Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest ,.... The families of the Kohathites, that part of them which descended from him, and were priests: Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer ; that had slain a person unawares, and without design; see on Joshua 20:3 , and Libnah with her suburbs ; a royal city, of which see Joshua 10:29 . read more
The ecclesiastical settlement of Canaan. Though the ecclesiastical institutions of the Christian Church differ, in some respects materially, from these of the Jewish, yet inasmuch as the law and the gospel came from the same All-wise Hand, we may naturally expect that the main principles of each will be the same. Perhaps we have insisted too much of late on the fact that the law was "done away in Christ," and too little on the qualifying truth that Christ came "not to destroy, but to... read more
Hebron with her suburbs to be a city of refuge for the slayer. Rather, the city of refuge for the slayer, Hebron and her cattle drives (see note above on Joshua 21:2 ). The translation in our version obscures the meaning, which is clearly that the cities of refuge were first fixed on, and then assigned to the Levites. Most of the cities in the following list have been noticed already. read more
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. read more
Cities for the Levites (20:1-21:45)The Levites were given forty-eight cities throughout Israel, along with surrounding pasture lands for their cattle (see 21:41-42; Numbers 35:1-8). Among these cities were six cities of refuge (Numbers 35:6). These were cities where a person who had killed another could flee for safety until he had been lawfully judged (Exodus 21:12-14). If he was found guilty of murder he was to be executed, but if he was found to have caused the death accidentally, he could... read more
Ver. 10-18. Which the Kohathites had; for their's was the first lot— Thus the Levite priests had for their part, as well in Simeon as in Judah, Hebron, excepting the country about it, which was already given to Caleb; ch. Joshua 14:14. Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh; and in the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, all which cities have been mentioned before, particularly in ch. 15: Of these, as well as of the other cities assigned to the... read more
2. The cities of the Levites 21:1-42The tribes also had to set aside 42 additional cities for the priests and Levites to inhabit (cf. Numbers 35:1-8). read more
The priests’ towns 21:9-19The Lord spread out the priests’ 13 towns as follows. Nine were in Judah and Simeon (Joshua 21:9-16), and four were in Benjamin (Joshua 21:17-19). read more
The Assignment of Forty-eight Cities to the Levites2. The injunction to Moses was given in the plains of Moab, and is recorded in Numbers 35:2-5.3-8. Number and localities of the cities distributed to each of the families of Levi.9-42. Detailed specification of the cities:—Cities of the Aaronites (Priests) in Judah and Benjamin (9-19); of the Kohathites in Ephraim, Dan, and W. Manasseh (20-26); of the Gershonites in E. Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali (27-33); of the Merarites in... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 21:9-42
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?... read more