To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron; Libnah also with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, Hilen with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, Ashan with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands; and out of the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasture lands, Allemeth with its pasture lands, and Anathoth with its pasture lands. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
Show the surrounding paragraph
1 Chronicles 6:57-60 sits inside this longer paragraph.
These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son. Now these are their dwelling places according to their encampments in their borders: to the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the first lot), to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah, and its pasture lands around it; but the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron; Libnah also with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, Hilen with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, Ashan with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands; and out of the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasture lands, Allemeth with its pasture lands, and Anathoth with its pasture lands. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
Parallel Translations
-
To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron; Libnah also with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands,
Hilen with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands,
Ashan with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands;
and out of the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasture lands, Allemeth with its pasture lands, and Anathoth with its pasture lands. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
-
And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,
And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,
And Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs:
And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
Show all 3 translations
-
(6-42) And to the sons of Aaron they gave the city of refuge, Hebron; Libnah also with the open land about it, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa with the open land about it;
(6-43) and Hilen with the open land about it, Debir with the open land about it;
(6-44) and Ashan with the open land about it, and Beth-shemesh with the open land about it;
(6-45) and out of the tribe of Benjamin: Geba with the open land about it, and Alemeth with the open land about it, and Anathoth with the open land about it. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
Cross-references (29)
- Joshua 21:16 (v59) Ain with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands: nine cities out of those two tribes.
- Joshua 15:42 (vv57, 59) Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
- Joshua 10:3 (v58) Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of…
- Joshua 15:48 (v57) In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
- Joshua 21:13-14 (v57) To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Libnah with its pasture…
Show all 28 cross-references
- Jeremiah 1:1 (v60) The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
- Numbers 35:13-15 (v57) The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge. You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give…
- Joshua 10:29 (v57) Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.
- Joshua 10:38 (v58) Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it.
- Joshua 12:13 (v58) the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;
- Joshua 15:10 (v59) and the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim (also called Chesalon) on the…
- Joshua 15:49 (v58) Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (which is Debir),
- Joshua 15:51 (v58) Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.
- Joshua 18:24 (v60) Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.
- Joshua 20:7-9 (v57) They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called…
- Joshua 21:15 (v58) Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands,
- Joshua 21:17-18 (v60) Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, Anathoth with its pasture lands, and Almon with…
- Joshua 21:19 (v57) All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
- 1 Samuel 6:12-19 (v59) The cows took the straight way by the way to Beth Shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and didn’t turn away to the…
- 1 Samuel 13:3 (v60) Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the…
- 1 Kings 2:26 (v60) To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put you…
- 1 Chronicles 4:17 (v57) The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon; and she bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
- 1 Chronicles 4:32 (v59) Their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities;
- 1 Chronicles 8:6 (v60) These are the sons of Ehud. These are the heads of fathers’ households of the inhabitants of Geba, who were carried captive to Manahath:
- Isaiah 10:30 (v60) Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth!
- Jeremiah 11:23 (v60) There will be no remnant to them, for I will bring evil on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.’ ”
- Jeremiah 37:12 (v60) then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the middle of the people.
