Chapter 21
City and Pastureland Allotment for Levi
21:1 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 2 And they said to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.” 3 So by command of the LORD the people of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pasturelands out of their inheritance.
After the land inheritances were allocated and the cities of refuge determined, it was finally time for the tribe of Levi to receive their cities and pasturelands as God promised (see Numbers 35:1-8). The tribe of Levi was not to inherit any land territory, as God was their inheritance (see Numbers 18:20-32). These cities came out of the people of Israel’s inheritance.
With the Tabernacle now stationary in Shiloh, there is no need for the Levites to transport it. The priests and some of the Levites will remain around Shiloh, but the others will be disbursed throughout Israel so that they can teach all of the Israelites about God and His law (see Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 33:10; 2 Chronicles 17:9).
21:4 The lot came out for the clans of the Kohathites. So those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities.
The first assignment was for the priests (all priests were in the lineage of Aaron, a Kohathite). The tribal territory where their thirteen cities would be located in Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
21:5 And the rest of the Kohathites received by lot from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
All other Kohathites would get ten cities located in Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (on the west side of the Jordan).
21:6 The Gershonites received by lot from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.
The Gershonite clan of the Levities were to obtain thirteen cities in Asher, Naphtali, and the other half-tribe of Manasseh in the Bashan region (on the east side of the Jordan).
21:7 The Merarites according to their clans received from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
The Merarites were to receive twelve cities in Reuben, Gad, and Zebulon.
21:8 These cities and their pasturelands the people of Israel gave by lot to the Levites, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
The total of 48 cities includes the six cities identified in the last chapter for cities of refuge.
21:9 Out of the tribe of the people of Judah and the tribe of the people of Simeon they gave the following cities mentioned by name, 10 which went to the descendants of Aaron, one of the clans of the Kohathites who belonged to the people of Levi; since the lot fell to them first. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba (Arba being the father of Anak), that is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with the pasturelands around it. 12 But the fields of the city and its villages had been given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.
According to Numbers 35:6-8 the people were to select which cities they were going to give to the Levites, but through the lot process God assigned which territories the Levite clans would reside in. The priests received Hebron (a city of refuge) in Judah, however, the fields and the villages around it were already allocated to Caleb (see Joshua 14:13-14), but apparently that didn’t affect the pasturelands as they are included in the next verse .
21:13 And to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands, 14 Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 15 Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, 16 Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities out of these two tribes; 17 then out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, 18 Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands—four cities. 19 The cities of the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.
The cities offered to the priests from the tribes of Judah and Simeon included Hebron, Libyan, Jatir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Jutted, and Beth-shemesh. The cities from the tribe of Benjamin included Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon.
21:20 As to the rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Kohathite clans of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21 To them were given Shechem, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 22 Kibzaim with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands—four cities; 23 and out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, 24 Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities; 25 and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—two cities. 26 The cities of the clans of the rest of the Kohathites were ten in all with their pasturelands.
The remaining Kohathites (not in the lineage of Aaron) received Shechem (a city of refuge), Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horn from the tribe of Ephraim. From the tribe of Dan they received Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon. And from the half-tribe of Manasseh (west of the Jordan) they received Taanach and possibly Ibleam or Ibatha (as seen in the Septuagint) the repeat of Gath-rimmon is believed to be a copyist error (the Hebrew is similar to Ibleam, see Joshua 17:11). Some believe that since Gath-rimmon is on the border between the territory of Dan and Manasseh that it was shared.
21:27 And to the Gershonites, one of the clans of the Levites, were given out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities; 28 and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 29 Jarmuth with its pasturelands, En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities; 30 and out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 31 Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities; 32 and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities. 33 The cities of the several clans of the Gershonites were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.
The Gershonites were given Golan (a city of refuge) and Beeshterah from the half-tribe of Manasseh (east of the Jordan). From Issachar they received Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-gannim. The tribe of Asher offered Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob. Naphtali gave them Kedesh (a city of refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan.
21:34 And to the rest of the Levites, the Merarite clans, were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, 35 Dimnah with its pasturelands, Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities; 36 and out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands, 37 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities; 38 and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 39 Heshbon with its pasturelands, Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. 40 As for the cities of the several Merarite clans, that is, the remainder of the clans of the Levites, those allotted to them were in all twelve cities.
The tribe of Zebulun gave Merarite clans Jokeam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal. From the tribe of Reuben they received Bezer (a city of refuge, note that it was not identified as such in the text, see Joshua 20:8), Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath. The tribe of Gad offered Ramoth (a city of refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer.
21:41 The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. 42 These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities. 43 Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
The distribution of the cities and pasturelands for the Levites concluded the inheritance allocation procedure. We are given a brief summary…God gave Israel the land as He promised, the people took possession of it, and they settled there. And YHWH gave them rest, not one of their enemies were able to conquer them. Every promise that YHWH made to the house of Israel was fulfilled.