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 mentioned by name:
Parallel Translations
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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 mentioned by name:
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And 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,
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And 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.
Cross-references (2)
Passages linked to Joshua 21:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Joshua 21:13-18 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 lands, Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, Ain with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands: nine cities out of those two tribes. Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, Anathoth with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands: four cities.
- 1 Chronicles 6:65 They gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities which are mentioned by name.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Judah and
Judah and
Simeon are mentioned together, because the cities of Simeon lay within Judah’s portion.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We have here a particular account of the cities…
We have here a particular account of the cities which were given to the children of Levi out of the several tribes, not only to be occupied and inhabited by them, as tenants to the several tribes in which they lay - no, their interest in them was not dependent and precarious, but to be owned and possessed by them as lords and proprietors, and as having the same title to them that the rest of the tribes had to their cities or lands, as appears by the law which preserved the house in the Levites' cities from being alienated any longer than till the year of jubilee, Lev 25:32, Lev 25:33. Yet it is probable that the Levites having only the cities and suburbs, while the land about pertained to the tribes in which they lay, those of that tribe, for the convenience of occupying that land, might commonly rent houses of the Levites, as they could spare them in their cities, and so live among them as their tenants. Several things may be observed in this account, besides what was observed in the law concerning it, Num. 35.
I. That the Levites were dispersed into all the tribes, and not suffered to live all together in any one part of the country. This would find them all with work, and employ them all for the good of others; for ministers, of all people, must neither be idle nor live to themselves or to one another only. Christ left his twelve disciples together in a body, but left orders that they should in due time disperse themselves, that they might preach the gospel to every creature. The mixing of the Levites thus with the other tribes would be an obligation upon them to walk circumspectly, and as became their sacred function, and to avoid every thing that might disgrace it. Had they lived all together, they would have been tempted to wink at one another's faults, and to excuse one another when they did amiss; but by this means they were made to see the eyes of all Israel upon them, and therefore saw it their concern to walk so as that their ministry might in nothing be blamed nor their high character suffer by their ill carriage.
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II. That every tribe of Israel was adorned and enriched with its share of Levites' cities in proportion to its compass, even those that lay most remote. They were all God's people, and therefore they all had Levites among them. 1. To show kindness to, as God appointed them, Deu 12:19; Deu 14:29. They were God's receivers, to whom the people might give their grateful acknowledgments of God's goodness, as the occasion and disposition were. 2. To receive advice and instruction from; when they could not go up to the tabernacle, to consult those who attended there, they might go to a Levites' city, and be taught the good knowledge of the Lord. Thus God set up a candle in every room of his house, to give light to all his family; as those that attended the altar kept the charge of the Lord, to see that no divine appointment was neglected there, so those that were scattered in the country had their charge too, which was to see that no idolatrous superstitious usages were introduced at a distance and to watch for the souls of God's Israel. Thus did God graciously provide for the keeping up of religion among them, and that they might have the word nigh them; yet, blessed be God, we, under the gospel, have it yet nigher, not only Levites in every county, but Levites in every parish, whose office it is still to teach the people knowledge, and to go before them in the things of God.
III. That there were thirteen cities, and those some of the best, appointed for the priests, the sons of Aaron, Jos 21:19. Aaron left but two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, yet his family was now so much increased, and it was foreseen that it would in process of time grow so numerous, as to replenish all these cities, though a considerable number must of necessity be resident wherever the ark and the altar were. We read in both Testaments of such numbers of priests that we may suppose none of all the families of Israel that came out of Egypt increased afterwards so much as that of Aaron did; and the promise afterwards to the house of Aaron is, God shall increase you more and more, you and your children, Psa 115:12, Psa 115:14. He will raise up a seed to serve him.
IV. That some of the Levites' cities were afterwards famous upon other accounts. Hebron was the city in which David began his reign, and in Manhanaim, another Levites' city (Jos 21:38), he lay, and had his headquarters when he fled from Absalom. The first Israelite that ever wore the title of king (namely, Abimelech, the son of Gideon) reigned in Shechem, another Levites' city, Jos 21:21.
