Joshua 21

1 Now the family heads [chiefs, leaders] of the Levites [descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons] approached [drew near, came to] Eleazar [God has helped] the priest [one who serves God and leads others in worship], Joshua [God is salvation] son of Nun [meaning fish or posterity], and the heads [chiefs, princes] of the other tribes [groups of people] of Israel [God’s chosen people, Jacob’s descendants] word study 2 at Shiloh [place of rest] in the land [earth, territory] of Canaan [the promised land] and said to them, “The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] commanded [gave orders, appointed] through Moses [the Israelite leader] that we be given cities [towns, settlements] in which to live, together with pasturelands [open land, suburbs] for our livestock [animals, cattle].” word study 3 So by the command [at the instruction, according to the word] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] gave the Levites [descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons] these cities [towns, places with walls or watchmen] and their pasturelands [open lands, areas around buildings] out of their own inheritance [property, family heirlooms, something passed down]: word study 4 The first lot [by divine appointment, through casting of stones] came out for the Kohathite [descendants of Kohath, a Levitical family] clans. The Levites [priestly tribe, set apart for God’s service] who were descendants of Aaron [the first high priest, brother of Moses] the priest [mediator between God and man] received thirteen cities [towns, fortified settlements] by lot [allotted, assigned by God’s providence] from the tribes [family groups, ancestral divisions] of Judah [praise, a southern tribe], Simeon [heard, a son of Jacob], and Benjamin [son of the right hand, the youngest tribe]. word study 5 The remaining [surviving, leftover] descendants of Kohath [a Levitical clan] received ten [a decade, a multitude] cities by lot [allotted, assigned by God] from the tribes [family groups, clans] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful], Dan [a judge, ruler], and the half-tribe [a divided family group] of Manasseh [forgetful, making to forget]. word study 6 The descendants [sons, offspring] of Gershon [a son of Levi, an ancestor of the tribe of Levi] received thirteen cities [towns, settlements] by lot [allotted, assigned by God’s providence] from the tribes [family groups, clans] of Issachar [one of the twelve tribes of Israel], Asher [a tribe in the northern part of Israel], Naphtali [a son of Jacob, a tribe in Israel], and the half-tribe [a division, a part] of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, a large tribe in Israel] in Bashan [a fertile region, a land of abundance]. word study 7 And the descendants [sons, offspring] of Merari received twelve cities [towns, settlements] from the tribes [family groups, clans] of Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob], Gad [the seventh son of Jacob], and Zebulun [a son of Jacob and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel]. word study 8 So the Israelites [children of Israel, descendants of Jacob] allotted [gave by lot, assigned] to the Levites [descendants of Levi, tribe of priests] these cities [towns, urban settlements], together with their pasturelands [suburbs, open fields], as the LORD [Yehovah, the self-existent God] had commanded [given orders, instructed] through Moses [the Israelite leader, prophet]. word study 9 From the tribes [family groups, descendants] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob] and Simeon [Shimeon, the second son of Jacob], they designated [gave, assigned, set apart] these cities [towns, places with walls or watchmen] by name [specifically, explicitly, with a particular identity] word study 10 to the descendants [sons, offspring] of Aaron [the first high priest, brother of Moses] from the Kohathite [a family group in the tribe of Levi] clans of the Levites [the priestly tribe], because [for, since] the first [primary, initial] lot [allotted portion, decision by casting lots] fell to them [was assigned, given to them]: word study 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba [the city of Arba, Hebron] (that is, Hebron [a city in the hill country]), with its surrounding [open lands, suburbs] pasturelands [grazing areas, common lands], in the hill country [mountainous region, highlands] of Judah [the tribe and region of Judah]. (Arba [the father of Anak, ancestor of the Anakites] was the father [progenitor, ancestor] of Anak [a Canaanite, giant].) word study 12 But they had given the fields [open country, rural areas] and villages [small settlements, courts] around the city [town, excitement] to Caleb [a faithful Israelite] son of Jephunneh [father of Caleb, a Kenizzite] as his possession [inheritance, owned land, property]. word study 13 So to the descendants [sons, offspring] of Aaron [the first high priest] the priest [one who serves God and leads others in worship] they gave [bestowed, allocated] these cities [towns, urban areas], together with their pasturelands [open fields, grazing areas]: Hebron [a city in Palestine], a city of refuge [sanctuary, asylum] for the manslayer [one who kills unintentionally], Libnah [a city in Palestine, originally a Canaanite royal city], word study 14 Jattir [a city in Judah], Eshtemoa [I will make myself heard, a city given to the Levites], word study 15 Holon [a city in Moab, with sandy terrain], Debir [an Amoritish king’s name, a town in Manasse’s territory], word study 16 Ain [a place of springs], Juttah [stretched out, a town in the mountains], and Beth-shemesh [house of the sun, a sun-temple]—nine cities [towns with walls or watchmen] from these two [a pair, a duality] tribes [clans or families], together with their pasturelands [open lands, common areas]. word study 17 And from the tribe [a group of people] of Benjamin [son of the right hand] they gave them Gibeon [a Levitical city], Geba [a city in Palestine], word study 18 Anathoth [a city near Jerusalem, answers to prayer], and Almon [a hidden or concealed place]—four cities, together with their pasturelands [open lands, suburbs, or areas around the cities]. word study 19 In all [everything, the entirety], thirteen cities [towns, settlements], together with their pasturelands [suburbs, surrounding areas, open lands], were given to the priests [spiritual leaders, those who serve God], the descendants [sons, offspring] of Aaron [the first high priest, brother of Moses]. word study 20 The remaining [left over, still present] Kohathite [descendants of Kohath, a Levitical clan] clans of the Levites [priestly tribe, descendants of Levi] were allotted [given by lot, assigned] these cities: From the tribe [family, nation] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, referring to Joseph’s son] word study 21 they were given Shechem [a city of refuge for the manslayer, a sanctuary town] in the hill country [mountain, high land] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel] (a city of refuge [a safe place, asylum] for the manslayer [one who kills, murderer]), Gezer [a portion, a city in Palestine], word study 22 Kibzaim [a place of gatherings], and Beth-horon [house of hollowness]—four [a quantity of] cities [towns with walls], together with their pasturelands [open lands, common areas, or suburbs]. word study 23 From the tribe [a group of people] of Dan [a son of Jacob, the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel] they were given Elteke [a place in Palestine, a city], Gibbethon [a town, a mound, a Philistine town in Dan], word study 24 Aijalon [a city in Palestine, field of deer], and Gath-rimmon [winepress of the pomegranate]—four [a simple counting number] cities [a place with a wall or a watchman], together with their pasturelands [open land, common or shared area around a building]. word study 25 And from the [divided portion] half-tribe of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, ancestor of a large tribe] they were given Taanach [an ancient city in Palestine] and Gath-rimmon [winepress of the pomegranate, a town in Palestine]—two [a pair, dual] cities, together with their [surrounding, adjacent] pasturelands [open land, common area]. word study 26 In all [everything, the entirety], ten cities [towns, settlements], together with their pasturelands [surrounding suburbs, open fields], were given to the rest [remainder, those who remained] of the Kohathite [descendants of Kohath, a Levite] clans [families, tribes]. word study 27 This is what the Levite [descendants of Levi, the priestly tribe] clans of the Gershonites [sons of Gershon, a son of Levi] were given: From the half-tribe [one of two divisions] of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob] they were given Golan [a city of refuge] in Bashan [a fertile region], a city of refuge [a safe place, a sanctuary] for the manslayer [one who kills another, an unintentional murderer], and Beeshterah [also known as Ashtaroth]—two cities [towns, communities], together with their pasturelands [surrounding fields, grazing areas]. word study 28 From the [tribal family, staff of] tribe of Issachar [there is recompense] they were given Kishion [a town in Palestine], Daberath [meaning ‘word’ in Hebrew, a Levitical city], word study 29 Jarmuth [a city of heights], and En-gannim [fountain of the garden]—four [a simple counting number] cities [towns with walls or watchmen], together with their pasturelands [open lands, common areas, or suburbs]. word study 30 From the [tribal community, staff] tribe of Asher [a son of Jacob, one of the twelve tribes of