Joshua Chapter 21

Joshua 21 — English translation

Translation: THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition. Verse numbers match the Hebrew text below.

1. 1The family heads of the Levites approached the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes,
2. 2and spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, as follows: “G OD commanded through Moses that we be given towns to live in, along with their pastures for our livestock.”
3. 3So the Israelites, in accordance with G OD ’s command, assigned to the Levites, out of their own portions, the following towns with their pastures:
4. 4The [first] lot among the Levites fell to the Kohathite clans. To the descendants of the priest Aaron, there fell by lot 13 towns from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Simeon, and the tribe of Benjamin;
5. 5and to the remaining Kohathites [there fell] by lot 10 towns from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6. 6To the Gershonites [there fell] by lot 13 towns from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7. 7[And] to the Merarites, by their clans—12 towns from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun.
8. 8The Israelites assigned those towns with their pastures by lot to the Levites—as G OD had commanded through Moses.
9. 9From the tribe of the Judahites and the tribe of the Simeonites were assigned the following towns, which will be listed by name;
10. 10they went to the descendants of Aaron among the Kohathite clans of the Levites, for the first lot had fallen to them.
11. 11To them were assigned in the hill country of Judah Kiriath-arba—that is, Hebron—together with the pastures around it. [Arba was] the father of the Anokites.
12. 12They gave the fields and the villages of the town to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his holding.
13. 13But to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron—the city of refuge for manslayers—together with its pastures, Libnah with its pastures,
14. 14Jattir with its pastures, Eshtemoa with its pastures,
15. 15Holon with its pastures, Debir with its pastures,
16. 16Ain with its pastures, Juttah with its pastures, and Beth-shemesh with its pastures—9 towns from those two tribes.
17. 17And from the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its pastures, Geba with its pastures,
18. 18Anathoth with its pastures, and Almon with its pastures—4 towns.
19. 19All the towns of the descendants of the priest Aaron, 13 towns with their pastures.
20. 20As for the other clans of the Kohathites, the remaining Levites descended from Kohath, the towns in their lot were: From the tribe of Ephraim
21. 21they were given, in the hill country of Ephraim, Shechem—the city of refuge for manslayers—with its pastures, Gezer with its pastures,
22. 22Kibzaim with its pastures, and Beth-horon with its pastures—4 towns.
23. 23From the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pastures, Gibbethon with its pastures,
24. 24Aijalon with its pastures, and Gath-rimmon with its pastures—4 towns.
25. 25And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pastures, and Gath-rimmon with its pastures—2 towns.
26. 26All the towns for the remaining clans of the Kohathites came to 10, with their pastures.
27. 27To the Gershonites of the Levitical clans: From the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan—the city of refuge for manslayers—with its pastures, and Beeshterah with its pastures—2 towns.
28. 28From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion with its pastures, Dobrath with its pastures,
29. 29Jarmuth with its pastures, and En-gannim with its pastures—4 towns.
30. 30From the tribe of Asher: Mishal with its pastures, Abdon with its pastures,
31. 31Helkath with its pastures, and Rehob with its pastures—4 towns.
32. 32From the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee—the city of refuge for manslayers—with its pastures, Hammoth-dor with its pastures, and Kartan with its pastures—3 towns.
33. 33All the towns of the Gershonites, by their clans, came to 13 towns, with their pastures.
34. 34To the remaining Levites, the clans of the Merarites: From the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pastures, Kartah with its pastures,
35. 35Dimnah with its pastures, and Nahalal with its pastures—4 towns.
36. 36--
37. 37--
38. 38From the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead—the city of refuge for manslayers—with its pastures, Mahanaim with its pastures,
39. 39Heshbon with its pastures, and Jazer with its pastures—4 towns in all.
40. 40All the towns that went by lot to the Merarites, by their clans—the rest of the Levitical clans—came to 12 towns.
41. 41All the towns of the Levites within the holdings of the Israelites came to 48 towns, with their pastures.
42. 42Thus those towns were assigned, every town with its surrounding pasture; and so it was with all those towns.
43. 43Israel was given the whole country that G OD had sworn to their fathers to assign them; they took possession of it and settled in it.
44. 44G OD gave them rest on all sides, just as had been promised to their fathers on oath. Not one of all their enemies withstood them; G OD delivered all their enemies into their hands.
45. 45Not one of the good things that G OD had promised to the House of Israel was lacking. Everything was fulfilled.

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