Joshua 21

Cities of the Levites

1The Levite family heads approached the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes.23At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”45So the Israelites, by the Lord’s command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.6

7The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of the priest Aaron received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.89The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh.10

11Gershon’s descendants received thirteen cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.12

13Merari’s descendants received twelve cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.14

15The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.16

Cities of Aaron’s Descendants

17The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon1819to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the first lot.2021They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah.2223But they gave the fields and settlements of the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.24

25They gave to the descendants of the priest Aaron: Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands,2627Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands,2829Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands,3031Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands — nine cities from these two tribes.32

33From the tribe of Benjamin they gave: Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands,3435Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands — four cities.3637All thirteen cities with their pasturelands were for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.38

Cities of Kohath’s Other Descendants

39The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath’s descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim.4041The Israelites gave them: Shechem, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands,4243Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands — four cities.44

45From the tribe of Dan they gave: Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands,4647Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands — four cities.48

49From half the tribe of Manasseh they gave: Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands — two cities.50

51All ten cities with their pasturelands were for the clans of Kohath’s other descendants.52

Cities of Gershon’s Descendants

53From half the tribe of Manasseh, they gave to the descendants of Gershon, who were one of the Levite clans: Golan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in Bashan, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands — two cities.54

55From the tribe of Issachar they gave: Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands,5657Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands — four cities.58

59From the tribe of Asher they gave: Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands,6061Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands — four cities.62

63From the tribe of Naphtali they gave: Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands — three cities.64

65All thirteen cities with their pasturelands were for the Gershonites by their clans.66

Cities of Merari’s Descendants

67From the tribe of Zebulun, they gave to the clans of the descendants of Merari, who were the remaining Levites: Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands,6869Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands — four cities.70

71From the tribe of Reuben they gave: Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands,7273Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands — four cities.74

75From the tribe of Gad they gave: Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands,7677Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands — four cities in all.7879All twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari’s descendants, the remaining Levite clans.80

81Within the Israelite possession there were forty-eight cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.8283Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.84

The Lord’s Promises Fulfilled

85So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.8687The Lord gave them rest on every side according to all he had sworn to their ancestors. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the Lord handed over all their enemies to them.8889None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.90