Joshua21
English Standard Version
1Then the of the ’ houses of the to the and to the of and to the of the ’ houses of the of the of .
2And they to them at in the of , The Lord that we be to , along with their for our .
3So by of the Lord the of to the the following and out of their .
4The for the of the . So those who were of the received by from the of , , , .
5And the of the received by from the of the of , from the of and the of , .
6The received by from the of the of , from the of , from the of , and from the of in , .
7The according to their received from the of , the of , and the of , .
8These and their the of by to the , as the Lord had .
9Out of the of the of and the of the of they the following by ,
10which went to the of , one of the of the who belonged to the people of ; since the fell to them .
11They them (Arba being the of ), that is , in the of , along with the it.
12But the of the and its had been to the of as his .
13And to the of the they , the of for the , with its , with its ,
14 with its , with its ,
15 with its , with its ,
16 with its , with its , with its — out of these ;
17then out of the of , with its , with its ,
18 with its , and with its — .
19The of the of , the , were in all with their .
20As to the of the belonging to the of the , the to them were out of the of .
21To them were , the of for the , with its in the of , with its ,
22 with its , with its — ;
23and out of the of , with its , with its ,
24 with its , with its — ;
25and out of the of , with its , and with its — .
26The of the of the of the were in all with their .
27And to the , one of the of the , were given out of the of , in with its , the of for the , and Beeshterah with its — ;
28and out of the of , with its , with its ,
29 with its , with its — ;
30and out of the of , with its , with its ,
31 with its , and with its — ;
32and out of the of , in with its , the of for the , with its , and with its — .
33The of the several of the were in all with their .
34And to the of the , the , were given out of the of , with its , with its ,
35 with its , with its — ;
36and out of the tribe of , with its , with its ,
37 with its , and with its — ;
38and out of the of , in with its , the of for the , with its ,
39 with its , with its — in all.
40As for the of the , that is, the of the of the , those to them were in all .
41The of the in the of the of the of were in all with their .
42These had its it. it was with .
43Thus the Lord to all the that he to to their . And they took of it, and they there.
44And the Lord gave them on every just as he had to their . Not of all their had them, for the Lord had all their into their .
45Not one of all the that the Lord had to the of had ; all came to .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Joshua 21.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Cities for the Levites. (1–8). The cities allotted to the Levites. (9–42). God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise. (43–45).
vv1-8
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own merits or services, but the Divine precept. The maintenance of ministers is not a thing left merely to the will of the people, that they may let them starve if they please; they which preach the gospel should live by the gospel, and should live comfortably. (Jos 21:9-42)
vv9-42
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, blessed be God, we have the gospel more diffused amongst us. (Jos 21:43-45)
vv43-45
God promised to give to the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan for a possession, and now they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the promise of the heavenly Canaan is as sure to all God's spiritual Israel; for it is the promise of Him that cannot lie. There stood not a man before them. The after-prevalence of the Canaanites was the effect of Israel's slothfulness, and the punishment of their sinful inclination to the idolatries and abominations of the heathen whom they harboured and indulged. There failed not aught of any good thing, which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. In due season all his promises will be accomplished; then will his people acknowledge that the Lord has exceeded their largest expectations, and made them more than conquerors, and brought them to their desired rest.
Key Words
רֹאשׁ: the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)
אָב: father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application
לֵוִיִּי: a Levite or descendant of Levi
נָגַשׁ: to be or come (causatively, bring) near (for any purpose); euphemistically, to lie with a woman; as an enemy, to attack; religious to worship; causatively, to present; figuratively, to adduce an argument; by reversal, to stand back
אֶלְעָזָר: Elazar, the name of seven Israelites
כֹּהֵן: literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
יְהוֹשׁוּעַ: Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
נוּן: Nun or Non, the father of Joshua
מַטֶּה: a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)
Cross References
Joshua 21Direct fulfillment of the Mosaic command to give the Levites cities and suburbs from tribal inheritances.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Fulfills Jacob's prophecy that Levi would be scattered and dispersed throughout the tribes of Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Dispersing Levites enabled them to teach God's law and judgments locally throughout all Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The parallel Chronicler account detailing the exact allotment of cities to the families of Aaron.
Supported by JFB
Establishes the permanent Levitical ownership and Jubilee redemption laws for these allocated cities.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Resolves Caleb's inheritance of Hebron with the Levites receiving the city and suburbs.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Solomon echoes Joshua's declaration that not one word of God's good promise has failed.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Identifies the Kohathites, who drew the first lot, as a primary division of Levi.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Highlights that several assigned Levitical cities also served as designated cities of refuge.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Anathoth, assigned here as a priestly city, is later the home of Jeremiah the priest.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Joshua's personal farewell testimony reiterating that all God's promises were completely fulfilled.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Contrast: Levi has no territorial inheritance, but instead receives specific cities to dwell in.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Shows the historical impact when northern Levites left their suburbs to return to Judah.
Supported by JFB
The spiritual purpose for scattering priests: to preserve knowledge and provide instruction in the law.
Supported by Matthew Poole