Towns for the Levites
1The heads of the Levite families came to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the ancestral tribes of Israel, 2and spoke to them at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan: “Yahweh commanded through Moses that we be given towns to live in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.” 3So, as Yahweh had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, out of their own inheritance. 4The lot came out for the clans of the Kohathites. The descendants of Aaron the priest, who were Levites, received thirteen towns by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5The rest of the Kohathites received ten towns by lot from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6The descendants of Gershon received thirteen towns by lot from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7The descendants of Merari, by their clans, received twelve towns from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun. 8So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns, with their pasturelands, by lot, as Yahweh had commanded through Moses. 9From the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon they gave the towns named here, 10which went to the descendants of Aaron, from the clans of the Kohathites among the Levites, since the first lot fell to them. 11They gave them Kiriath-arba — that is, Hebron, named for the father of Anak — in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pastureland, 12but the fields of the town and its villages they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession. 13To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who kills, with its pastureland, along with Libnah and its pastureland, 14Jattir and its pastureland, Eshtemoa and its pastureland, 15Holon and its pastureland, Debir and its pastureland, 16Ain and its pastureland, Juttah and its pastureland, and Beth-shemesh and its pastureland — nine towns from these two tribes. 17From the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon and its pastureland, Geba and its pastureland, 18Anathoth and its pastureland, and Almon and its pastureland — four towns. 19All the towns of the descendants of Aaron the priests were thirteen towns, with their pasturelands. 20The remaining clans of the Kohathites, who were Levites, received towns by lot from the tribe of Ephraim. 21They gave them Shechem, the city of refuge for the one who kills, with its pastureland, in the hill country of Ephraim, along with Gezer and its pastureland, 22Kibzaim and its pastureland, and Beth-horon and its pastureland — four towns. 23From the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh and its pastureland, Gibbethon and its pastureland, 24Aijalon and its pastureland, and Gath-rimmon and its pastureland — four towns. 25From the half-tribe of Manasseh: Taanach and its pastureland, and Gath-rimmon and its pastureland — two towns. 26All the towns for the remaining clans of the Kohathites were ten, with their pasturelands. 27To the descendants of Gershon, one of the Levite clans, they gave, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the one who kills, with its pastureland, and Beeshtarah with its pastureland — two towns. 28From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion and its pastureland, Daberath and its pastureland, 29Jarmuth and its pastureland, and En-gannim and its pastureland — four towns. 30From the tribe of Asher: Mishal and its pastureland, Abdon and its pastureland, 31Helkath and its pastureland, and Rehob and its pastureland — four towns. 32From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who kills, with its pastureland, Hammoth-dor and its pastureland, and Kartan and its pastureland — three towns. 33All the towns of the Gershonites, by their clans, were thirteen towns, with their pasturelands. 34To the remaining Levite clans, the descendants of Merari, they gave, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and its pastureland, Kartah and its pastureland, 35Dimnah and its pastureland, and Nahalal and its pastureland — four towns. 36From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer and its pastureland, Jahaz and its pastureland, 37Kedemoth and its pastureland, and Mephaath and its pastureland — four towns. 38From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who kills, with its pastureland, and Mahanaim and its pastureland, 39Heshbon and its pastureland, and Jazer and its pastureland — four towns in all. 40All the towns of the descendants of Merari, by their clans, the remaining Levite clans, numbered twelve by their lot. 41The total number of Levite towns within the territory held by the Israelites was forty-eight towns, with their pasturelands. 42Each of these towns had its own pastureland surrounding it; this was true of all these towns.
Yahweh Gives Israel Rest
43So Yahweh gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44Yahweh gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of their enemies could stand against them; Yahweh delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45Not one of all the good promises Yahweh had made to the house of Israel failed — every one was fulfilled.
