Chapter 21

JOSHUA CHAPTER 21

Cities Given to the Levites

    • At Shiloh, in Canaan, the family heads of the tribe of Levi went to Eleazer the priest, Joshua (Nun’s son), and the other family heads of the tribes of Israel and said: “The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in and pastureland for our livestock.” So, in accordance with the Lord’s command, the Israelites gave these cities with their surrounding pasturelands, out of their own inheritances, to the Levites.

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible writes, “The instructions here require that not only the town, but also the surrounding pastures for up to 3,000 feet be given to the Levites (see Numbers 35:2-15).”

        • ESV Archaeology Study Bible adds, “…Taking cities and their pasturelands from each of the tribes would scatter the Levites throughout Israel in order to facilitate the Levites’ fulfillment of their duties.”

    • The first lot cast came out for the Kohathites, according to their clans. The Levites who were Aaron’s (the priest) descendants received 13 cities from the allotment that had been given to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The rest of the Kohathites (those not descended from Aaron the priest), received 10 cities which had been allotted to the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

    • Gershon’s descendants received, by lot, 13 cities from the allotment that had been given to the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

    • Merari’s descendants received 12 cities from the allotment that had been given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

    • The Israelites gave these cities and their pasturelands to the Levites by lot, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

      • ESV Archaeology Study Bible explains, “…The Levites were grouped according to their descent from Levi’s three sons (see Genesis 46:11). The Kohathites (Joshua 21:4), of whom Aaron and his line descended (Exodus 6:16-20), received cities in the center and the south of the land, while the Gershonites (Joshua 21:6) and the Merarites (Joshua v. 7) received cities in the north and east.”

      • HCSB adds, “…the Kohathites were further divided into two groups, those who were descendants of Aaron and those who were not.”

Cities Given to Aaron’s Descendants

    • The Israelites gave the following 9 cities with their surrounding pasturelands, from the tribes of Judah and Simeon, to the Kohathite clans within the tribe of Levi that were descendants of Aaron, because the first lot fell to them:

      • Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was a descendant of Anak.) However, the fields and villages around the city had been given to Caleb (Jephunneh’s son). The following cities with their pasturelands were given to Aaron’s descendants:

        • Hebron (a city of refuge for those who had accidentally killed someone), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Bethshemesh.

    • The following four cities with their surrounding pasturelands were given from the tribe of Benjamin:

      • Giboen, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon.

    • A total of 13 cities with their pasturelands were given to Aaron’s descendants, the priests.

      • NLT Illustrated Study Bible notes, “The descendants of Aaron served as Israel’s priests…The priestly towns were in the tribal territories closest to Jerusalem, where the Temple was later built.”

Cities Given to Kohath’s Remaining Descendants

    • The rest of the Levites that were Kohath’s descendants were allotted the following 4 cities with their surrounding pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim:

      • Schechem (a city of refuge for those who had accidentally killed someone) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horon.

    • The following 4 cities and their surrounding pasturelands were allotted from the tribe of Dan:

      • Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon.

    • The following 2 cities with their surrounding pastureland were allotted from the half-tribe of Manasseh:

      • Taanach, and Ibleam.

      • Note, that I have opted to place Ibleam here instead of what most translations render as Gath-rimmon. I do so based on the following reasoning explained in Barnes’ Notes on the Bible: “…for Gath-rimmon in 1 Chronicles 6:70, Bileam is given, and probably correctly; Gath-rimmon having apparently been repeated inadvertently from the preceding verse. Bileam is but another form of Ibleam Joshua 17:11.

    • A total of 10 cities with their surrounding pasturelands were given to the clans of Kohath’s remaining descendants.

      • NLT Illustrated Study Bible adds, “The remaining families of the Kohathite clan received cities in the central part of the hill country, north of Jerusalem.”

Cities Given to Gershon’s Descendants

    • The following 2 cities and their surrounding pasturelands were given to the Levites who were Gershon’s descendants, from the half-tribe of Manasseh:

      • Golan (the city of refuge for those who had accidentally killed someone) in Bashan, and Beeshterah.

    • The following 4 cities and their surrounding pasturelands were given from the tribe of Issachar:

      • Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-gannim.

    • The following 4 cities and their surrounding pastureland were given from the tribe of Asher:

      • Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob.

    • The following 3 cities and their surrounding pastureland were given from the tribe of Naphtali:

      • Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for those who had accidentally killed someone), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan.

    • A total of 13 cities with their surrounding pasturelands were given to the Gershonite clans.

      • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “The clan of Gershon received cities among the four northernmost tribes in Israel.”

Cities Given to Merari’s Descendants

    • The remaining Levites, Merari’s descendants, were given the following 4 cities with their surrounding pasturelands from the tribe of Zebulun:

      • Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal.

    • The following 4 cities with their surrounding pasturelands were given from the tribe of Reuben:

      • Bezer, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

    • The following 4 cities with their surrounding pasturelands were given from the tribe of Gad:

      • Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for those who had accidentally killed someone), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer.

    • A total of 12 cities with their surrounding pasturelands were allotted to Merari’s descendants.

    • A total of 48 cities with their surrounding pasturelands, within Israelite territory, were given to the Levites.

      • NLT Illustrated Study Bible summarizes, “The descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities, the rest of the Kohathite clan received ten, the descendants of Gershon received thirteen, and the Merari clan received twelve. There were a total of 48 Levitical cities. Each tribe had four Levitical cities, except Judah had eight, Simeon had one, and Naphtali had three. Six of the Levitical cities were also cities of refuge.”

      • It is interesting to note here that the Masoretic Text does not include a passage of text that is included in the Septuagint version of verse 40. The additional text in the LXX is as follows:

      • …and Joshua ceased dividing the land by their borders: and the children of Israel gave a portion to Joshua because of the commandment of the Lord: they gave him the city which he asked: they gave him Thamnasachar in mount Ephraim; and Joshua built the city, and dwelt in it: and Joshua took the knives of stone, wherewith he circumcised the children of Israel that were born in the desert by the way, and put them in Thamnasachar.

      • Does this text belong? Pulpit Commentary writes, “The repetition is very much in the manner of the sacred historian, and it is possible that we have here an authentic passage, which some copyist has omitted in the Hebrew text.”

The Lord’s Promises Fulfilled

    • So, the Lord gave Israel all the land that He had sworn to give their ancestors, they took possession of it, and settled there. The Lord also gave them rest on all sides, just as He had sworn to their ancestors. None of their adversaries were able to stand against them because the Lord handed all their adversaries over to them. Not one of the good promises that the Lord had made to Israel failed- everything was fulfilled.

      • Guzik writes, “God was completely faithful in regard to the land; but Israel was not. Any failure to fully possess was not because God had not made adequate provision, but because Israel had failed to fully follow the LORD.”

      • Keeping in mind what Guzik wrote, this short little passage has massive eschatological (big word for ones view of the end times) implications. The three major eschatological options are: premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial. (For more on each, the interested reader may refer to the Blue Letter Bible link: Eschatology: Four Views on the Millennium). One’s eschatological view will be impacted by how one perceives covenant fulfillment. In turn, this will be impacted by whether or not one holds to “Covenant Theology” or “Dispensational Theology”. To confuse matters further, the views within Dispensationalism vary, and a classification called “Progressive Dispensationalism” is now recognized.

        • These two videos discussing the crux of the issue are also extremely helpful to see what group you will likely identify with:

      • With regard to the text we are currently considering, a couple of questions are: was the complete land promise ever actualized by Israel or not?; and, was the promise of the possession of the land according to the Abrahamic covenant to be temporary or permanent? Here are some additional sources for further research:

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