682 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Joshua 20 The contents of this chapter are the renewal of the order to appoint cities of refuge for such that commit manslaughter ignorantly, to flee unto, and have shelter in from the avenger of blood, Joshua 20:1; and the execution of this order, Joshua 20:7.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The Lord also spake unto Joshua,.... Out of the tabernacle, at the door of which he with the high priest and princes were; the Lord had spoken to him before concerning dividing the land among the tribes, Joshua 13:1; and this being done he speaks to him again: saying: as follows.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Speak to the children of Israel, saying,.... Whom the affair concerned the Lord spake to Joshua about, they having now the whole land divided among them: appoint out for you cities of refuge; of the name, nature, use, and number of these cities, [See comments on Numbers 35:6]; whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: Numbers 35:1.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
That the slayer that killeth [any] person unawares, [and] unwittingly, may flee thither,.... Who through mere accident, and without design, killed a person, friend or foe, one of his own kindred, or a stranger, without any malice against him, or intention to take away his life: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood; from any of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities,.... Any one of them, that was nearest to him: shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city; for he might not rush in without leave: and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; lay before them the whole matter, how that he had killed a person unawares, by what means...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And if the avenger of blood pursue after him,.... To the city of refuge, whither he is fled, and demand him: then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hands; to be slain by him, but shall protect him: because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime; [See comments on Numbers 35:22], [See comments on Numbers 35:23],...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he shall dwell in that city until he shall stand before the congregation for judgment,.... That is, until his cause was heard in the court of judicature in his own city, or in any other to which the avenger of blood should appeal: see Numbers 35:24; who if they found him guilty of death, they put him to death; but if only guilty of accidental...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in Mount Naphtali,.... Of which see Joshua 19:37; the appointment of this and the two cities following was made by the children of Israel at this time: and Shechem in Mount Ephraim; called Sichem, Genesis 12:6; and Shechem from a prince of that name that possessed it, Genesis 34:2; it fell to the lot of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward,.... In the country possessed by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh: they assigned Bezer in the wilderness, upon the plain, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh; of these places, and the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel,.... For the common use of them all, and not for that tribe only in which they stood: and for the stranger that sojourneth among them; not only for the proselytes of righteousness, but for the proselytes of the gate also, as well as for the natives of Israel; Christ is a refuge for...
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...
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]...