Joshua 21:2-42
They came to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said,“ The Lord commanded Moses to give us towns to live in and pasturelands for our livestock.”So by the command of the Lord the people of Israel gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own grants of land.The descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, were allotted thirteen towns that were originally assigned to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.The other families of the Kohathite clan were allotted ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh.The clan of Gershon was allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.The clan of Merari was allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.So the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses and assigned these towns and pasturelands to the Levites by casting sacred lots.The Israelites gave the following towns from the tribes of Judah and Simeonto the descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, since the sacred lot fell to them first:Kiriath arba( that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pasturelands.( Arba was an ancestor of Anak.)But the open fields beyond the town and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.The following towns with their pasturelands were given to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Hebron( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Libnah,Jattir, Eshtemoa,Holon, Debir,Ain, Juttah, and Beth shemesh— nine towns from these two tribes.From the tribe of Benjamin the priests were given the following towns with their pasturelands: Gibeon, Geba,Anathoth, and Almon— four towns.So in all, thirteen towns with their pasturelands were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.The rest of the Kohathite clan from the tribe of Levi was allotted the following towns and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim:Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Gezer,Kibzaim, and Beth horon— four towns.The following towns and pasturelands were allotted to the priests from the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh, Gibbethon,Aijalon, and Gath rimmon— four towns.The half tribe of Manasseh allotted the following towns with their pasturelands to the priests: Taanach and Gath rimmon— two towns.So in all, ten towns with their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clan.The descendants of Gershon, another clan within the tribe of Levi, received the following towns with their pasturelands from the half tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone) and Be eshterah— two towns.From the tribe of Issachar they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Kishion, Daberath,Jarmuth, and En gannim— four towns.From the tribe of Asher they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Mishal, Abdon,Helkath, and Rehob— four towns.From the tribe of Naphtali they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Kedesh in Galilee( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Hammoth dor, and Kartan— three towns.So in all, thirteen towns with their pasturelands were allotted to the clan of Gershon.The rest of the Levites— the Merari clan— were given the following towns with their pasturelands from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah,Dimnah, and Nahalal— four towns.From the tribe of Reuben they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Bezer, Jahaz,Kedemoth, and Mephaath— four towns.From the tribe of Gad they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Ramoth in Gilead( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Mahanaim,Heshbon, and Jazer— four towns.So in all, twelve towns were allotted to the clan of Merari.The total number of towns and pasturelands within Israelite territory given to the Levites came to forty eight.Every one of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it.
