Joshua 21
1 While Eleazar the Supreme Priest and Joshua and the leaders of all the Israeli tribes were at Shiloh, the leaders of the clans of the tribe of Levi went to them and said, “Yahweh commanded Moses that you should give us towns where we can have pasture/fields/grassland for our animals, [but you have not done these things yet].”
Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel
at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.”
3 So the Israeli leaders obeyed this command from Yahweh. They agreed to give towns and pasturelands to the tribe of Levi.
So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
4 [First] they allotted some cities to the Kohath clans, who belonged to the tribe of Levi. To those who were descendants of the first Supreme Priest Aaron, they allotted 13 towns in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
The first lot came out for the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
5 To the other members of the Kohath clan they allotted ten cities in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh [that lives on the west side of the Jordan River].
The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 The people from the Gershon clans were allotted 13 cities in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lives on the east side of the Jordan [River].
The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The people from the Merari clans were allotted twelve cities in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 So the Israeli leaders gave cities and pastureland to the tribe of Levi, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses that they should do.
So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
9 These are the names of the cities and surrounding pasturelands that were allotted to them, that were in the areas where the tribes of Judah and Simeon lived.
From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they designated these cities by name
10 First, they allotted cities to the members of the Kohath clans.
to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them:
11 They allotted to them Kiriath-Arba (which is [now named] Hebron), in the hilly area of Judah. Arba received its name because Arba was the ancestor of [the giants of] the Anak people-group.
They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)
12 But the fields and villages surrounding Arba had already been allotted to Caleb.
But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 They allotted to them Hebron, which was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected. They also allotted to the Kohath clan the cities of Libnah,
So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,
14 Jattir, Eshtemoa,
Jattir, Eshtemoa,
15 Holon, Debir,
Holon, Debir,
16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-Shemesh. Altogether they were allotted those nine cities which were located in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Judah and Simeon.
Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.
17 The Kohath clan was also allotted these four cities: Gibeon, Geba,
And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,
18 Anathoth, and Almon. Those cities were in the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Benjamin.
Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
19 Altogether those 13 towns and surrounding pastureland were allotted to the priests who were descended from Aaron.
In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
20 The other members the Kohath clan were allotted four cities and the surrounding pastureland in the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Ephraim.
The remaining Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted these cities: From the tribe of Ephraim
21 Those cities were Shechem (which was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected), Gezer,
they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,
22 Kibzaim, and Beth-Horon.
Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
23 They were also allotted four cities and surrounding pastureland in the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Dan. Those cities were Eltekeh, Gibbethon,
From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon,
24 Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon.
Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
25 They were also allotted two towns and surrounding pastureland that had been allotted to [the] part of the tribe of Manasseh [that lived on the west side of the Jordan River]. Those cities were Taanach and Gath-Rimmon.
And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two cities, together with their pasturelands.
26 Those were the ten cities and surrounding pastureland that were allotted to the other members of the Kohath clan.
In all, ten cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.
27 They also allotted towns and the surrounding pastureland to the Gershon clans. Those clans were also descended from Levi. They were allotted two cities from the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Manasseh [that is on the east side of the Jordan River]. Those cities were Golan in the Bashan region, which was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected, and Be-Eshtarah.
This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.
28 From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Issachar they were allotted four cities. Those cities were Kishion, Daberath,
From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion, Daberath,
29 Jarmuth, and En-Gannim.
Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
30 From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Asher they were allotted four cities. Those cities were Mishal, Abdon,
From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal, Abdon,
31 Helkath, and Rehob.
Helkath, and Rehob—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
32 From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Naphtali they were allotted three cities. Those cities were Kedesh in the Galilee region (it was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected), Hammoth-Dor, and Kartan.
And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.
33 So altogether the Gershon clans were allotted 13 cities and the surrounding pasturelands.
In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the Gershonite clans.
34 The other descendants of Levi, the ones who belonged to the Merari clans, were also allotted towns and their surrounding pasturelands. From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Zebulun they were allotted four cities. They were Jokneam, Kartah,
This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Jokneam, Kartah,
35 Dimnah, and Nahalal.
Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
36 From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Reuben they were allotted four cities. They were Bezer, Jahaz,
From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz,
37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath.
Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
38 From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Gad they were allotted four cities. They were Ramoth, which was one of the cities in the Gilead region to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected, Mahanaim,
And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,
39 Heshbon, and Jazer.
Heshbon, and Jazer—four cities in all, together with their pasturelands.
40 Altogether twelve cities were allotted to the Merari clans.
In all, twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari, the remaining Levite clans.
41 So altogether 48 cities were allotted to the tribe of Levi,
For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasturelands, within the territory of the Israelites.
42 and each city had surrounding pastureland.
Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
43 In that way Yahweh allotted to the Israeli people all the land that he had promised to give to their/our ancestors. The Israeli people took control of [most of] those areas and started to live there.
Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
44 Just like he had promised our ancestors, Yahweh allowed them/us to have peace with the enemies that surrounded them/us. Yahweh enabled the Israelis/us to defeat their/our enemies.
And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.
45 Yahweh did all the things that he had promised to the Israeli people/us. Everything that he said would happen did happen.
Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.
