Joshua
21
- Now the family heads of the Levites approached
Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families
of Israel
- at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, "The
LORD commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands
for our livestock."
- So, as the LORD had commanded, the Israelites
gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
- The first lot came out for the Kohathites,
clan by clan. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted
thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.
- The rest of Kohath's descendants were allotted
ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.
- The descendants of Gershon were allotted
thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and
the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
- The descendants of Merari, clan by clan,
received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
- So the Israelites allotted to the Levites
these towns and their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
- From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they
allotted the following towns by name
- (these towns were assigned to the descendants
of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first
lot fell to them):
- They gave them Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron),
with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was
the forefather of Anak.)
- But the fields and villages around the city
they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
- So to the descendants of Aaron the priest
they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah,
- Jattir, Eshtemoa,
- Holon, Debir,
- Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with
their pasturelands -- nine towns from these two tribes.
- And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave
them Gibeon, Geba,
- Anathoth and Almon, together with their pasturelands
-- four towns.
- All the towns for the priests, the descendants
of Aaron, were thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
- The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites
were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:
- In the hill country of Ephraim they were
given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,
- Kibzaim and Beth Horon, together with their
pasturelands -- four towns.
- Also from the tribe of Dan they received
Eltekeh, Gibbethon,
- Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their
pasturelands -- four towns.
- From half the tribe of Manasseh they received
Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands -- two towns.
- All these ten towns and their pasturelands
were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.
- The Levite clans of the Gershonites were
given: from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge
for one accused of murder) and Be Eshtarah, together with their pasturelands
-- two towns;
- from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath,
- Jarmuth and En Gannim, together with their
pasturelands -- four towns;
- from the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon,
- Helkath and Rehob, together with their pasturelands
-- four towns;
- from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee
(a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together
with their pasturelands -- three towns.
- All the towns of the Gershonite clans were
thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
- The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites)
were given: from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah,
- Dimnah and Nahalal, together with their pasturelands
-- four towns;
- from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz,
- Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their
pasturelands -- four towns;
- from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead (a
city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim,
- Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands
-- four towns in all.
- All the towns allotted to the Merarite clans,
who were the rest of the Levites, were twelve.
- The towns of the Levites in the territory
held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.
- Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding
it; this was true for all these towns.
- So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had
sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled
there.
- The LORD gave them rest on every side, just
as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them;
the LORD handed all their enemies over to them.
- Not one of all the LORD'S good promises to
the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
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