, but all men were driven into their lordship. (And the Lord gave them peace with all the nations about; and none of their enemies was fool-hardy enough to stand against the Israelites, indeed, the Lord brought all these people under their rule.)

45 Forsooth neither one word, that he promised himself to give to Israel, was void, but all his words were fulfilled in works. (And so not one thing that the Lord had promised to give Israel was left void, or undone, but rather, all of his words were fulfilled with deeds.)

Joshua 21 Commentary

Chapter 21

Cities for the Levites. (1-8) The cities allotted to the Levites. (9-42) God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise. (43-45)

Verses 1-8 The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own merits or services, but the Divine precept. The maintenance of ministers is not a thing left merely to the will of the people, that they may let them starve if they please; they which preach the gospel should live by the gospel, and should live comfortably.

Verses 9-42 By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, blessed be God, we have the gospel more diffused amongst us.

Verses 43-45 God promised to give to the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan for a possession, and now they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the promise of the heavenly Canaan is as sure to all God's spiritual Israel; for it is the promise of Him that cannot lie. There stood not a man before them. The after-prevalence of the Canaanites was the effect of Israel's slothfulness, and the punishment of their sinful inclination to the idolatries and abominations of the heathen whom they harboured and indulged. There failed not aught of any good thing, which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. In due season all his promises will be accomplished; then will his people acknowledge that the Lord has exceeded their largest expectations, and made them more than conquerors, and brought them to their desired rest.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 21

This chapter contains the address of the Levites to the court, to have the cities and suburbs given them according to the command of God by Moses, Jos 21:1,2; the grant of them by lot out of the several tribes, Jos 21:3-8; the particular cities out of the tribes of Judah and Simeon are mentioned by name, Jos 21:9-16; then those out of the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 21:17-19; next those out of the tribe of Ephraim, Jos 21:20-22; afterwards those out of the tribe of Dan, Jos 21:23-26; then those out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 21:27; and out of the tribe of Issachar, Jos 21:28,29; and out of the tribe of Asher, Jos 21:30,31; and of Naphtali, Jos 21:32,33; and of Zebulun, Jos 21:34,35; and of Reuben, Jos 21:36,37; and of Gad, Jos 21:38-40; which in all made forty eight, Jos 21:41,42; and the chapter is concluded with observing, that God gave Israel all the land of Canaan, and rest in it, according to his promise, very faithfully and punctually, Jos 21:43-45.