Joshua 21:9 Kommentar

It had been often said that the tribe of Levi should have "no inheritance with their brethren," no particular part of the country assigned them, as the other tribes had, no, not the country about Shiloh, which one might have expected to be appropriated to them as the lands of the church; but, though they were not thus cast into a country by themselves, it appears, by the provision made for them in this chapter, that they were no losers, but the rest of the tribes were very much gainers, by their being dispersed. We have here, I. The motion they made to have their cities assigned them, according to God's appointment (Jos 21:1, Jos 21:2). II. The nomination of the cities accordingly out of the several tribes, and the distribution of them to the respective families of this tribe (Jos 21:3-8). III. A catalogue of the cities, forty-eight in all (v. 9-42). IV. A receipt entered in full of all that God had promised to his people Israel (Jos 21:43-45).

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' cities from being alienated any longer than till the year of jubilee, Lev 25:32, Lev 25:33. Yet it is probable that the Levites having only the cities and suburbs, while the land about pertained to the tribes in which they lay, those of that tribe, for the convenience of occupying that land, might commonly rent houses of the Levites, as they could spare them in their cities, and so live among them as their tenants. Several things may be observed in this account, besides what was observed in the law concerning it, Num. 35. I. That the Levites were dispersed into all the tribes, and not suffered to live all together in any one part of the country. This would find them all with work, and employ them all for the good of others; for ministers, of all people, must neither be idle nor live to themselves or to one another only. Christ left his twelve disciples together in a body, but left orders that they should in due time disperse themselves, that they might preach the gospel to every creature. The mixing of the Levites thus with the other tribes would be an obligation upon them to walk circumspectly, and as became their sacred function, and to avoid every thing that might disgrace it. Had they lived all together, they would have been tempted to wink at one another's faults, and to excuse one another when they did amiss; but by this means they were made to see the eyes of all Israel upon them, and therefore saw it their concern to walk so as that their ministry might in nothing be blamed nor their high character suffer by their ill carriage. II. That every tribe of Israel was adorned and enriched with its share of Levites' cities in proportion to its compass, even those that lay most remote. They were all God's people, and therefore they all had Levites among them. 1. To show kindness to, as God appointed them, Deu 12:19; Deu 14:29. They were God's receivers, to whom the people might give their grateful acknowledgments of God's goodness, as the occasion and disposition were. 2. To receive advice and instruction from; when they could not go up to the tabernacle, to consult those who attended there, they might go to a Levites' city, and be taught the good knowledge of the Lord. Thus God set up a candle in every room of his house, to give light to all his family; as those that attended the altar kept the charge of the Lord, to see that no divine appointment was neglected there, so those that were scattered in the country had their charge too, which was to see that no idolatrous superstitious usages were introduced at a distance and to watch for the souls of God's Israel. Thus did God graciously provide for the keeping up of religion among them, and that they might have the word nigh them; yet, blessed be God, we, under the gospel, have it yet nigher, not only Levites in every county, but Levites in every parish, whose office it is still to teach the people knowledge, and to go before them in the things of God. III. That there were thirteen cities, and those some of the best, appointed for the priests, the sons of Aaron, Jos 21:19. Aaron left but two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, yet his family was now so much increased, and it was foreseen that it would in process of time grow so numerous, as to replenish all these cities, though a considerable number must of necessity be resident wherever the ark and the altar were. We read in both Testaments of such numbers of priests that we may suppose none of all the families of Israel that came out of Egypt increased afterwards so much as that of Aaron did; and the promise afterwards to the house of Aaron is, God shall increase you more and more, you and your children, Psa 115:12, Psa 115:14. He will raise up a seed to serve him. IV. That some of the Levites' cities were afterwards famous upon other accounts. Hebron was the city in which David began his reign, and in Manhanaim, another Levites' city (Jos 21:38), he lay, and had his headquarters when he fled from Absalom. The first Israelite that ever wore the title of king (namely, Abimelech, the son of Gideon) reigned in Shechem, another Levites' city, Jos 21:21. V. That the number of them in all was more than of most of the tribes, except Judah, though the tribe of Levi was one of the least of the tribes, to show how liberal God is, and his people should be, to his ministers; yet the disproportion will not appear so great as at first it seems, if we consider that the Levites had cities only with their suburbs to dwell in, but the rest of the tribes, besides their cities (and those perhaps were many more than are named in the account of their lot), had many unwalled towns and villages which they inhabited, besides country houses. Upon the whole, it appears that effectual care was taken that the Levites should live both comfortably and usefully: and those, whether ministers or others, for whom Providence has done well, must look upon themselves as obliged thereby to do good, and, according as their capacity and opportunity are, to serve their generation.

