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21
1 The leaders of the tribe of Levi approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders of the Israelite tribes. 2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in Canaan, saying, “The Lord gave instructions through Moses to give us towns to live in, and pastures for our flocks.”
3 So, following the Lord's instructions, the Israelites gave towns and pastures to the Levites from their own allocations.
4 The lot was cast for the families of the Kothaites. These Levites, descendants of Aaron, were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.* Towns previously allotted. 5 The remaining families of the descendants of Kothah were allotted ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 The families of the descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh living in Bashan.
7 The families of the descendants of Merari were allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 So the Israelites gave the Levites by lot these towns and pastures, as the Lord had instructed through Moses.
9 They gave from the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon the following towns, specifically named, 10 to the families of the Kothaites, descendants of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, since the first lot fell to them: 11 Kiriath-arba (or Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, together with the pastures around it. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) 12 But the more distant fields from the town and the villages had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh to own.
13 They gave to the descendants of Aaron the priest the following towns and their pastures: Hebron (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine towns from these two tribes. 17 From the tribe of Benjamin the following four towns and their pastures: Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon. 19 So in total thirteen towns and their pastures were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
20 As for the remaining families of the children of Kothah from the tribe of Levi, they were given by lot four towns and their pastures from the tribe of Ephraim: 21 Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon.
23 From the tribe of Dan, the following four towns and their pastures: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon.
25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh the following two towns and their pastures: Taanach and Gath-rimmon. 26 So in total ten towns and their pastures were given to remaining families of the descendants of Kothah.
27 The families of the descendants of Gershon from the tribe of Levi received the following two towns and their pastures from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), and Be-eshterah.
28 From the tribe of Issachar the following four towns and their pastures: Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim.
30 From the tribe of Asher the following four towns and their pastures: Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali the following three towns and their pastures: Kedesh in Galilee (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan. 33 So in total thirteen towns and their pastures were allotted to the families of Gershon.
34 The families of the descendants of Merari, those remaining from the tribe of Levi, received the following four towns and their pastures from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal.
36 From the tribe of Reuben the following four towns and their pastures: Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath.
38 From the tribe of Gad the following four towns and their pastures: Ramoth in Gilead (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer. 40 So in total twelve towns were allotted to the families of Merari, those remaining from the tribe of Levi.
41 The Levites received a total of forty-eight towns and pastures within the land of the Israelites. 42 Each of these towns had pastures around them.
43 And so the Lord gave to the Israelites all the land he had promised their ancestors. They took possession of it and settled there. 44 The Lord gave them peace† “Peace”: literally, rest. on every side as he had promised their ancestors. Not a single one of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord had handed their enemies over to them to defeat. 45 Not a single one of the good things the Lord promised Israel had failed; everything had come true.‡ Clearly this is hyperbole; however had Israel followed the Lord's commands more closely this would have undoubtedly been true.

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*21:4 Towns previously allotted.

†21:44 “Peace”: literally, rest.

‡21:45 Clearly this is hyperbole; however had Israel followed the Lord's commands more closely this would have undoubtedly been true.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher