And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites ,.... The descendants of the youngest son of Levi, who were all that remained of the Levites unprovided of cities: out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs ; which lay near Carmel, and was a royal city; See Gill on Joshua 12:22 , and Kartah with her suburbs ; perhaps the same with Kattath, Joshua 19:15 . read more
Dimnah with her suburbs ,.... Nowhere mentioned, unless the same with Rimmon, 1 Chronicles 6:77 , Nahalal with her suburbs ; see Joshua 19:15 , four cities ; only two are mentioned, 1 Chronicles 6:77 ; and they by different names; the one is Rimmon, before observed, and the other Tabor; perhaps the same with Chislothtabor, Joshua 19:12 . read more
And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs ,.... Which was a city of refuge, and the fifth of them in this account, though not observed as such here, but is in the Greek version; see Joshua 20:8 , and Jahazah with her suburbs ; called Jahaz; see Gill on Numbers 21:23 . read more
Kedemoth with her suburbs ,.... Near to which was a wilderness of that name; see Deuteronomy 2:26 , and Mephaath with her suburbs ; of which See Gill on Joshua 13:18 ; where the two preceding cities are mentioned along with it: four cities , Joshua 21:35 , are not in some ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, as is noted by the Masorites; but are in some others, as Kimchi owns, and stand in the Targum, in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and in a manuscript referred... read more
And out of the tribe of Gad ,.... Which also, as that of Reuben, lay on the other side Jordan: Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs ; of which see Joshua 20:8 , to be a city of refuge for the slayer ; and is the sixth and last city of refuge in this account: and Mahanaim with her suburbs ; here it was the angels met Jacob, which gave rise to the name of the place, Genesis 32:1 ; afterwards a city was built here, and was on the borders of the tribe of Gad, and belonged to it, ... read more
Heshbon with her suburbs ,.... Which was formerly the royal city of Sihon king of the Amorites, and was first given to and rebuilt by the Reubenites, but was upon the border of the tribe of Gad; and appears from hence to have been one of their cities, Numbers 21:26 , Jazer with her suburbs ; sometimes called Jaazer, another city in the same country, and near Heshbon; see Numbers 21:32 , four cities in all : which were Ramothgilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer. read more
So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families ,.... Which were distributed by lot to them, according to the number of their families, and were sufficient for them: which were remaining of the families of the Levites ; the last division of them, besides those of the Kohathites, Levites, and the Gershonites: were by their lot twelve cities ; four out of the tribe of Zebulun, four out of the tribe of Reuben, and four out of the tribe of Gad, whose names are before... read more
All the cities of the Levites, within the possession of the children of Israel ,.... As comprised in one sum total: were forty and eight cities with their suburbs ; which is just the number that Moses from the mouth of God ordered to be given unto them, before they entered into the land, and before they were in possession of one city in it, Numbers 35:7 ; which, as it is a proof of the omniscience, prescience, and predetermination of God; so of the sure and true prediction of Moses,... read more
These cities were everyone with their suburbs round about them ,.... Which reached to the space of two thousand cubits on every side; and such a space was assigned to everyone of the above cities for their cattle, to keep them in and lay up provision for them: thus were all their cities ; six of them cities of refuge, and forty two for the priests and Levites to dwell in, and for the commodious use of their herds and flocks. 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