- Jeremiah 43:13 (v59) He will also break the pillars of Beth Shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and he will burn the houses of the gods of Egypt with fire.’ ”
28 distinct cross-references across this passage (29 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv57, 58, 60 That he that had killed a man might flee…
That he that had killed a man might flee thereunto for succor till his cause were tried, Deut. 19:2.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv57, 60 They gave the cities, or, out of the cities;…
They gave the cities, or, out of the cities; the Hebrew eth being put for meeth, as hath been oft noted.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v60 Verse 60. All their cities - were thirteen] But…
Verse 60. All their cities - were thirteen] But there are only eleven reckoned here, Gibeon and Juttah being omitted, and the names of some of the others changed. None of the versions give the full number of names, although they all give the whole sum thirteen.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v60 1Ch 6:60. All their cities were thirteen — Of…
1Ch 6:60. All their cities were thirteen — Of which eleven are here numbered, and two more are mentioned Jos 21:16-17, namely, Jattah and Gibeon; which, perhaps, were in ruins when this book was written.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv57, 59, 60 Of, is not authorized by the Vulgate civitates, but…
Of, is not authorized by the Vulgate civitates, but is added, to signify that all these 13 cities were not thus privileged. (Haydock) --- There were only six cites of refuge, of which Hebron was one. See Josue xx. 7. (Calmet) (Menochius) --- Protestants, "And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Juda, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge." But "such a licence to insert words at pleasure, cannot be allowed." Hebrew literally, "they gave cities of Hebrew refuge, Hebron," &c. The "sense absolutely disallows the word Judah," which is omitted , (Josue xxi. 13.) as well as in some Hebrew manuscripts in the Bamberg, and Complutensian editions, and in those of Jablonski and Michaelis. --- Hari, "cities," ought to be hir, "a city," as only one is meant. We should also add with the Arabic and Syriac, and the parallel passage in Josue, "and her suburbs," after Hebron. (Kennicott) --- "Juda" is not found in the Septuagint, &c.: and Buxtorf acted with little wisdom, when he thought he had sufficiently answered Capellus, by observing that the Masora declared the word to be authentic. (Anticrit.) It is a great misfortune that most of the printed Hebrew editions have been given under such influence; and that the Masorets have defaced so many manuscripts by their corrections. (Haydock) --- Hence they probably burnt all the first edition of Naples, 1487, except part of a single copy, comprising the Cethubim given to Eton college by Dr. Pellet, which omits the word Juda. (Kennicott, Dis. i. p. 520-2)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v60 thirteen cities--No more than eleven are named here; but…
thirteen cities--No more than eleven are named here; but two additional ones are mentioned (Jos 21:16-17), which makes up the thirteen.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv57–60 57. the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city…
57. the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge] Render (with a slight correction of the Hebrew) the city of refuge, Hebron (cp. Jos_21:13), Hebron being the only city of refuge here mentioned (Jos_20:7).
Libnah] Jos_10:29; 2Ki_8:22; 2Ki_19:8. It was in the S.W. of Judah.
Read full note →
Eshtemoa] the modern es-Semu‘a, three and a half hours S. of Hebron.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv57–60 (57) They gave the cities of Judah.—Heb. text, the…
(57) They gave the cities of Judah.—Heb. text, the cities of refuge, Hebron and Libnah, and her pastures. Of the cities mentioned only Hebron was an asylum for the manslayer. The other cities of refuge were Kedesh-Naphtali, Shechem, Bezer, Ramoth-Gilead, and Golan. (See Jos_20:7-8.). Here our translators have adopted the Hebrew marginal correction of the text. (Comp. Jos_21:13, which reads. “The manslayer’s city of refuge, Hebron.”) The same inaccuracy recurs in 1Ch_6:67, below.
With her suburbs.—With her pastures. The phrase has been omitted after Jattir (Jos_21:13).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v57 The city of refuge.
The city of refuge.
Hebron was one of the six cities of refuge, which were provided to shelter the manslayer from the wrath of the avenger of blood, and thus to cheek the savage lawlessness of a warlike people in a primitive state of society. They are, in one passage of the New Testament, regarded as emblematical of the provision made in Christ for the security of the penitent and returning sinner. There is suggested
Read full note →
I A CASE OF NEED AND DANGER. The cause of the peril and alarm is sin. And the righteous Law and retributive government of God render the case of the sinner one serious in itself and its issues. This appears from the gospel admonitions to repentance.
II A PROVISION OF MERCY AND WINDOW. As the city of refuge was appointed for the innocent manslayer"s escape from vengeance and death, so the guilty sinner is the object of the Divine compassion which has provided in Christ a safe and eternal shelter. In the Divine Redeemer is refuge from sin and condemnation, is the favour and life of God.
III AN ACTION OF FAITH AND ENERGY. The city was of no use except the imperilled Israelite fled unto it for safety. So with Christ, whose almighty sufficiency avails for those, and those only, who accept him and shelter themselves in his riven side. They are saved who have "fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel.
IV A DIVINELY PLEDGED SECURITY FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST. The Jewish Law assured of safety those who made use of the provision for refuge. And the Divine word and faithfulness are pledged to those who confide in Christ, that they shall never perish, but shall have eternal life.