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 21 This chapter contains the address of the Levites to the court, to have the cities and suburbs given them according to the command of God by Moses, Jos 21:1; the grant of them by lot out of the several tribes, Jos 21:3; the particular cities out of the tribes of Judah and Simeon are mentioned by name, Jos 21:9; then those out of the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 21:17; next those out of the tribe of Ephraim, Jos 21:20; afterwards those out of the tribe of Dan, Jos 21:23; then those out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 21:27; and out of the tribe of Issachar, Jos 21:28; and out of the tribe of Asher, Jos 21:30; and of Naphtali, Jos 21:32; and of Zebulun, Jos 21:34; and of Reuben, Jos 21:36; and of Gad, Jos 21:38; which in all made forty eight, Jos 21:41; and the chapter is concluded with observing, that God gave Israel all the land of Canaan, and rest in it, according to his promise, very faithfully and punctually, Jos 21:43.

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, Jos 19:1, these cities which are here mentioned by name; Jos 21:13.

The Levites apply to Eleazar, Joshua, and the elders, for the cities to dwell in which Moses had promised, Jos 21:1, Jos 21:2. Their request is granted, Jos 21:3. The priests receive thirteen cities out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, Jos 21:4. The Levites receive ten cities out of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 21:5; and thirteen out of the other half tribe of Manasseh, and the tribes of Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali, Jos 21:6. The children of Merari had twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, Jos 21:7. The names of the cities given out of the tribes of Judah and Simeon, Jos 21:8-16. Those granted out of the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 21:17-19. Out of Ephraim, Jos 21:20-22. Those out of Dan, Jos 21:23, Jos 21:24. Those out of both the halves of the tribe of Manasseh, Jos 21:25-27. Those out of the tribe of Issachar, Jos 21:28, Jos 21:29. Those out of Asher, Jos 21:30, Jos 21:31. Those out of Naphtali, Jos 21:32. These were the cities of the Gershonites, Jos 21:33. The cities of the Merarites, Jos 21:34-40. The sum of the cities given to the Levites, forty-eight, Jos 21:41, Jos 21:42. The exact fulfillment of all God's promises, Jos 21:43-45.

EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN BY LOT OUT OF THE OTHER TRIBES UNTO THE LEVITES. (Jos 21:1-8) Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites--The most venerable and distinguished members of the three Levitical families, on behalf of their tribe, applied for the special provision that had been promised them to be now awarded (see on Num 35:2). Their inheritance lay within the territory of every tribe. It was assigned in the same place and manner, and by the same commissioners as the other allotments. While the people, knowing the important duties they were to perform, are described (Jos 21:3) as readily conceding this "peculiar" to them, it had most probably been specified and reserved for their use while the distribution of the land was in progress.

THE CITIES OF THE PRIESTS. (Jos. 21:9-42) 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.

After the cities of refuge had been set apart, the towns were also selected, which the different tribes were to give up for the priest and Levites to dwell in according to the Mosaic instructions in Num 35:1-8, together with the necessary fields as pasturage for their cattle. The setting apart of the cities of refuge took place before the appointment of the Levitical towns, because the Lord had given commandment through Moses in Num 35:6, that they were to give to the Levites the six cities of refuge, and forty-two cities besides, i.e., forty-eight cities in all. From the introductory statement in Jos 21:1, Jos 21:2, that the heads of the fathers (see Exo 6:14, Exo 6:25) of the Levitical families reminded the distribution committee at Shiloh of the command of God that had been issued through Moses, that towns were to be given them to dwell in, we cannot infer, as Calvin has done, that the Levites had been forgotten, till they came and asserted their claims. All that is stated in these words is, "that when the business had reached that point, they approached the dividers of the land in the common name of the members of their tribe, to receive by lot the cities appointed for them. They simply expressed the commands of God, and said in so many words, that they had been deputed by the Levites generally to draw lots for those forty-eight cities with their suburbs, which had been appointed for that tribe" (Masius). The clause appended to Shiloh, "in the land of Canaan," points to the instructions in Num 34:29 and Num 35:10, to give the children of Israel their inheritance in the land of Canaan.

