Joshua 21

Joshua 21

The big picture

Joshua 21 opens in verse 1 with “Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 23 with “And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,”, and closes in verse 45 with “There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of…” Repeated or prominent terms include suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.

Scripture beside the summary

Joshua · King James Version · 45

Joshua 21:1-8

1–8: Came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the…

Joshua 21:1–8 opens with “Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua…” and reaches “And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Joshua 21 develops its own movement around suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families, with particular weight carried by tribe, children, cities.

Context that brings the passage to life

“Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and…” Naming Eleazar and Israel keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD , these…” Naming Israel and Levites keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of…” The number ten makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

“The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the…” The number twelve makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

Joshua 21:1-8

King James Version

1Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;

2And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.

3And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD , these cities and their suburbs.

4And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

5And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

6And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

7The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

8And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

Joshua 21:9-16

9–16: They gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the…

Joshua 21:9–16 opens with “And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of…” and reaches “And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs; nine…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Joshua 21 develops its own movement around suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families, with particular weight carried by suburbs, children, city.

Context that brings the passage to life

“And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities…” Naming Judah and Simeon keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the…” Naming Anak and Arba keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

Joshua 21:9-16

King James Version

9And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name,

10Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.

11And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.

12But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

13Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,

14And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,

15And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,

16And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

Joshua 21:17-24

17–24: Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her…

Joshua 21:17–24 opens with “And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,” and reaches “Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; four cities.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Joshua 21 develops its own movement around suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families, with particular weight carried by suburbs, cities, children.

Context that brings the passage to life

“And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,” Naming Benjamin and Geba keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.” Naming Aaron and All keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

Joshua 21:17-24

King James Version

17And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,

18Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

19All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

20And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

21For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,

22And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs; four cities.

23And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,

24Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; four cities.

Joshua 21:25-32

25–32: Out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and…

Joshua 21:25–32 opens with “And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her…” and reaches “And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Joshua 21 develops its own movement around suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families, with particular weight carried by suburbs, cities, tribe.

Context that brings the passage to life

“And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; two cities.” The number two makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

“And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave…” The number two makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

Joshua 21:25-32

King James Version

25And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; two cities.

26All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

27And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beesh-terah with her suburbs; two cities.

28And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,

29Jarmuth with her suburbs, En-gannim with her suburbs; four cities.

30And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,

31Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.

32And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth-dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

Joshua 21:33-40

33–40: All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were…

Joshua 21:33–40 opens with “All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their…” and reaches “So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Joshua 21 develops its own movement around suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families, with particular weight carried by suburbs, cities, families.

Context that brings the passage to life

“All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.” Naming All and Gershonites keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.” The number four makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

Joshua 21:33-40

King James Version

33All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

34And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,

35Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.

36And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,

37Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.

38And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

39Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.

40So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

Joshua 21:41-45

41–45: All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of…

Joshua 21:41–45 opens with “All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and…” and reaches “There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Joshua 21 develops its own movement around suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families, with particular weight carried by cities, LORD, Israel.

Context that brings the passage to life

“All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their…” The number forty makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

Joshua 21:41-45

King James Version

41All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

42These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

43And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

44And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

45There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Details worth noticing

45verses in this reading
6major movements
1verses with speech

The opening image

Joshua 21:1 begins with “Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the…”

Where the chapter turns

Joshua 21:12 forms a natural hinge: “But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.”

The final note

Joshua 21:45 leaves the reader with “There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”

A word trail through the chapter

The words suburbs, cities, tribe, children, families, gave help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.

How is God's faithfulness shown in both halves of the family?

Isaac is born as promised, and Ishmael is heard and preserved with a future of his own.

Why does a well deserve narrative space?

Water sustains life and makes residence possible in a land Abraham does not yet own.

KJV words made clear

unto
to
spake
spoke

Text first

Where readers differ

The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.

The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.

Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.