Joshua 21

1Then the heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the ancestral houses of the tribes of Israel.

2They said to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, “Yahweh commanded through Moses that we be given towns to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”

3So at Yahweh’s command the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance.

4The lot came out for the clans of the Kohathites. The descendants of Aaron the priest, who were Levites, received thirteen towns by lot from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Simeon, and the tribe of Benjamin.

5The rest of the descendants of Kohath received ten towns by lot from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6The descendants of Gershon received thirteen towns by lot from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7The descendants of Merari by their clans received twelve towns from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun.

8So the Israelites gave these towns with their pasturelands to the Levites by lot, as Yahweh had commanded through Moses.

9From the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon they gave the following towns, which are here mentioned by name.

10They went to the descendants of Aaron, who belonged to the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them.

11They gave them Kiriath-arba—Arba was the father of Anak—that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the pasturelands around it.

12But the fields of the town and its villages they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.

13To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the killer, 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 towns from these two tribes.

17From the tribe of Benjamin they gave Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands,

18Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands: four towns.

19All the towns of the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen towns with their pasturelands.

20The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites, the remaining descendants of Kohath, received towns by lot from the tribe of Ephraim.

21They were given Shechem, the city of refuge for the killer, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands,

22Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands: four towns.

23From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands,

24Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands: four towns.

25From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands: two towns.

26The towns for the rest of the Kohathite clans were ten in all, with their pasturelands.

27To the descendants of Gershon, one of the Levite clans, they gave from the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the killer, with its pasturelands, and Be-eshterah with its pasturelands: two towns.

28From the tribe of Issachar they gave Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands,

29Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands: four towns.

30From the tribe of Asher they gave Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands,

31Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands: four towns.

32From the tribe of Naphtali they gave Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the killer, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands: three towns.

33All the towns of the Gershonites by their clans were thirteen towns with their pasturelands.

34To the clans of the descendants of Merari, the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands,

35Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands: four towns.

36From the tribe of Reuben they gave Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands,

37Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands: four towns.

38From the tribe of Gad they gave Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the killer, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands,

39Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands: four towns in all.

40As for all the towns of the descendants of Merari by their clans, the rest of the Levite clans, their lot was twelve towns.

41The towns of the Levites within the property of the Israelites were forty-eight towns in all, with their pasturelands.

42Each of these towns had its pasturelands around it; so it was with all these towns.

43So Yahweh gave Israel all the land that he had sworn to give to their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled in it.

44Yahweh gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of all their enemies had stood against them; Yahweh had handed all their enemies over to them.

45Not one of all the good promises that Yahweh had made to the house of Israel failed; every one came true.