Names of the Levitical Towns. (Note: There is a similar list in 1 Chron 6:54-81, though in some respects differently arranged, and with many variations in the names, and corruptions of different kinds in the text, which show that the author of the Chronicles has inserted an ancient document that was altogether independent of the book before us. Thus in the Chronicles there are only forty-two towns mentioned by name instead of forty-eight, although it is stated in Ch1 6:45. that 13 + 10 + 13 + 12, i.e., forty-eight towns in all, were given up to the Levites. The names omitted are (1) Jutta in Judah; (2) Gibeon in Benjamin; (3 and 4) Ethekeh and Gibbethon in Dan; (5 and 6) and Jokneam and Nahalal in Zebulun (compare Jos 21:16, Jos 21:17, Jos 21:23, Jos 21:34, and Jos 21:35, with Ch1 6:59-60, Ch1 6:68, Ch1 6:77. In some cases also the author of the Chronicles gives different names, though some of them indeed are only different forms of the same name, e.g., Hilen for Holon, Alemeth for Almon, Ashtaroth for Beeshterah, Mashal for Misheal, Hammon for Hammoth-dor, Kirjathaim for Kartan (compare Ch1 6:58, Ch1 6:60, Ch1 6:71, Ch1 6:74, Ch1 6:76, with Jos 21:15, Jos 21:18, Jos 21:27, Jos 21:30, Jos 21:32); or in some cases possibly different names of the same town, e.g., Jokmeam for Kibzaim, and Ramoth for Jarmuth, and Anem for En-gannim (Ch1 6:68, 83, and Jos 21:22, Jos 21:29); whilst some evidently give the true reading, viz., Ashan for Ain, and Bileam for Gath-rimmon (Ch1 6:59, Ch1 6:70; Jos 21:16, Jos 21:26). The majority, however, are faulty readings, viz., Aner for Tanach, Kedesh for Kishon, Hukok for Helkath, Rimmon and Tabor (compare Ch1 6:70, Ch1 6:72, Ch1 6:75, Ch1 6:77, with Jos 21:25, Jos 21:28, Jos 21:31, Jos 21:34-35).) Jos 21:9-19 The priests' towns: (a) in Judah and Simeon (Jos 21:9-16); (b) in Benjamin (Jos 21:17-19). Jos 21:9-12 In the tribe of Judah the priests received Kirjath-arba, or Hebron, with the necessary pasturage round about the town (see Num 35:2), whilst the field of the town with the villages belonging to it remained in the hands of Caleb and his family as their possession (Jos 14:12.). Jos 21:13-16 Jos 21:13 contains a repetition of Jos 21:11, occasioned by the parenthetical remark in Jos 21:12. They also received Libnah in the lowland (see Jos 15:42; Jos 10:29); Jattir (Jos 15:48), Eshtemoah (Jos 15:50), Holon (Jos 15:51), and Debir (Jos 15:15, Jos 15:49; Jos 10:38) on the mountains of Judah; Ain, for which we should read Ashan (Ch1 6:44; cf. Jos 15:42), in the tribe of Simeon (Jos 19:7); Juttah on the mountains (Jos 15:55); and Beth-shemesh in the lowland (Jos 15:10). Jos 21:17-19 In the tribe of Benjamin they received Gibeon (see Jos 9:3), Geba (Jos 18:24), also Anathoth and Almon, which are missing in the list of the towns of Benjamin (see at Jos 18:24). Jos 21:20-25 Towns of the Levites. - Jos 21:20-26. The other Kohathites received four towns from the tribe of Ephraim (Jos 21:21, Jos 21:22), four from Dan (Jos 21:23, Jos 21:24), and two from the half tribe of Manasseh on this side of the Jordan (Jos 21:25). From Ephraim they received Shechem (see Jos 17:7), Gezer (Jos 10:33), Kibzaim - for which we find Jockmeam in Ch1 6:68, possibly a different name for the same place, which has not yet been discovered - and Beth-horon, whether Upper or Lower is not stated (see Jos 10:10). From Dan they received Elthekeh and Gibbethon (Jos 19:44), Ajalon and Gath-rimmon (Jos 19:42, Jos 19:45). From half Manasseh they received Taanach (Jos 17:11; Jos 12:21) and Gath-rimmon - eye to the previous verse, for Bileam (Ch1 6:70), i.e., Jibleam (Jos 17:11). Jos 21:26 Thus they received ten towns in all. Jos 21:27-33 The Gershonites received two towns from eastern Manasseh: Golan (Jos 20:8; Deu 4:43), and Beeshterah. Beeshterah (contracted from Beth-eshterah, the house of Astarte), called Ashtaroth in Ch1 6:56, may possibly have been the capital of king Og (Ashtaroth-karnaim, Gen 14:5), if not one of