Through My Bible Yr 03 – September 14

Joshua 20 – 21

Through My Bible – September 14

Joshua 20 – 21 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Cities of Refuge

Joshua 20

1Ā Then the Lord spoke to Joshua 2Ā and told him to give the people of Israel the following directions:

Designate for yourselves the cities of refuge about which I spoke to you through Moses. 3Ā A person who takes a life may flee to one of them, if that person has killed someone by accident, without intent. These cities are to serve for you as a refuge from the avenger [1] of blood.

4Ā The person is to flee to one of these cities and stand at the entrance to the gate of the city and state his case before a hearing of the elders of that city. They are to receive him into the city and give him a place where he can live with them. 5Ā When the avenger of blood pursues him, the elders are not to hand over the person who took a life to the avenger, because that person killed his fellow man without intent, and he had not been his enemy previously. 6Ā The killer is to live in that city until he stands in front of the community for judgment, and then until the death of the high priest who presides in those days. At that time the one who took a life may return to his city and to his houseā€”to the city from which he fled.

7Ā So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8Ā Also in the region on the east side of the Jordan of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

9Ā These were the appointed cities for all the people of Israel and for the aliens residing among them, so that anyone killing a person accidentally could flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood before he stood trial in the presence of the community.

Cities for the Priests and Levites

Joshua 21

1Ā Then the leading fathers [2] of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leading fathers of the tribes of the people of Israel. 2Ā When they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, they said, ā€œThe Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to live in, together with their pasturelands for our livestock.ā€

3Ā So from their own inheritance the people of Israel gave to the Levites these cities and their pasturelands according to the command of the Lord.

4Ā The clans of Kohath, one of the descendants of Levi, received the first lot. Those who were descendants of Aaron the priest received by lot thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, from the Simeonites, and from the tribe of Benjamin. 5Ā The remaining Kohathites received by lot ten cities from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

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

7Ā The descendants of Merari according to their clans received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8Ā The people of Israel assigned cities and their pasturelands to the Levites by lot, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Cities for the Priests

9Ā The tribe of the descendants of Judah and the tribe of the descendants of Simeon gave the cities, named below, 10Ā to the descendants of Aaron, who were from the Kohathite clan of the people of Levi, because the first lot was theirs.

11Ā They gave them Kiriath Arba in the hill country of Judah and its pasturelands which surround it. (Kiriath Arba is Hebron.) (Arba was the father of the Anakites.) 12Ā But the outlying countryside of the city and its villages they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13Ā In this way they gave the descendants of Aaron the priest these cities: Hebron, the city of refuge for one who takes a life, together with its pasturelands, Libnah and its pasturelands, 14Ā Jattir and its pasturelands, Eshtemoa and its pasturelands, 15Ā Holon and its pasturelands, Debir and its pasturelands, 16Ā Ain and its pasturelands, Juttah and its pasturelands, Beth Shemesh and its pasturelandsā€”nine cities from these two tribes.

17Ā From the tribe of Benjamin, they gave Gibeon and its pasturelands, Geba and its pasturelands, 18Ā Anathoth and its pasturelands, and Almon and its pasturelandsā€”four cities.

19Ā All the cities for the descendants of Aaron the priest totaled thirteen cities and their pasturelands.

Cities for Kohathite Levites

20Ā For the rest of the clans of the Levites descended from Kohath, the cities of their allotment came from the tribe of Ephraim.

21Ā They gave them Shechem, the city of refuge for one who takes a life, and its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim; Gezer and its pasturelands; 22Ā Kibzaim and its pasturelands; and Beth Horon and its pasturelandsā€”four cities.

23Ā From the tribe of Dan they gave Eltekeh and its pasturelands, Gibbethon and its pasturelands, 24Ā Aijalon and its pasturelands, Gath Rimmon and its pasturelandsā€”four cities.

25Ā From the half tribe of Manasseh, they gave Taā€™anach and its pasturelands, and Gath Rimmon and its pasturelandsā€”two cities.

26Ā The total was ten cities and their pasturelands for the remaining clans of the descendants of Kohath.

Cities for the Gershonite Levities

27Ā To the descendants of Gershon, one of the clans of the Levites, these cities were given.

From the half tribe of Manasseh: the city of refuge for someone who had killed a man, namely, Golan in Bashan and its pasturelands, also Beā€™eshterah and its pasturelandā€”two cities.

28Ā From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion and its pasturelands, Daberath and its pasturelands, 29Ā Jarmuth and its pasturelands, En Gannim and its pasturelandsā€”four cities.

30Ā From the tribe of Asher: Mishal and its pasturelands, Abdon and its pasturelands, 31Ā Helkath and its pasturelands, and Rehob and its pasturelandsā€”four cities.

32Ā From the tribe of Naphtali: the city of refuge for someone who had killed a man, namely, Kedesh in Galilee and its pasturelands, Hammoth Dor and its pasturelands, and Kartan and its pasturelandsā€”three cities.

33Ā All the cities of the Gershonites according to their clans totaled thirteen cities and their pasturelands.

Cities for the Merarite Levites

34Ā To the clans of the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, these cities were given.

From the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam and its pasturelands, Kartah and its pasturelands, 35Ā Dimnah and its pasturelands, Nahalal and its pasturelandsā€”four cities.

36Ā From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer and its pasturelands, Jahzah and its pasturelands, 37Ā Kedemoth and its pasturelands, and Mephaā€™ath and its pasturelandsā€”four cities.

38Ā From the tribe of Gad: the city of refuge for one who takes a life, namely, Ramoth in Gilead and its pasturelands, Mahanaim and its pasturelands, 39Ā Heshbon and its pasturelands, Jazer and its pasturelands. All the cities totaled four.

40Ā All the cities for the descendants of Merari according to their clans, the rest of the clans of the Levitesā€”their allotment was twelve cities.

41Ā So all the cities of the Levites within the possession of the descendants of Israel totaled forty-eight cities and their pasturelands. 42Ā These cities consisted of each city and its pasturelands that surround it. It was that way for all these cities.

43Ā So the Lord gave to Israel all of the land that he had sworn to give to their fathers. They took possession of it and lived in it. 44Ā The Lord gave them rest all around, in fulfillment of everything that he had sworn to their fathers. Not one person out of all their enemies had withstood them. The Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45Ā Not one promise out of all the good promises that the Lord had promised to the house of Israel failed. [3] They all came true!

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 20:3 The Hebrew word translated avenger is goel. Goel is also translated redeemer or kinsman redeemer. One function of the goel was to seek justice for a relative who had been killed. In that situation the goel is called an avenger. Another duty of the goel was recovering lost property. In that situation he is called a redeemer.
  2. Joshua 21:1 Fathers is a common title for the ruling elders among the Israelites.
  3. Joshua 21:45 Literally fell

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage VersionĀ®, EHVĀ®, Ā© 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.