Joshua 21

21:1-8 The towns given to the tribe of Levi were determined by lot (see study note on 7:16-18) by Israel’s leaders.

21:2-3 The Lord commanded Moses: See Num 35:1-7. One of the priestly duties was to teach God’s torah (see study note on 1:8) to Israel. The Levites could accomplish this better by living throughout the tribal territories.

21:4 The descendants of Aaron served as Israel’s priests. The cities they received were allotted by sacred lots. The priestly towns were in the tribal territories closest to Jerusalem, where the Temple was later built.

21:5 The remaining families of the Kohathite clan received cities in the central part of the hill country, north of Jerusalem.

21:6 The clan of Gershon received cities among the four northernmost tribes in Israel.

21:7 The clan of Merari did not stay together as other Levitical clans did.

21:8 The pasturelands were grazing ground surrounding the cities. The repetition of this word throughout the list (21:8-42) gave the allotment the character of a legal record, guaranteeing the Levites access to lands immediately surrounding each of the Levitical cities (Num 35:4-5).

21:9-42 The descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities, the rest of the Kohathite clan received ten, the descendants of Gershon received thirteen, and the Merari clan received twelve. There were a total of forty-eight Levitical cities. Each tribe had four Levitical cities, except Judah had eight, Simeon had one, and Naphtali had three. Six of the Levitical cities were also cities of refuge (20:7-8).

21:45 God had made Israel many good promises, and not one had failed. He kept his promise to give Israel possession of the land and to save them from their surrounding enemies.