Israel] they were given Mishal [a town in Palestine, a place of request], Abdon [a place in Palestine, a servant], word study 31 Helkath [a place of smooth terrain], and Rehob [a city of spaciousness]—four cities, together with their pasturelands [open areas for grazing, suburbs]. word study 32 And from the tribe [a group of people with a common ancestor] of Naphtali they were given Kedesh [a city of refuge, a place of safety] in Galilee [a region in northern Palestine] (a city of refuge [a sanctuary, a haven] for the manslayer [one who kills unintentionally]), Hammoth-dor [a place of hot springs], and Kartan [a town in the region of Naphtali]—three cities [towns with walls and watchmen], together with their pasturelands [open areas for grazing, common land]. word study 33 In all [everything, the entirety], thirteen cities [towns, settlements], together with their pasturelands [open lands, suburbs], were given [allotted, assigned] to the Gershonite [descendants of Gershon, Levitical clan] clans [families, tribes]. word study 34 This is what the Merarite [descendants of Merari, a Levite clan] clan (the rest of the Levites [ministers of God, from the tribe of Levi]) were given: From the tribe [a group of people with a common ancestry] of Zebulun [a son of Jacob and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel] they were given Jokneam [a city in Canaan, meaning the people lament], Kartah [a town in ancient Palestine, located in the region of Zebulun], word study 35 Dimnah [a city in Palestine, also known as Rimmon], and Nahalal [possibly the modern village of Malul]—four [a specific quantity, denoting completeness] cities [towns with walls or watchmen], together with their pasturelands [open lands, common areas, or suburbs]. word study 36 From the [tribal family, staff of] tribe of Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah] they were given Bezer [a remote fortress, gold ore], Jahaz [a place east of the Jordan River, near the Amorite kingdom], word study 37 Kedemoth [a city in the east], and Mephaath [a city near Moab]—four cities, together with their pasturelands [open lands, suburbs, or common areas]. word study 38 And from the tribe [a group of people] of Gad [the seventh son of Jacob] they were given Ramoth [a city of refuge] in Gilead [a rocky region, a mountainous area], a city of refuge [a safe place, a sanctuary] for the manslayer [one who kills, a murderer], Mahanaim [two camps, a place of angels], word study 39 Heshbon [a city east of the Jordan], and Jazer [originally an Amorite city]—four [a simple counting number] cities [towns with walls or watchmen] in all, together with their pasturelands [open lands, common areas, or margins of the sea]. word study 40 In all [everything, the entirety], twelve cities [towns, settlements] were allotted [given by lot, assigned] to the clans [families, tribes] of Merari [a Levite family, descendants of Merari], the remaining [left over, surviving] Levite [descendants of Levi, a priestly tribe] clans [families, groups]. word study 41 For the Levites [descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons], then, there were forty-eight [forty and eight] cities [towns with walls or watchmen] in all, together with their pasturelands [open lands, suburbs, or margins], within the territory [possession, inherited land] of the Israelites [Jacob’s descendants, God’s chosen people]. word study 42 Each of these [specific, designated] cities had its own surrounding [open land, common area] pasturelands [grazing area, suburbs]; this was true [thus, in this manner] for all [every one, everything] the cities [towns, settlements]. word study 43 Thus the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] gave Israel [the descendants of Jacob] all the land [the soil, ground, or territory] He had sworn [made a promise or vow] to give their fathers [ancestors, forefathers], and they took possession [occupied, settled, or inherited] of it and settled [dwelt, lived, or remained] in it. word study 44 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] gave them rest [peace, settlement, and security] on every side [around, surrounding them], just as He had sworn [made a promise, vowed] to their fathers [ancestors, forefathers]. None [not one, no] of their enemies [adversaries, those who oppose] could stand [remain, resist] against them, for the LORD [the supreme God] delivered [handed over, gave] all their enemies [every adversary] into their hand [power, control]. word study 45 Not one [none, nothing] of all the LORD’s [Yehovah, the covenant God] good [beneficial, pleasant] promises [spoken words, divine assurances] to the house [family, descendants] of Israel [God’s chosen people] had failed [not come to pass, fallen short]; everything [all things, the whole] was fulfilled [came to pass, accomplished]. word study