Joshua 21

¹Joshua 21:1. Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel²Joshua 21:2. 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.”³Joshua 21:3. So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:⁴Joshua 21:4. 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.⁵Joshua 21:5. The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.⁶Joshua 21:6. The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.⁷Joshua 21:7. And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.⁸Joshua 21:8. So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

⁹Joshua 21:9. From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they designated these cities by name¹⁰Joshua 21:10. to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them:¹¹Joshua 21:11. They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)¹²Joshua 21:12. But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.¹³Joshua 21:13. 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,¹⁴Joshua 21:14. Jattir, Eshtemoa,¹⁵Joshua 21:15. Holon, Debir,¹⁶Joshua 21:16. Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.¹⁷Joshua 21:17. And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,¹⁸Joshua 21:18. Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.¹⁹Joshua 21:19. In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

²⁰Joshua 21:20. The remaining Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted these cities: From the tribe of Ephraim²¹Joshua 21:21. they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,²²Joshua 21:22. Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.²³Joshua 21:23. From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon,²⁴Joshua 21:24. Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.²⁵Joshua 21:25. And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two cities, together with their pasturelands.²⁶Joshua 21:26. In all, ten cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

²⁷Joshua 21:27. 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.²⁸Joshua 21:28. From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion, Daberath,²⁹Joshua 21:29. Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four cities, together with their pasturelands.³⁰Joshua 21:30. From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal, Abdon,³¹Joshua 21:31. Helkath, and Rehob—four cities, together with their pasturelands.³²Joshua 21:32. 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.³³Joshua 21:33. In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the Gershonite clans.

³⁴Joshua 21:34. This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Jokneam, Kartah,³⁵Joshua 21:35. Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities, together with their pasturelands.³⁶Joshua 21:36. From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz,³⁷Joshua 21:37. Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands.³⁸Joshua 21:38. And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,³⁹Joshua 21:39. Heshbon, and Jazer—four cities in all, together with their pasturelands.⁴⁰Joshua 21:40. In all, twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari, the remaining Levite clans.⁴¹Joshua 21:41. For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasturelands, within the territory of the Israelites.⁴²Joshua 21:42. Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

⁴³Joshua 21:43. 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.⁴⁴Joshua 21:44. 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.⁴⁵Joshua 21:45. Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.