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The Book of Joshua 21

21 The family leaders of the Levite clans came to Shiloh to speak with Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes. 2 There in Shiloh, west of the Jordan River, they said to them, “Yahweh told Moses that you should give us cities where we can live and where our animals can graze.” 3 So the Israelites obeyed this command from Yahweh. They gave some cities and the surrounding fields to the tribe of Levi out of their own lands that their leaders had assigned to them.

4 First, the Israelite leaders cast lots to assign some cities to the Levites from the clan of Kohath who were priests because they were descendants of Aaron. The leaders assigned 13 cities to them within the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 To the other Levites from the clan of Kohath, the Israelite leaders assigned ten cities within the territories of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lived on the west side of the Jordan River.

6 To the Levites from the clan of Gershon, the Israelite leaders assigned 13 cities within the territories of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in the region of Bashan.

7 To the Levites from the clan of Merari, the Israelite leaders assigned 12 cities within the territories of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8 In this way, the Israelite leaders assigned these cities and the surrounding fields to the people of the tribe of Levi. That was just what Yahweh had told Moses they should do.

9 These are the names of the cities that the Israelite leaders assigned to the tribe of Levi within the territory of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.

10 First, the Israelite leaders assigned cities by lot to the descendants of Aaron. They belonged to the Kohathite clan of the tribe of Levi.

11 The Israelite leaders assigned Kiriath Arba to them in the hill country of Judah. They also gave the pasturelands around the city. (That city got its name from Arba, the ancestor of the Anak people group. But people now call that city Hebron.) 12 However, the Israelite leaders had already assigned the cultivated fields and villages surrounding Kiriath Arba to Caleb son of Jephunneh.

13 In this way, the Israelite leaders assigned Hebron and its surrounding fiels to the descendants of Aaron the priest. Hebron was one of the cities to which people could flee if they accidentally killed a person. The leaders also gave Aaron’s descendants the city of Libnah with its surrounding fields, 14 Jattir with its surrounding fields, and Eshtemoa with its surrounding fields, 15 They also gave Holon with its surrounding fields, and Debir with its surrounding fields, 16 and Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh. In total, the leaders gave them nine cities with their surrounding fields. These cities were within the territory of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.

17 The Israelite leaders also gave the descendants of Aaron some cities, with the surrounding fields, in the area that the tribe of Benjamin possessed: Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon, four cities with their surrounding fields.

19 Altogether, the Israelite leaders assigned 13 cities with their surrounding fields to the Levites who were priests because they were descendants of Aaron.

20 The other Levite clans who were descendants of Kohath received four cities within the territory of the tribe of Ephraim.

21 The leaders gave them Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim along with its surrounding fields. It was a city to which someone could flee for safety who killed a person unintentionally. The leaders also gave them Gezer with its surrounding fields, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, four cities. all with their surrounding fields.

23 These clans that were descendants of Kohath also received four cities with their surrounding fields within the territory of the tribe of Dan. These cities were Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.

25 These clans that were descendants of Kohath also received cities within the territory of the half of the tribe of Manasseh that had settled on the west side of the Jordan River. These cities were Taanach and Gath Rimmon, two cities with their surrounding fields.

26 There were ten cities in all, together with their surrounding fields, that these other clans that were descendants of Kohath received.

27 The Israelite leaders also cast lots in order to assign cities and their surrounding fields to the Levite clans of the descendants of Gershon.

These clans received two cities within the territory of the half of the tribe of Manasseh that had settled on the east side of the Jordan River. One of those cities was Golan in the region of Bashan. It was one of the cities to which someone could flee for safety who killed a person unintentionally. The other city was Beeshtarah. That made two cities, with their surrounding fields.

28 These clans also received some cities and the surrounding fields within the territory of the tribe of Issachar. Those cities were Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.

30 These clans also received some cities and the surrounding fields within the territory of the tribe of Asher. These cities were Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.

32 These clans also received some cities within the territory of the tribe of Naphtali. One of these cities was Kedesh in the region of Galilee. It was one of the cities to which people could flee for safety if they killed a person unintentionally. The other cities were Hammoth Dor and Kartan. That made three cities, all with their surrounding fields.

33 Altogether, therefore, the Gershonite clans received 13 cities, together with their surrounding fields.

34 The Israelite leaders also assigned cities to the last group of Levites, those who belonged to the clans that were descendants of Merari.

These clans received some cities, with the surrounding fields, within the territory of the tribe of Zebulun. These cities were Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.

36 These clans also received cities, with their surrounding fields, within the territory of the tribe of Reuben. These cities were Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, four cities, all with their surrounding fields.

38 These clans also received cities, with their surrounding fields, within the territory of the tribe of Gad. One of these cities was Ramoth, which was one of the cities in Gilead to which people could flee for safety if they killed a person unintentionally. Another city was Mahanaim. 39 There were also the cities of Heshbon, and Jazer. That made four cities in all, together with their surrounding fields.

40 In all, this last group of Levite clans, the ones that were descendants of Merari, received 12 cities when the Israelite leaders cast lots for them.

41 So altogether, the Levites received 48 cities within the territories of the other tribes of Israel. They also received the fields around those cities. 42 Yes, for each one of these cities, the Levites also received the surrounding fields. That was true for all of them.

43 Yahweh had promised the ancestors of the Israelites that he would give them all this land, and this was how he did that. The Israelite people took control of these areas and settled down in them. 44 Yahweh had also told the ancestors of the Israelites that they would be able to live peacefully in the land, and he made that happen too. None of their enemies were able to fight against them and defeat them. Instead, Yahweh helped Israel defeat all their enemies. 45 Yahweh kept every promise he made to the Israelites. Every promise came true.

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