Joshua 21

The Levites Ask for Their Cities

1Then the heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the ancestral houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.” 3So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, according to the command of the LORD, these cities with their pasturelands.

Cities for the Kohathites

4The lot came out for the clans of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the priest, from the Levites, received by lot thirteen cities from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of Simeon, and from the tribe of Benjamin. 5The rest of the children of Kohath received by lot ten cities from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Cities for the Gershonites and Merarites

6The children of Gershon received by lot thirteen cities 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. 7The children of Merari according to their clans received twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun. 8The children of Israel gave these cities with their pasturelands by lot to the Levites, as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses.

Priestly Cities in Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin

9From the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon they gave these cities named here: 10they were for the children of Aaron from the clans of the Kohathites, from the children of Levi, for theirs was the first lot. 11They gave them Kiriath-Arba—Arba was father of Anak—that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with its pasturelands around it. 12But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession. 13To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands; Libnah with its pasturelands; 14Jattir with its pasturelands; Eshtemoa with its pasturelands; 15Holon with its pasturelands; Debir with its pasturelands; 16Ain with its pasturelands; Juttah with its pasturelands; and Beth-Shemesh with its pasturelands: nine cities from these two tribes. 17From the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its pasturelands; Geba with its pasturelands; 18Anathoth with its pasturelands; and Almon with its pasturelands: four cities. 19All the cities of the priests, the children of Aaron, were thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

Cities for the Rest of Kohath

20The clans of the children of Kohath, the Levites who remained from the children of Kohath, received the cities of their lot from the tribe of Ephraim. 21They gave them Shechem, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim; Gezer with its pasturelands; 22Kibzaim with its pasturelands; and Beth-Horon with its pasturelands: four cities. 23From the tribe of Dan: Elteke with its pasturelands; Gibbethon with its pasturelands; 24Aijalon with its pasturelands; and Gath-Rimmon with its pasturelands: four cities. 25From the half-tribe of Manasseh: Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-Rimmon with its pasturelands: two cities. 26All the cities for the clans of the remaining children of Kohath were ten, with their pasturelands.

Cities for the Gershonites

27To the children of Gershon, from the clans of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands, and Be-Eshterah with its pasturelands: two cities. 28From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion with its pasturelands; Daberath with its pasturelands; 29Jarmuth with its pasturelands; and En-Gannim with its pasturelands: four cities. 30From the tribe of Asher: Mishal with its pasturelands; Abdon with its pasturelands; 31Helkath with its pasturelands; and Rehob with its pasturelands: four cities. 32From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands; Hammoth-Dor with its pasturelands; and Kartan with its pasturelands: three cities. 33All the cities of the Gershonites according to their clans were thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

Cities for the Merarites

34To the clans of the children of Merari, the remaining Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam with its pasturelands; Kartah with its pasturelands; 35Dimnah with its pasturelands; and Nahalal with its pasturelands: four cities. 36From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer with its pasturelands; Jahaz with its pasturelands; 37Kedemoth with its pasturelands; and Mephaath with its pasturelands: four cities. 38From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands; Mahanaim with its pasturelands; 39Heshbon with its pasturelands; and Jazer with its pasturelands: four cities. 40All the cities for the children of Merari according to their clans, the rest of the clans of the Levites, were twelve cities by their lot.

Forty-Eight Levitical Cities

41All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. 42Each of these cities had its pasturelands around it; so it was with all these cities.

The LORD Gives Israel Rest

43Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he had sworn to give to their ancestors. They possessed it and lived in it. 44The LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. 45Not one word failed from all the good words that the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.