Joshua 21

1 Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;

2 And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for our cattle.

3 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.

4 And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, [who were] of the Levites, 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.

5 And the rest of the children of Kohath [had] by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

6 And the children of Gershon [had] by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

7 The children of Merari by their families [had] out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

8 And the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

9 And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are [here] mentioned by name,

10 Which the children of Aaron, [being] of the families of the Kohathites, [who were] of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.

11 And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak (which [city is] Hebron) in the hill-[country] of Judah, with its suburbs round it.

12 But the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

13 Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest, Hebron with its suburbs, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with its suburbs,

14 And Jattir with its suburbs, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs,

15 And Holon with its suburbs, and Debir with its suburbs,

16 And Ain with its suburbs, and Juttah with its suburbs, [and] Beth-shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs,

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

19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, [were] thirteen cities with their suburbs.

20 And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites who remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

21 For they gave them Shechem with its suburbs in mount Ephraim, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with its suburbs,

22 And Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs; four cities.

23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs,

24 Ajalon with its suburbs, Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; four cities.

25 And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; two cities.

26 All the cities [were] ten with their suburbs, for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

27 And to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the [other] half-tribe of Manasseh [they gave] Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer, and Beesh-terah with its suburbs; two cities.

28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with its suburbs, Dabareh with its suburbs,

29 Jarmuth with its suburbs, En-gannim with its suburbs; four cities.

30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs,

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

32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth-dor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities.

33 All the cities of the Gershonites, according to their families, [were] thirteen cities with their suburbs.

34 And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, and Kartah with its suburbs,

35 Dimnah with its suburbs, Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities.

36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, and Jahazah with its suburbs,

37 Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities.

38 And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with its suburbs,

39 Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all.

40 So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were [by] their lot twelve cities.

41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel [were] forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

42 These cities were every one with their suburbs around them. Thus [were] all these cities.

43 And the LORD gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers: and they possessed it, and dwelt in it.

44 And the LORD gave them rest on all sides, according to all that he swore to their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

45 There failed not aught of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass.

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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.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

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.