Joshua - Chapter 21

¹ The heads of families of the Levites then came to the priest, Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of families of the tribes of Israel-

² they were then at Shiloh in Canaan. They said to them, 'Through Moses, Yahweh ordered us to be given towns to live in, with their pasture lands for our livestock.'

³ In compliance with Yahweh's order, the Israelites consequently and from their own heritage gave the Levites the following towns with their pasture lands:

⁴ Lots were cast for the clans of the Kohathites: to those Levites who were sons of Aaron the priest, fell thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin;

⁵ to the other sons of Kohath, by clans,

⁶ fell ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. To the sons of Gershon, by clans, fell thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ To the sons of Merari, by clans, fell twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

⁸ The Israelites assigned these towns and their pasture lands to the Levites by lot, as Yahweh had ordered through Moses.

⁹ From the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon, they gave the towns named below.

¹⁰ The first portion was for the sons of Aaron, belonging to the clans of the Kohathites, to the sons of Levi, since the first lot was theirs.

¹¹ They gave them Kiriath-Arba, Anak's father's town -- now Hebron -- in the highlands of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands.

¹² The fields and villages of this town, however, they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.

¹³ To the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, as well as Libnah with its pasture lands,

¹⁴ Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands,

¹⁵ Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands,

¹⁶ Ashan with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth-Shemesh with its pasture lands: nine towns taken from these two tribes;

¹⁷ and, from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands,

¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasture lands and Almon with its pasture lands: four towns.

¹⁹ Total number of towns for the priests, the sons of Aaron: thirteen towns with their pasture lands.

²⁰ As regards the clans of the sons of Kohath, those Levites still left of the sons of Kohath, the towns of their lot were taken from the tribe of Ephraim.

²¹ They were given Shechem, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, in the highlands of Ephraim, as well as Gezer with its pasture lands,

²² Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-Horon with its pasture lands: four towns;

²³ from the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands,

²⁴ Aijalon with its pasture lands and Gath-Rimmon with its pasture lands: four towns;

²⁵ and, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasture lands and Jibleam with its pasture lands: two towns.

²⁶ In all: ten towns with their pasture lands for the remaining clans of the sons of Kohath.

²⁷ To the sons of Gershon, of the levitical clans, were given: from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands -- two towns;

²⁸ from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasture lands, Dobrath with its pasture lands,

²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasture lands and En-Gannim with its pasture lands -- four towns;

³⁰ from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands,

³¹ Helkath with its pasture lands and Rehob with its pasture lands -- four towns;

³² and, from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Hammoth-Dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands -- three towns.

³³ Total number of towns of the Gershonites, by clans: thirteen towns with their pasture lands.

³⁴ To the clans of the sons of Merari, the remainder of the Levites, fell: from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands,

³⁵ Rimmon with its pasture lands and Nahalal with its pasture lands -- four towns;

³⁶ on the other side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the desert, on the tableland, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands,

³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasture lands and Mephaath with its pasture lands -- four towns;

³⁸ and, from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands,

³⁹ Heshbon with its pasture lands and Jazer with its pasture lands -- four towns.

⁴⁰ Total number of towns forming the lot of the sons of Merari by clans, of the remaining levitical clans: twelve towns.

⁴¹ The total number of towns for the Levites in Israelite territory was forty-eight towns with their pasture lands.

⁴² These towns consisted in each case of the town itself and the pasture land round it. This was the case with all the towns.

⁴³ This was how Yahweh gave the Israelites the entire country which he had sworn to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and settled in it.

⁴⁴ Yahweh granted them tranquillity on all their frontiers just as he had sworn to their ancestors and, of all their enemies, not one succeeded in resisting them. Yahweh put all their enemies at their mercy.

⁴⁵ Of all the promises that Yahweh had made to the House of Israel, not one failed; all were fulfilled.

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