47 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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, Joshua 21:1; the grant of them by lot out of the several tribes, Joshua 21:3; the particular cities out of the tribes of Judah and Simeon are mentioned by name, Joshua 21:9;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites,.... When the land was divided to the several tribes, and everyone knew the cities that belonged to them, and what they could and should part with to the Levites, and when the six cities of refuge were fixed; the Levites came to put in their claim for cities of habitation, they having no share...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan,.... Where the tabernacle was fixed, at or near which the above persons met to cast lots for the division of the land to the seven tribes that had not received their inheritance: saying, the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance,.... Knowing full well there was such a command, made no objection to their motion, but freely gave them cities out of the portion of inheritance allotted to them; this they did at the commandment of the Lord, and in obedience to it, even gave these cities and suburbs; after...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the lot came out for the family of the Kohathites,.... The first lot that was drawn out of the pot or urn was for the descendants of Kohath, a son of Levi: and the children of Aaron the priest, [which were] of the Levites; who descended from Amram, the eldest son of Kohath, and these were not only Levites, but priests: these had by lot out of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the rest of the children of Kohath,.... Which did not descend from him in the line of Amram and Aaron, but of Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, who were not priests, but Levites: [had] by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities; these other sort of Kohathites had...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the children of Gershon [had] by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar,.... These were Levites who descended from Gershon, the eldest son of Levi, and had their cities by lot assigned them in tribes at a greater distance, not only out of Issachar, but out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The children of Merari by their families,.... The descendants of Merari, the third son of Levi: [had] out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad; which were both on the other side Jordan: and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities; in all forty eight, as the Lord commanded, Numbers 35:7.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs,.... Reaching two thousand cubits from the cities all around: these cities did not lie all together, and so could not be described by their coasts; but in the several tribes, and intermixed with their cities; which fulfilled Jacob's prophecy, that they should...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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]...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Which the children of Aaron, [being] of the families of the Kohathites,.... Who descending from Kohath, in the line of Aaron, were priests: [who were] of the children of Levi, had; they were Levites, as descending from Levi, but were priests also, as being of the stock of Aaron, and the cities hereafter mentioned in the said tribe fell to their...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they gave them the city of Arba, the father of Anak,.... Which from him was called Kirjatharba, Joshua 14:15; and Anak, according to Kimchi, is not the name of a man, but a general name, comprehending the Anakims, a race of giants, among whom Arba was the chief and principal man, a prince and ruler over them, as Ben Melech: which [city is]...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof,.... Which lay beyond the two thousand cubits: gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, for his possession; as Moses had promised, and Joshua had confirmed to him; and now the children of Israel gave them to him, and put him in the possession of, Joshua 14:6; and the same is to be observed of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest,.... The families of the Kohathites, that part of them which descended from him, and were priests: Hebron with her suburbs, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; that had slain a person unawares, and without design; see on Joshua 20:3; and Libnah with her suburbs; a royal city, of which see...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jattir with her suburbs,.... [See comments on Joshua 15:48]; and Eshtemoa with her suburbs; [See comments on Joshua 15:50].
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Holon with her suburbs,.... [See comments on Joshua 15:51]; and Debir with her suburbs; [See comments on Joshua 15:49].
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Ain with her suburbs,.... [See comments on Joshua 15:32]; and Juttah with her suburbs; [See comments on Joshua 15:55]; [and] Bethshemesh with her suburbs; which is not mentioned among the cities of Judah, Joshua 15:21; only as in the borders of it, Joshua 21:10; and perhaps is the same Bethshemesh to which the ark was directed by the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs,.... See Gill "Joshua 18:25"; from which came the Gibeonites. Geba with her suburbs. Of which [See comments on Joshua 18:24].
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Anathoth with her suburbs,.... This is not mentioned among the cities of Benjamin, Joshua 18:11; it was the native place of the Prophet Jeremiah, [See comments on Jeremiah 1:1]; it lay about two or three miles north of Jerusalem; three, says, Jerom (k). Rauwolff (l) speaks of it as a small village, when he travelled into those parts, and as lying...