V. That the number of them in all was more than of most of the tribes, except Judah, though the tribe of Levi was one of the least of the tribes, to show how liberal God is, and his people should be, to his ministers; yet the disproportion will not appear so great as at first it seems, if we consider that the Levites had cities only with their suburbs to dwell in, but the rest of the tribes, besides their cities (and those perhaps were many more than are named in the account of their lot), had many unwalled towns and villages which they inhabited, besides country houses.
Upon the whole, it appears that effectual care was taken that the Levites should live both comfortably and usefully: and those, whether ministers or others, for whom Providence has done well, must look upon themselves as obliged thereby to do good, and, according as their capacity and opportunity are, to serve their generation.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they gave out of the tribe of the…
And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah,.... Here follows a particular account of the several cities which were given out of each tribe, and first out of this:
and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon; which is joined with that of Judah, because the cities of it lay within it, Jos 19:1,
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these cities which are here mentioned by name; Jos 21:13.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Judah and Simeon - These are mentioned together, because…
Judah and Simeon - These are mentioned together, because the cities of Simeon lay within Judah's portion.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jos 21:9-10. Judah and Simeon — These are mentioned…
Jos 21:9-10. Judah and Simeon — These are mentioned together, because the cities of Simeon lay within Judah’s portion. Families — That is, of the family, the plural number being put for the singular which is not unusual.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The thirteen priestly cities (see the marginal references) were…
The thirteen priestly cities (see the marginal references) were all in the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. Thus, as Calvin remarks, God so overruled it that the priestly families were placed upon the spot which He had determined before hand to choose as the site of His temple.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain
CHAPTER XXI.
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 THE CITIES OF THE PRIESTS. (Jos. 21:9-42)
THE CITIES OF THE PRIESTS. (Jos. 21:9-42)
they gave . . . these cities which are here mentioned by name--It was overruled by the unerring providence of the Divine Lawgiver that the cities of the priests lay within the territories of Judah and Benjamin. This was a provision, the admirable wisdom and propriety of which were fully manifested on the schism that took place in the reign of Rehoboam.
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 9–19. The Cities of the Descendants of Aaron
9–19. The Cities of the Descendants of Aaron
9. And they gave] We have now first a list of the cities of the priests of the line of Aaron.
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out of the tribe of the children of Judah] The list now given divides itself into two parts:
(a) The nine cities which the sons of Aaron received in the country of Simeon and Judah (Jos_21:9-16);
(b) The four cities which they received in the country of Benjamin (Jos_21:17-19).
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.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Cities of the Priests
The Cities of the Priests
v. 9. And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, out of the possessions allotted to these tribes, these cities which are here mentioned by name,
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v. 10. which 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.
v. 11. And they gave them the city of Arba, the father of Anak, Jos 15:13-14, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof found about it, the grazing-land for cattle immediately adjoining the city.
v. 12. But the fields of the city, the farm-land, and the villages thereof, the towns tributary to it, gave they to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, for his possession, Jos 14:12-14.
v. 13. Thus they gave to the children of Aaron, the priest, Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer, for this it was at the same time, Jos 20:7; and Libnah with her suburbs,
v. 14. and Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,
v. 15. and Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,
v. 16. and Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs: nine cities out of those two tribes, all of them being mentioned in the catalog of the cities of Judah and of Simeon, Jos 15:21-62; Jos 19:7.
v. 17. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, a fact which tended to curb any idolatrous notions of its heathen inhabitants, Joshua 9, Geba with her suburbs,
v. 18. Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs, Jos 18:24-25; 1Ch 6:60: four cities.
v. 19. All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs. Thus the men in charge of the worship in the Jewish Church were provided for with all that they needed to support their body and life, even as it is the will of the Lord today that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:9-42 The descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities, the…
21:9-42 The descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities, the rest of the Kohathite clan received ten, the descendants of Gershon received thirteen, and the Merari clan received twelve. There were a total of forty-eight Levitical cities. Each tribe had four Levitical cities, except Judah had eight, Simeon had one, and Naphtali had three. Six of the Levitical cities were also cities of refuge (20:7-8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.