V A TRUE GOSPEL. It is the office of the Church of the Redeemer both to warn sinners of the danger to which they are exposed and to point them to the one only Refuge provided by Divine wisdom for their security and peace. It is a refuge accessible to all and sufficient for all, and there is no reason in the heart of God why any poor sinner should remain outside this refuge and spiritually perish. T.
Vers. 57, 67.
The doctrinal witness of the refuge cities. (Exo_21:13; Num_35:6, Num_35:11, Num_35:14; Deu_19:1-10 Jos 20)
The severity of the Mosaic laws and institutions has often been dwelt on, but a careful estimate of the prevailing sentiments of surrounding nations, in those early times, would rather impress us with the mercifulness of Judaism, and the ways in which customs which pressed with undue severity on individual rights and liberties were toned and modified, in the East two things are familiar which appear strange and unworthy to us:
(1) irresponsible governments, usually involving tyrannous dealings; and
(2) a very light estimate of the value of human life. The mercifulness of Judaism is plainly seen in the Mosaic appointment of the refuge cities. The laws relating to murder are clearly defined, and the different forms of the crime are duly recognized. Premeditated murder is distinguished from unintentional homicide, and the man who accidentally kills another is secured until he can prove the circumstances of the accident. But in the arrangement made for him Moses wisely retains the older sentiment of justice, which called upon the nearest relative of a slain man to act as his blood-avenger, or goel. Amongst the other nations, as the Arab tribes of the present day, "any bloodshed whatever, whether wilful or accidental, laid the homicide open to the duteous revenge of the relatives and family of the slain person, who again in their turn were then similarly watched and hunted by the opposite party, until a family war of extermination had legally settled itself from generation to generation, without the least prospect of a peaceful termination." Moses allowed the goel still to pursue; but the homicide had his chance of escape. Cities conveniently situated on both the west and east of Jordan were made refuge cities, and the roads to them were kept clear. Once within the gates a calm consideration of the circumstances was assured; and only if proved guilty of wilful murder could the man be delivered up to the goel-avenger.
I THE SOCIAL WORKING OF THE REFUGE SYSTEM. Its influence may be shown in:
1. Its cultivation of a worthier sense of justice.
2. Its teaching as to the relation of motive to crime, such motive giving the act of crime its serious quality.
3. Its tendency to relieve the individual from the thought of executing hisown vengeance.
4. Its claim to have a fixed authority for the settling of all social laws, andtheir vindication by due punishments. A worthy and strongly enforced legislative system lies at the very foundation of the peaceful order and stable progress of every nation. The element of personal passion must be removed if punishment is to be wisely administered; men must be willing to put aside their own avengings if social order is to be secured. Nations need to be very careful to secure purity in the administration of justice.
II THE RELIGIOUS SUGGESTIONS OF THE REFUGE SYSTEM. These will differ according to the school of thought to which the preacher may belong. From the evangelical standpoint, the city of refuge symbolizes Christ. The avenger represents the law-penalty under which the sinner comes, which seeks his death. There is made by Christ Jesus a free and open road to himself, the Refuge. But the sinner must himself arise and flee, running into the shelter of the ever-opened gates. When "in Christ," if a due examination be made of his sins, the all-sufficing answer which secures eternal safety is this: "Jesus has already borne the penalty of them all, and the Law cannot revive its satisfied claim." There is "no condemnation" for those who have "fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them in the gospel.
More generally treated, we may learn:
1. The Divine righteousness in affixing a natural and necessary penalty to every act of sin.
2. The fallen state of man, in that he so readily makes holy avenging into passionate revenging.
3. The mercifulness of the Divine administration, in that God puts man"s passions under wise restraints; and secures the fair, considerate, and honourable treatment even of the sinner. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv57, 59 General Information:
General Information:
See: How to Translate Names
Read full note →
Hebron ... Libnah ... Jattir ... Eshtemoa ... Hilen ... Debir
These are names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)
its pasturelands
the land with grass for animals to eat. See how you translated this in 1 Chronicles 5:16.
translationWords
refuge
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.