Inspire: Joshua, Judges & Ruth 978-1-4964-7519-0 - Flipbook - Page 43
42
|
So by the
9
command
of the LORD
the people of
Israel
gave the Levites...
towns & pasturelands
own
grants
out of their
of land.
These cities were set apart
for all the Israelites as well as
the foreigners living among them.
Anyone who accidentally killed another person could take refuge in one of these
cities. In this way, they could escape being killed in revenge prior to standing trial
before the local assembly.
The Towns Given to the Levites
Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to consult with Eleazar the
priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the other tribes of Israel.
2 They came to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us towns to live in and pasturelands for our livestock.” 3 So
by the command of the Lord the people of Israel gave the Levites the following
towns and pasturelands out of their own grants of land.
4 The descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within
the tribe of Levi, were allotted thirteen towns that were originally assigned to
the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The other families of the Kohathite
clan were allotted ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe
of Manasseh.
6 The clan of Gershon was allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar,
Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The clan of Merari was allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad,
and Zebulun.
21
8
So the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s command to Moses
and assigned these towns
and pasturelands
Joshua 21:3
to the Levites by casting sacred lots.
The Israelites gave the following towns from the tribes of Judah and Simeon
to the descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within
the tribe of Levi, since the sacred lot fell to them first: 11 Kiriath-arba (that is,
Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pasturelands.
(Arba was an ancestor of Anak.) 12 But the open fields beyond the town and
the surrounding villages were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 The following towns with their pasturelands were given to the descendants
of Aaron the priest: Hebron (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed
someone), Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Bethshemesh—nine towns from these two tribes.
17 From the tribe of Benjamin the priests were given the following towns with
their pasturelands: Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon—four towns. 19 So in
all, thirteen towns with their pasturelands were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
9
10