the two villages named Astaroth, which are mentioned by Eusebius in the Onom. (s. v. Astharoth-karnaim), and are described by Jerome as duo castella in Batanaea, novem inter se millibus separata inter Adaram et Abilam civitates, though Adara and Abila are too indefinite to determine the situation with any exactness. At any rate, the present Busra on the east of the Hauran cannot be thought of for a moment; for this was called Βόσσορα or Βοσορρά, i.e., בּצרה, in ancient times, as it is at the present day (see 1 Macc. 5:26, and Joseph. Ant. xii. 8, 3), and was corrupted into Bostra by the Greeks and Romans. Nor can it be the present Kul'at Bustra on the north of Banyas upon a shoulder of the Hermon, where there are the ruins of a magnificent building, probably a temple of ancient date (Burckhardt, Syr. pp. 93, 94; Rob. Bibl. Res. pp. 414-15), as Knobel supposes, since the territory of the Israelites did not reach so far north, the land conquered by Joshua merely extending to Baal-gad, i.e., Banyas, at the foot of the Hermon (see Jos 11:17), and the land to the east of the Jordan, or Bashan, only to the Hermon itself, or more correctly, merely to the districts of Geshuri and Maacah at the south-eastern border of the Hermon (see at Deu 3:8, Deu 3:14). Jos 21:28-29 From Issachar they received four towns: Kishon (Jos 19:20), Dabrath (Jos 19:12), Jarmuth = Remeth (see Jos 19:21), and En-gannim (Jos 19:21, or Anem, Ch1 6:73). Jos 21:30-31 From Asher they received four towns: Mishal or Masal (Jos 19:26; cf. Ch1 6:74), Abdon (Jos 19:28), Helkath (Jos 19:25, called Hukok in Ch1 6:75, probably a copyist's error), and Rehob (Jos 19:28). Jos 21:32 From Naphtali they received three towns: Kedesh (Jos 19:37 and Jos 12:22), Hammoth-dor (called Hammath in Jos 19:35, and Hammon in Ch1 6:76), and Kartan (contracted from Kartain for Kirjathaim, Ch1 6:76; like Dothan in Kg2 6:13, from Dothain in Gen 37:17). Kartan is not mentioned among the towns of Naphtali in Jos 19:33.; according to Knobel it may possibly be Katanah, a place with ruins to the north-east of Safed (Van de Velde, Mem. p. 147). Jos 21:33 They received thirteen towns in all. Jos 21:34-35 The Merarites received twelve towns. From the tribe of Zebulun they received four: Jokneam (Jos 19:11 : see at Jos 12:22), Kartah and Dimnah, (Note: Many commentators identify Dimnah with Rimmono in Ch1 6:77, but without sufficient reason; for the next of the Chronicles is no doubt corrupt in this passage, as it has only two names, Rimmono and Tabor, instead of four.) which are not mentioned among the towns of Zebulun in Jos 19:11., and are unknown, and Nahalal (Jos 19:15). Jos 21:36-37 From Reuben they received four: Gezer (Jos 20:8 : see Deu 4:43), Jahza, Kedemoth, and Mephaath (Jos 13:18). (Note: R. Jacob ben Chajim has omitted Jos 21:36 and Jos 21:37 from his Rabbinical Bible of the year 1525 as spurious, upon the authority of Kimchi and the larger Masora; but upon insufficient grounds, as these verses are to be found in many good MSS and old editions of an earlier date than 1525, as well as in all the ancient versions, and could not possibly have been wanting from the very first, since the Merarites received twelve towns, which included the four that belonged to Reuben. In those MSS in which they are wanting, the omission was, no doubt, a copyist's error, occasioned by the homoioteleuto'n (see de Rossi variae lectt. ad h. l., and J. H. Michaelis' Note to his Hebrew Bible).) Jos 21:38-39 From Gad they received four towns: Ramoth in Gilead, and Mahanaim (see at Jos 13:26), Heshbon (Jos 13:17) and Jaezer (Jos 13:25 : see at Num 21:32). Jos 21:40-42 They received twelve towns in all. - In Jos 21:41 and Jos 21:42 the list of the Levitical towns is closed with a statement of their total number, and also with the repetition of the remark that "these cities were every one with their suburbs round about them." ום עיר עיר, city city, i.e., every city, with its pasture round about it.