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Joshua

About this book
Chapter 21

1 The tribal leaders of the Levites went before Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the Israelite tribal leaders 2 in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said, “The Lord told Moses to assign us cities in which to live along with the grazing areas for our cattle.” 3 So the Israelites assigned these cities and their grazing areas to the Levites from their own holdings, as the Lord had instructed.⁠ 4 The first lot belonged to the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted 13 cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten cities from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, and from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6 Gershon’s descendants were allotted 13 cities from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, and from the tribes of Asher and Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7 Merari’s descendants by their clans were allotted 12 cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8 So the Israelites assigned to the Levites by lot these cities and their grazing areas, as the Lord had instructed Moses. 9 They assigned from the tribes of Judah and Simeon the cities listed below. 10 (They were assigned to the Kohathite clans of the Levites who were descendants of Aaron, for the first lot fell to them.) 11 They assigned them Kiriath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding grazing areas. 12 (Now the city’s fields and surrounding towns they had assigned to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.) 13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of nine cities taken from these two tribes. 17 From the tribe of Benjamin they assigned Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 19 The priests descended from Aaron received 13 cities and their grazing areas. 20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted cities from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 They assigned them Shechem (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 23 From the tribe of Dan they assigned Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned Taanach and Gath Rimmon, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of two cities. 26 The rest of the Kohathite clans received 10 cities and their grazing areas. 27 They assigned to the Gershonite clans of the Levites the following cities: from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) and Beeshtarah, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of two cities; 28 from the tribe of Issachar: Kishon, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 30 from the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 32 from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of three cities. 33 The Gershonite clans received 13 cities and their grazing areas. 34 They assigned to the Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) the following cities: from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 36 from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities; 38 from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer, along with the grazing areas of each—a total of four cities. 40 The Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) were allotted 12 cities. 41 The Levites received within the land owned by the Israelites 48 cities in all and their grazing areas. 42 Each of these cities had grazing areas around it; they were alike in this regard. 43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had solemnly promised to their ancestors, and they conquered it and lived in it. 44 The Lord made them secure, in fulfillment of all he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could resist them. The Lord handed all their enemies over to them. 45 Not one of the Lord’s faithful promises to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; every one was realized.

Texts in conversation

Compare Numbers 35:2 and Joshua 21:3

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Numbers 35 commands that the Levites be given land for animals to graze instead of a territorial inheritance, a detail that Joshua 21 later presents as accomplished as a way of portraying itself in continuity with the Torah.

Passages

Numbers 35:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the rift valley plains of Moab along the Jordan near Jericho. He said: 2 “Instruct the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. You must also give the Levites grazing land around the towns. 3 Thus they will have towns in which to live, and their grazing lands will be for their cattle, for their possessions, and for all their animals. 4 The grazing lands around the towns that you will give to the Levites must extend to a distance of 500 yards from the town wall.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

Joshua 21:3

Hebrew Bible
1 The tribal leaders of the Levites went before Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the Israelite tribal leaders 2 in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said, “The Lord told Moses to assign us cities in which to live along with the grazing areas for our cattle.” 3 So the Israelites assigned these cities and their grazing areas to the Levites from their own holdings, as the Lord had instructed. 4 The first lot belonged to the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted 13 cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten cities from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, and from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joshua

References

"... The Levites assume unique status in relation to the claim to land. The older sources of the Hexateuch already emphasize that the Levites obtain no portion of the land; their's is Yahweh’s priesthood (Joshua 18:7). Even P emphasizes that Aaron and the Levites have no claim to the land; their's is Yahweh and the tithe that they receive for their service (Numbers 18:20, 23, 26; 26:62; Joshua 14:3); in addition, the other tribes are obligated to cede cities ... to the Levites (Numbers 35:2, 8; Joshua 21:3). That Yahweh is Levi’s also serves the Deuteronomist as a justification for the Levites’ exclusion from exercising any claim to the land (Deuteronomy 10:9; 12:12; 14:27, 29; 18:2, Joshua 13:14, 33; Deuteronomy 18:1 and Joshua 13:14 interpret further: they should support themselves with the sacrifices and offerings.) The appendix to Ezekiel also knows this notion of the Levites’ (Ezekiel 44:28) as related to the tribal property within the Jerusalem sanctuary. Precincts excluded from the tribal , however, can be ceded to the Levites (45:5; 48:13) ..."
Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann, Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, trans. Mark E. Biddle (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997), 935.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Numbers 35:2 and Joshua 21:3

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