Joshua 21:1

Here we have the list of the forty-eight Levitical cities, appointed by Joshua, and the other Jewish authorities, at the end of the general subjugation of Canaan, shortly prior to the death of Joshua. The screams of the Bible's critical enemies declare this chapter to be "unhistorical,"[1] but we reject this out of hand as being merely the prejudice of unbelievers and totally irresponsible! Equally objectional is the efforts of critics to assign a seventh-century B.C. date to this list on the basis of, "The distinction between the priests and the Levites in the division of these cities (which is post-exilic)."[2] We reject this because it was Moses himself who made that distinction, a distinction that is just as historical as anything else in the Bible, occurring in the fifteenth century B.C., not in the seventh century! It will be remembered from the Book of Numbers that only the priests (the sons of Aaron) could prepare the sacred furniture of the tabernacle for transporting it, and that the Levites were assigned the task of actually carrying it or hauling it in wagons. The acceptable versions of the Holy Bible all teach this, but the critical enemies of the Word of God have made their own corrupt "bible," and it is from it that they procure all this NONSENSE about how they suppose it to have been put together by a whole stable of "editors" and "redactors," etc.; and if one wishes to find something "unhistorical," it is that revised "bible" of the critics!

Here is the record of one of the sons of Jacob - Levi. And there are no valid reasons whatever for denying the HISTORICAL REALITY of the Levitical cities appointed here. The Levites were exempt from military service, and the historical fact of the Levites having no allotted territory, as did all the others, actually demands the appointment of these cities. If we have been told once, up to this point in the five Books of Moses and in Joshua that, "Levi received no inheritance, because the Lord is his inheritance, we have encountered that statement or its equivalent fifteen times!" Now, the question is, "How could it be supposed that the whole tribe of Levi sat still on the matter of requesting the cities Moses had promised for five hundred years or so. That the events reported in this chapter actually occurred within the lifetime of Joshua and almost simultaneously with the final allotments to the various tribes appears to be an absolute certainty, required by the actual circumstances of the case.

Some have complained that the Levitical cities were the last to be assigned, but, as Plummer noted: "Since the Levitical cities were to be assigned within the limits of the property of the other tribes, it was impossible to apportion them until the allotments to all the other tribes had been made."[3]

These cities were appointed by lot, indicating the Divine authority of the assignments, and, of course, all of those allegations about late dates, etc., deny absolutely that God had anything to do with this.

Not only that, "This distribution of the Levitical cities was a fulfillment of Jacob's curse on Levi (Genesis 49:5-7), but God overruled it, through Moses, because of this tribe's having stood with Moses in a crucial hour (Exodus 32:26)."[4] The Levitical cities, although `scattered' as Jacob foretold, nevertheless preserved the identity of the Levites, and their assignment as the teachers of Israel made them necessary and important.

We are indebted to J. R. Dummelow for the following chapter divisions:

(1) The authorities - Eleazar, Joshua, and the princes - are approached by the Levites with a request for the cities, which God, through Moses, had promised (Joshua 21:1-2).

(2) The number and location of the cities is summarized (Joshua 21:3-8).

(3) The Aaronic priests receive their cities in Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 21:9-19).

(4) The cities of the Kohathites are selected from Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh (Joshua 21:20-26).

(5) The cities of the Gershonites were chosen in East Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali (Joshua 21:27-33).

(6) The cities of the Merarites were chosen from Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad (Joshua 21:34-42).

(7) Then we have the fulfillment of all of God's promises and His giving rest to the people (Joshua 21:43-45).

"Then came near the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of fathers' houses of the children of Israel; and they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, Jehovah commanded by Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle."

The mention of Eleazar in this passage is not an indication of "P" as a source of this paragraph. This is merely a statement of what happened. The whole government of Israel at that moment in their history was somewhat of a triple authority composed of the head of religion (Eleazar), the executive head of the nation (Joshua), and the representative of all the people. Plummer pointed out that, throughout history this multiple division of governmental powers has persisted. In England, there is the Monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons, and the Judicial System. In America, we have the same divisions, the "house of Lords" in the Senate, the "house of Commons" in the House of Representatives, the executive head of the nation in the presidency, and the judicial authority in the Supreme Court. The meaning of these verses is therefore that the Levites appealed to the central government, and backed up their request by appealing to the commandment of God through Moses. Can anyone believe that the Levites WAITED HUNDREDS OF YEARS to do this? Notice further that the appointment of these Levitical cities was to be done after the appointment of the six cities of refuge, since "That is exactly how Moses commanded it to be done."[5]