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, Joshua 19:1 , these cities which are here mentioned by name ; Joshua 21:13 . 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
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
Joshua 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. 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
THE CITIES OF THE PRIESTS"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: and they were for the children of Aaron, of the family of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot. And they gave them Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it. But the fields of the... read more
9-40. 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. 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
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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