Joshua 21:1-12 ▼

1 The Levite family heads approached the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes.

2 At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”

3 So the Israelites, by the LORD’s command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.

4 The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of the priest Aaron received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

5 The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

6 Gershon’s descendants received thirteen cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7 Merari’s descendants received twelve cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8 The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

9 The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon

10 to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the first lot.

11 They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah.

12 But they gave the fields and settlements of the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.