‘ And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs. Four cities.’ For Mishal see Joshua 19:26, for Abdon see Ebron - Joshua 19:28 (‘d’ and ‘r’ are almost the same in Hebrew), for Helkath see Joshua 19:25, for Rehob see Joshua 19:28.’ read more
Joshua 21:1-Luke : . The Levitical Cities.— The cities promised by Moses to the Levites are here assigned to them. The sons of Aaron have 13 in Judah, the Levites 10 in Ephraim and Manasseh, 13 in Galilee, and 12 in the E. Jordan territory. Both promises and performance are unhistorical. The simple fact that the descendants of Aaron could at this time have numbered only a few families shows the assignment of 13 cities to them to be purely imaginary. For the true history of the priesthood,... read more
THE CITIES FOR THE PRIESTS AND LEVITESCRITICAL NOTES.—Joshua 21:1. The heads of the fathers] On this phrase, cf. note on chap. Joshua 14:1. The fathers of the tribe of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (Genesis 46:11; Exodus 6:16). From the Kohathites sprang the priestly family of Aaron. Hence the order of precedence was not the apparent order of birth. In the duties of the Levitical service the Kohathites stood first, the Gershonites next, and the Merarites last. This is also the order in... read more
Chapter 21In chapter twenty-one we read,Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites to the Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun ( Joshua 21:1 ),The priests were saying, "Now, look we know that we don't get any land, but we were promised cities, and that they were to be given cities, and the suburbs of those cities for their farming and all." Now automatically the cities of refuge were cities that belonged to the Levites. But other cities were also given to them, and... read more
Joshua 21:2 . Suburbs for our cattle. The levites sharing the tithe of corn, only needed cattle, which were tithed as well as the corn; but they were either burnt on the altar, or consumed in feasts before the Lord, the worshippers participating. See on Deuteronomy 26:12. The suburbs contained a square of two thousand cubits. Numbers 35:0. Joshua 21:3 . At the commandment of the Lord: the forty eight cities were given to the priests and levites out of their inheritance. The care of... read more
Joshua 21:1-45Unto the Levites . . . these cities.Ministers liberally treatedThe liberality both of God and of His people to the ministers of God is here very marvellous, in giving forty-eight cities to this one tribe of Levi, which was the least of all the tribes, yet have they the most cities given to them (Joshua 21:4; Joshua 21:10; Joshua 21:41), because it was the Lord’s pleasure to have this tribe provided for in an honourable manner, seeing He Himself took upon Him to be their portion... read more
Mishal: Joshua 19:25-Hosea :, Misheal, 1 Chronicles 6:74, 1 Chronicles 6:75, Mashal Reciprocal: Joshua 19:26 - Misheal read more
Rehob: See note on Numbers 13:21. Judges 1:31, Judges 18:21, 1 Chronicles 6:75 Reciprocal: Joshua 2:1 - harlot's house Joshua 19:30 - Rehob read more
28-39. Dabareh Joshua 19:12. En-gannim Joshua 19:21. Kedesh Joshua 12:22. Jokneam Joshua 12:22. Ramoth Joshua 13:26. Heshbon Joshua 13:17; Joshua 13:26. Jazer Joshua 13:25. read more
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G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - Joshua 21:1-45
Jacob's prophecy concerning Simeon and Levi: I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel, was fulfilled in the case of Levi in the distribution of the tribe through all the other tribes. What sounded like a curse thus proved to be a blessing. The presence of the Levites everywhere was intended to serve as a perpetual witness to the relation of the nation to God. This second division of the Book of Joshua dealing with the settlement of the people ends with a statement that Jehovah... read more